The impending release of Mario Kart.
With nary a guard rail in sight and the vibrant track looping through space, courses bearing the Rainbow Road name have become infamous among Mario Kart fans. That said, while they all share a uniform design, these tracks are far from equal.
Mario Kart: Super Circuit
The first mobile Mario Kart outing, though it lacked the thrill of its console predecessors, Mario Kart: Super Circuit brought an irable karting experience to the GameBoy Advance. Still, relying on the handheld's Mode 7 capabilities to mimick a 3D effect, Super Circuit was hampered by technical limitations that tempered the traditional thrill of a race across Rainbow Road.
That's not to say it wasn't a fun time. Replete with tight turns, jumps, and shortcuts that demanded an expert level of precision, Mario Kart: Super Circuit's Rainbow Road was sufficient, and its last-place status only speaks to the quality of the series' other tracks.
Super Mario Kart
Considered by some fans to be a spiritual successor to the 1984 Famicom title F1 Race, Super Mario Kart was a momentous SNES title that instigated the success of the most popular Mario spin-off series to date. Much like its eventual handheld successor Super Circuit, Super Mario Kart is, by today's standards, limited in of scope, scale, and visual fidelity, but that doesn't make it less enjoyable for many fans.
Popularly thought to be the toughest Mario Kart outing, successfully placing first in a race across Super Mario Kart's Rainbow Road is no small feat whatsoever. It may not include any loops or corkscrews, but it features more than a few tight turns that have spelled doom for millions of racers.
Mario Kart 64
Still a favorite among those particularly nostalgic for Nintendo's late-90s output, and thus considered one of the best racing video games of all time, Mario Kart 64 was the second Mario Kart title overall and the first to embrace full-3D gaming. Solidifying the series as an all-time great multiplayer experience, it was bolstered by iconic tracks like Royal Raceway, D.K.'s Jungle Parkway, and Yoshi Valley.
Oddly enough, this Rainbow Road differed drastically from its predecessor. Now a winding, almost absurdly long road completely flanked by guardrails, it challenged a player's patience more than their skill. Still, it's a part of what many would consider to be a top-three Mario Kart title, and its legacy can't be denied.
Mario Kart 8
Boasting a unique and well-executed space station theme, Mario Kart 8's version of Rainbow Road was visually unique, but it didn't offer a level of challenge that players had come to expect from these sorts of tracks. While players could still fairly easily careen over the edge in some spots, the punishment for falling off of the course was lessened in Mario Kart 8, and the course was, overall, much more forgiving than what was seen in previous installments.
Fortunately, among Mario Kart 8's best retro courses are three Rainbow Roads, the other two being remakes of the Nintendo 64 and SNES versions, so fans of Mario Kart's most infamous collection of courses didn't need to be disappointed.
Mario Kart DS
Mario Kart DS was a significant improvement when compared to Super Circuit. Packed with fully-3D courses both original and remastered, it was a hallmark handheld title that helped to bolster the success of the already thriving Nintendo DS system.
Complete with all the bells and whistles fans had come to expect of a course bearing the Rainbow Road name, the Mario Kart DS iteration did not disappoint. While it was considered easier when compared to the Mario Kart: Double Dash!! version, this take on Rainbow Road introduced a fair level of challenge without asking too much of newer players.
Mario Kart Wii
The Wii console was a massive hit for Nintendo. Making use of revolutionary motion control technology, gaming was more approachable for those not familiar with typical video game controllers. Many versions of Mario Kart Wii came with a plastic steering wheel peripheral which allowed for a series-first motion control scheme. However, this input method lacked the precision necessary for a course like Rainbow Road.
Regardless of a player's control preferences, Mario Kart Wii's Rainbow Road was one of the hardest. Including all kinds of ramps, hazards, and an infamously different final section, Mario Kart Wii's Rainbow Road was harrowing for the skilled and downright impossible for the uninitiated.
Mario Kart 7
Mario Kart 7's interpretation of Rainbow Road opted for a new direction. Rather than a circuit, this version of Rainbow Road was a long continuous path separated into three unique sections. Taking inspiration from Super Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart 7's Rainbow Road was woven around planets and asteroids and incorporated all manner of astrological phenomena.
This version of Rainbow Road isn't perhaps as famous as those seen in Mario Kart Wii or in Mario Kart 64, but it represented an innovative new take on track design that made repeated races much more compelling.
Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
One of the most renowned Mario Kart installments, Mario Kart: Double Dash!! mixed things up by introducing a mechanic whereby players would pick two racers who would drive and throw items independently. The game included several character-specific items, meaning that, for the first time, character selection went beyond mere aesthetics.
Of course, none of that matters when simply staying on the track is a struggle, and that was certainly the case on the Mario Kart: Double Dash!! variant of Rainbow Road. With a notoriously difficult hairpin section right at the start and some oddly floaty physics that sometimes made driving in a straight line something of a challenge, this iteration of Rainbow Road may be a fan favorite, but it's also easily the most difficult.