Finish line

Finish line
Mario at the starting grid in front of the finish line in Mario Kart Stadium in Mario Kart 8
Chronological information
First game	Super Mario Kart (1992)
Latest game	Mario Kart Tour (2019)
General information
Located	All race courses

Finish lines are an object in every game within the Mario Kart series. They first appear in Super Mario Kart.

Description

Finish lines are typically checkered lines that mark the start and end point in every race course. Originally, their colour was fixed to black and white, but more recent games have used other colours. Before starting a race, the characters are positioned on a starting grid right before the finish line. Crossing a finish line after doing a lap around the course starts another lap, or section for longer courses. If a racer is on their final lap, crossing the finishing line ends the race for them.

Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart: Super Circuit had bare starting lines without any gates. In Mario Kart 64 and every game starting from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, there is a gate that marks the location of the finish line. These were always marked with the words "Mario Kart" in all caps in certain fonts and their design was usually an archway. Mario Kart 64 only had one design for the gate, that being a banner held between two vertical posts, with the banner reading "MARIO KART" in the font used for most Super Mario titles. Starting from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, different designs have been used for the gate, such as a simple sign with flashing letters in the tunnel for Mario Kart DS's Waluigi Pinball and an ancient-looking arch for Mario Kart: Double Dash!!'s Dry Dry Desert and Mario Kart Wii's Dry Dry Ruins.

Retro courses from Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart: Super Circuit had no gate in Mario Kart DS (although all other courses have them), but starting from Mario Kart Wii, they get starting gates.

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Trivia

• So far, Toad's Turnpike from Mario Kart 64, the Maka Wuhu course from Mario Kart 7, and Mount Wario and Big Blue from Mario Kart 8 are the only courses that have separate starting and finish lines.