'Twas the day before Christmas, and a list of my favorite (not
necessarily the best) winter-themed Mario Kart tracks appeared! From
Mario Kart 64 all the way to Mario Kart World, they may give you the
cold shoulder at first with their tricky turns and trials, but once the
learning curve's taken, you'll most likely warm up to them!
Note: If parts of this top ten sounds familiar, a fair amount of it was featured in my written list several years back. This is a revised one with inclusions from Mario Kart World, as well!
We've sure missed a LOT of Tuesdays since being on hiatus here at SuperPhillip Central. Let's make up for it, if just for one post with a brand-new installment of The Tuesday 10s! In case anyone has forgotten what the deal with The Tuesday 10s is, this is where I list ten relatively unordered things (usually games) within a set category.
This time around, I've got the need--the need for speed! (How topical with Top Gun: Maverick setting the box office ablaze and aglow with its dominance, right?!) On this edition of The Tuesday 10s I'm entering the driver's seat and regaling memories of some of my favorite kart racers of all time, one of my FAVORITE genres in general. From mainstays like Mario Kart to more obscure racing titles, these ten are some of the best to ever take to the track!
After you've read my picks for top kart racers, let the SPC community know some of your favorites by posting them in the comment section below!
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (NSW)
We begin this list of ten of my favorite kart racers with the granddaddy of them all, the Mario Kart series. What better way to begin than with one of the best--if not the best--entry in the series with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe! This entry in the Mario Kart franchise may be a port from the Wii U, but it brought more than enough freshness to the formula to be worthy of its "Deluxe" moniker. First and foremost: all of the DLC tracks from the Wii U game were included in the vanilla game: from Dragon Driftway and Wild Woods, to new takes on familiar tracks like Cheese Land and Ribbon Road. The updated and upgraded Battle Mode brought new arenas to it instead of simply battling on retrofitted tracks from the base game. New accessibility features like steer assist to protect beginning players from easily falling off the track, and auto acceleration meant that anyone could have some fun with this new Mario Kart.
No doubt Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a juggernaut in the kart racing genre, as it continues to move copies five years after launch. Nintendo obviously took notice of fans of the game starving for new content, as the Booster Course Pass brings with it 32 new tracks until next year's end. Speaking of, we should be expecting the second wave soon!
Mario Kart 7 (3DS)
It's difficult to deliver a list of ten of my favorite kart racers without including at least a few from my favorite series in the genre. It's even more difficult to determine which three to actually include! Mario Kart 7 may not be the greatest entry in the series, but it definitely delivered a lot of delightful fun and hijinks for me as a player. The character roster isn't the best, eschewing Waluigi, Bowser Jr., and Diddy Kong as inclusions, but newcomers like Metal Mario, Wiggler, and Lakitu were fun enough additions all the same. Mario Kart 7 has a great variety of tracks both new and retro--the latter including some of my faves in the franchise, such as Dino Dino Jungle, Airship Fortress, and Waluigi Pinball. The addition of kart customization remains a feature in all Mario Kart games after, and the online of the game still wages on with intense races and hard-hitting hijinks in Battle Mode. It might not be the most beloved Mario Kart for many, but it's quite loved by me!
Mario Kart DS (DS)
As a single-player experience, Mario Kart DS is without question for me the leader of the pack in the long-running (or is it "long-riding"?) franchise. This is due to the addition of Mission Mode, a full-fledged series of challenged-centered missions ranging from coin-collecting to superb boss battles. While Mario Kart DS's follow-up, Mario Kart Wii would incorporate missions into its package, these would be limited-time only affairs. A bit of a bummer. Further, Mario Kart DS brought with it blasts from the past in the form of Retro Cups. Unlike Mario Kart: Super Circuit before it, these weren't limited to just Super Mario Kart. Instead, these 16 retro tracks were picked from all of the previous games in the series. Throw in the franchise's first foray with online via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection (of course, the online that was present is no longer in service), and you had one wild handheld ride.
