Mario Kart 8

Today’s Mario Kart track takes us to the beach. A Cheep Cheep Beach, to be more specific. This bright seaside course first appeared in Mario Kart DS and returns in Mario Kart 8, looking more beautiful and vibrant than ever, with dynamic lighting and enhanced water effects. Beyond the shallow turquoise waters, coral reefs can be seen, and in the distance, there are lush tropical islands. It really gives the vibe of a holiday getaway destination.

In this sunny resort paradise, racers start by zooming along a wooden boardwalk lined with beachside huts; Piantas can be seen outside them, cheering the racers on. Then, it’s onto a low sandbar, dipping in and out of the shallow water. In the original DS version of the track, soft tides washed in and out, but the water level seems static in the Mario Kart 8 incarnation. After passing a lighthouse, racers return to dry land, careering through a small jungle before eventually returning to the start/finish line. Here, deckchairs have been set out so that the Piantas can get excellent views of the winners while relaxing and sipping colourful drinks.

As the name of this track suggests, there are plenty of Cheep Cheeps here. They are mostly seen swimming in the shallow water, but sometimes they leap up and over the sandbar, surprising unwary drivers. Cheep Cheeps are round, red pufferfish-like creatures that made their first appearance in the underwater levels of Super Mario Bros., and they have since become a common recurring enemy throughout the Super Mario franchise. Apparently, Cheep Cheeps are based on a bony, grotesque little fish with snapping jaws that Shigeru Miyamoto caught as a child while living in Sonebe, Kyoto. Their design may also have been inspired by flying fish, since Cheep Cheep sometimes attack by jumping out of the water in a large arc, and they have wing-like pectoral fins.

Cheep Cheeps aren’t the only things to worry about on this track, though. Scuttling through the shallows and on the beach are Sidesteppers, large red crabs that can wander into your path and force you to pull off some creative driving manoeuvres to avoid an accident. Sidesteppers are one of the oldest enemies in the Super Mario franchise, dating all the way back to the 1983 arcade game, Mario Bros.

Next time, we go from a bright tropical paradise to a highway at night: Toad’s Turnpike.