WhileMario Kart World’s new interconnected map is a major draw for theNintendo Switch 2 launch title, it will live and die by the quality of its tracks, just like every previous installment of the iconic kart-racing series. Luckily,Mario Kart Worldhas plenty of incredible tracks, and with the excitement of Knockout Tour carrying its online modes, it’s likely to stick around for many years just like its predecessor,Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
Mario Kart Worldhas 30 distinct courses, two of which have alternate routes depending on which Grand Prix you’re racing. All the tracks end up with different layouts, though, since the rolling starts between races in online matches often send you from previous courses, changing where you start. Some of the bestMario Kart Worldbelow were inherited from previous games in the series, aMario Karttradition, but their redesigns are all significant. Each course below was selected based on its design, entertainment value, and how competitive (or chaotic) its races are.
10Wario Stadium
Redesigned & Revamped
Mario Kart World’s Wario Stadium simplifies the layout of the Nintendo 64 original, but its redesign more than makes up for the stunted length. There are plenty of jumps, boost pads, and turns to drift around throughout,making Wario Stadium an incredibly fast course, one that often comes down to the wire in online races.
It is also an interesting twist on the original’s theme. Wario Stadium inMario Kart 64feels like a huge arena where you race under the lights. That is carried over when you race there during nighttime inWorld, butseeing it in broad daylight helps realize the industrial, demolition derby atmosphere the new set dressing is really going for.
9Airship Fortress
Home Of The Koopalings
A charming homage to a classicSuper Mario Bros.trope,Airship Fortress takes the traditional fortresses of the Koopalings and turns it into a high-flying racetrack. It has appeared in previousMario Kartgames, butWorldis its home console debut, and it’s the best iteration of it yet.
The course has plenty of tight turns and small corridors, which makes it tough to navigate with so many racers inMario Kart World.Airship Fortress’s newfound spectacle on the Switch 2 is also notable, with a flying section giving you a great overhead look of the whole track and the volcanic and desert environments below.
8Cheep Cheep Falls
White Water Rafting
Cheep Cheep Falls is the best demonstration of a newMario Kart Worldfeature, where driving in water turns your kart’s wheels into water skis. You drive up a road to the top of the falls, thenturn into the water and ride the crashing waves down.
It’s a slightly difficult course, as the water handles a bit differently than the solid road, and there are rapids on each side of the water sections that will slow you down if you take a turn poorly. It also helps thatCheep Cheep Beach is visually striking, with autumn leaves filling the zen scenery.
7Koopa Troopa Beach
Pure Chaos
Koopa Troopa Beach isMario Kart World’s Baby Park equivalent, which will make it divisive, but for my money,it’s one of the more entertaining tracks. It’s exceptionally short, and you do five laps in a regular VS Race.
All five of those laps are utter chaos, especially withWorld’s new 24-player lobbies. A few laps in, the entire track is filled with racers and the items they’re chucking. It doesn’t make Koopa Troopa Beach especially competitive, but it’s the best example of theMario Kart’s inherent silliness, so it’s always entertaining.
6Dino Dino Jungle
“Hold On To Your Butts”
Dino Dino Jungle toes the line of being gimmicky, butit implements the titular creatures so well that it ends up being a standout track inMario Kart World. Overtaking someone because you bumped them into the colossal foot of a dinosaur stomping across the track encapsulates the great circumstantial gameplay thatMario Karthas become famous for.
A particular highlight is one dinosaur whose osteoderms (the ridge along its spine) can be used as a grinding rail. You have to hop off the course and onto its tail, and you’re deposited back onto the track from underneath.
5DK Spaceport
A Wonderful Homage
The concept behind DK Spaceport is a stroke of brilliance –you’re racing up a classicDonkey Konglevel. In many ways, the entireSuper Mariofranchise owes its existence to the originalDonkey Kongarcade game, which featured Jumpman, the first iteration of Mario. DK Spaceport is a wonderfully realized celebration ofMario Kart’s distant heritage.
And it’s also a very fun course. Throughout the entire race,you’re harassed by a giant mechanical Donkey Kong, who sets off a string of comically elaborate traps that spew obstacles your way, including, of course, barrels. It also throws in plenty of rails to grind and walls to ride, making good use ofMario KartWorld’s new features.
4Moo Moo Meadows
New Classic
Moo Moo Meadows is well on its way to becoming aMario Kartstaple, having appeared in three straight console titles:Mario Kart Wii,Mario Kart 8(and8 Deluxe), and nowMario Kart World. The humble race around a ranch spawned a number of memes revolving around its now iconic cows, leading to the debut of the Cowcharacter inMario Kart World.
Like Koopa Troopa Beach, Moo Moo Meadows gets a lot of its fun from the simplicity, butdodging cows on the track and jumping off of the mounds created by burrowing Monty Moles adds the perfect amount of variation to each lapto make it competitive. While the track is very straightforward, there are plenty of places to cut through the grass with the help of a mushroom, making it a great course to steal positions at opportune times.
3Mario Circuit
Competitive Original
Mario Circuit is the least flashy course to make this list, butit more than deserves its high placement for being a pure distillation of what makesMario Kartgreat.Mario Kart World’s Mario Circuit is a combination of three Mario Circuit iterations that appeared inSuper Mario Kart, the series' first entry on the Super Nintendo. There are no elevation changes and the most prominent scenery is the red, yellow, green, and blue blocks that line each side of the track.
Mario Circuit puts the series' all-important drift mechanics through their paces –you can drift boost through almost the entire course, and it makes for a cutthroat, high-speed race. Various iterations of Mario Circuit have appeared in many of the series' entries, and they’re always fun because it stripsMario Kartdown to its base elements for a tight competition.
2Great ? Block Ruins
There’s Gotta Be Coins Inside
Great ? Block Ruins really shines because of its level design.Its concept is clever, having racers zip through giant versions ofSuper Mario’s iconic ? Blocks, and it’s made only more special by floating high in the air, surrounded by clouds.
The course itself is very fun, perhaps most so when it comes as the last leg of the Cloud Rally. Just after the checkpoint inKnockout Tourthat brings it down to four players,you’re launched up a waterfall that originates in the Great ? Block Ruins, and given a single lap to determine who the final winner will be.
1Rainbow Road
An Icon
Rainbow Road is arguably among the best tracks in every singleMario Kartgame, butWorld’s iteration is truly spectacular. Just like in every previousMario Kart, Rainbow Road is the last track you unlock, and takes the kart-racing, item-slinging action into space.
It’s a lengthy and tricky course, having no rails for the majority of its topsy-turvy track. Rainbow Road is always the greatest spectacle of anyMario Kart, and the Nintendo Switch 2’s HDR support really makes the technicolor track pop. The climax of finally seeing the new Rainbow Road is among the most beloved traditions in the series, andMario Kart Worlddoesn’t disappoint with an incredible new version of the classic course, the best in the game.
