In-game map for Rainbow Road.
See Rainbow Road for a listing of all other tracks with the same name.
Rainbow Road is the last course of the Special Cup in Mario Kart DS.
This Rainbow Road is unique to the Mario Kart series as it contains an upside-down loop and a twisting corkscrew, the only inversion in a Mario Kart track before the advent of anti-gravity sections in Mario Kart 8.
It begins with an intense downwards stretch, spanned by multiple Boost Pads to help kick off the race, and evolves into a course of long turns, sharp drops, more sharp inclines, narrow paths, and- the first of its kind in the series, upside-down loops. Players must survive through two of these loops with connecting paths before returning to th finish line.
Aesthetically, This Rainbow Road appears differently from its predecessors. While previous Rainbow Roads have featured either tiled colors or horizontal stripes for its rainbow pattern, the pattern on this Rainbow Road is lined up vertically to the path. This has become a standard feature in later renditions.. Like other Rainbow Roads, it takes place in outer space with a similar background to that of the 64 version
Rainbow Road is notorious for its difficult side missions. In Mission 7-1, players must perform six mini-turbos as Peach in the Light Tripper; this kart has the greatest drift in the game, making it very hard to maintain control over turns that aren't very sharp. Even experienced players will find this course's Staff Ghost very formidable- it is R.O.B. in the ROB-BLS. The staff ghost does not make many mistakes, maintaining its perfect speed while players may struggle to catch up.
Shortcuts
- On the first turn, after the first two small boost pads, the player can turn around and use either a carefully-timed Mini-Turbo or a Mushroom to rush off the course. If done correctly, the player should actually land shortly before the first upside-down loop ends, skipping a large portion of the track.
- After the first loop, on the stretch with the rings, the player can once again turn themselves around and speed off the course to their left with a Mini-Turbo or Mushroom. If the player travels far enough this way, Lakitu will pick them up and place them before the start of the second loop, once again skipping a large portion of the track.
Trivia
- The double helix at the beginning of the track is extremely similar to the one in GCN Rainbow Road.
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