Mario Kart 8

Mount Wario is one of a small number of courses in Mario Kart 8 that eschew traditional laps in favour of three distinct sections of track. It’s literally all downhill from where you start, a continuous track winding down a snow-covered mountainside. Not bound by the confines of laps and loops, Mount Wario offers a thrilling, high-speed journey with a clear start and end.

Section one starts in the belly of a large aircraft that looks like a cross between a helicopter and a cargo plane, hovering over Mount Wario. Racers drive off a ramp and land on a snowy path at the summit of the mountain. Heading downhill, the turns here are tight and slippery, and there’s a distinct lack of handrails, so you need to be careful not to fall from the road into an icy chasm. At least the scenery up here is breathtaking.

Soon, you’ll enter a cave and begin the second section of the race. Admire the impressive stalagmites and stalactites here, but beware of a colony of low-flying purple bats called Swoops, which are common in cave sections in the Mario Kart franchise. A rushing subterranean river to your left hints that you’re not quite as high up as the frozen peak you just came from, and you can drive into the water if you like.

The cave empties into a hydroelectric dam that seems to be owned by Wario and staffed by Shy Guys. Emerging on the other side, you’ll then need to race across the wall of the dam itself. Dash panels sliding down the wall with currents of water allow you to speed boost off them, so you can get across quickly before the water pushes you down too much.

After the cave and the dam, racers enter a snowy pine forest. The paths are a little unclear at first, but they are just visible enough that you won’t get hopelessly lost. You must react quickly to oncoming trees and weave around them, or you’ll be stopped dead in your tracks. It’s likely you’ll bump into the trees here once or twice, at least until you’ve become more familiar with the track. On a plus note, you can Jump Boost off fallen trees for some extra speed.

In the third and final section of the track, you leave the alpine wilderness and enter a ski resort. Off to one side, Shy Guys are skiing downhill, while a chairlift moves up and down the slope above your head. This is a bit of a chaotic slalom, with lots of tricky, snaking turns, but players are given a chance to maximise their trick potential by utilising the tiny bumps on the winding hill to their advantage. A final, climactic straightaway paved with boost pads leads to the end of the track at the foot of the ski slope, with lots of seating for an excited audience to cheer the racers on. Hot air balloons representing various characters from the Mario Kart roster can be seen in the air.

Many players have hailed Mount Wario as one of the best tracks in Mario Kart 8, and rightly so in my opinion – it’s an energetic, exhilarating, and often intense journey from the top of the mountain to the very bottom.

Next time, we move on to another retro cup, and it’s another Wario-themed track – a big, over-the-top rally known as Wario Stadium.