Rating All Mario Kart 8 Tracks Worst to Best (LOCK PLEASE)

[silent_]

What are you looking at me for? I'm tired of making short replies, posts, and threads!

NUMBER 32 - Wii Moo Moo Meadows (0.1295)
For the most part, there was nothing edited in this level to make it feel innovative. Sure, it's a retro track, what do you expect, but this was just awful, honestly. I feel like they just added fifteen retro courses and said, "Well, we should add another Wii one. How about Moo Moo Meadows" and then they made this in one day. The only somewhat neat touch is the glider, but it's a lot faster to just go on the intended route. Anyway, I really can't think of anything else to say about this one other than it is blatantly effortless.

I just forgot --- I have to credit where credit is due. This is a nice battle race, and graphically, it is superb, but those are the only pros, unfortunately.

NUMBER 31 - SNES Donut Plains 3 (1.7894)
This race is extremely linear, just like the entire Super Mario Kart is. I feel that this race is like the black void of Mario Kart 8. They could of easily added some extra things, like gliding, and a super cool anti-gravity part like GBA Mario Circuit had. Another thing that was lousy and cheap was the fact that you can get speed boosts on Monty Mole holes. Like Moo Moo Meadows in the Wii version, the Monty Mole holes and dirt where they dug should slow you down. Also, I hated the fact that there was water under the bridges. Sure, a lot of people think that this is a unique touch, but NO. This really slows the player down and annoys them. On a positive note, this was a fantastic race in Balloon Battle. There are so much hiding places (like under the bridge) where you can just stay there and wait until a computer player comes by and then hit them. The water puddles were a cool touch, too. I have to give them some credit.

NUMBER 30 - Dolphin Shoals (3.9465)
It disgusts me how so much people like this race so much. It is overall a bit lousy, and the underwater cave part is awful, but the gargantuan eel is a neat touch, and you can get tons of speed boosts on him. I also don't like how this is named "Dolphin Shoals". There are some dolphins, but definitely not enough to have dolphin as the course name. I would name it "Eel Cave" or something and then have most of the level in a cave (even though the cave sucked). However, visually, this is the best course in the game. The underwater effect was out of this world, the background was beautiful, the eel looked so polished, and the current and pipes looked real. Now to be a bit negative; Nintendo really lacked much imagination for this. It is too generic for a Mario Kart 8 race. It is very straightforward and dull. Some parts really dragged on, particularly after you get out of that hellish cave. Otherwise, I can't think of anything else to say.

NUMBER 29 - Toad's Turnpike (4.0023)
This level is incredibly disappointing, but I would like to start with the pros. It was awesome how some cars/trucks had a ramp, a speed boost, or a glider. These things really make this long and repetitive course feel somewhat faster. Moreover, there is so much detail put into this course. Some of the trucks in particular looked visually appealing. I additionally liked the nightly and gloomy effect put into this race. Anyway, the con which takes six points away from this is the fact that the goddamn anti-gravity parts cheaped out the level so much. You should not be allowed to skip past any cars. Though you know what would be really neat? Add an anti-gravity part where there are trucks and cars. Don't just make the anti-gravity parts easy and cheap. It is just lame.

NUMBER 28 - GCN Sherbert Land (4.5237)
This one is simply bad. It's so flat, boring, dull, repetitive, and linear. I totally prefer the one on Double Dash simply because... I don't know why, unfortunately. It's just that this is so generic for Mario Kart 8. There's also barely any obstacles, and I'm sure the entire universe could survive without the underwater section. This is also the worst battle course because you can barely ever find anyone unless you peak at the map on your gamepad. The only thing positive I have to say about this is the fact that it's a lot different compared to the other races. It's rare you see a glacial-related level in a Mario Kart game.

NUMBER 27 - 3DS Piranha Plant Slide (4.6785)
This just barely scored any higher above Sherbert Land. I hated this race in Mario Kart 7, and they brought it back even more irksome and worse. Overall, it's an unpleasant experience driving through the sewers with a bunch of peculiar red plants trying to bite your ass off. Most of this reminded me of Koopa Cape, which if I ever make a rating all 32 Mario Kart Wii tracks worst to best thread it would be number sixteen. I would like to add that I despise the fact that Nintendo pretty much combined all of the things people hate and put them in one level - Piranha Plants, underwater, and pipes with current. I could rant on for days. And just a little trivia, this one of those rare occasions in which I have nothing positive to say about a race but still feel like rating it a little bit below average.

NUMBER 26 - N64 Yoshi Valley (5.0000)
This race was so disappointing, it really pissed me off. The should of used the same gimmick the real Yoshi Valley had. Though, even if they did bring back the old gimmick, I highly dislike long grassland levels anyway, so it still would of got about the same placement as it already has now.

