Mario Kart 8

Bone-Dry Dunes takes place in a desert filled with twisting canyons, shifting rivers of sand, and the sun-bleached bones of ancient beasts embedded in rocky outcrops. Obviously, instead of studying these bones and excavating them to be placed in a museum, a race track was built over them instead.

From the starting line, racers follow the winding path to a wooden bridge, which leads to a canyon filled with giant bones. Here, you will encounter a Bone Piranha Plant, which behaves just like a regular Piranha Plant, attempting to bite any kart that comes too close. Bone Piranha Plants imply that Piranha Plants have internal skeletons. The polka dots on the living plant are represented here on the undead version by black holes, almost like multiple eye sockets. It’s probably best not to think too much about how skeletal flora works – this is the Mushroom Kingdom, after all.

The track then splits: the left route stays on the sandy ground and features several more Bone Piranha Plants; the right path is an anti-gravity section where characters race along a wall made of rib bones. Both end with a glider segment that takes racers into a cave, the mouth of which is a giant skull and hands that resemble Dry Bowser. Dry Bowser is the undead, skeletal version of regular Bowser. When Mario dumps Bowser in some molten lava, his flesh and organs burn away, but his bones somehow come back, seeking revenge.

Inside the cave, there are once again two paths to pick from. The higher route is a narrow wooden catwalk accessible by bouncing off a sand spout. The lower path is on the cave floor and features a few Dry Bones wandering around. Introduced in Super Mario Bros. 3, Dry Bones are undead, skeletal Koopa Troopas that have presumably been magically reanimated, possibly by Bowser’s wizard, Kamek. In most games in which they appear as enemies, these minions reassemble their bones moments after Mario smashes them to pieces.

Back at the start/finish line, you’ll spot several tents by the side of the track, some of which seem to be selling things. Toads and Shy Guys watch the race and man the stalls. It’s interesting to think that there might be a nomadic civilisation of Toads and Shy Guys living in this harsh desert.

There have been several desert tracks in the history of the Mario Kart franchise, but Bone-Dry Dunes has a slightly different aesthetic from all the others. For a start, it has a subtle Middle-Eastern theme, with background music that incorporates Arab folk instruments – apparently, the guitarists were asked to strum the strings in such a way as to create the atmosphere of a dry wind blowing across the desert. The sand on this track is also a little rustier than the bright yellow that is usually omnipresent in the Egyptian- and American-style deserts commonly seen in Mario Kart.

There’s also a strong ‘skeletal’ theme to this track, which is pretty unique considering it isn’t haunted or anything. This is most obviously seen in the undead Koopas and Piranha Plants, but the massive Dry Bowser skull, the anti-gravity path made out of giant ribs, and the various tents all bring to mind a fossil excavation site.

Next time, we delve into Bowser’s Castle, a vast, imposing, trap-filled fortress.