Toad's Turnpike
- This article is about the race course fromMario Kart 64. For its musical theme, seeToad's Turnpike (theme).
| Toad's Turnpike | |||||||||||||||
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| Appears in | Mario Kart 64 (1996) Mario Kart 8 (2014) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (2017) | ||||||||||||||
| Cups | Flower Cup (64) Shell Cup (8,8 Deluxe) Battle Mode (8) | ||||||||||||||
| Distance | 1036m | ||||||||||||||
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Toad's Turnpike (transliterated asKinopio Highway on a few occasions)[1][2] is the firstcourse of theFlower Cup inMario Kart 64. Set at night, the course involves driving on a public highway in roughly a figure 8, with parts of the road having varying lane quantity. Several vehicles serve as obstacles, launching players upward if driven into.
Toad's Turnpike reappears as a classic course inMario Kart 8 andMario Kart 8 Deluxe as the fourth and last course of theShell Cup. It now takes place at Toad City and features aturnpike service area at thefinish line, making the course more accurate to its English and Dutch names.
Later entries of theMario Kart series have courses that similarly includecars and other vehicles for obstacles:Mushroom City andMushroom Bridge ofMario Kart: Double Dash!!,Shroom Ridge ofMario Kart DS,Moonview Highway ofMario Kart Wii,Wuhu Loop ofMario Kart 7, andBerlin Byways 3 ofMario Kart Tour. Despite this course being called a turnpike, there are no booths.
Mario Kart 64[edit]
Course layout[edit]
The course takes place amid a very late sunset. It is the third longest course in the game (behindWario Stadium andRainbow Road), though its layout is quite straightforward. Players immediately leave a merging starting area to enter a figure-8-esque roadway featuring many moving vehicle obstacles; these include whitecars, turquoise tankertrucks, red box trucks (which can carry three different cargo types), and yellow schoolbuses. Players remain on this roadway for the rest of the race, never returning to the starting area. Each lap then consists of a 90° turn to the left, a U-turn to the left, a U-turn to the right, and a 90° turn to the right, with each turn being very long and gradual. At the beginning of the right U-turn, the roadway merges into two lanes, and remains this way until racers pass the finish line. Various points of the track have small openings with fourItem Boxes in each. A thin line of grass borders both sides of the track and is blocked off by a white fence. Should the player be knocked over the fence by items such as aRed Shell,Lakitu will bring the player back to the main road. Beyond the tall walls that border the racetrack, billboards of Toad can be seen, making it his home track in the game. No other decorations can be found besides a lone Nintendo billboard and a large number of street lamps.
The vehicles travel follow the same route as players, except in Extra mode, where they drive against players at the same speed as in 150cc. The engine class also affects how fast the vehicles move; traffic moves slowly in 50cc, but it is quite fast in 150cc. The difficulty resides in the fact that the larger vehicles go slowly through the road, sometimes blocking the player (especially where the roadway is two lanes, and vehicles often travel side-by-side, making it difficult to steer between them). While each engine class in Versus races contains the same number of vehicles (seven of each kind, totaling 28), Time Trials feature one extra of each vehicle type on the course.
Mario Kart 8 /Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[edit]
Toad's Turnpike makes its classic course debut inMario Kart 8 andMario Kart 8 Deluxe as the fourth and final course of theShell Cup. The course now takes place inToad City, as seen on some cars[3] and signs in the course. Many of the billboards of Toad himself have been removed and replaced with traffic signs based on traffic signs in Japan, including a Mushroom sign reading "NO LIMITS", and advertising billboards, a notable one being for a highway information radio station on the frequency of 64MHz, which is a reference to the course's origins. A service plaza has been added at the start-finish line, giving the English name more significance, and, similar toMushroom City fromMario Kart: Double Dash!!, the starting banner now resembles anelectronic message sign (or "matrix sign"). The sky is also now completely dark and fairly cloudy, unlike that of the original.