NUMBER 25 - 3DS Music Park (5.0056)
This is hardly any better than Yoshi Valley. This is also one of those rare occasions in which I enjoyed the older version of the course more than the newer. For some reason, the Wii U Music Park really felt like the same old thing. Nothing changed since MK7, sadly. I frankly don't know what else to say - Nintendo could of done better to make this feel more innovative.

NUMBER 24 - GBA Mario Circuit (5.4369)
Despite the kind of low score, this was an exquisite course. They added tons to it to make it feel like an all new Mario Kart race; the anti-gravity part was superb, and the tires at the end reminded me of a certain section of the Disney movie, Cars. Forthrightly, the only reason this received a lower score was due to how generic it is; there are tons of Mario Kart 8 races better. Also, I think Nintendo should of added some obstacles - I also dislike the fact that this course forces you to drift if you have low handling. Otherwise, you are guaranteed to run into trees in the grass.

NUMBER 23 - GCN Dry Dry Desert (5.5287)
This course is quite boring, but it's subjectively better than Piranha Plant Slide, Yoshi Valley, and Music Park. The oasis and quicksand parts were awesome touches, and there were so much minor details in this that made this long place feel so much lively. The Pokeys were cool, too.

NUMBER 22 - Bowser's Castle (5.7894)
This course was very enjoyable. I personally think this Bowser's Castle was somewhat similar to the Gamecube, Mario Kart 7, and Mario Kart Wii Bowser's Castle. It's like they combined all of these games into one to make one track. While this isn't a horrible thing, they should focus on uniqueness. The only thing that was really unique was the Bowser rock, which had so much strength he had the ability to punch the ground with a single first and shake the entire floor. However, even the rock Bowser was easy, and overall, the difficulty of this was really easy, excluding the spiky pendulum towards the end which was incredulously hard to dodge. Anyway, I have to give credit to Nintendo for adding so much gravity in this castle, having epic music reminding me immensely of Super Mario 3D World, and the detail was amazing.

NUMBER 21 - Mario Kart Stadium (5.9348)
A generic race, just barely better than Bowser's Castle. I have nothing else to say, honestly.

NUMBER 20 - Mario Circuit (6.1875)
I wish Mario Kart Stadium and Mario Circuit traded places in Mario Kart 8; I think Mario Circuit would be a perfect introduction to not only the Mushroom Cup, but the entire game, as they have anti-gravity into full use. Seriously, the entire race is anti-gravity, and while you drive, it's easy to get distracted by the upside down and right-side up things in the background. To sum this up, I loved this race, but there are still quite a bit of courses better.

NUMBER 19 - Electrodome (6.5491)
This course is probably the most unique race in the game. It is like the modern version of Music Park. However, even though Electrodome is higher than Music Park on this list, that doesn't mean Electrodome is better than Music Park. Anyway, the music was catchy, there were lots of coins, there were a lot of places to kill computer players, and overall, this is an awesome race. Though, it was a hard decision to decide which was better: This one or Mario Circuit but I decided Electrodome's uniqueness really shone bright.

NUMBER 18 - N64 Royal Raceway (6.7359)
I never understood why they didn't add this one for Mario Kart 7, but anyway, I'm glad they added it here. Candidly, I can picture tons of people yelling at me, "How the hell is this better than Electrodome?!", but think about it: Royal Raceway has a better reason to be in Mario Kart 8 than Electrodome had to. Sure, I'm not saying Electrodome should get removed, but still. Royal Raceway's quality is overall better. Enough with that, though. Royal Raceway is subjectively the most beautiful grass course in Mario Kart history. There are pink trees and leaves that match Peach's color - this is a unique touch. Overall, I love this race and I'm glad it got added.

NUMBER 17 - Sweet Sweet Canyon (6.8517)
This is a very unique course that they decided to add. The entire race takes place with a lot of sweets, and at one point, there are ice cream cones instead of road cones. How cool is that? To sum this up, this is an awesome race that is barely better than Royal Raceway... which is saying a lot.

NUMBER 16 - 3DS DK Jungle (7.0894)
Not much has changed here since the 3DS version. However, this race still will never fail to be fantastic. Donkey Kong Country Returns is simply an epic game to me, and to make it into a race on first a handheld console, and then on the TV AND a humongous gamepad is just purely awesome. Overall, I am extremely glad Nintendo decided to bring this one back. The tikis, frogs, and screaming pillars are all lovely obstacles to add... gah, I wish they would make a Donkey Kong Racing for the Wii U that would have references from all of the Donkey Kong games.