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (Multi)
SEGA and Sumo Digital turned up the action and intensity dial to 11 with Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. Launching on virtually every platform under the sun at the time of its release, the game boasted an impressive roster of characters... and for whatever reason Wreck-It-Ralph and Danica Patrick. Regardless, being able to race as oft-forgotten SEGA all-stars like Gillius Thunderhead from Golden Axe and Vyse from Skies of Arcadia was a pure privilege and joy. Those are also the words I'd use to describe the track design, literally transforming between laps to change up the races dynamically in a glorious, action-packed way. That's not all the transformations included in the game: as Sonic and friends would see their vehicles transform as they hit the waves, soared into the sky, and of course, met the pavement. Although the game does suffer more than its fair share of "interesting" bugs and glitches, these don't prevent Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed from zooming across the finish line in style.
Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing (Multi)
Of course, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed wouldn't have been what it was without having a sturdy and stellar foundation to build off of. The original Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing was that foundation, and it remains an excellent kart racer to this day, even with an arguably superior sequel alongside it now. Taking a wide range of SEGA all-stars and putting them in colorful race courses to speed through was a genius idea, and Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing is fantastic in that regard. It's also fantastic in its racing controls, handling, and pure sense of speed. While Transformed would indeed raise the dial of insanity and intensity up to 11, the original Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing is still worth taking a look at, as it's a really remarkable racer.
Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled (Multi)
From one mascot to another, we move on from Sonic to Crash Bandicoot in one of the greatest, most content-rich kart racers around: Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled. Remaking all of the tracks from the original Crash Team Racing as well as Crash Nitro Kart, introducing several "seasons" featuring brand-new tracks that fit right in quality-wise with the originals, and presenting a multitude of characters, karts, cosmetics, and more to unlock, Crash Bandicoot's original kart-racing outing was definitely given as much tender, loving care as possible. Sure, the high skill ceiling may put off some players, especially if they hop online and get decimated by racers who have mastered the "Blue Fire" technique, but the game can be enjoyed by pretty much everyone.
Diddy Kong Racing (N64)
Speaking of Crash Team Racing, how about we go back a little further in the past to the game that CTR was no doubt inspired by especially with its Adventure Mode? Diddy Kong Racing brought a collect-a-thon angle to its kart racing goodness, offering Gold Balloons to collect in its Adventure Mode, opening doors to new levels and areas, races to win, bosses to beat, and mini-games to win. Diddy Kong Racing was developed and published when Rare was firing on all cylinders, creating banger after banger on the Nintendo 64, and DKR remains one of my favorite kart racing games, period. Even after two decades and some change, the Adventure Mode as a single-player or co-op experience is unmatched in a kart racer, and I hope to goodness we see Diddy in the future take the wheel of a kart once again without having to share the road with Mario and friends.
Kirby Air Ride (GCN)
An untraditional kart racer where you play with an analog stick and one button? Madness! But when the game design guru behind Super Smash Bros. and Kid Icarus: Uprising, Masahiro Sakurai, is at the helm, the team under his leadership somehow made it work and wonderfully so! Featuring three main modes: a standard racer, a top-down racer mode, and the "get ready to lose a good portion of your free time in" City Trial mode, Kirby Air Ride delivered abundant fun to go along with its extensive amounts of charm. The controls may have been simple to learn, but as the cliche goes, they were indeed tough to master. A myriad of unlockables meant that players who were engaged enough with this delightful racer would stick with the game for a long time, and the local multiplayer was absolutely amazing in its entertainment value. Kirby Air Ride is a shining star in the GameCube's lineup.
Chocobo GP (NSW)
The most recent game on this list is from Square Enix, and truthfully, a month ago, I would have been hard-pressed to recommend this game. However, ever since Square dropped the trashy, scummy, and aggressive business practices from Chocobo GP, and have since added multiple improvements to the game as well, I can wholeheartedly recommend this racer. A follow-up to the PlayStation's Chocobo Racing, Chocobo GP might not boast a massive amount of track locales (though most locales feature multiple track arrangements), the game more than makes up for that with its pure unadulterated fun. Its cast of unlockable characters is large, its titular Chocobo GP mode is ingenious, and controlling Chocobo and friends feels wonderful. There is some Mario Kart madness to be found with using the game's version of items (Magicite), but overall, Chocobo GP shows that this bird truly is the word when it comes to complementary racers on Switch to play alongside Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
ModNation Racers: Road Trip (Vita)
ModNation Racers is pretty much on the backburner if not completely dead as a PlayStation franchise. That said, the third and final release in the franchise was the PlayStation Vita launch title, ModNation Racers: Road Trip. Part of the thrill of this game was the racing shenanigans and full-fledged single player mode. However, the main event here was Road Trip and ModNation Racers as a series as a whole's ability to create your own drivers (Mods), karts, and yes, courses. All of this was quite intuitive and easy enough to do with a little practice and patience. While LittleBigPlanet Karting would take the course creation to a whole new level entirely (maybe to a too intimidating level), ModNation Racers: Road Trip offered a more simplistic, accessible approach that anyone could pick up, design, and play around with. The base game is enjoyable, the content creation is enviable, it's just too bad that there wasn't any online play to make this ModNation Racers installment even better than it was already.