Although the basic figure-8 shape remains, there are some layout changes. The track in general is much shorter and the roads are wider compared to the original. Some of the walls are now anti-gravity sections withDash Panels, which help avoid the traffic, but the route is slower. Furthermore, the start-finish line is now on the bridge over the middle of the loop, while the merging starting area has been removed. Players can use aGlide Ramp to fly over this part of the track, but falling onto the bridge requires the player to be rescued by Lakitu.
Item boxes, as well as coins, now move along the road, while the item boxes in the openings of the track are replaced with coins. The yellow school buses are now replaced by different colored transportation buses while the turquoise tanker trucks are gone. A few traffic helicopters are added, and the cars take a more realistic appearance, with some cars in different color schemes (not including the original white) based on Toyota Comfort taxis, popular in Japan, and the vehicles being scaled down to a size more proportionate to the racers. The emptyauto carrier trucks have Glide Ramps, and the pink pickuptrucks have a surfboard which serves as a simple ramp. Vehicles in the left lane change lanes on every other lap of the course they complete, driving in the far left lane until the highway merges from three lanes into two; they indicate that they are changing lanes via orange turn-signal lights. Like in the original, the vehicles tumble over any racers that drive into them, but aSuper Star launches them into the air and renders them harmless. Vehicles will also not cause racers that are either driving too slowly or actively using aBoo to tumble over.
This is one of the three classic courses where the anti-gravity sections are optional, the others beingGCN Sherbet Land andGCN Waluigi Stadium.
Toad's Turnpike is also used as one of the battle courses inMario Kart 8. The coin sections now have a single item box. Item boxes are also stationary. The pink pickup trucks and glider trucks are also absent.
Course traffic patterns[edit]
This version of the course is notable for randomly selecting one of three different sets of vehicles for each race. Vehicles marked with an asterisk (*) have a simple ramp on top.
The first set, which is always chosen for Time Trials, has 29 vehicles.
- Left lane: Car, bus, glider truck, bus*, surfboard truck, bus, truck, truck, car, truck, car, truck, car, car, bus, bus, truck*
- Right lane: Bus, bus*, bus*, car, bus, car, surfboard truck, truck, truck, truck, glider truck, truck*
The second set has 37 vehicles.
- Left lane: Car, bus, car, truck, bus, car, bus, truck, bus*, bus, bus, surfboard truck, truck, glider truck, truck*, truck*, surfboard truck, bus, truck*
- Right lane: Car, car, truck, bus, truck, glider truck, truck*, car, bus*, truck, bus, car, truck, car, truck, bus, bus, car
The third set, which is always chosen for battle mode inMario Kart 8, has 33 vehicles. However, this set also reverses the direction of traffic in the right lane (left in Mirror Mode) so that it now travels against players.
- Left lane: Car, bus, glider truck, bus*, surfboard truck, bus, truck, truck, truck, car, truck, car, surfboard truck, truck, car, car, bus, glider truck, bus, truck*
- Right lane: Car, bus, truck, bus, bus, car, truck, car, car, truck, truck, bus, truck
In all sets, cars can randomly appear as red cars, black cars, or asGreen Shell Taxis, while trucks and buses randomly use a variety of designs.
Profiles[edit]
Mario Kart 64[edit]
- Instruction booklet description:
- English:
Normally, Karts shouldn't drive on a public road, but for some reason, Toad's Turnpike is one of the courses! Drive in a way so that you won't block the large buses or trucks. Cutting one off or driving too slow can cause accidents.
- English:
- Website description:
- English:
Compete against the traffic and other racers in this highway course.[4]
- English:
Mario Kart 8 Original Soundtrack liner notes[edit]
The arrangement on this track aims to give a sense of travelling at speed. It's a really fun course to watch, what with all the billboards and signs that pop up. Just be sure to keep your eyes on the road, and don't cause any accidents.