NUMBER 15 - Water Park (7.2684)
I personally thought the name for this one was quite lame. Perhaps since Waluigi didn't get his course, name it Waluigi's Watery Way or something like that? Whatever; I adored this race, and they found a way to make water races actually fun. Some of the details, like the Ferris wheel and things like that really made this place feel real. And while I was playing this race for the first time, all I could think is: Mario Kart 8 is truly a fabulous game.

NUMBER 14 - Toad Harbor (7.6890)
This could frankly be the hub for Super Mario Sunshine 2. Regardless, this was a superb race. Everything about it seemed innovative, and there were so much details that made it more lively, like Princess Peach replacing the Statue of Liberty (hell, I thought people in Japan made this?). I can't really think of anything else to say.

NUMBER 13 - Wii Grumble Volcano (8.0348)
I wasn't the biggest fan of Grumble Volcano for the Wii, but somehow, they made it much more enjoyable here. I'm glad they brought it back, and the volcano in the background looks so cool.

NUMBER 12 - DS Tick Tock Clock (8.1964)
WHAT?! WARIO STADIUM AND CHEEP CHEEP BEACH ARE BETTER THAN TICK TOCK GODDAMN CLOCK?! ~ The entire universe, 2014

The first time I played Tick Tock Clock for the DS I fell in love with. And then, Mario Kart Wii came around; no Tick Tock Clock. Mario Kart 7 next came out; no Tick Tock Clock. Mario Kart 8 came out; Tick Tock Clock is actually in it. Yeah, this race is awesome, but I think Grumble Volcano is almost better. However, I came to the conclusion that since Tick Tock Clock was edited more than Grumble Volcano, it deserved a higher score. Now, regarding this race, it was simply fabulous, but some of the sound effects were just taken too far, like the obnoxious alarm clock. I, for one, think that if minor flaws like that one didn't exist, this could easily earn the position in the top five.

NUMBER 11 - Twisted Mansion (8.5309)
A very unique race taking full advantage of the anti-gravity feature. Also, this course is extremely long, not that that is necessarily a bad thing, because excluding the water part, this race is quite nonlinear. Overall, I like it; definitely better than Luigi's Mansion due to this one's lack of repetitiveness.

---

As we get to the top ten, let me go over the races that I have not listed yet...

-Thwomp Ruins
-Shy Guy Falls
-Sunshine Airport
-Mount Wario
-Cloudtop Cruise
-Bone-Dry Ruins
-Rainbow Road
-DS Cheep Cheep Beach
-DS Wario Stadium
-N64 Rainbow Road

---

NUMBER 10 - Sunshine Airport (9.1654)
Sunshine Airport is a nonlinear race that takes place in an airport with lots of sunshine and happiness. It was a pleasant experience placing this awesome race for the first time, and overall, I really like it and it has a lot of references from Super Mario Sunshine, hence its name. Also, it for some reason reminds me of Coconut Mall... but that's a bad thing since I hate Coconut Mall.

NUMBER 9 - DS Wario Stadium (9.2186)
This was definitely the most edited of all of the retro courses. Overall, it's really fun, and I don't know what else to say.

NUMBER 8 - Bone-Dry Ruins (9.4762)
This would definitely be in my top twenty all-time favorite Mario Kart races ever. They found a way to make a cliff level linear, and a desert level nonlinear, and then combined these two elements to make an absolute masterpiece. This would definitely be my second favorite Mario Kart 7 race if this course was in that game.

NUMBER 7 - Cloudtop Cruise (9.4938)
This one is hardly better than Bone-Dry Ruins... the only reason that this course is any better than Bone-Dry Ruins is because they added a lot of references to Super Mario Bros. 3, such as the airships. What makes things even better is the fact that once you're on the airship close to the end of the lap, the rainy effect is so realistic and reminds you tons of Super Mario 3D World which was my personal second favorite 3D game ever made, Galaxy being my favorite. And wait... there are Super Mario Galaxy references too! Towards the beginning or end of the lap, out in the background, there is a small little planet, galaxy, or floating island in the distance. There is another reference to Super Mario Galaxy; that being the fact that the entire race takes place in midair on the clouds. Still, even after all of these cool things I pointed out, I don't consider it a favorite... and what is that, you say? You're furious with me because I'm saying "crappy" Cheep Cheep Beach is still better than one of the best races in the game in your opinion? Pfft, bitch please.

NUMBER 6 - Thwomp Ruins (9.7631)
This is much better than Cloudtop Cruise, as you may clearly see by the score difference. Oh, and I just had to do this:

Do I like Thwomps? NO
Did I ever think Thwomps would get their own course? NO
Do I think this fits in the Mushroom Cup? NO
Do I think this is better than Rainbow Road? NO
Would most people ever put this race this high on their top 32 list? NO
Do I like this race? NO... I mean sorry, YES, I'm just used to saying NO all of the time.