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, an enhanced port for the Nintendo Switch of the original Wii U 3D World, launches in exactly one month on February 12th. Ahead of the release, Nintendo published a new trailer for the game featuring its all-new Bowser's Fury mode--you can see it as published on SPC. With a new Mario launching in a month's time, it seems like a grand opportunity as any to look back at Mario's past Nintendo Switch exploits and see which games come in at the top with this countdown of the ten best Switch games featuring the Big N's mascot, the portly plumber Mario, in a playable capacity. After you've scoped out the top ten, which games would you put on your list of faves?
10) Mario Tennis Aces
We begin this countdown with a game that was much maligned in the SPC review. However, with various free updates, Mario Tennis Aces turned a match that it was down two sets by and managed to eke out a victory in the end. With a grand assortment of playable characters releasing each month up until about a year or so ago--making the count at a nice and even 30--and adding an abundance of new modes and content, Mario Tennis Aces became a vastly improved game than what was offered at launch. It made for a tennis game that was just as sound content-wise as it was mechanically and structurally, creating an overall thrilling game of tennis that allowed me to finally fully enjoy the game.
9) Super Mario Bros. 35
Available for a limited time (up until March 31st, 2021), Super Mario Bros. 35 is a battle royale-style romp that sees 35 players taking on one another simultaneously as they each play through one of 32 levels in the original Super Mario Bros. As enemies are defeated on your screen, they drop in on another player's screen. However, the exact opposite can and DOES happen quite a lot, resulting in some incredible insane and hectic moment-to-moment gameplay where a well-timed cash-in of coins for power-ups is the difference between victory and an early defeat. It's an absolute shame that Super Mario Bros. 35 is only going to be available for a short while longer, as it is one definitely clever and ultra-addicting take on an old classic.
8) Paper Mario: The Origami King
Listed on SPC's Games of 2020 list, Paper Mario: The Origami King surprised me with just how much I enjoyed it. While some might stick up their nose at the game not fully returning to the turn-based, experience point-earning battles of the original two Paper Mario games, Origami King managed to amaze regardless with a clever battle system that utilized a puzzle-based ring system to organize enemies into rows and batches to take them out. Boss battles involved further innovation, as well, delivering more puzzle-solving and the occasional trial and error to take down. Between the marvelous exploration, locales, characters, story, writing, humor, and music, Paper Mario: The Origami King is an absolute delight to play.
7) Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle
Ubisoft Milan's colorful Mushroom Kingdom take on the XCOM series, Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle brought with it much mockery and skepticism when it was originally leaked. However, once the game was revealed in an official capacity, a lot of crow was had--as the game looked positively remarkable, creative and fun. Fortunately, the end result for when the game finally launched was a successful one, being greeted with great reviews and high sales alike. The strategic grid-based battles in Mario + Rabbids were a mix of melee and ranged attacks, having Mario, Luigi, and the gang use gun-like weaponry of all things to battle Bowser's forces. It's a concept that under less cautious and more reckless hands would have been a disaster, but Ubisoft Milan certainly pulled it off.
6) New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
Arguably--and I will argue this to the day I lose my last 1-Up--two of the greatest 2D Mario adventures, able to be compared favorably design-wise to greats like Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World, New Super Mario Bros. U and its much more difficult New Super Luigi U DLC were combined into one nice and tidy package on the Nintendo Switch. That package was none other than New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, offering more than 100 combined levels of 2D platforming greatness. Whether it's the more relaxed (though it does get quite hard in later worlds) pace of New Super Mario Bros. U, or the bite-sized, highly challenging levels of New Super Luigi U, this pair placed in this platforming package is more than worth playing, no matter if it's alone or locally with up to four friends.