Brands[edit]
Mario Kart 8 /Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[edit]
- 1-Up Fuel (signs)
- 1-Up Mushroom Car Insurance Group (signs)
- Boomerang Bros. International Airlines (buses, signs)
- Bullet Bill Speed Trial (signs)
- Burning DK (signs, trucks)
- Coconut Cafe (signs)
- Galaxy Air (buses, signs)
- Green Shell Taxi (taxis)
- Iggy's Glass (trucks)
- Lemmy's Tire Service (signs)
- Mario Kart TV (signs)
- Mario Work Gear (signs)
- Moo Moo Meadows Milk (trucks)
- Paratroopa Airlines (buses)
- Princess Orange (signs)
- Propeller Toad Transport (signs, trucks)
- Red Shell Strike Equipment (stickers)
- Roy Smooth Sounds (signs)
- Shell Cup (trucks)
- Toad City Sightseeing (buses)
- Toad Services (services, signs)
- Tropical Bakery (signs)
- Tropical Grocery (signs)
- Yoshi's Egg Market (signs)
Gallery[edit]
Mario Kart 64[edit]
Alternate version of previous image
Full version of the previous artwork used only in Japan
Artwork
The icon from the menu
The icon from the officialMario Kart 64 website
An overview of the map from the officialMario Kart 64 website
The first stretch of the track
Going under the overpass in Toad's Turnpike
Toad is featured on many billboards throughout the course
The track in EXTRA mode
The track in EXTRA mode
Trading Card
Mario Kart 8 /Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[edit]
The course icon
The full course icon
Results screen
An overview of the course
The start of the track
Toad driving on the course
The finish line
The course in Battle Mode
A released screenshot of the course revealing the name of the track
Thestamp obtained for beating the staff ghost at this course
Naming[edit]
Internal names[edit]
| Game | File | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Kart 64 | 10 HIGHWAY | 10 - Highway | |
| Mario Kart 8/Mario Kart 8 Deluxe | G64_KinopioHighway | Grand Prix64 Toad Highway |
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | キノピオハイウェイ[5] Kinopio Haiwei | Toad Highway | |
| Chinese(Simplified) | 奇诺比奥公路[5][6] Qínuòbǐ'ào Gōnglù | Toad Highway | |
| Chinese(Traditional) | 奇諾比奧公路[5] Qínuòbǐ'ào Gōnglù | Toad Highway | |
| Dutch | Toads Tolweg[5] | Toad's Turnpike | |
| French | Autoroute Toad[5] | Toad Highway | |
| German | Toads Autobahn[5] | Toad's Highway | |
| Italian | Autostrada di Toad[5] | Toad's Highway | |
| Korean | 키노피오 하이웨이[5] Kinopio Haiwei | Toad Highway | |
| Portuguese | Autoestrada do Toad[5] | Toad's Highway | |
| Russian | Магистраль Тоада[5] Magistral' Toada | Toad's Highway | |
| Spanish | Autopista Toad[5] | Toad Highway |
Notes[edit]
- During the ending credits inMario Kart 64, the fences around the road and the vehicles are noticeably missing.
- CPU drivers inMario Kart 64 never drive on the side of the road that contains item boxes.
- This is the only course inMario Kart 64's Flower Cup to not appear inMario Kart Tour.
- One of the buildings in the background of theMario Kart 8 version bears a resemblance to theTokyo Skytree.
References[edit]
- ^December 1996.Nintendo Magazine System (UK) issue 51.EMAP. Page 28 and 29.
- ^April 1997.Nintendo Magazine System (Australia) issue 49.Catalyst Publishing. Page 40.
- ^AToad City Sightseeing bus in Toad's TurnpikeMedia:MK8-ToadCitySightseeing.png
- ^Mario Kart 64: Flower Cup.nintendo.com (American English). Archived February 5, 1998, 06:51:49 UTC from the original via Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
- ^abcdefghijkString1445 in fileUI/<language>/message.sarc/Common.msbt.Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (2017). Nintendo EPD et al.
- ^In-game name inMario Kart 64 (马力欧卡丁车) on theiQue Player.
