Published , by Shack Staff
Published , by Shack Staff
This has been a special year for many reasons. There were new games to welcome into our everyday lives. There was a new Shacknews Hall of Fame class to honor. Plus, there were some big gaming anniversaries to celebrate. There was one anniversary in particular that Shacknews wanted to pay special attention to. This year marked a full decade since Mario Kart 8 was originally released on the Wii U. This particular entry in one of Nintendo's most revered franchises has endured longer than any that came before it, lasting for the remainder of the Wii U generation and consistently staying near the top of the Nintendo Switch's highest quality and best-selling titles for the entirety of its run. To commemorate this anniversary, Shacknews endeavored to rank all 96 of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's tracks.
It sounded like a simple task. How hard could it be to rank 96 tracks, right? The Shacknews staff learned real fast, as we frequently butted heads over the course of the year, talking about which track was better than another, which deserved to be at the top of the list, and which deserved to sit at the bottom. Eventually, a spirit of reasoned debate, scientific methods, and fair play prevailed, and the team was able to assemble our definitive ranked list of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's tracks.
We submit our list to you, the readers, and welcome equally spirited debate in the comments and across the internet. Here we go!
If you'd like to relive the Shacknews staff's adventures in playing through, discussing, and ranking Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's many tracks, we encourage you to visit the Shacknews VODs YouTube channel.
With apologies to Steve Tyminski, host of The Stevetendo Show, the rest of the Shacknews staff was not shy about expressing its strong dislike for this course. It's eight laps of close-quarter mayhem, and not in a fun way. The track is so small that items are bashing everyone with no rhyme, reason, or strategy. Worst of all, the track layout is just boring.
How this Mario Kart Double Dash track made it back into the rotation for Mario Kart 8 is anybody's guess. It's about as fun as an actual park full of crying babies.
It was easy to come up with the worst track in the game, but coming up with the second worst was a journey that nearly lasted to the end of our streams. Ultimately, the ignominious honor went to Cheese Land. After getting tripped up on the track's many potholes (it's cheese, get it?) and losing momentum through its many unintuitive turns, the staff realized that nobody was really having any fun here.
Not even the usually fun addition of a Chain Chomp could save Cheese Land from this spot on our list with only Baby Park preventing it from reaching total infamy.
Piranha Plant Slide was a track that the Shacknews staff initially had high hopes for. The underground pipeway is a cool idea, encouraging drivers to try and stay with the flowing water's momentum. Unfortunately, the track design does this idea a disservice with too many obstacles and sharp turns curbing any potential for breakaway speed. There's something that gets in the way more often than not and it doesn't do this track any favors.
This was a track that we had hoped would finish higher, but after a lengthy discussion, this was where it landed.
This is a classic track where it's easy to get blinded by nostalgia goggles. Older players certainly remember their first Rainbow Road. Reaching this track was an accomplishment and there was a sense of wonder in racing across it for the first time.
With that said, with the exception of Wii U (the latest one, oddly enough), Nintendo has executed the Rainbow Road concept much better in the years since this released. Racing through this remastered version of the original, that same magic wasn't really there anymore. Plus, the ground being susceptible to shockwaves took away from the action just a little bit.
This isn't a bad track, but it's certainly not as good as most of the Rainbow Roads that would follow.
This may be a more divisive pick among our readers, just because the Super Mario Galaxy aesthetic adds tremendously to Cloudtop Cruise. The music further adds to the presentation. So, how did this end up so low?
There are two launching spots and they both feel like they're not optimally placed. In both places, it feels like there's a sense of speed loss. It's sort of the opposite of a "sweet jump," as it were. On top of that, of course, is the dash panel placement and the constant danger of lightning strikes. This feels entirely unnecessary and makes the track feel overall less fun, thus bringing it lower on our list.
The Shacknews staff has made no secret of its love for The Legend of Zelda. Surely, the Zelda track would make it high on the list, right? Well, no. While Nintendo went ham on the presentation and clearly understood the assignment in terms of perfecting the aesthetic, take away all the Zelda window dressing and all that remains is a fairly boring track.
There are some shortcut spots at the end, as well as an area in the castle where it's possible to launch off a ramp, which keep this track from landing lower on this list. With that said, this could have been so much better.
As this list hits the midway point, it makes sense to highlight a track that's practically the definition of "mid." There's nothing offensive about Mario Circuit 3 from the old Super Nintendo days. However, nothing about it really stands out, either. It wasn't even the best Mario Circuit in that game, so bringing it back was something of a curiosity.
