GBA Bowser's Castle 1
- This article is about the race course fromMario Kart: Super Circuit and classic course inMario Kart 7 andMario Kart Tour. For the race course fromSuper Mario Kart and extra course inMario Kart: Super Circuit, seeBowser Castle 1.
| Bowser Castle 1 Bowser's Castle 1 | |||||||||||
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| Information | |||||||||||
| Appears in | Mario Kart: Super Circuit (2001) Mario Kart 7 (2011) Mario Kart Tour (2019) | ||||||||||
| Cup(s) | Mushroom Cup (Super Circuit) Shell Cup (7) | ||||||||||
| Tour(s) | New York Tour Halloween Tour (2019) Paris Tour (2019) London Tour Ice Tour Valentine's Tour Hammer Bro Tour Trick Tour (2020) Flower Tour Pirate Tour Summer Festival Tour 1st Anniversary Tour Mario vs. Luigi Tour (2020) Mario Tour (2021) Trick Tour (2021) Wedding Tour Paris Tour (2021) Toad vs. Toadette Tour Holiday Tour (2021) Doctor Tour (2022) Bowser Tour (2022) New Year's Tour (2023) Bowser Tour (2023) | ||||||||||
| Online play | No longer available (3DS) | ||||||||||
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Bowser's Castle 1 (known asBowser Castle 1 prior toMario Kart Tour) is the fourth and last course of theMushroom Cup inMario Kart: Super Circuit. It is the first of four Bowser Castle courses raced in each cup except theLightning Cup. The course is relatively short and contains only five Thwomps, a lot ofcoins, and a fewitem boxes. The course takes place inside the castle, as can be seen by the windows and large Bowser-symboled door in the background. It shares its music with the game's other three Bowser Castles:2,3,4.
Bowser's Castle 1 reappears inMario Kart 7 as the second course of theShell Cup, and inMario Kart Tour starting with theNew York Tour.
Mario Kart: Super Circuit[edit]
Course layout[edit]
As with the other Bowser Castle tracks, Bowser Castle 1 is composed entirely of straightaways and 90° turns. There are alsoThwomps as obstacles. The course begins with two left turns followed by the first set ofItem Boxes. Racers then pass a pair of Thwomps and take a right turn before reaching a slight S-bend; immediately before it, the right side of the track is covered in off-road, and immediately after it, there are another three Thwomps. There is then two left turns followed by a long straightaway, where racers must use five consecutive jump pads to jump over the lava while dodgingLava Bubbles. Between the third and fourth jumps, there is another item set. After the straightaway, racers encounter one more left turn followed by another slight S-bend and then the finish line.
Mario Kart 7[edit]
Bowser Castle 1 makes its classic course debut inMario Kart 7 as the second race of theShell Cup. It is the game's only retro course fromMario Kart: Super Circuit. The track is virtually identical to the original course, but has the addition of 3D graphics like the retro courses fromSuper Mario Kart. To make further use of this, there are some stone pillars poking out of the lava. The number of gaps in the jump section were reduced to four, and the platforms were lengthened accordingly. Also, aGlide Ramp appears at the first jump after 36 seconds of the race have elapsed. The glider can also be used to reach a small platform within the lava to the left. There are also some added coins on the track.[1] In addition, the flashing signs that tell which direction to go fromMario Kart: Super Circuit are now billboards attached to the track. The course now has aMario Kart 64-style starting banner. This is also the only course in the Shell Cup not to be in the same order as its appearance in its original cup.
In version 1.1, a shortcut exploit which allowed players to skip the second 180-degree turn became unusable when playing online. The shortcut is still viable offline, however.
This track andDS Airship Fortress are the only tracks to not appear in the credits.
Mario Kart Tour[edit]
Bowser's Castle 1 reappears once more inMario Kart Tour, first appearing in theNew York Tour. It generally retains its layout fromMario Kart 7. This course also uses theMario Kart 7 version of its music, while most other classic courses in the game uses the original versions of their themes. It also shares its music withGBA Bowser's Castle 2,GBA Bowser's Castle 3,GBA Bowser's Castle 4, andRMX Bowser's Castle 1.
The course also appears asBowser's Castle 1R (reversed),Bowser's Castle 1T (with ramps), andBowser's Castle 1R/T (reversed with ramps). The first two have also been available since the New York Tour alongside the original, while the R/T variant debuted in theLondon Tour. In the R variant, aglide ramp is immediately available at the start of the track, and there are many moreThwomps, mostly positioned between the last two turns. In the T variant, there are several ramps that raise and lower in time with the Thwomps, allowing racers to jump over the Thwomps when the ramps are up. In the R/T variant, the number of Thwomps is once again significantly higher, though they are spread out across the course.
