Highlights
- The next Mario Kart game should include a cup consisting of every Rainbow Road track from the series, as it is the most iconic and beloved track in the series' history.
- Retro tracks are a crucial and popular aspect of the Mario Kart series, providing more content and appealing to fans of older games.
- A Grand Prix consisting of all the Rainbow Road tracks would be a major change and a great way to celebrate the series' history, giving players a nostalgia trip through the years.
The next Mario Kart game could bring in a new feature that could pay respects to the most famous track in the series. Over the years, it has become increasingly obvious that the Mario Kart series holds its past in high regard. The continued use of retro tracks shows that, as does Mario Kart Tour including and remixing so many tracks from past games. There's one idea that the series hasn't taken on yet, that could be the ultimate way to celebrate the series' run. Best of all, everything needed for such a feature has already been created.
Ever since Mario Kart DS, retro tracks in Mario Kart games have been a series tradition. In addition to the new tracks released in each game, there are also several cups of retro tracks, which are all taken from past games in the series. The advantages of retro tracks are pretty obvious. First, it adds more content to the game, extending its lifespan, but it's also an excellent way to appeal to fans who remember the older tracks. This is especially true when fan-favorite tracks come back, such as Baby Park and Waluigi Pinball. At this point, it's hard to imagine a new Mario Kart without retro tracks.
Mario Kart's Rainbow Road Deserves Its Own Event
As the existence of Hot Wheels' Rainbow Road set should make clear, Rainbow Road is an undisputed fan favorite. As the only track to appear in every game in the series, it may be Mario Kart's greatest tradition. Every new iteration of Rainbow Road always appears as the final course of the Special Cup, and it's typically one of the longest and most difficult tracks in the game. Rainbow Road also has the advantage of always being visually impressive with its space setting as well as the titular rainbow road. Rainbow Road even featured in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, assuring its iconic status.
Even after the reveal of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's final DLC wave, there's one idea regarding retro tracks that the series hasn't run with yet. Since previous Rainbow Roads have returned in the past, the next Mario Kart could not only collect all of them but make a cup consisting of every Rainbow Road in the series to date. From Super Mario Kart to the present day, no installment has failed to ass one, and it could be interesting to see how the course has evolved. Since Rainbow Road is always a good track, they would be good additions to the next game regardless.
A Rainbow Road cup would be longer than a usual Grand Prix, but a new twist for Mario Kart 9 could justify such a gimmick. Ever since Mario Kart: Double Dash's All-Cup Tour, the series hasn't experimented much with the Grand Prix format. A Grand Prix consisting of every Rainbow Road in a row would be a major change to the status quo while also giving players a nostalgia trip through the series' history. The tracks may all have the same name, but their designs are all distinct and memorable. It would be one of the best ways to celebrate the series' decades-long history.
Bringing back every Rainbow Road is a wild idea, but one that the next Mario Kart could definitely pull off. Mario Kart 9 should experiment more, be it with new mechanics or new twists on old ones. Aside from Mario and friends themselves, there is no name associated with the Mario Kart series that is greater than Rainbow Road, and a real celebration of its greatest track could be what Mario Kart 9 needs. Indeed, shining a spotlight on Rainbow Road's many incarnations in the next Mario Kart is exactly what the classic track deserves.
