SNES Rainbow Road: Difference between revisions

|image={{tabber|title1=''Super Mario Kart''|content1=[[File:SMK Rainbow Road Lower-Screen Map.png]]|title2=''Mario Kart: Super Circuit''|content2=[[File:MKSC SNES Rainbow Road Screenshot.png]]|title3=''Mario Kart 7''|content3=[[File:SNES MK7.png|250px]]|title4=''Mario Kart 8''|content4=[[File:MK8 SNES Rainbow Road Starting Line.jpg|250px]]|title5=''Mario Kart Tour''|content5=[[File:MarioKartTour SNESRainbowRoad.jpg|250px]]}}

This version of Rainbow Road reappears in ''[[Mario Kart: Super Circuit]]'' as the last track of the [[Classic course|Extra Special Cup]]. The background is similar to [[Rainbow Road (Mario Kart: Super Circuit)|this game's own Rainbow Road]], but with only the sparkles, foreground clouds, and moon appearing. In addition, the track's surface is now translucent, the tiles are notably more detailed and less spaced out than before, and their borders are now the same color as their respective tiles rather than all of them being black. The Super Thwomps and jump bumps are removed, likely to make the track easier. The coins, which are no longer invisible, had their placements altered so that they are only on the blue tiles, making it much easier to see them. The music was also arranged into this game's sound font.

The track is now slightly wider, and has received many graphical improvements. It uses a similar background to ''Super Mario Kart'' (which is also used in {{classic-link|DS|Waluigi Pinball}}), though the blue tint was removed, and the stars are now depicted across the entire background, rather than only the top. Unlike previous incarnations, this new version adds the characteristic "glistening" sound effect when drifting on it, a common feature of all Rainbow Roads starting from the [[Rainbow Road (Mario Kart: Double Dash!!)|GCN rendition]]. The number of coin rows on the truck was reduced, though there are still three per row. when the player enters [[First-Person View|first-person view]], the player can see through the breaks in the tiles. The Super Thwomps return after being removed from ''Mario Kart: Super Circuit'', though they now have an appearance based on Thwomps from ''[[New Super Mario Bros. Wii]]'', are larger, were reduced from sixteen to seven, and now form ripples on the track upon impact, which the player can [[Jump Boost|trick]] off of. Additionally, howling noises can now be heard near the Super Thwomps.

The tiles' colors are similar to the ''Mario Kart: Super Circuit'' rendition of [[Rainbow Road (Mario Kart: Super Circuit)|Rainbow Road]], with the only difference being that they are square, paler, and the pink tiles replace the red tiles and the cyan tiles replace the teal tiles. The track is no longer translucent, making it look like its appearance in ''Super Mario Kart''. The widest part of the gap in the forked road has had two tiles removed, but the gap itself has also had seven tiles removed, making the shortcut easier to use. Also, the section of tiles before the fork (from the orange tiles on the narrow part of the straight after turn 7 to the purple tiles before the gap) is wider: the first orange, blue, yellow, and last purple tile rows before the gap are now two tiles wider. The finish line is also two tiles long, removing the red tiles that used to be in front of it. Ramps are added in all of the locations where bumps appeared in ''Super Mario Kart'', though the first two bumps were not replaced, the last pair at the fork were replaced by one taller ramp in front of the gap, and a ramp was added on the inside of the second U-turn, creating a shortcut that requires a [[Dash Mushroom|Mushroom]] or [[Mini-Turbo]] to get across; the ramps are only two tiles wide, rather than the bumps which were three. Like most other SNES and GBA classic courses, a starting banner stylized after the one from ''Mario Kart 64'' is added in this course.

Aside from enhanced percussion, the music is faithful to the original SNES composition.

This version of Rainbow Road returns in the [[The Legend of Zelda x Mario Kart 8|''Legend of Zelda'' × ''Mario Kart 8'']] DLC Pack of ''[[Mario Kart 8]]'', appearing as the second course of the [[Triforce Cup]]. As a result, for the first time, a Rainbow Road course is not the last race of a cup.

The track's layout is similar to its appearance in ''Mario Kart 7''. The course has seen extensive graphical improvements, is now significantly wider and larger, and has banked turns, most notably the third inclined U-turn. The tiles are based on their coloration from ''Super Mario Kart'', though their color pattern is reversed, they are now flashing LED lights like the ones on {{classic-link|N64|Rainbow Road}}, and there are eight different colors of tiles instead of seven from its previous appearances (adding cyan between teal and blue); the tiles the Thwomps land on are now white, and the tiles at the edges of the track now have borders on the outer edges. The forked road is also altered further, with the narrow part of the hole's end filled in, and the ramp in front reverted to the same height as the equivalent bumps from ''Super Mario Kart''.

The Thwomps now have sparkles, a mosaic-like appearance, horizontal rainbow lines running from bottom to top of them. They also use the species' ''[[Super Mario Galaxy]]''  appearance, like the other Thwomps in ''Mario Kart 8'', rather than their spiked ''New Super Mario Bros. Wii'' design in ''Mario Kart 7''. Additionally, all of the Thwomps are bigger except for the last pair. When they start to crash down, they will create rainbow waves above them. Also, when they land, they make metallic glistening sounds. The waves on the track they create are now bigger, move more quickly, and disappear faster, making tricks more difficult to perform.

The course now takes place in a cloudy night sky with the full moon visible, which has color-changing hills that stick above them, and is closer to the ground than previous appearances. It is also above a lake underneath, and has lots of scenery, such as [[Toad House]]s resued from {{classic-link|SNES|Donut Plains 3}}. The starting banner was also redesigned, with colored blocks with a Star on top of it and the ''Mario Kart'' logo's letters now individually colored (red, green, yellow, and blue) instead of having a rainbow gradient through the entire logo; the banner is wider no longer sits on the course, and stands on two walled areas, making the start the only walled part of the course. Also, when a player approaches a turn, two green arrow holograms will appear behind the turn, and indicate in which direction the player must drive. Once the player has made the turn, the arrows will disappear.

This version of Rainbow Road reappears in ''[[Mario Kart Tour]]'' starting with the [[Tokyo Tour]]. It mostly takes on the appearance of its ''Mario Kart 7'' iteration. However, the arrow signs and Star Thwomps from the ''Mario Kart 8'' rendition are used over rheir ''Mario Kart 7'' versions, and red tiling was added to the course; also, the tiles are more colorful, like with the ''Mario Kart 8'' rendition of the course. The ramp at the second U-turn is absent, the hole in the road is smaller than it was before (the narrow part at the end is only one tile long, and the hole in general is 7 tiles shorter), and the last two Star Thwomps are further apart. The track edges are rounded rather than squared, and the track itself is of a thicker shape. The track reuses the arrangement heard in ''Mario Kart 7''; this is unlike most other classic courses, which usually retained their original music. The starting banner is now colored red as opposed to pink. The background is based on its appearance from ''Mario Kart 7'', albeit with meteors added as background scenery and the blue tint from ''Super Mario Kart'' being readded, except more detailed, taking up the entire screen, and with purple colored details added. The Thwomps also retain their shaking effect from ''Mario Kart 8'', rather than ''Mario Kart 7''s.