Bowser's Castle is a Mario Kart track appearing in every installment. The main hazards are Thwomps crushing down and having to leap over lava pits. Sometimes there are bridges with no barriers. It is usually (sinceMario Kart: Super Circuit) the penultimate track in the Special Cup, although in Mario Kart 64, it was the final track in the Star Cup.
There are three tracks with the generic "Bowser Castle" title, followed by an identifying number:
Bowser Castle 1 is the fourth of the five Mushroom Cup tracks. It introduced the signature lava pits, Thwomps, and sharp 90° turns. There are many jump pads and boost pads in this track.
Bowser Castle 2 is the fourth of the five Flower Cup tracks, adding long straights and more traps. This map is famous for a dead end path ending with "STOP" written on the path, after which racers normally fall straight into lava. With a feather, karts can jump from that "STOP" mark to a further part of the track, resulting in a shortcut. While using a mushroom at the "STOP" mark will result into falling in the lava, it is possible to hit the wall of the track ahead. If this is done successfully, Lakitu will drop the character on the latter track, although this shortcut if poorly effective. This course returns in Mario Kart: Super Circuit as the first track in the Extra Lightning Cup. The lack of a feather item in that game, however, makes the "STOP" shortcut ineffective.
Bowser Castle 3 is the fourth course in the Star Cup.
Bowser's Castle is the final track in the Star Cup of Mario Kart 64. The course features many 90 degree turns and a variety of hazards such as Thwomps, fire-breathing statues, and lava bridges. In one area of the castle, a green Thwomp, nicknamed Marty by fans, can be seen behind jail bars laughing at passing racers. This track returns in Mario Kart Wii with a few minor differences. The fire-breathing statues will cause players to spin out, and lava geysers near the end were added. The mysterious green Thwomp Marty is replaced with a regular one.
This game features four tracks with the generic "Bowser Castle" title, followed by an identifying number:
Bowser Castle 1 is the final track of the Mushroom Cup. It is very short, has a lot of coins in some areas, and features hopping flames in lava pits as well as Thwomps. Its background looks like a castle wall with a Bowser face inprinted on it. The music is the same as Bowser Castle 2 and Bowser Castle 3. The Super Mario Kart Bowser Castle 1 uses this background also. Bowser Castle 1 reappeared in Mario Kart 7 as a retro course in the Shell Cup. In that game, the track is famous for being the first retro track to receive a patch update for online play. The patch prevents a shortcut loophole. The course returned again in Mario Kart 7.
Bowser Castle 2 is the last course in the Flower Cup. It is longer and more dangerous than its predecessor with numerous gaps over lava, especially midway through the course. Some of these have fireballs that are shot up in the air. If it hits a kart, the driver will fall into the lava. The gaps on the steel wire near the end are particularly dangerous, since most of them require a mushroom to hop. Dash panels are located near the sides of a few areas. Other than that, Thwomps and 90 degree turns round out the second molten kart course the King of Koopas created for Super Circuit.The Map of Bowser Castle 2 of Super Circuit
It returns in Mario Kart DS as the third track of the Banana Cup, adding spikes to the Thwomps, increasing the railings' height and modifying the jumps' difficulty. Only the latter affects gameplay, with some shortcuts no longer work. Missions 4-5 and 5-4 take place here. Both missions use Bowser. 4-5 features him having to collect 15 coins without getting squished by a thwomp. 5-4 has him driving through 10 gates in order. The retro courses's staff ghost uses Bowser in the Standard BW and Dry Bones in the Banisher.
Bowser Castle 3 features more Thwomps, more unrailed track portions, and some off-Road. There are jump pads and fewer lava pits than the game's previous Bowser Castle tracks. This course apears in Mario Kart Wii as a retro course in the Leaf Cup.
Bowser Castle 4 is the second last course in the game, appearing before Rainbow Road. It is the third course in the Special Cup. It appears similar to Bowser Castle 1. At the beginning of the course there a square of lava that spew fire out of them with no ramps, so if a Jump is not properly timed the racer will fall in. Throughout the course there are moving Thwomps. Near the end there are Mecha-Koopas, which are just Koopa toys. This track is somewhat long.
Bowser's Castle is the third course in the Special Cup. This Bowser's Castle standardized the Thwomps' desgin (which was always different in the previous games in the series) and introduced Mechanical Bowser. Also in front of the Mechanical Bowser is a shortcut leaping to the other side and skipping a sharp turn. This can be a little hard to master at first for beginners. The Mechanical Bowser on this track is close to the end of the course. The Wii version is heavily inspired by this version.
This Bowser's Castle is the third track of the Special Cup. Hazards are plentiful which include lava pits, moving Thwomps, a spinning bridge and many sharp turns. Also, there is one part where you have continously turn, which contains a shortcut by going the whole way around. If you get knocked off the spinning bridge, you have to go another way that is underneath, that has big patches of grass. Only two Boost Pads are here, and most parts do not have railings. The Thwomps will move back and forth in a pattern. There is also a conveyor-like part where burners comes from the ceiling and spins you out. Missions 6-1 and 7-2 take place here. In 6-1, Bowser has to drive backward across the spinning bridge without falling. In 7-2, Mario has to race Bowser to the finish. The staff ghost uses Bowser in the Hurricane. GBA Bowser Castle 2 is featured in this game's Retro Grand Prix. The track's staff ghost uses Bowser in the Standard BW. The track is actually misspelled Bowser Castle instead of Bowser's Castle.
The Bowser's Castle here has Mechanical Bowser returning, plus some half-pipes, lava geysers, and the regular things Bowser's Castle is known for. The Mechanical Bowser, though is closer to the beginning of the track than farther to the end. N64 Bowser's Castle and GBA Bowser Castle 3 are featured in this game's Retro Grand Prix.
The Mario Kart 7 version includes the new glider feature being used at the beginning of the course, and later on there is a section taking place underwater, where the racer must avoid small lava falls. The ghost data use a Standard kart, Monster wheels and a Super Glider. Also, Super Circuit's Bowser Castle 1 reappears as the 2nd race in Shell Cup.
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