5) Super Mario 3D All-Stars
Speaking of platforming packages, we turn our attention to Super Mario 3D All-Stars, a collection of three 3D Mario games put in one collection. The games included go from good (Super Mario Sunshine) to masterful (Super Mario Galaxy), and players can revisit--or explore them for the very first time--the games that solidified Mario as a force to be reckoned with in not only the 2D space but also the 3D one. Starting with Super Mario 64, making the leap to Super Mario Sunshine, and then reaching for the stars with Super Mario Galaxy, these three remastered games never looked or played better. Yes, the collection itself is relatively bare-bones feature-wise, but overall, when you have games this good in one package, it's hard to resist recommending Super Mario 3D All-Stars regardless.
4) Super Mario Maker 2
Childhood me adored making maps and level designs on the back of blueprint paper that my mom brought home from her work. I'd doodle for hours on end, making levels and maps for games like Mega Man, The Legend of Zelda, and yes, even Mario. So, when Nintendo initially announced the original Super Mario Maker on the Wii U, you can bet I jumped at the chance to play the released game and make a metric ton of levels in it. With Super Mario Maker 2, not only did Nintendo listen to fans on adding new features and content, such as the often desired slopes, but eventually with the game's final update, a world maker was available. This mode allows creators to make their own games, essentially. Throw in highly accessible creation tools and controls, a helpful Story Mode that serves as a tutorial in creating competent levels in the Maker Mode, and online multiplayer that was beefed up since release to make for an overall better playing experience, and you have one of my favorite Mario games on the Nintendo Switch.
3) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
The Nintendo Switch is of course no stranger to getting content from the much less successful Wii U. Essentially an entirely sizable new audience is getting a chance to play a smorgasbord of new software because Nintendo is porting much of its Wii U catalog to the Switch. The earliest game on the hardware that raced in from the Wii U was Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Not just a simple port, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe featured all of the DLC tracks from the original game--for an impressive 48 track total--as well new characters, an updated and enhanced Battle Mode that had more traditional arenas, and lots of quality of life additions. Speaking of the latter, racers could utilize steer assist to keep them on the track, and auto acceleration so one less button would need to be held down during races. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe remains one of the best multiplayer games on the Switch to date, and it continues to be one of the best kart racing games ever made. Some might even say it leaves the rest of the competition in the dust.
2) Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Though Mario may not act as the actual star of this penultimate game on this top ten countdown, he is a major part of the all-star ensemble of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. What a game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is, with battles being fierce and frenetic, with the game possessing a bounty of content, characters, stages, and modes (many of which return from past Smash Bros. games), and so much TLC poured into the game by Masahiro Sakurai and his unwavering team. The game continues to see updates, as it's knee-deep in the second Fighters Pass, which just saw Sephiroth of Final Fantasy VII fame, of all characters, swoop onto the roster, and the support for the game keeps impressing! Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is truly a celebration of all things gaming, wrapped neatly together by expansive content and magnificent fighting mechanics.
1) Super Mario Odyssey
It certainly isn't the first time this game has arrived at number one on a SuperPhillip Central countdown, and by golly, it probably won't be the last either. Super Mario Odyssey is just that good of a 3D platforming adventure, inviting Mario and players to explore its robust and wide open platforming playgrounds, hunting high and low for Power Moons. Each kingdom that players arrive in is brimming and utterly bursting with creativity and genius design, whether it's running and jumping through a realistic city or taking on a giant cockatiel bird in a blazing hot, gargantuan-sized roasting pot. Cappy adds to Mario's already impressive move set, offering more freedom in the portly plumber's platforming abilities than ever before. Furthermore, the ability to capture enemies and objects, temporarily possessing them opens up some insanely creative scenarios, interesting platforming and environmental challenges, and new ways to get around the expansive levels, as well. Super Mario Odyssey isn't a perfect Mario adventure, but I'd be absolutely lying if I said it wasn't close!
'Twas the night before Christmas and all through SPC,
Not a creature was stirring, save for little ol' me.
A new article is here on the front page with care,
Hoping that viewers will stop by and give it a stare.
Happy Christmas Eve, everyone! It's almost customary for SuperPhillip Central to provide some kind of winter-themed video game list around this time of the year, so let's do that again. This time, though, let's be a little more specific with a look at one of SPC's favorite racing franchises, Mario Kart. The series is renowned for being incredibly accessible to almost all types of players, and its assortment of tracks are seldom dull and ordinarily exciting.
