On November 21st, 2022, Nintendo revealed all 8 courses included in Mario Kart 8‘s Booster Course Pass Wave 3, which will be added to the game on December 7th. The popular tracks taken from previous Mario Kart entities have been gorgeously remastered and upgraded to give avid gamers a shot of nostalgia, with many of the series’ most iconic tracks making a glorious return in time for Christmas.
Whether touring Berlin, London, Boo Lake, Maple Treeway, or the always-popular Rainbow Road, the latest Mario Kart 8 Booster Course Pass proves the game designers are listening to fan requests and giving them the racetracks they’ve been asking for.
8 London Loop – MK Tour
Remastered from Mario Kart Tour (2019), London Loop is slated to be the first track in the upcoming Rock Cop, indicating its easy difficulty level. Despite some breathtaking tourist attractions like Big Ben and London Eye Millennium Wheel, the city track is short, simple, and not very challenging. It’s also very similar to MK’s First Wave of DLC Courses like Tokyo Blur and Paris Promenade from the previous Booster Course Passes, making it feel a bit repetitive.
One thing that London Loop has in its favor this time around is its altered road surfaces that include paved roads, dirt paths, and cobblestones, which is sure to present drivers with more challenges than past variants of the track. However, that London Loop was introduced just three years ago also makes its return less exciting than the older ones.
7 Berlin Byways – Mario Kart Tour
Also adapted from MK Tour, Berlin Byways is the first course in the all-time beloved racing video game’s upcoming Moon Cup, putting it on par with London Loop in terms of basic difficulty level. However, thanks to its twisty underground Bahnhof subway and ability to drive inside a train car to collect an item, labyrinthine roundabouts, glider ramps, and altered pathways from one lap to the next, it’s much more exciting to tour than London Loop.
More visceral yet, Berlin Byways also includes narrow tunnels, off-road shortcuts, urban parks, destructive Thwomps, and a slew of different road surfaces like bricks and sand to give drivers all they can handle. Alas, as most MK gamers know, the city and circuit courses are rarely as much fun as the more exotic off-road, underwater, and outer space tracks.
6 Rock Rock Mountain – Mario Kart 7
Remastered from Mario Kart 7, Rock Rock Mountain will be the third track in Mario Kart 8’s Rock Cup. While fairly difficult due to the twisty cliffside layout loaded with harrowing glider ramps that make it easy to soar over the edge, the track is way too similar to the recently-added Choco Mountain, which was included in the Booster Course Wave 2. Moreover, it’s the second mountain course in Wave 3, making it somewhat superfluous.
A polarizing track in the past, MK players either tend to love or hate Rock Rock Mountain, despite the awesome music. The best part of the overhauled Rock Rock Mountain is the underground cave portion that leads to an exhilarating dash panel and ramp that sends players soaring over the trees. However, the punishing uphill section that follows is way too long and laborious to repeat three times.
5 Peach Gardens – Mario Kart DS
Resurrected from 2005’s Mario Kart DS, fans are thrilled to see the return of Peach Gardens in Mario Kart 8, slated as the second leg of the Moon Cup. Beyond the exciting nostalgic appeal, the track itself features a dizzying hedge maze featuring rare Chain Chomps and Moles jutting from the ground, giving drivers far more to duck, dodge, and divert than fellow racers.
Loaded with intense hairpin turns, 90-degree angles, bridges, and wicked roundabouts to go with bricks, cobblestones, dirt roads, and more, Peach Gardens is one of the most enjoyably diverse tracks from the past finally making its return to the MK 8. The wide roadways especially allow for lateral maneuverability and long-term drifting, which is sure to keep players returning to the track time and again.
4 Merry Mountain – Mario Kart Tour
The premiere track featured in the 2020 Winter Tour in MK Tour, Merry Mountain makes its glorious return in MK 8 just in time for Christmas. A true gift indeed, the holiday-themed track is sure to bring out the pleasant yuletide spirit in every racer thanks to its holiday-themed iconography, which includes snowfall, festive decorations, wrapped presents, candy canes, tree ornaments, and the like. It’s impossible not to smile when touring the slopes.
Alas, save for the new antigravity section, Merry Mountain does not come with many new layout changes, which somewhat detracts from its excitement. With overhauled graphics instead, Merry Mountain may not be as fun, diverse, or challenging as Mount Wario, but its thrilling uphill/downhill layout is the next-closest thing to skiing in the game, a transcendent feeling most tracks do not offer.
3 Boo Lake – GBA
Slated as the second track in the Rock Cup in Mario Kart 8, Boo Lake has been completely made over from its original 2001 MK Super Circuit layout and GBA update. The big gripe about the first iteration was the lack of water despite being named Boo Lake, forcing players to stay on a borderless bridge without falling into a black abyss. The new version goes above and beyond to rectify this, which is bound to make players rejoice.
Now featuring a large creepy body of water featuring uphill and downhill bridges on top of the surface and a riveting underwater portion, Boo Lake isn’t just added as a form of nostalgic fan service. Instead, the game designers have listened to the past complaints about Boo Lake and made the requisite changes for the better as a permanent fixture rather than a one-time Halloween addition (GBA). The result is a wildly improved and multifaceted track sure to keep players coming back for more.
2 Rainbow Road – Mario Kart 7 3DS
Always a challenging fan favorite, the return of MK 7‘s Rainbow Road is sure to be an epic addition to MK 8. Beyond registering as the first open-circuit Rainbow Road in franchise history, the gorgeous graphical upgrades are truly out of this world, as it enables players to orbit planets, speed across the rings of Saturn, drive across the moon’s craters, dodge fast-flying meteorites, and slalom through the cosmos like a real astronaut.
While some may think adding a 4th version of Rainbow Road to MK 8 is overkill, the three disparate sections, nostalgic N64 soundtrack, and newfangled cosmic delights clearly make it one of the most anticipated new tracks in the Booster Course Pass Wave 3. No matter the version, Rainbow Road is always a popular draw for MK fans and this one is no exception.
1 Maple Treeway – Mario Kart Wii
Scheduled as the fourth and final leg of the Rock Cup in MK8, Maple Treeway is easily the top draw of the 3rd Wave of the Booster Course Pass. In addition to saving the best for last in the Rock Cup as a marker of difficulty, Maple Treeway is featured first and far more prominently in the trailer than any other new track, indicating how proud Nintendo is for the makeover. Fans have been clamoring for its return and Nintendo finally answered their prayers!
Simply one of the most original, enjoyable, and brilliantly-designed courses in MK history, Maple Treeway has everything MK fans want and more. Barrel cannons that send drivers flying through the air, ridiculous U-turns, bridge ramps with booster pads, three helpful hidden shortcuts every MK player should use, underground tunnels, narrow tree branches, highly energetic music, and an awesome central treehouse sure to make everyone feel like a kid again. Maple Treeway is the cream of the crop.
