Mario Kart 8

Today, in our continuing journey through all the courses in Mario Kart 8, we’re zooming around below the Mushroom Kingdom. Piranha Plant Slide – originally from Mario Kart 7 on the 3DS – takes place in a sewer system and is clearly based on the underground levels of Super Mario Bros. There are lots of floating blocks, green pipes, Goombas, and – yes – Piranha Plants. This course is basically ‘World 1-2’ as a racetrack.

Piranha Plant Slide starts off above ground. The starting banner is worth mentioning because it resembles the exterior of large castles, such as the one found in World 1-3 of Super Mario Bros., with towers added to the expanded walls on the sides, replacing the usual flagpoles. The banner and towers also serve as stands for several spectating Toads and Koopa Paratroopas. In the distance ahead, you can see green Warp Pipes, classic domed hills, and snapping Piranha Plants – but almost immediately you’ll find yourself heading down into the sewers beneath the Mushroom Kingdom. The water flowing quickly through the sewers can grant you some extra speed, but it can also sometimes put you in sticky situations because of how fast you’ll be moving.

An enormous Piranha Plant dominates the passage ahead. We’ve seen several of these carnivorous plants causing trouble on above-ground racetracks, but here, inside, under a low ceiling, they seem even more menacing. They also have a serious biting range. Pay attention to what direction they are facing and don’t get close to that side of their pipe unless you’re using a Dash Panel or a Mushroom to rocket past.

You will then zoom down a theme-park-like flume, heading deeper into the sewer network, which is quite complex if you take the time to look around. It’s completely submerged down here, with Cheep Cheeps swimming around in the background. A second giant Piranha Plant can also be found in these depths, somehow growing and thriving even though it’s entirely underwater.

Racers exit the sewers via a green pipe and glide upward past several drain pipes that dump water into a bottomless pit. Getting caught in these waterfalls can send you plummeting into the darkness below. But if you manage to avoid these, your kart will once again touch down on dry land on the surface. From there, you just need to avoid another Goomba (and wooden cutouts of a Goomba and some bushes, like those seen in Super Mario 3D Land for the 3DS), and you’ll be back at the starting line.

Next time, it’s going to get very hot, as we race around the lava-strewn landscape of Grumble Volcano.