Prior to the 2019 Halloween Tour, no kart or glider had Bowser's Castle 1R listed as a favorite course. Instead, its appearance in the Dry Bowser Cup relied on the spotlight bonus to raise the Badwagon and Swooper up one level.
Appearances[edit]
For this course's tour appearances, seeList of GBA Bowser's Castle 1 tour appearances inMario Kart Tour.
Top-tier and middle-tier items[edit]
Select "show" to reveal the drivers, karts, and gliders for whichGBA Bowser's Castle 1 and its variants are alwaysfavored or favorite courses. For instances in which additional drivers, karts, and gliders temporarily had this course and its variants as favored or favorite courses, seeList ofGBA Bowser's Castle 1 tour appearances inMario Kart Tour.
| Course | Three-item drivers | Bonus points ×2 karts | Combo bonus ×3 gliders | Two-item drivers | Bonus points ×1.5 karts | Combo bonus ×2 gliders |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Normal variant |           |                  |              |         * * |  *              |     *       *   * |
   |  |   |  ** |  | ||
 |  |  **   |  ** ** |  | ||
 R variant |     |        |      | *         * |  *** *    *  **** |  **     * |
  |  |  | **  |  | | |
| | ** | ** | |||
 T variant |     |        |   | *  *  |  ***  * *** | ****** *** |
|   |  * |  |  | ||
| |  ** | ||||
 R/T variant |      |         |       |        *  |    *     ** |   ** *   *  * *** |
   |  | |  * **  * | * | ||
| |  ** | ||||
| * indicates a favored course upgraded to a favorite course after reaching level 3. ** indicates a favored course upgraded to a favorite course after reaching level 6. *** indicates a favored course upgraded to a favorite course after reaching level 8 for High-End items. | ||||||
Bonus challenges[edit]
| Do Jump Boosts | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Icon | Course variant | Chosen driver | Chosen kart | Chosen glider | Grand Star scores | Tour appearances | Cup |
 | Regular |  Shy Guy |  Pipe Frame |  Super Glider |
| Halloween Tour (2019) |  Diddy Kong Cup |
| Mario vs. Luigi Tour (2020) |  Hammer Bro Cup | |||||
| New Year's Tour (2023) |  Larry Cup | |||||
| Big Reverse Race | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Icon | Course variant | Opponents | Tour appearances | Cup | ||||||||
| 7th | 6th | 5th | 4th | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | Extra | |||||
 | Regular | Driver |  [2] |  [2] |  [2] |  [2] |  [2] |  [2] |  [2] |  [3] | London Tour |  Baby Mario Cup |
| Kart |  |  |  | |  |  |  |  | ||||
| Glider |  |  |  | |  |  |  |  | Wedding Tour |  Toadette Cup | ||
| Goomba Takedown | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Icon | Course variant | Chosen driver | Chosen kart | Chosen glider | Item Box type found | Number of item slots | Grand Star scores | Tour appearances | Cup |
 | Regular |  Mario |  Pipe Frame |  Super Glider |  Bob-omb  Mushroom | 1 |
| London Tour |  Wario Cup |
| 2 |
| Paris Tour (2021) |  Mario Cup | ||||||
| 1 |
| Bowser Tour (2023) |  Dry Bowser Cup | ||||||
| Steer Clear of Obstacles | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Icon | Course variant | Chosen driver | Chosen kart | Chosen glider | Obstacles | Tour appearances | Cup |
 | Regular |  Wario |  Bolt Buggy |  Super Glider |  Thwomp  Lava Bubble  Star Thwomp | Beta Test | Wario Cup |
 |  Dry Bones |  Pipe Frame |  Super Glider | Flower Tour |  Baby Daisy Cup | ||
| vs. Mega Bowser | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Icon | Course variant | Mega opponent information | Tour appearances | Cup | |||
| Driver | Kart | Glider | Items used | ||||
 | Regular |  Bowser |  Koopa Clown | TBD |  Green Shells | Beta Test |  Bowser Cup |
| Vs. Mega Dry Bowser | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Icon | Course variant | Mega opponent information | Tour appearances | Cup | |||
| Driver | Kart | Glider | Items used | ||||
 | Regular |  Dry Bowser |  Kabuki Dasher |  Super Glider[4] | Green Shells[4]  Bowser's Shells[4] 100cc and higher only | Summer Festival Tour |  Monty Mole Cup |
| Holiday Tour (2021) |  Yoshi Cup | ||||||