This top ten list is themed after the latter, those exciting tracks, though those that have a winter theme. We are in a new season here in North America, the winter season, and with Christmas quickly approaching, there's no better way to celebrate both Mario Kart and the holiday season than with a list featuring SPC's favorite winter-based Mario Kart tracks! Let's get to the countdown!
NOTE: For an updated list for 2025, check out this video top ten!
10) Sherbet Land - Mario Kart 64 (N64)
We begin this countdown of winter-based Mario Kart tracks with the first fully 3D entry in the series, Mario Kart 64 and its Sherbet Land track. It was a tough challenge to leave one of the two snow and winter-themed Mario Kart 64 tracks off of this list, but ultimately, Frappe Snowland was the victim. No offense to that track or its fans, as I really enjoy that one, too. Regardless, Sherbet Land in Mario Kart 64 sees Mario and the Mushroom Kingdom crew visit a massive lake-like track, similar to Vanilla Lake from Super Mario Kart. There's cracks in the ice that can be leaped over with proper timing and speed, and the closer to the center of the lake you are when you leap, the more seconds you can shave off your time--though it's also riskier. Penguins surround the lake, sliding around back and forth, and also calling a column-filled cavernous corridor their home. Racers would do well to not bump into one as they waddle around each icy pillar in the cave. Sherbet Land would return in Mario Kart Wii as a retro track, and it allowed players like myself to appreciate this icy race course once again.
9) Rosalina's Ice World - Mario Kart 7 (3DS)
Whether in its Mario Kart 7 original form or more notably in its Mario Kart Tour glow-up, Rosalina's Ice World is a track full of hazards and slippery goodness to enjoy. From the start of the track you can see planets in the sky. This particular track has a cold, lonely feel to it, even with the penguin town full of igloos and other homes halfway through it. One can stay on the top of the ice for a slippery ride, or opt to travel underwater and sea the aquatic life underneath, such as the aforementioned penguins. The home stretch features a cavern of icicles, stalagmites, and more, all leading back into the open outside air where the finish line greets racers. I wasn't originally too keen on Rosalina's Ice World, especially as a Mario Kart 7 Special Cup track, but I eventually warmed up to it. Its Mario Kart Tour version is more enticing, so that might be a cause for my turnaround in opinion.
8) Ice Ice Outpost - Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (NSW), Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)
As you'll see from this list, Mario Kart 8 and its Deluxe edition have no shortage of excellent tracks to choose from. Of course, when a game has 48 tracks, it sort of makes sense! Regardless, one of the then-new tracks featured in one of the two DLC packs of the Wii U original Mario Kart 8 and included wholesale as part of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is Ice Ice Outpost. This is a unique track located at an arctic outpost surrounded by icebergs, ships, and ocean. The uniqueness of the track comes from how almost the entire track is made up of two paths that cross over one another multiple times. There are plenty of points where you can change paths, and even some dangerous shortcut possibilities to take in the process. Then, there's the enjoyable anti-gravity to engage with, making for one race that seldom lacks challenge and fierce competition!
7) DK Pass - Mario Kart DS (DS)
The lone track example from the Nintendo DS's "cleverly" titled Mario Kart DS, DK Pass is a ride through the snowy mountainside pass filled with snow, snowmen, and racers to overcome. DK Pass features a multitude of twists and turns, some without railing to save you in case you monkey around too much, and hazards to avoid. The most notable of which are the gigantic rolling snowballs that can clobber unassuming racers like a bowling ball knocking down pins. Sometimes you're going against the path of snowballs, like on the ride up the pass, while on the ride down, you're driving with them. Either way, it's a precarious place to be! DK Pass is especially enjoyable in Mario Kart 7 for how in the first two laps the race is covered with a blanket of fog, but by the third, the sun pierces through the clouds and fog, dissipating both, and reveals a clearer and brighter view of this rocky and rowdy winter-based track.
6) DK Summit - Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
Another DK-based winter-themed track, DK Summit comes from Mario Kart Wii, and this game in the series introduced the ability to trick off ramps and other elevation changes to get a speed boost. What makes DK Summit so much fun is that it gives ample opportunity to try out this new mechanic, and does so with great generosity! Almost immediately after the starting line, you're rocketed through the air to the top of the summit through a large barrel cannon. Then, you're only recourse is a windy and equally wild ride down the slopes, avoiding chasms, players, and other dangers as you trick off slopes, halfpipes, and more. It's riveting to say the least, and makes for one seriously enjoyable track to go "ape" on!
