Mario Kart 8

For this week’s Mario Kart 8 track, we’re zooming around the blossom-lined roads of Royal Raceway. This remake of an N64 classic track keeps the lush feel of the original version, but with far richer detail – gently rolling hills, vibrant flowers, and a large, shimmering, tranquil lake.

Royal Raceway is clearly a Princess Peach-themed track, as evidenced by the fact that Peach’s grand, fairytale-like castle can be seen in the centre. In the track’s original appearance in Mario Kart 64, the castle was nearly identical to the version found in Super Mario 64. However, in Mario Kart 8, the castle’s design has been revised to look more like a modern interpretation.

This track definitely leans into the ‘royal’ part of its name. What was once a straightforward race on the Nintendo 64 has been turned into what appears to be the centrepiece of a grand pageant, or perhaps a cheerful spring festival held in a royal garden. The starting area has a castle-like design, and the grandstands are topped with giant crowns. Floating above the race, there are hot-air balloons based on the colours and designs of the princesses seen in the Super Mario franchise – not only Peach but also Daisy and Rosalina, too.

This track may have a regal elegance, but it also exudes a rather peaceful aura. Bells gently toll in the background, and confetti litters the track. On the lake, there are graceful swan boats, with Toads riding in them. Pink-tinged clouds can be seen in the sky, and gorgeous cherry blossom trees line certain sections of the road.

Princess Peach is one of the best-known female protagonists in video game history, having appeared in more titles than any other female character. She made her first appearance in the 1985 game Super Mario Bros. as the kind-hearted head of state of the Mushroom Kingdom. Her initial appearance was drawn by Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of the Mario franchise, but he later asked Yōichi Kotabe to redraw Peach to his specifications – in particular, to make her eyes ‘a little cat-like’, and to make her look stubborn but cute.

In most of the games in which she appears, Peach’s role is typically that of a damsel in distress, who is kidnapped by Bowser and eventually rescued by Mario. However, this is not always the case. She was one of four playable characters in 1988’s Super Mario Bros. 2, helping Mario, Luigi and Toad to free the dreamland known as Subcon from the clutches of the evil King Wart; she played a supportive role in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, released in 1996, where she served as the team’s healer. She has also proved to be a tough cookie in various Mario sports games and the Super Smash Bros. franchise. In 2006, Peach even starred in her very own game, Super Princess Peach for the Nintendo DS, where (with the help of a talking parasol named Perry) she got to rescue Mario and Luigi for a change.

In Japan, Peach’s name has always been Princess Peach, but she was localised as ‘Princess Toadstool’ in the English-language manual of Super Mario Bros., likely to better connect her to the Mushroom Kingdom and her Toad subjects. The English version of Yoshi’s Safari, released in 1993, contained the first usage of the name ‘Peach’ in the Western world, though she was still called Princess Toadstool in a few subsequent games. In Super Mario 64, released in 1996, she uses both names in a letter addressed to Mario – but from Mario Kart 64 onwards (released the following year), the name Peach would be the only name used in Western versions.

Next time, we race through the hot, humid forests and ancient temples of DK Jungle.