Rainbow Road has been voted the best course in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, after Nintendo UK asked fans to whittle down the 48 courses packed in the Nintendo Switch exclusive to choose their favourite.
It was the Mario Kart 8 version, specifically, that took the prize, with Hyrule Circuit, Mount Wario and Bowser’s Castle unable to land a Blue Shell to cross the line in second, third and fourth place respectively.
“My favourite part is how the two routes form an intertwined spiral, before heading into the final corner. The design allows for lots of different tactical gameplay depending on your items and the situation around you, such as changing your route, or taking a shortcut between the two paths of the spiral,” Mario Kart 8 Deluxe producer Kosuke Yabuki explained, asked what he was most proud about in the course’s design.
“However, this is also the part where drivers from all over the world are most likely to fall off the track… If you keep falling off no matter what you do, then in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe you can try turning on Smart Steering. This option now gives anyone the opportunity to have fun driving around.”
As to how they made the new Rainbow Road course special in comparison to previous versions, Yabuki added:
“We have been making Rainbow Road courses as a way of marking the end of each Mario Kart game. Since we’d decided that Mario Kart 8 would also include a remake of a past Rainbow Road, we worked to create new Rainbow Road visuals and audio making use of near-future technology, such as anti-gravity, in order to contrast with that.
“Around the edge of the course you’ll see Toads wearing spacesuits and cheering you on. These are actually a symbol of the online mode of this game and appear in places like the matchmaking screen too, so keep an eye out for them.”
Those that disagree with the result can share their top five courses with Nintendo UK on Twitter, with a chance to win £50 Nintendo eShop credit if you enter before 23.50pm on Sunday 7th May.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is now available exclusively on Nintendo Switch worldwide.
