Due to it being a racing series, and one of gaming’s most successful ones at that, one of the selling points of Mario Kart is the tracks. While rarely based on actual Mushroom Kingdom landmarks, the thematic consistency and even additional characterization given to Mario characters with their own home tracks make the courses memorable areas to race on. Mario Kart has been responsible for the creation of several iconic Mario locations such as Rainbow Road and the immortalization of other memorable locales, such as Bowser’s Castle.
During its first decade of existence, Mario Kart dedicated itself to solely providing original courses in each game. Super Circuit was the notable exception due to it having every single Super Mario Kart track as unlockable features. Even then, unless players went out of their way to unlock them, they would not be aware of the first game’s courses’ presence. Starting with Mario Kart DS, the series added fully fledged “retro cups” that remastered a selection of courses of every preceding installment. By the time Mario Kart 8 came out, almost every track made before 8’s release was remastered at least once. However, there are some exceptions.
All The Missing Pre-Mario Kart 8 Tracks
Missing Mario Kart 64 Track
Indeed, there is only one Mario Kart 64 track that has never been remastered. Wario Stadium, infamous for its plainly brown, dirty visuals, and laps that take forever to complete, seems like an ideal track to remaster as soon as possible. However, even with Crash Team Racing’s Tiny Arena being directly inspired by it, its impact was not enough. One wonders if Nintendo finally has something planned for this track.
Missing Mario Kart: Super Circuit Tracks
Mario Kart: Super Circuit is arguably the franchise’s black sheep. Not only did it come out on a system where Mario games were well received but surprisingly overshadowed by several other Nintendo games, but it is also the less “unique” or “innovative” entry in the series. Its most memorable contributions are being the first Mario Kart game to be released on a handheld system and the first one to bring old courses back, but Mario Kart DS, and later Mario Kart 7, perfected these concepts. As a result, the original tracks are not as well remembered as their counterparts from other games, so there are still a decent number of tracks left to remaster.
- Riverside Park
- Boo Lake
- Snow Land
- Yoshi Desert
- Lakeside Park
- Broken Pier
- Bowser Castle 4
- Rainbow Road
Missing Mario Kart Double Dash Tracks
In contrast to Super Circuit, Double Dash is home to some of the series’ most memorable and beloved tracks. By the time Mario Kart 8 was made, most of them were already reintroduced in some sort of modern form. However, some tracks still have yet to get a makeover, and not just the traditional variant of one concept.
- Mushroom City
- Wario Colosseum
- Bowser’s Castle
- Rainbow Road
Missing Mario Kart DS Tracks
Mario Kart DS is notable for being the first game in the series that allows players to race other people online and, as mentioned beforehand, perfecting the retro tracks concept. Most of its original tracks have already been remastered, with the few remaining ones belonging to general series trends except for maybe Figure-8.
- Figure-8 Circuit
- Mario Circuit
- Bowser Castle
- Rainbow Road
Missing Mario Kart Wii Tracks
Mario Kart Wii had an engaging online community, one of the most solid character rosters, and introduced motion controls and bikes to the series. Despite its important contributions, several tracks, including completely original ones, have not been remastered.
- Luigi Circuit
- Toad’s Factory
- Mario Circuit
- Daisy Circuit
- Dry Dry Ruins
- Moonview Highway
- Bowser’s Castle
- Rainbow Road
Missing Mario Kart 7 Tracks
Despite its recent release in comparison to most games in the series, most of Mario Kart 7’s tracks were remastered, especially thanks to Mario Kart Tour. Coincidentally, the exceptions share a similar theme.
- Wuhu Loop
- Maka Wuhu
With the announcement of new Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC, it is safe to say that several of the aforementioned tracks will get a new coat of paint. However, since the confirmed DLC tracks were all from Tour or were remastered in previous games, it is all up to speculation.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is available now on Nintendo Switch, and the Booster Course Pass launches on March 18, 2022.