Rainbow Road

Rainbow Road is the final track in Special Cup in every Mario Kart game.

Its primary features are its colorful ground, its perfect attendance (it appears in all six games in the series) and is usually the longest course (with the exceptions of Super Mario Kart & Mario Kart: Double Dash!!).

The score of the track has been heavily sampled by Rhymes With Stomach as a tribute to their performer's late Uncle Walter.

Super Mario Kart
left|250px Rainbow Road made its debut in Super Mario Kart for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. This version is entirely open with no borders whatsoever, made harder also by its sharp ninety degree turns. It also has several invincible Thwomps that will make the player spin out whenever they touch them. As a result of its painful turns and it also being sans a border, fans consider it to be the most difficult Rainbow Road track of all. This version, minus the Thwomps, is very similar to the version in Mario Kart: Super Circuit.

Mario Kart 64
This version of the course is hammered by Chain Chomps as they bite the tracks. In this version, neon portraits of the character are visible all around the course, but that welcome distraction doesn't pull you away from the harsh reality that this is well over 2km long, and has borders all around the edge, meaning few shortcuts can be taken. One of these shortcuts, however, can be taken by jumping over the borders after coming over a hill. Effective completion can shave minutes off of your lap time. Without it, this track can take almost ten minutes.

Mario Kart: Super Circuit
This version of the course includes jump pads that border most of the track. There's only one place that has a solid wall. It includes several boost pads as well. The clouds in it will drop stars that'll make you spin out upon contact.

This version contains heavy sampling off of the Super Mario Kart version, with the start/finish line moved, six new sections added, and the Thwomps removed, albeit with better graphics, and is easier. Shortcuts can be taken by using mushrooms to bounce off of the yellow jump pads to land the other side.

Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
This version's throttled with Dash Panels, and near the end, it hosts a large pipe that launches you. Occasionally, shooting Stars land on the course, becoming Starmen. The number of barriers to prevent your downfall is borderline minimal, making the course very difficult. There are several statues of 3-D rainbow-colored items and characters floating above you. It uses a pipe-like cannon that shoots you straight up, which has later been used for Mario Kart Wii's Rainbow Road. The music contains a remix of Mario Kart 64's Rainbow Road.

Glitches
Due to a glitch, in single-player mode, it looks like this is right over Mushroom City. This problem is rectified when playing with more than one player.

Mario Kart DS
Straight away boosters will propel you along the track, on to a spiraling left turn. It's hard to drift up here, so instead take advantage of the boosters all the way up. There are ones on the left, the middle, the right and finally on the left again. The path then flattens out and turns right slightly, to a loop-de-loop. Progress on ward and through the rings, drift right, drop down and move right slightly and drift the next left. Drift the long right and on to the booster corkscrew, a small right and a wide (driftable) left to the race finish.

Mario Kart Wii
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 * 1) After boosting from the start, pull off an immediate wheelie (if racing with a bike) and steer slightly right, so much that you align with the first small dash panel. Take the speed boost and quickly steer to take the other dash panel. Realign yourself to the middle and perform a trick as you boost off the ramp.
 * 2) After landing, immediately drift towards the three dash panels. Immediately drift slightly after the third dash panel in order to avoid the vertical dash panel. Drive toward the flapping section of the track.
 * 3) Drive along the flapping track, performing tricks when possible. Be sure to perform a trick off the dash panel, as the speed is needed for the shortcut.
 * 4) After landing, you should receive the boost from the trick. This boost should last long enough to be able to boost you across the first ring, so launch over the oval (the ring is surrounded by a small ramp to jump off), performing a trick. You need to pull off the trick to be able to make it across and jump the next ring. After you land from the first jump, the boost from the trick should be able to launch you across the second ring as well, perform a trick as you launch across the second oval. Alternatively, drift around the rings.
 * 5) After the big jump across the ring, drift on the next two turns and take the Launch Star to launch you up to a higher part of the track. Continue along the track until you reach the dash panels with a vertical dash panel. Boost across these and perform a trick as you jump off the vertical dash panel, and land on another portion of the track on the opposite side.
 * 6) After the vertical dash panel, you come to a fork between two roads. Take the right path and boost along the dash panels, performing a trick on the ramp just after the final three panels.
 * 7) Drift along the final turn of the course, boosting along the three dash panels. Note that you need to turn right on the third dash panel to avoid falling off the track. After the third panel, you should cross the Start/Finish line.

Other Tips

 * Placing and firing items on the loop-de-loop and corkscrew that knock other racers off of the track will make them fall upward, due to the unique camera angles.
 * Using a heavy class character could be considered advantageous since heavy class characters can knock other racers off of the unguarded sides of the course, and are also harder to knock off the sides themselves.

Music
MKDS Rainbow Road Music