The Wide World of Dirt

Last time I attempted to do this for Wave 2, I decided to dedicate an entire article for each track, and that proved to be waaaaaaayyyyy too much work!

Now, I don’t want you, the reader, to feel like you’re getting short-changed, but I’m limiting myself to one piece about all of them.

Without further ado, here is the descending list for the Wave 3 addition to the Mario Kart 8 Booster Course Pass!

#8: London Loop

Though London Loop is taking the last-place slot, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad track.

I actually think it’s a pretty good track with higher potential that was left on the table, and that is most evident in the overall theming of the track.

It’s simply not British enough.

Sure, seeing the London Eye is cool, and I think you glimpse Big Ben at a certain point. There is a double decker bus in the background of a turn, and the London Bridge goes up and becomes a ramp.

I don’t think they went as far as they could to make this track fit the London environment. Why aren’t we drifting through Buckingham Palace? Why aren’t we gliding past Big Ben?

Another key issue I have with this track is the Chain Chomps. While I appreciate and love their inclusion, they affect the pack more than the leader.

What I mean by this is, on the final lap, there is a Chain Chomp in the grass of the first big turn, and it doesn’t start moving and impeding racers’ paths until after the leader passes by.

That makes no sense.

If anything, the Chain Chomp should be impeding the leader’s path the most to create more artificial rubber banding.

Instead, the Chain Chomp is actively stifling the momentum and item acquisition of the players behind, and that’s just bad track design.

Outside of that, the track is still rather fun to drive around and is relatively narrow, making for difficult turns with items scattered along the track especially.

Grade: B-

#7: Rock Rock Mountain

In a contrast to my previous criticism with London Loop, Rock Rock Mountain seems to have only been included because it’s in the Rock Mushroom Cup.

The track, originally from Mario Kart 7, was one of the first tracks to allow racers to experiment with the then-new gliding mechanic.

Its inclusion here isn’t bad. It’s a solid track!

But, it doesn’t really move the needle.

I don’t think they did a whole lot to change the track from the MK7 version, and if they did, it must’ve been very minimal.

Again, solid track, but I thought this DLC pack would focus on bringing back more fan favorite tracks from previous titles.

I don’t think there’s a person on Earth who would claim this as their favorite track.

Grade: B

#6: Merry Mountain

I’m gonna qualify this review by saying that this track is really neat, and I like it a lot!

Having said that, it’s a very straightforward course. There isn’t a whole lot of variation or shroom shortcuts to be found, meaning if you fall behind, you usually stay behind.

This was my issue with Sky-High Sundae. If you get bad item luck or just really bad circumstantial timing, there’s no way to recover.

That’s a big problem!

With that said, the theming here is wonderful and reintroduces the Half-Pipe! I’ve always loved the Half-Pipe mechanic, and I’m glad it’s returned for this game.

This track is a whole lot of fun to drive through, especially this time of year. It’s also a really good track to test out your long-range banana and shell shooting.

Grade: B+

#5: Berlin Byways

This Tour course is easily one of the best ones included in the Booster Course Pass.

It’s dynamic, changing its layout with every lap, but it always takes you to new and interesting parts of the surrounding area.

They really nailed the look and feel of Berlin (from what I’ve seen in photos as I’ve never gone), and the cars move.

For those that remember, that was my primary issue with New York Minute. The cars don’t move, so the course is a lot less dynamic than it could be.

Not a problem for Berlin Byways as you have to dodge opponent items and navigate through the park and rush hour traffic.

If this was just a random city course in the game, it would also be very good, which is just a testament to how well this track was constructed.

Grade: A-

#4: Rainbow Road 3DS

Many, many people I love and respect have told me this is the greatest Rainbow Road, and years later, I still don’t agree with that.

The concept of Rainbow Road is to be a long, arduous course through the night sky/galaxy, and this iteration definitely takes us all over the galaxy.

The upgraded textures on the track make it a real spectacle, looking better than any of the three other Rainbow Road versions in the game.

While I love driving on the moon and through the Rainbow Boost Tube, I just don’t find this version of the track challenging in any way.

It’s wide, so you don’t risk falling off much. There are lots of places to boost and trick, which can separate players online, but at the end of the day, navigating this track is very far from a challenge.

This is Rainbow Road. It’s supposed to be the hardest track of its native game, and it’s not even in the top-10 of most difficult tracks in this game.

Still a beautiful and great track, but it doesn’t feel like a Rainbow Road.

Grade: A-

#3: Boo Lake

For those that follow my work, you’d know I’m a huge fan of auto racing, and most specifically, NASCAR.

This track is as close as they’ve ever come to making a NASCAR-type short track.

What I mean by that is this course is tight quarters racing: narrow, not many passing opportunities, sharp corners, and encourages physicality from racers.

I have been most impressed with Nintendo’s attention to detail in recreating these 2D tracks from the SNES and the GBA.

The initial release of MK8 on the Wii U only included one GBA track in its retro track lineup, and since then, the DLC has added a whooping five more from Super Circuit.

With that said, I know it’s not the most visually appealing, but it’s a great challenge to go fast and avoid your opponents at this track. That makes it great.

Grade: A

#2: Maple Treeway

Objectively speaking, this is the best track here.

This immediately rose up to an S-tier track, taking back its mantle that it left behind in Mario Kart Wii where it made its debut.

The updated textures and graphics really bring this track to life better than before, even coating the daunting hairpin branch with some moss for an added touch.

The Wiggler section continues to provide mayhem, and as I touched on in Merry Mountain, the second hairpin on this track sees the return of the Half-Pipe.

Trying to take said hairpin on the bottom is impractical and borderline impossible, so it forces racers to ramp off the pipe and do a trick to gain an advantage down the narrow straight ahead.

While I’m a little sad they didn’t bring back the chain bridge, the glider section towards the end is still refreshing, and it doesn’t leave you as vulnerable anymore now that lightning doesn’t destroy your glider.

This track is phenomenal. It always has been, and it’s even better now.

Grade: A+

#1: Peach Gardens

This was a top-5 track that I wanted in this Booster Course Pass, and it’s finally here!

And, it’s amazing!

The upgraded graphics are absolutely stellar, giving the lush plant life of the gardens more vitality than ever.

The track itself actually gets a large overhaul, making the opening circular platform just after the start-finish line only partially accessible whereas it was fully accessible in games past.

The flowerbeds were pushed back in the second and third turns, taking away a bit of the challenge of the course, but they’re replaced with trickable ramps, which provide a new and equally fun challenge for the player.

The most drastic switch is the third lap.

It opens the same way as the first two laps, but instead of going right around the first yellow flowerbed, you take a sharp left back towards the castle.

Once on the castle floor, you hit some new ramps and take on the whole course backwards, including a wonderful glider path over the Chain Chomp hedge maze.

One tiny change I would’ve made is to make the final turn of the course go the opposite way around the final hedge to explore all of the available area.

Other than that, they took an already great track and made it one of the greatest tracks on the game and easily one of my favorites of the Booster Course Pass.

Grade: A+

Overview

On average, this is the best Wave to date. Every track is really fun to race on and only one has a truly fatal flaw that we could see fixed, similar to the cars at Coconut Mall.

The graphics and functionality of each track are superb, and in my opinion, they silence any naysayers’ concerns.

With the approaching holiday season, I figured we’d see more icy, winter-themed tracks, but the one we got is super fun and has a great theme.

The Booster Course Pass is getting better and better with every release, and I’m excited for what’s in store for Wave 4.