It's not bad. There's shortcut potential, some good dash panel placement, and some good track design that encourages fundamental play. With that said, there's nothing this track excels at, either, which lands it right in the middle of this list.
This one proved fairly divisive among the staff and could prove to be a controversial placement. There are those who love Electrodrome and those who don't care much for it. Those who love it will cite the unique presentation, the well-placed gliding segment, and the anti-gravity section. Its detractors will note the execution of the divided green and pink pathways, as well as some of the spots where it's easy to fall off the track.
The staff landed somewhere in the middle on this one. Some of us love this track and others fall on the fall opposite side of that spectrum. Thus it lands above the median on this list.
The Shacknews staff was pleasantly surprised to see Bowser Castle 3 reimagined as part of the Booster Course Pass DLC. It wasn't exactly how we remembered it, as it more resembled its Mario Kart Tour counterpart than the Super Nintendo original. With that said, the visual presentation was top-notch and the anti-gravity sections were strongly implemented. Some of the turns have been made a little more forgiving than back in the day, so while some purists may scoff at this, we did like how it was done in the spirit of creating a greater sense of speed.
Bowser certainly knows how to create a good race track, as evidenced by this and a later track that'll show up on this list.
Daisy Cruiser is a course that could have easily gotten dragged down by some of its gimmicks. In fact, that's why it didn't land higher. With that said, the cruise ship layout was unique, the flying tables were a cool addition, and the alternate path through the cargo hold could be a hindrance or a benefit depending on what items are at the ready.
The wide open lanes across the ship's exterior also made it a fun place to try and gain some momentum. It especially led to some wild finishes during our time conducting our research.
The haunted mansions and ghost houses throughout Mario Kart's history have been a mixed bag. They're a "trick or treat," if you will. With that said, Twisted Mansion does a lot with Mario Kart 8's mechanical advancements, incorporating an enjoyable underwater section, messing with the player's sense of perspective, and utilizing a glider section that can land racers on one of two different levels.
Add to that some possessed Hammer Bro statues at the end and this is one of Mario Kart 8's more interesting tracks and a strong usage of Mario's ghostly rogues gallery.
Few tracks encourage racers to go all-out, build a sense of breakneck speed, and catch some air like Sunshine Airport. The wide lanes through the airport's exterior help pave the way for a novel track split, where drivers can either follow the plane's wings or race underneath them. This all builds to an epic jump at the end of the lap, where everyone comes in for a landing back at the airport's entrance.
The smooth turns and ample space make the sights of Sunshine Airport a pleasure and one of the game's more entertaining tracks.
Ribbon Road charmed the Shacknews staff with its unique visual aesthetic. It's a track made entirely of crafting materials and toys with a main path made entirely of a clear ribbon. The turns are intuitive, the jumps are sweet, and the obstacles are novel without being overly intrusive. The potential for shortcuts across some of the corners and through some of the gliding sections can also make this a fun track to take some chances with.
This has become a classic track and, in something of an odd twist, Waluigi's signature. Driving throuhg this track is like entering a timewarp where racers are transported to the 70s and 80s where pinball was king. Speaking of gimmicks that don't feel overly intrusive, this track is largely remembered for the stretch across a giant pinball playing field with flippers, bumpers, and a giant pinball that could go in any which way. Fortunately, the field is wide enough that it's entirely possible to avoid the pinball, but it also moves just erratically enough that it could still take you off course.
That's the fun of Waluigi Pinball, one of the most dazzling concepts in franchise history.
There are some crossover tracks that stick too close to the source material and the result is something fairly boring. That proved to be the case with Hyrule Circuit, Animal Crossing, and the two F-Zero tracks. However, Excitebike Arena did not fall into that trap. It honored everything that's fun about the original Excitebike, from the visual presentation to the construction of the various ramps. Plus, it did so while still feeling like a fun Mario Kart track filled with sweet jumps and wide open lanes for building speed.
In terms of crossover tracks, it's only second to our top track.
The Wigglers made a heck of a track, putting togehter some fun halfpipes and sweet jumps that take racers across a carefully designed tree track. Leaf piles are a different kind of obstacle, in that they can get in a driver's way, but can sometimes contain an item like a loose Mushroom. The turns are designed for building speed, plus there are some well-placed dash panels that can lead to some intense encounters with other racers.