NUMBER 5 - Shy Guy Falls (9.7975)
This race looks extremely visually appealing, and the Shy Guys playing Minecraft doing all kinds of work and construction around the whole race is a really neat touch. Overall, this definitely deserves its placement in the top five, you should be glad it made it this high.

NUMBER 4 - Rainbow Road (9.7994)
A lot of people were disappointed in this race; I never really knew why, though. Anyway, one of the main reasons I loved it so much was due to at one point there was a really neat reference to Toad's Factory, as there were conveyor belts going upwards or downwards. Also, there were Blooper spaceships that just looked epic.

NUMBER 3 - N64 Rainbow Road (9.8532)
OH MY GOD THOSE FIREWORKS WERE SO DISTRACTING 0/10

I mean... this was an awesome course, even better than the regular Rainbow Road. However, it was incredibly short, probably one of the shortest retro race there was. Perhaps that's because it's a bit repetitive? I'm not sure, but the main reason this got such a high score was due to the fact that when you look down you see a colossal city, you see fireworks, there's an immense Chain Chomp, you're going up and down and all around, and it's pitch black outside but something about it makes it feel so light.

NUMBER 2 - DS Cheep Cheep Beach (9.9987)
Why, may you ask, did this get placed so high?

Well, just play this! It is a perfectly calm beach with so much thing that a true peaceful Mario Kart game requires. It is overall so fun and addicting. I love it.

NUMBER 1 - Mount Wario (10)
Simply a perfect level. Each lap, or should I say section, is different, it is so beautiful, there is so much open space and scenery, there are so much places to screw up, and it is just massive, endless fun.

---

Feel free to debate about this list and share your own opinions.

OTHER NOTES: I did NOT read over this after I created it. Excuse the grammatical errors, and also, I confused paste tense and present tense a lot.

[Karl Marx]

The biggest problem with the Yoshi Valley remake is how they made the shortest path much easier to do instead of painfully difficult like on the original.

And I believe the whole gimmick with keeping all the places hidden was due to N64 limitations, so I didn't expect that to return

[Fire Mario3434]

The biggest problem with the Yoshi Valley remake is how they made the shortest path much easier to do instead of painfully difficult like on the original.

And I believe the whole gimmick with keeping all the places hidden was due to N64 limitations, so I didn't expect that to return

This is sadly true :[

[Enjl]

As much as I respect your opinion, Kep, I have to disagree.
I don't wanna post my whole list right now, but here are sone key points:
I don't think Music Park is better than Piranha Plant Slide.
I don't think Mount Wario is better than any of the Rainbow Roads.
Electrodrome is my favourite track.

[sleepy]

wow spoiler alert
atleast put it in spoiler tag for those who do not have the game

[zlaker]

wow spoiler alert
atleast put it in spoiler tag for those who do not have the game

^^^^
Also this shouldn't be it's own topic IMO.

[Raster]

I made a list of all tracks from all MK games (excepting 7 and 8) since most of them reappear in mk8 anyway.

My top 5 battle courses

1. Delfino Pier: the course was great! It had a lot of areas and some of them were only accessible at specific times. This is definitely one of the best battle levels because it's innovative.
2. Chain Chomp Wheel: again, this was pretty innovative with the chain chomp, especially in balloon battle mode. I like the general layout of the map.
3. N64 Skyscraper: the best battle course from SM64, by far. It's easy to fall from the skyscraper and the jumps can be pretty unpredictable.
4. DS Twilight House: the atmosphere is really nice and I love doing coin battles on this map.
5. N64 Double Deck: the structure of this race track is amazing. I love the fact that it's leveled and finding the opponents can be pretty tricky.

My top 10 race tracks

1. N64 Rainbow Road: this race track was superb. The fireworks can be pretty distracting but the visuals are amazing overall. Possibly the best-looking Mario Kart track, and certainly one of the best.
2. SNES Ghost Valley: I know this race track can be a pain sometimes, but I just love the design. While it's obviously fairly linear, the map can be pretty unpredictable, and considering its short length it's very easy to fall from the top of the ladder on this course. That's why I love it. Oh, and the atmosphere is great, too.
3. Wii DK Mountain: love the atmosphere and the cannons. The varied environments you have to explore in this course make it one of the Wii's best race tracks.
4. N64 Sherbet Land: cool track. I like the slippery ice gimmick and the penguins. The music for this map is also great.
5. Wii Coconut Mall: good level, love the design choices. The cars at the end can be pretty annoying but I like how the map is always changing in a minor way. Playing it always feels fresh.
6. Wii Delfino Square: I like the fact that you can take shortcuts and explore other parts of the track. It makes it feel more like an explorable city, which is something that we haven't seen in MK before.
7. Wii Bowser's Castle: incredible atmosphere and visuals, one of the best tracks. This one also has a lot of hazards and gimmicks, like twisting corridors, firebars, podoobos, etc.
8. Wii Mushroom Gorge: fun track. There are a lot of ways to play it and the music is cool.
9. N64 Toad's Turnpike: really fun level, one of the most original tracks in Mario Kart. Loved to play this with friends, though I would always lose.
10. Wii Toad's Factory: I like the industrial theme and the gimmicks in this course. The music is great.

