2: Flower Cup Tracks

2: Flower Cup Tracks

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Flower Cup Tracks

Mario Circuit

This Mario Circuit is pretty different from past iterations, especially in looks, but just as much in track design. The whole course is pretty narrow, which can possibly open up chances for a few clashes or two on the road. Stay sharp to avoid being slammed into a wall... or into the Chain Chomp!

Goombas: Beware of the Goombas creeping along on the first and last sections of the track -- they're basic obstacles that can spin you out. Of course, it'd be great if you could bump an opponent into them, too...
The Chain Chomp: The giant Chomp will thrust itself out to attack, but its reach only extends over the right lane of the track, so keep that in mind. If you can, boost over to the jump before the Chomp to bypass it completely and also cut across the track and through the little tunnel. 427x240
One last shortcut: The last curve before the starting line is a great shortcut opportunity. All you have to do is boost along the grass (as always!) and you should safely come out around the corner, closer to the finish. 427x240

Coconut Mall

Coconut Mall is one of the more complex tracks in the game. There are multiple paths to choose, and for the average racer, it's hard to determine what one way is best. At any rate, you'll have lots of jumps to practice trick boosts on, so use those often to keep your speed up.

Escalators: Like the conveyor belts in Toad's Factory, the escalators you see in the mall will change direction after each lap. The extra challenge comes in due to the fact that the escalators are angled, so if you accidentally go up one of the opposite direction, you'll take quite a while to get up to the top.

After getting to the top of the first escalator, ignore the stairway in the middle and veer left to hit a boost strip that will help you get around the turn.
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Storefront shortcut: Just before taking the jump to the lower level (see below), you can veer right into the storefront where the Pianta is dancing inside. The floor is rough, so you'll have to boost through to keep up speed, but you can then leap down to the bottom as you cut a second or two off (or keep running around the upper level to get even farther ahead!).
Why drive when you can jump?: The escalator leading down at the end of the first turn should actually be avoided. Instead, Launch yourself off one of the edges on the left and right sides of the escalator, then perform a trick and boost at the end. You can keep up the tricking by driving up the edge of the fountain on the ground and then boost your way up the next escalators. 427x240
The "Coconut Garden": The large open-air courtyard section of the mall is another great way to keep boosting, either by driving off the edges of the tree planters and the fountain, or by hugging the left or right walls and hitting the boost strips there. Most racers (and computer opponents) should go straight ahead for the fountain since it has more Item Boxes, but the boost strips have single boxes that you can have all to yourself. It's up to you!

The parking lot: Annoying Miis will repeatedly slide their cars in and out of their parking spaces, blocking boost strips in the process. They don't stay in one place too long, so be prepared to make snap judgments. 427x240

DK Summit

This track is pretty straightforward in design, but in practice it can get pretty hectic. Jumps, snow banks and precarious half-pipes will make life hard.

Half-pipe mania: After exiting the huge cannon, you'll get your first taste of the track's abundance of half-pipes and launch strips. It's only until the last part of the track where you'll really have to use them, though, so don't worry about needing to use them -- just stay focused on maintaining control.
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Avoid the snowbanks, exploit the mounds: Simple enough advice. The patches of raised snow you'll find are definitely obstacles you need to avoid (or boost through).

After the first two snowbanks, you'll come upon a mess of small mounds of snow, with a few boost-jumps around the field. If desired, you can actually bypass the boosts and just run over the mounds, constantly tricking every time you hit the air and constantly boosting.
The "important" half-pipe: The last challenge before hitting the finish line features a large half-pipe with a couple of larger snowbanks that take up more than half the path. Ideally you could just boost through, but that won't always be an available option. Most of the time, you're going to have to run up the pipe and come back down with a boost in order to get over the snow. Start drifting once you approach the turn to the finish line so you can get one last little boost there. 427x240

Wario's Gold Mine

The Flower Cup finale may not be quite as crazy as the other tracks, but the railways you race on aren't always fitted with guard rails, so there's always a danger of being thrown right off the track into oblivion. Try to stay in the middle of the path to keep yourself better insured.

Skip the ridges: The half-pipes before the starting line and before the entrance to the mine can give you nice boosts, but you may sacrifice a couple of seconds just driving up to them first. Drift past them and keep yourself in the game. 427x240
Suffering Swoopers: Stay sharp once you enter the mine, because a bunch of Swooper bats will flood the interior and will slow you down if you hit them. They keep around the middle of the track, though, so veering to the left or right should keep you safe. 427x240
Minecart shortcart--er, shortcut: The last indoor section of the mine features mine carts packed with gold being shuttled along small tracks (they have a more purplish color than what you're driving on). Follow the track until it ends, but keep going off the edge to reach the shortcut. You don't have to boost, but you should be at top speed to make it over. A small tunnel will keep you ahead with boost strips, and then spit you outside, ahead of the main exit of the mine and closer to the finish line. Nice!