Plus, the course can branch off in different ways, which can make Maple Treeway delightfully unpredictable. Just watch out for the big Wigglers.
Somebody got the idea to turn this classic Super Mario 64 stage into a Mario Kart track and the result is sublime. With numerous dash panels and moving gears, the potential is there to build a head of speed. While this was originally a Mario Kart DS track, it took Mario Kart 8's addition of glide ramps to help Tick-Tock Clock reach its full potential, launch players across moving gears and pendulums before making a landing and hitting the gas to pick up even more speed.
The visual presentation is out of this world and the metronome-style beat of the music makes Tick-Tock Clock a Mario Kart classic.
This is the Rainbow Road idea perfected. Everyone starts their engines at the most colorful track in the series with Nintendo performing a delicate balancing act between dangerous and whimsical. The track is as tough as a Rainbow Road has ever been, but there's also a lot of fun to be had, especially near the end where it appears that a racer might be falling to their doom only to wind up on the surface of the moon.
This is the Rainbow Road that comes to mind most often when one hears the name, one filled with sweet jumps, challenging turns, and an unforgettable atmosphere.
Several Mario Kart courses have been themed around Donkey Kong Country, but DK Mountain stands above them all. The track starts off with a giant blast out of a DK barrel and only gets more intense from there. The ride down is a blast, giving players the option to try and make precision turns or go full-blast into some wild halfpipe ramps.
The final stretch across the wooden bridge can get intense, especially when the race comes down to the wire. It's the culmination of an incredible ride.
There are several Mario Kart tracks that run with the idea of a single shot down a single track rather than a traditional three-lap structure. Mount Wario executes this idea the best, taking players through three uniquely designed pieces of a snowy mountain. There are slalom paths, a roaring river covered in dash panels, and a final straightaway that takes players gliding through the air, culminating with one final S-curve.
There's just enough time to breathe a sigh of relief after crossing the finish line and watching all of the racers bring their karts to a complete stop. It caps off an experience unlike any other in Mario Kart.
Royal Raceway is the height of pure Mario Kart simplicity. It's a track filled with straightaways, simple turns, and an ample potential for Mushroom-powered shortcuts. It's a track that favors Mario Kart fundamentals, where it feels like the best racer is coming out on top. Of course, there are some unique Mario Kart 8 additions that keep it modern, like an engaging glider section that has flying karts going neck-and-neck. Plus, the final stretch of the track has been refined to keep racers off the grass and competing for the finish line.
Sure, it isn't possible to take a side tour of Peach's Castle anymore like in Mario Kart 64, but that doesn't make Royal Raceway any less of a spectacle or any less of a fantastically designed track.
Yoshi's Island represents several things for the Mario Kart series. It's one of the most recent original tracks to come from the Mario Kart team, one that wasn't first designed for Mario Kart Tour. It's one of the last crossover tracks, crossing over with Yoshi's lovable spin-off series. It's also the best of these, taking full advantage of the theme and designing an amazing track around it. This isn't something like Hyrule Castle or Animal Crossing where if you take the theme out, it turns out mid or mediocre. Yoshi's Island, on its own, is a fantastic track, beautifully designed, filled with fundamental turns and straightaways, capped off with one of the sweetest jumps in the game.
Of course, the theme certainly doesn't hurt. The Yoshi theme is everywhere, from the song that plays over the race, to the various Yoshi's Island rogues gallery walking around during different phases of the race, to the secrets that make those games so engaging. The shortcut on the final jump is a total "chef's kiss" moment. This is a shortcut that needs to be earned by performing a precision glide over the "?" cloud, which activates a platform in total Yoshi's Island style. Anyone who watches the hidden bridge unfurl out of thin air feels a sense of accomplishment unlike anything else in the game. It's a rare example of a moment that feels like it hits the crossover theme right while also being a standout Mario Kart moment.
After enjoying this colorful trip through Yoshi's homeland throughout the year, the Shacknews staff would always come away with a smile after crossing the finish line. It's Mario Kart in its purest form, which is why we declare it the best track in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
After a year of scientific research, this is the definitive Shacknews ranking of all 96 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe tracks. As is the nature of a list like this, people are going to have opinions and disagreements, and some might even agree wholeheartedly with these rankings. We welcome discussion in the comments below and also encourage the conversation to continue in the Official Shacknews Community Discord.