Royal Raceway

* N64
* MKT
* Top Shelf

### Course map

**Royal Raceway**, known as **Peach Circuit** in Japan, is the third racetrack of the Star Cup in Mario Kart 64. The race takes place around a giant lake, and it is easy to fall into the water. There is a big jump over the lake in one section of the track. If the racer goes off the track after the jump, they can see and drive around the Mushroom Castle as it appeared in *Super Mario 64*, though there is no way to enter the castle. The Award Ceremony also takes place in this track at the end of the cup, where the top three drivers receive various trophies, and confetti for the big winner along with the gold trophy. The course returns in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as the third course in the Banana Cup, and in Mario Kart Tour as the signature course of the Peach Tour.

## *Mario Kart 8* / *Mario Kart 8 Deluxe*

Royal Raceway in *Mario Kart 8*
Royal Raceway reappears in *Mario Kart 8* and *Mario Kart 8 Deluxe* as the third course in the Banana Cup, making it the only course out of the returning N64 tracks that isn't the final course of its respective retro cup. The sky is now blue with pink clouds, instead of pink with white clouds, both the starting banner and the bleachers have been redesigned to look more related to Peach's Castle and the iconic crown is now more detailed. The wall, which the racers drive around, still has red and white checker pattern but it now has some design related to Peach's Castle, and subtle heart details have been added. The road markings are also made up of hearts. There are now swan boats in the lake, with Toads riding in them.

The ramp now has evenly spread out five grass arches with ringing bells, which the player can hear when passing by them, hanging on them and the rails on the ramp are redesigned to make it related to Peach's Castle. The long jump section has been shortened and is also a glider segment, which allows players to glide over the large gap and then land gently at the next section. There are hot-air balloons based on Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, and Princess Rosalina's dresses, similar to the balloons present in Daisy Hills from *Mario Kart 7*. However, the designs for the balloons alternate every race, most noticeable in the one at the end of the glider section. There are also cherry blossom trees like in Mario Circuit from *Mario Kart 7* in place of the striped evergreen trees. At the final turns, the grassland areas has been narrowed down to make it less possible for players to slip off the track and end up in the grassland compared to the original.

The road leading to Peach's Castle is now blocked off, meaning it is unable to be driven around compared to the original. Furthermore, the design of Peach's Castle and the area around it have been revised from the original *Super Mario 64* version, to look more like a modern interpretation of its design.

## *Mario Kart Tour*

Royal Raceway reappears in *Mario Kart Tour*, starting with the Peach Tour. Like GCN Yoshi Circuit, it mostly takes on the appearance of its *Mario Kart 8* iteration. The balloons are no longer princess-themed, instead taking their design from the ones seen in this game's iteration of 3DS Daisy Hills. It is also the only retro course in the game that has not appeared in any handheld *Mario Kart* installment. The course is a favourite of Peachette, Pauline (Party Time), Peach (Wedding), Toadette (Explorer), Peach (Halloween), and Bowser (Santa). It is also a favourite of Dixie Kong if she is at level 3, and Peach (Kimono) and Pink Gold Peach if they are at level 6.

Despite using its *Mario Kart 8* appearance, this course uses N64 Luigi Raceway's music from *Mario Kart 7*.

### Peach Tour

In the Peach Tour, Royal Raceway served as the tour's signature course. It appeared as the first course in the Peach Cup, the third course in the Birdo Cup, the location of the bonus challenges in the Dry Bones Cup, the Koopa Troopa Cup, and the Pink Gold Peach Cup, and the location of the tour's Coin Rush. Its T variant appeared as the third course in the Baby Peach Cup and the second course in the King Boo Cup, while its R variant appeared as the second course in the Larry Cup and the first course in the Roy Cup.

### Marine Tour

In the Marine Tour, Royal Raceway appeared as the first course in the Yoshi Cup and the location of the bonus challenge in the Wendy Cup. Its R variant appeared as the third course in the Toad Cup, while its T variant appeared as the second course in the Baby Luigi Cup.

### Exploration Tour

In the Exploration Tour, Royal Raceway appeared as the second course in the Donkey Kong Cup. Its R variant appeared as the second course in the Roy Cup, while its T variant appeared as the first course in the Yoshi Cup.

### Summer Festival Tour

In the Summer Festival Tour, Royal Raceway appeared as the third course in the Yoshi Cup. Its T variant that appeared as the second course in the Baby Daisy Cup and the location of the bonus challenge in the Dry Bones Cup, while its R variant appeared as the first course in the Peachette Cup.

### Super Mario Kart Tour

In the Super Mario Kart Tour, Royal Raceway appeared as the second course in the Yoshi Cup and the location of the bonus challenge in the Mario Cup. Its T variant appeared as the second course in the Baby Mario Cup, while its R variant appeared as the first course in the Baby Rosalina Cup

### Sunset Tour

In the Sunset Tour, Royal Raceway appeared as the first course in the Baby Rosalina Cup and the location of the bonus challenge in the Waluigi Cup. Its R variant appeared as the second course in the Toad Cup, while its T variant appeared as the first course in the Baby Daisy Cup.

### Rosalina Tour

In the Rosalina Tour, Royal Raceway appears as the second course in the Rosalina Cup. Its R variant appears as the first course in the Donkey Kong Cup, and its T variant appears as the second course in the Waluigi Cup.

## References

1. **^** MarioKartEN (August 24, 2014). *Facebook*. Retrieved May 16, 2015. (Archived December 3, 2020, 19:46:39 UTC via Internet Archive: Wayback Machine.)