Mario Kart 8

One of the very few retro tracks from Super Mario Kart to make a reappearance in Mario Kart 8, Donut Plains 3 – a shimmering, puddle-strewn dirt track – probably looks very different from what you remember. First and foremost, it has received a massive graphical overhaul. It’s a beautiful HD interpretation of a standard Mario World 1 motif – a large grassy vista that feels pastoral but playful, with lots of Brick Blocks, ‘?’ Blocks, and classic Mushroom Kingdom domed hills in the background. It is named after the level of the same name in Super Mario World. However, whereas that level takes place in a mushroom forest, this track takes place in a more open area, which better suits its name.

Donut Plains is a short, simple, fast course, but there are several things to see as you’re hurtling around the track. In particular, there are lots of visual callbacks to classic 2D Mario games. The starting line, for example, features colourful Super Mario Bros. 3-style blocks. Beside the first bridge, there is a grey fortress – styled like the ones from Super Mario World – with Toads and Yoshis standing on it and cheering. Mushroom-shaped Toad Houses can also be seen by the side of the road. To me, this track feels nostalgic without seeming dated.

Donut Plains evokes the feeling of a rural park on a warm, sunny afternoon, not long after there has been a downpour. It’s bright and cheerful, and there’s little sense of danger. Having said that, Monty Moles burrow underground and occasionally pop up to bother drivers. Although the moles themselves are harmful if you hit one, their molehills are an opportunity for Jump Boosts. One of the new features included in this updated version of Donut Plains is the ability to race underwater in the lake below the bridges. There are more classic Super Mario enemies in the water – Cheep Cheeps – but they don’t tend to get in the way very often.

Next time in our tour of Mario Kart 8 tracks, we zoom around the blossom-lined roads of Royal Raceway.