[silent_]

As much as I respect your opinion, Kep, I have to disagree.
I don't wanna post my whole list right now, but here are sone key points:
I don't think Music Park is better than Piranha Plant Slide.
I don't think Mount Wario is better than any of the Rainbow Roads.
Electrodrome is my favourite track.

Electrodome is a lot of people's favorite track, so I'm not surprised. Also, Piranha Plant Slide in my opinion is awful.

wow spoiler alert
atleast put it in spoiler tag for those who do not have the game

^^^^
Also this shouldn't be it's own topic IMO.

This is way more substantial than "discuss mk8 here ppl!!!". Also, a spoiler tag isn't necessary. If you don't have the game, why would you even come to this thread?

Pixy, I'm glad you decided to contribute, but this thread is solely for discussing your least favorite and favorite race tracks in Mario Kart 8; please be aware of that.

[zlaker]

If you don't have the game, why would you even come to this thread?

I don't have the game and I'm here I do respect that you're making a review and your opinions about some of the tracks, but I really don't think this deserves a whole new topic. Instead you could've posted it here

[silent_]

If you don't have the game, why would you even come to this thread?

I don't have the game and I'm here I do respect that you're making a review and your opinions about some of the tracks, but I really don't think this deserves a whole new topic. Instead you could've posted it here

I'm sorry if this sounds uncivil, but if this gets merged into another thread, I will be outrageous, because this took forever to write (three or four days) and no one will see this if this doesn't have a thread for itself. Again, this is more substantial than, "LET'S DISCUSS MARIO KART 8 IN THIS THREAD PEOPLE!!". Also, the thread you linked me to was a thread to say how excited you were for Mario Kart 8 before it came out, not your opinions on the game itself after it came out.

Please say that covers it.

The biggest problem with the Yoshi Valley remake is how they made the shortest path much easier to do instead of painfully difficult like on the original.

And I believe the whole gimmick with keeping all the places hidden was due to N64 limitations, so I didn't expect that to return

You're right, the gimmick with keeping the places hidden were due to limitations, but it turned into a really neat gimmick that is memorable, therefore, regardless of how unlimited Mario Kart 8 is, they should of brought it back just to have some nostalgia and that's why I'm disappointed with Yoshi Valley.

[ragont]

If you don't have the game, why would you even come to this thread?

I don't have the game and I'm here :mrgreen: I do respect that you're making a review and your opinions about some of the tracks, but I really don't think this deserves a whole new topic. Instead you could've posted it here

i think that would be dumb as fuck, to be completely honest.
this is totally its own thread.

[Mable]

I don't like how GCN Dry Dry Desert got tweaked at this.
In the GCN Version it has the sandstorm and stuff but in this one it was tweaked v.much.

[Julia Pseudo]

I don't like how GCN Dry Dry Desert got tweaked at this.
In the GCN Version it has the sandstorm and stuff but in this one it was tweaked v.much.

I agree, I miss the tornado and the giant Piranha Plant in the sand pit. Those were both really nice touches. It just doesn't have the same feel any more. A lot of retro races in this game seem like that to me, actually, unlike the previous games' retro races. Something about them just isn't right.

[Magician]

It's an in-depth discussion about all of the Mario Kart tracks distinctively. The Mario Kart thread is for general Mario Kart. I don't see a problem with keeping them separate, nor did the moderator who responded to this thread.

There's nothing preventing the other thread from having "substantial" conversation regarding Mario Kart.

Wii Moo Moo Meadows is redeemable for its very lovely music. I tend to eat up that shit. For that reason alone I like the track.

Does anyone else think there should be a hidden Rainbow Cup that is just a single really long track, containing pretty much every single Rainbow Road track streamlined together? With the music changing themes as you pass through each lap?
Hell, I'd take that for DLC. The Wii U could probably handle the loading by re-planning/organizing around the "cannon" parts of the stages if necessary.

[Chad]

Not really gonna debate because nobody's list can exactly be right or wrong, but instead I'm here to share my own list. I didn't bother giving each a score out of 10, in fact the list might not even be 100% accurate to how I'd really rank them because I enjoy all the tracks, but I arranged them as best as I could.