| Bowser Tour (2022) |  Peachette Cup | ||||||
| Bowser Tour (2023) |  King Bob-omb Cup | ||||||
| Smash Small Dry Bones | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Icon | Course variant | Chosen driver | Chosen kart | Chosen glider | Grand Star scores | Tour appearances | Cup |
 | Regular | Wario |  Pipe Frame | Super Glider |
| Paris Tour (2019) | Toadette Cup |
| Toad vs. Toadette Tour |  Donkey Kong Cup | |||||
| Break Item Boxes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Icon | Course variant | Chosen driver | Chosen kart | Chosen glider | Item Box type found | Number of item slots | Grand Star scores | Tour appearances | Cup |
 | Regular | Bowser |  Pipe Frame |  Super Glider |  Mega Mushroom  Coin | 2 |
| Valentine's Tour | Peachette Cup |
| 1st Anniversary Tour |  Bowser Jr. Cup | ||||||||
| Time Trial | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Icon | Course variant | Chosen driver | Chosen kart | Chosen glider | Grand Star scores | Tour appearances | Cup |
 | Regular |  Baby Peach |  Pipe Frame |  Super Glider |
| Ice Tour |  Baby Peach Cup |
| Mario Tour (2021) | Baby Mario Cup | |||||
 | R |  King Boo | Pipe Frame | Super Glider |
| Pirate Tour | Diddy Kong Cup |
| Combo Attack | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Icon | Course variant | Chosen driver | Chosen kart | Chosen glider | Highest combo counts | Tour appearances | Cup |
 | T |  Iggy |  Pipe Frame |  Super Glider |
| Pirate Tour | Bowser Jr. Cup |
Gallery[edit]
Mario Kart: Super Circuit[edit]
Mario Kart 7[edit]
The start of the course
Some Thwomps on the course
Bowser,Mario, andKoopa Troopa racing on the course
Bowser going over one of theDash Panels
Bowser gliding through the course
Mario Kart Tour[edit]
Course icons[edit]
- For this subject's image gallery, seeGallery:Mario Kart Tour race course icons (GBA courses) § Bowser's Castle 1.
The course icon
The course icon of the R variant
The course icon of the T variant
The course icon of the R/T variant
Screenshots[edit]
View of the T variant
Bowser drifting in theDasher II
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | クッパキャッスル１[?] Kuppa Kyassuru 1 | Bowser Castle 1 | |
| Chinese (simplified) | 酷霸王城堡1[?] Kùbàwáng Chéngbǎo 1 | Bowser Castle 1 | |
| Chinese (traditional) | 庫巴城堡1[?] Kùbā Chéngbǎo 1 | Bowser Castle 1 | |
| Dutch | Bowsers Kasteel 1[?] | Bowser's Castle 1 | |
| French (NOA) | Château de Bowser 1[?] | Bowser's Castle 1 | |
| French (NOE) | Château de Bowser 1[?] | Bowser's Castle 1 | |
| Château Bowser 1[5] | Bowser Castle 1 | Mario Kart: Super Circuit instruction booklet | |
| German | Bowsers Festung 1[?] | Bowser´s Fortress 1 | |
| Italian | Castello di Bowser 1[?] | Bowser's Castle 1 | |
| Korean | 쿠파 성 1[?] Kupa Seong 1 | Bowser Castle 1 | |
| Portuguese (NOA) | Castelo do Bowser 1[?] | Bowser's Castle 1 | |
| Portuguese (NOE) | Castelo 1 do Bowser[?] | Bowser's Castle 1 | |
| Russian | Замок Боузера 1[?] Zamok Bouzera 1 | Bowser's Castle 1 | |
| Spanish | Castillo de Bowser 1[?] | Bowser's Castle 1 |
Notes[edit]
- The music for this course (andsubsequentBowser Castlecourses) has a similar bassline to that ofBowser's battle theme inSuper Mario 64.
- The course icon for the R/T variant of this course was different in theLondon Tour, where the tall ramps were narrower and hadDash Panels on them. The course icon was changed after the London Tour.
References[edit]
- ^マリオカート7 : コース : こうらカップ. GBAクッパキャッスル1.nintendo.co.jp. Retrieved October 9, 2013. (Archived October 9, 2019, 09:12:05 UTC via Internet Archive: Wayback Machine.)
- ^abcdefgTheMadWeazel (December 4, 2019).London Tour “Baby Mario Cup” - Mario Kart Tour.YouTube. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
- ^AppCentral (December 7, 2019).Mario Kart Tour - Baby Mario Cup! (London Tour).YouTube. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
- ^abcShena Gameplay (August 29, 2020).Summer Festival Tour | Mario Kart Tour | Monty Mole, Baby Daisy and Bowser Jr Cups 200cc Gameplay.YouTube. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
- ^Mario Kart: Super Circuit instruction booklet (EU) (PDF). Page 53.