5) Vancouver Velocity - Mario Kart Tour (iOS, AND)
Let's move to Mario Kart's premier mobile outing with a game that I have certainly warmed up to since my rather scathing review back near its launch. It's Mario Kart Tour, and despite my myriad issues with the game, there are several bright spots, and one of them is the amazing track design on display. The new city-based courses based on real life locations offer a taste of the real world in Mario Kart, though of course with a Mushroom Kingdom spin! Vancouver of Canada is one of such cities, and Vancouver Velocity is a stellar track from the game. However, this time around the snow and ice are merely for aesthetics as you never really interact with them in the actual race from the bright neon lights of the city, where the starting line begins, to the trek through the surrounding forests across thin bridges and then a windy road of wooden planks. It's a gorgeous track with a great deal of challenge to come in first on.
4) Sherbet Land - Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (GCN)
It wouldn't be a Mario Kart list with mentioning the unique experiment in the series, Mario Kart: Double Dash. Whether playing the GameCube original version of Sherbet Land (not to be confused with the previously listed Nintendo 64 track of the same name), or diving (literally at times) into the track's retro revival in Mario Kart 8, Sherbet Land is a slippery ride through a Shy Guy skating rink and then a crystal cavern, out to a curvy patch of road surrounded by thick snowbanks, and finally weaving through a giant patch of ice where Freezies from Mario Bros. make their homes. It's a particularly festive track with Christmas lights flashing around, and the song played only amplifies this feeling.
3) Merry Mountain - Mario Kart Tour (iOS, AND)
Why, hello there again, Mario Kart Tour! Speaking of feeling particularly festive, we move on to a track that is the newest and most recent of the bunch on this list. It's so satisfying of a track that it arrives at the number three spot on this list! It's Mario Kart Tour's Merry Mountain, a wholly original track that first appeared in the Winter Tour this year in the game. Nothing else rivals the festive feel of this track, whether you're starting out in the Christmas village where the start/finish line is, weaving through the windy paths, either taking the ground path or the more elevated wooden plank path to reach the top of the mountain. At the top, you of course have nowhere to go but down, offering plenty of opportunities to trick off ramps, collect coins being tossed out by a Toad-driven sleigh in the sky, and making your way back down to the finish. It's a delightfully fun track, and the only caveat here is that you have to play Mario Kart Tour to experience it!
2) Animal Crossing (Winter) - Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (NSW), Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)
If there was one track that especially gives off a comfy and cozy feeling it's the Animal Crossing track, specifically the winter variant of it. This track is notable for, like Animal Crossing, having four seasons to it, and one track variant attached to each. With the winter version, you get a warm feeling even in the coldest season of them all. The town is lit up and decorated with Christmas lights, snow blankets all, and the nighttime sky illuminates the ground to make for an especially lovely looking place. It's homey and remarkable to look at, but it's also a great deal of fun to race on, too, whether you're in town or riding along the beach with stars in the sky and snow on the ground. This is all the while animal villagers cheer you on to [hopefully] victory. It also doesn't hurt that Animal Crossing is one of my favorite Nintendo franchises, either, so that might sway my opinion on this pick... a little.
1) Mount Wario - Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (NSW), Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)
Not just my favorite winter-themed Mario Kart track, but one of my favorite tracks in any Mario Kart period, Mount Wario, which debuted in Mario Kart 8, is unlike any other track on this list. Rather than being three laps it's divided up into three parts, as racers start at the top of the titular mountain, dropping in from the back of an airplane and drive all the way down to the base. Along the way are slippery slopes, a river running through a cavern, a dam, a dangerous section filled with trees to weave through, and the final section, a segment made up of ski jumps and moguls to traverse as you make your way to the finish line where your adoring public awaits to cheer you on. The entire race is like an adventure, one pulse-pounding thrill ride that like a great ride at an amusement park, one that you'll want to immediately go on again after completing it. This is how the best Mario Kart tracks make me feel, and Mount Wario is one of the tops in this department, and tops this list of winter-themed Mario Kart tracks.
Honorable Mentions: Frappe Snowland - Mario Kart 64, Snow Land - Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA)
.png)
.png)