Spoiler: show

32. Water Park ...Eh. The course doesn't give you a lot to do. The loop is the same drive from beginning to end and makes up half the course, and there's not a lot of variation to begin with. I know part of that is due to it being Mushroom Cup, though. I don't dislike any Mario Kart tracks, but something had to take the bottom spot.

31. Wii Moo Moo Meadows It's a fun little course, but also very simple. There isn't much to it other than the winding road, cows, and grassy bits at the end. The new gliding ramp is nice, but it's not very important to the course.

30. DS Cheep Cheep Beach Beach courses have never been my favorite. They always felt generic and limited in terms of variation. This is among my favorites of the beach levels, and while it does break out of the limited feel a bit with all the jumps, glides, and underwater... It's still a bit straightforward. The forest bit is nice, though.

29. Mario Kart Stadium It's the very first course in the game, and as such it serves as a great introduction to the game. It's an easy demonstration of the antigravity mechanic that easily lets new players adjust with a short and simple track. However, aside from that, it's a typical stadium level. Certainly scenic, though.

28. GCN Dry Dry Desert I have fond memories of the Gamecube version, but this one has been simplified a bit much. This one feels more monotonous. The turns take longer, the tornadoes are gone, and I think the water jets actually slow your forward momentum. The music sounds needlessly gloomy, too. I like the oasis bit, though.

27. GCN Sherbet Land The track feels similar to GCN Dry Dry Desert in terms of how the turns work and how open it is. But at least this has nice underwater routes and extra variation. However, I get the feeling that the submerged parts are objectively slower.

26. N64 Toad's Turnpike It's a lot easier now, but a tiny bit too simple. The track is very smooth to the point where you don't really need to think about the layout. I like how you can fly over the overpass, but dislike how the glider forces you to stay low everywhere else. The vehicle ramps and antigravity walls are nice, though.

25. GBA Mario Circuit It doesn't have anything new other than the raised antigravity road and glide ramps. The raised road is almost out of place, being the only thing of its kind. They probably could have thrown one or two more of those in there. However, I do enjoy the constant turns and wealth of corner-cuts the track offers.

24. 3DS DK Jungle The course does give you quite a bit to do. There's a lot of gap-hopping, drifting, and gliding to provide a good variation. However, little was done to separate it from its 3DS counterpart. The little gap at the end and brief antigravity part feel like they're there just so one could say that there are any differences at all.

23. SNES Donut Plains 3 It's a nice revamp of the original. I like how you can (and must) go into the water a little, the constant turning makes the course a challenge and constantly keeps me invested in the layout. There's some really nice corner-cuts, too. It doesn't have anything particularly unique, but it's definitely a somewhat tricky course.

22. Mario Circuit Driving on all surfaces of a giant figure eight is pretty cool. The track is angled so you can actually see the environment tilt to match your perspective clearer than most tracks, which provides a nice feeling of immersion when you can see the upside-down stuff above you. But other than that, it's an average circuit.

21. Sweet Sweet Canyon Nod to Wreck-It Ralph or not, this is a nice dessert-themed course. There's a good variety given the split submerged roads and shortcuts, but the track is fairly simplistic as a whole. The turns on the pink/blue roads are a little ambiguous given where the surface of the water is, though.

20. N64 Royal Raceway A personal favorite of mine from the old days. It's a simple course, but there are a lot of turns and shortcuts, and I've always been really fond of the big jump and road building up to it. The cherry blossoms are nice decor and are reminiscent of Mario Circuit from 7.

19. Bone Dry Dunes For a desert level, this offers quite a bit of variety and sinister atmosphere. There are a lot of road splits, shortcuts, and using the geyser to reach the upper road at the end is quite clever (although needlessly tricky). The antigravity road is nice as well. The track might be slightly too easy for Special Cup, though.

18. N64 Yoshi Valley Even if it's far easier than its original version, I still enjoy it in its current state. There's a great variety of different types of paths, the environment is incredible especially considering that the retro counterpart is fairly barebones in comparison, and there are still a few good shortcuts to be found.

17. 3DS Music Park One of my favorites from 7. I'd have liked to see some actual differences, but it's still great as is. Some of the turns are actually more challenging now due to the differences in kart physics between the two games. Otherwise, the atmosphere is great and full of constant track change and variation.

16. Toad Harbor The atmosphere is nothing unique, but it's still nice to look at. The track features a plethora of alternate routes with distinct difficulty differences, so you can make each of your laps a little different if you so choose. Every part of the road is different in its own way, too.

15. N64 Rainbow Road An incredible revamp of the original. The road itself is fairly simple, but there is somewhat of a difficulty increase, which is good. The wavy road and bouncing chomps are nice additions, and the visuals are amazing. Third "lap" is a bit too short, though.

