Mount Wario

## Stage Overview

The Stage begins an MKTV plane hovering the mountain. The stage then goes down out of the plane alongside the racers. The stage follows the mountain into an icy area, where the stage is more slippery. The stage then enters a cave area, landing in some rapids. The stage then continues on into the inside of a dam control center, then onto the side of the Dam itself. The fighters then exit the dam into a forested area and then to a ski resort. The stage travels down the slopes and launches off a ramp near the end. The stage then reaches the end of the track and returns back to the plane.

## **Origin**

Mount Wario is the fourth and last race of the Star Cup in *Mario Kart 8* and *Mario Kart 8 Deluxe*. This course takes place on a mountain summit and ski resort themed after Wario, where players must race from the top to the bottom.

It is one of the four courses in the game (the others being N64 Rainbow Road, Big Blue, and 3DS Rainbow Road) to be divided into three sections rather than three laps. Mount Wario, along with Big Blue, is one of the only two courses in the Mario Kart series to not be a looping race course, so when the racer finishes the race, they will simply sit at the end of the course. These two courses also have separate music tracks for each section instead of playing a sped-up, higher-pitched version of the course's music for the final lap/section. The second segment of the course is the only section that has two separate music tracks, with the first version playing in the cave and dam sections and the second version beginning when racers enter the forest.

Section one starts in a large plane hovering over the top of the mountain, with the racers driving off a ramp before landing on a path at the summit of the mountain. After a few icy downhill turns, some of which are bisected, the course enters a cave, as well as passes the checkpoint marking the start of the second segment.

Section two starts inside the cave, with two anti-gravity sections ending with a hang-glider segment. Two flat rocks with Dash Panels are placed just after, before a boost ramp leads the racers into a hydroelectric dam. After two 90° turns, there is another anti-gravity section with racers driving along the side of the dam, with Dash Panels going down the streams (like in Shy Guy Falls). The player must steer the kart at the direction of the Dash Panels in order to get the speed boost.

After that, racers soon enter a snowy forest, that splits into two paths to start off (one of these paths splits further). The paths meet up to an area with rocks sticking out of the snow, which can provide a boost via Tricks. Eventually, the track exits the forest and reaches the top of a chairlift inside a ski area, as well as the checkpoint for the start of section three.

Section three starts by traveling down a slalom and mogul course, with cheering Toads, Yoshis, and Shy Guys alongside the track. After a few turns, racers enter the final anti-gravity section, which goes down a ski jumping ramp with Dash Panels placed on various parts of the ramp. The section ends with a hang-glider section off the jump, where three rings are placed to help racers out. After two more turns at the landing area, the track reaches the finish line.

Like Twisted Mansion, Electrodrome, Bowser's Castle, and Excitebike Arena, this course has an opening animation, which is the front of the plane opening up and the ramp being lowered. However, unlike in the aforementioned four courses, where the animation occurs during the race countdown, this course's animation starts as the course intro ends and finishes right before the countdown.