14. Dolphin Shoals Pretty intricate course for an elaborate reef. It constantly alternates between wet and dry, there's a tricky network of pipe jets, and you even get to drift over a whirlpool. However, the second half of the track is deceptively tough. I'd switch this with Bone Dry Dunes in the Special Cup, personally.

13. 3DS Piranha Plant Slide Loved this in 7, really like the changes in 8. It's just the submerged room, but it looks great and I love how the castle wall exit looms over you now. In general, it has a ton of constant twists and turns and watery driving to keep the variety going. It's a bit tough for some kart configurations, though.

12. Wii Grumble Volcano Although little has changed from the original version, I always enjoyed the intensity of the tricky road, collapsing landscape, and incoming fireballs (which you can now see from a distance) to create a challenging and volatile race.

11. Bowser's Castle Definitely a worthy Bowser's Castle for 8. The molten Bowser is amazing, and it makes you strategize to get past it. The antigravity is great, and drifting around the rolling rocks is tricky. The track design resembles old Bowser Castles a bit much though, and laser statues could be used more (like in the very next hall).

10. Thwomp Ruins A very scenic and realistic-feeling ruins course. Great amount of turns and places to drift, the antigravity is implemented really well, and there's a large variety of choices by the water. The rocks that enable the glide ramp are interesting as well.

9. DS Wario Stadium Easily a personal favorite from DS. There are so many boosts, turns, and challenging offroad obstacles to create an intense race. Then 8 takes it and greatly implements all 3 kart transformations, which does nothing but improve it further (except for an initially-ambiguous turn on the antigravity part).

8. Rainbow Road The new Rainbow Road is stellar to look at. The difficulty is excellent, and the turns are rewardingly tricky. It's a bit of a step down from previous Rainbow Roads in terms of gimmicks, but there's no shortage of antigravity implementation and the general space station theme is awesome and unique for it.

7. DS Tick Tock Clock Definitely one I missed from DS, but it's back with an incredible increase in visuals. It feels a lot more like a giant factory that's alive to the beat of the music, and driving on the gears and clock hands are always fun. Plus, I'm a bit of a sucker for mechanical things, so just that alone helps a lot.

6. Shy Guy Falls It's an elaborate mountain mine with antigravity in every direction, driving up a waterfall and back down, a nice glide, and a lot of twists. All while a lot of Shy Guys do their work alongside you. It's a great atmosphere and a complex track, although it could be better in the Star Cup. Maybe switched with Electrodrome.

5. Sunshine Airport An airport is a great idea for a racetrack, and it's every bit as interesting as I'd expect. You can drive under and inside a plane, glide to and from a road in the sky, then touch down on a runway and cut through the baggage claim. It's quite a gorgeous run, but the corner-cut before the first glide is a bit tough.

4. Twisted Mansion Drive on wavy walls, sink into submerged roads that are split and use antigravity, then glide up and into a final stretch with smashing things. Add in a few corner cuts and a lot of great turns, and you have a twisted world of ghostly magic that isn't even remotely out of place in Mario Kart 8 with all its capabilities.

3. Electrodrome It's pretty much a digital utopia with a completely twisted, splitting road and beautiful futuristic scenery. It's really great to drive on this track and watch everything happen around you as the environment rotates every which way, and you're constantly faced with challenging turns as well.

2. Mount Wario The variety only ends where the course does. You get dropped off from an awesome-looking airship, drift on ice, glide through a watery cave, drive a dam, weave through a forest, and end it off with a nice downward run. It's amazing how much they crammed into one track with great functionality that doesn't feel excessive.

1. Cloudtop Cruise Incredible course. Drive on a big vine, then clouds, then storm a fleet of airships (well, only actually drive on one), and then race through the center of a lightning storm! It's intense, tricky, each part of the track is different, and the alternating lightning is a great balance between predictable and not boringly easy to avoid.

Does anyone else think there should be a hidden Rainbow Cup that is just a single really long track, containing pretty much every single Rainbow Road track streamlined together? With the music changing themes as you pass through each lap?

I'm imagining this to function somewhat like "Grandmaster Galaxy: The Race Track". I'm all for that. It could be the only thing in its own Grand Prix.

Then again, that'd make it more difficult to use those other Rainbow Roads as future retro courses in the next Mario Karts without seeming repetitive.

[Raster]

Pixy, I'm glad you decided to contribute, but this thread is solely for discussing your least favorite and favorite race tracks in Mario Kart 8; please be aware of that.

Why not make it about the entire franchise instead of limiting everyone to MK8 discussions?

[silent_]

Pixy, I'm glad you decided to contribute, but this thread is solely for discussing your least favorite and favorite race tracks in Mario Kart 8; please be aware of that.

Why not make it about the entire franchise instead of limiting everyone to MK8 discussions?

Because I plan to make a:

rating all 32 mario kart 7 tracks worst to best
rating all 32 mkwii tracks worst to best...

And so on and so forth.

[Raster]

Pixy, I'm glad you decided to contribute, but this thread is solely for discussing your least favorite and favorite race tracks in Mario Kart 8; please be aware of that.

Why not make it about the entire franchise instead of limiting everyone to MK8 discussions?

Because I plan to make a:

rating all 32 mario kart 7 tracks worst to best
rating all 32 mkwii tracks worst to best...

And so on and so forth.

Okay great keep them all in this thread, then. That's what I think you should do.

[SuperMario7]

Cool list! I looked it over and it was interesting to see how you ranked the tracks. I wanna do it too! But I'll just do it for the 16 new courses:

Spoiler: show

16: Sweet Sweet Canyon - I don't dislike this course (cause I don't dislike any course in this game really) but it's really just not very innovative outside of it's aesthetics. In other words, this course looks cool but it doesn't bring anything in terms of gameplay.

15: Electrodome - This is actually one of my the tracks that I'm best at, and I think that it's a pretty fun track, but it's so low on my list because it's not very innovative either. Also, the whole theme of the track doesn't really fit into the Mario world that well.

14: Mario Kart Stadium - I think that this is a great first track of the game, but there's so many other tracks that are better made than this so it has to be low on this list.

13: Mario Circuit - It's a nice, fun, more basic track, but again there's not enough innovation here to bring it higher on my list.

12: Rainbow Road - I've never been a huge fan of rainbow roads. They seem kinda repetitive to me. This one is kinda cool with the space-station and stuff, but I'm just a bit bored of rainbow roads so that's why it's only in 12th place.

11: Water Park - I like this track a lot! It looks awesome and it's pretty fun. There's just nothing that amazing that this track brings out in terms of gameplay.

10: Sunshine Airport - This is another gorgeous track that's fun to play on. They made an airport look so nice, especially with the tropical island that can be seen towards the end (coughKoopaBeachcough).

9: Twisted Mansion - A very cool course. I really liked the variety of parts that this track had (there was a library, a courtyard, a flooded basement, and an outside area). So yeah, really well-made ghosty track, and my favorite so far.

8: Bowser's Castle - Probably my favorite Bowser's Castle course so far! I like these Bowser's Castle tracks better than the Rainbow Roads, idk why, but I'm just more tolerant of them even though they're both equally as repetitive. This track is really cool, with tons of obstacles and that cool rock Bowser in the middle.

7: Toad Harbor - This track is visually amazing to me, with a really cool location. There's also a fun variety of different obstacles and parts of the track, so the track is easy and still innovative.

6: Bone Dry Dunes - This course has a really cool atmosphere. It's like nothing I've seen in a Mario game before, but it fits perfectly. It's this game's desert track, but it's been expanded upon so much with the skulls and bones and sand-ships.

5: Dolphin Shoals - This track looks so great, especially at the part with the dolphin statues carved into the stone. It also has some really cool parts to the track, like the giant sea-snake, and the rocks around the whirlpool. All around, this course is just great.

4: Cloudtop Cruise - A really awesome sky track. It has tons of variety, making the driver go over clouds, beanstalks, an airship, and a metallic section with lightning striking it. This course is just really fun and well made, and I really like it a lot.

3: Shy Guy Falls - This level is so creative and so much fun. There were tons of ideas put into this level and it really uses the anti-gravity gimmick to it's fullest. So yeah, this course was really fun and exciting with quite a bit of variety.

2: Thwomp Ruins - My favorite mushroom cup course in not only this game, but every single other Mario Kart game. I was blown away when I saw this track for the first time. It has such a cool and unique atmosphere (IDK why the NSMB series doesn't make some levels like this, and like other MK tracks, cause these ideas are just amazing). Anyway, this track is visually stunning and fun in terms of gameplay as well.

1: Mount Wario - I love tracks that have 3 laps that are all different, and this track is no exception. The fact that every section is different is what makes this course stand out. It's not like there are "different" trackss every lap but each track is similar to the last one; every lap adds new ideas and new obstacles that make this course so much fun. That's why it's my favorite.

So yeah that's my list. I might do a top 16 retro tracks list as well, idk.

[silent_]

Okay great keep them all in this thread, then. That's what I think you should do.

Fine; once I finish the Mario Kart 7 list I will name this thread "Rating Mario Kart Tracks Worst to Best - (MK7 ADDED)" but for now I still want this thread to be solely for Mario Kart 8.