Yoshi's Island (race course)
| Yoshi's Island | |||||||||||
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| Information | |||||||||||
| Appears in | Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Booster Course Pass, Wave 4) (2023) Mario Kart Tour (2023) | ||||||||||
| Cup(s) | Fruit Cup | ||||||||||
| Tour(s) | |||||||||||
| Based on | Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island | ||||||||||
| Online play | Available (Switch) | ||||||||||
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Yoshi's Island is a race course that first released as part of Wave 4 of theBooster Course Pass inMario Kart 8 Deluxe, appearing as the fourth and final course of theFruit Cup, and reappears inMario Kart Tour, starting with the2023 Yoshi Tour. It is a course that takes place on theisland it is named after, with its music theme being an arrangement of the athletic theme fromSuper Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. It is the second course to be introduced to theMario Kart series in the Booster Course Pass, afterSky-High Sundae. Despite the course being introduced inMario Kart Tour around one month after its Booster Course Pass release, it does not have aclassic course prefix in either game, and internal data marks it as anew course forMario Kart Tour, and was present in the files forMario Kart Tour for almost a year prior to the announcement of theBooster Course Pass.[1]
Akin to other courses based on games outside of theSuper Mario franchise, this course uses the logo for theYoshi's Island series for its starting line, and the course itself is heavily inspired by the game it is based on, featuring obstacles likeStilt Guys andHuffin Puffins, and mechanics likeWinged Clouds that can summon stretches of road when driven into. The layout of the course appears to reference all the world themes fromSuper Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Many cameos from the game appear in the background, includingIncoming Chomps,Petal Guys,Goonies, an enormousNep-Enut, and Yoshi's allyPoochy.Koopa Paratroopas andSidesteppers also appear on the course. Awindpump near the starting line plays the same sound effect as thePaddle Platforms inSuper Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Additionally, there is aGoal Ring near the finish line.
Similarly toHyrule Circuit,Animal Crossing, andUrchin Underpass, this course has uniquecoins—in this case, the coins have the same design and collection sound effect as in theYoshi's Island series. It also has a unique race start fanfare,finish line fanfare, and results theme based on the "Game Start", "Goal", and "Score" themes, respectively. While some other courses feature unique race start fanfares and results music, this is the only course in theMario Kart series to feature its own unique finish line fanfare; this fanfare plays regardless of the player's final placement in the race, unlike other courses that use three different fanfares depending on the player's placement.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[edit]
Racers begin atYoshi's House in a field that resemblesWorld 1 fromSuper Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Racers drive along a slight serpentine path, avoidingStilt Guys andHuffin Puffins before diving into an underwater section. Surrounding the underwater section is a forest that resemble the basis'World 2 andWorld 3. This section ends with racers driving into a castle. Leaving the castle, racers emerge from the water and drive through a small cave. Exiting the cave, racers drive up an active volcano, like the one inWorld 6. A glider ramp then takes players up to the clouds, driving above snow-capped mountains similar toWorld 5, before taking another glider to the ground level where they can drive into aWinged Cloud to make a red bridge appear. After reaching the ground (or the aforementioned bridge), they make a right hand turn to return to the finish line. There are also Yoshi spectators sitting, standing, jumping and waving with three Yoshis on a wooden arch.
Mario Kart Tour[edit]
Yoshi's Island reappears inMario Kart Tour, debuting in the2023 Yoshi Tour. The minimap for the course is rotated 90° clockwise compared to how it appeared inMario Kart 8 Deluxe. While the coins are no longer themed around Yoshi Coins, other crossover elements like the Yoshi's Island starting banner, the race fanfare and the unique race ending theme have been retained, making it the first and only course inMario Kart Tour to feature these elements. Instead of acting as obstacles, theHuffin Puffins are now located in the background as spectators. The road leading up to the top of the mountain after leaving the castle section now features an icy fog effect. The Cloud Platform after the gliding section over the volcano is bouncy and lacks the ramp; consequently, it no longer appears in the minimap. The Winged Cloud is now stationary instead of moving from left to right and vice-versa. The arrangement of coins inside the Goal Ring has been removed, though it now provides points when passed through.Poochy has also been removed from the mailbox right after the finish line, most likely due to him debuting as a driver alongside the release of the course. The second-to-last hill in the row of background hills now has a set of pine trees on its top, now resembling the hills inWorld 2-1 of the originalYoshi's Island game more closely. Unlike inMario Kart 8 Deluxe, the volcano is dormant, with no lava splashes occurring. Additionally, the chimneys on Yoshi's House as well as on the castle in the cloud section now emit smoke.
This course also appears asYoshi's Island R (reversed),Yoshi's Island T (with ramps), andYoshi's Island R/T (reversed with ramps). In the R and R/T variants, the Winged Cloud is gone as racers use a cannon to glide up to the cloud section, and the water geysers andPiranha Plant are also gone. In the R variant, there are Stilt Guys on the first U-bend. In the T variant, there are threeTurning Floors, theSidesteppers andglide ramps are gone, and racers can finish each lap by driving over Yoshi's House, where there is a starting line with the classicMario Kart logo, as opposed to the other new courses. In the R/T variant, racers drive on top of the castle and skip most of the following water section, and finish each lap by gliding over Yoshi's House, though the additional starting line now uses the modernMario Kart logo.
Appearances[edit]
For this course's tour appearances, seeList of Yoshi's Island tour appearances inMario Kart Tour.
Top-tier and middle-tier items[edit]
Select "show" to reveal the drivers, karts, and gliders for which Yoshi's Island 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 of Yoshi's Island 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 |      |   |     |     |        |        ** |
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| * 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]
| Ring Race | |||||||
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| Icon | Course variant | Chosen driver | Chosen kart | Chosen glider | Grand Star scores | Tour appearances | Cup |
 | Regular |  Luigi |  Pipe Frame |  Super Glider |
| Yoshi Tour (2023) |  Waluigi Cup |
Profiles[edit]
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[edit]
- Nintendo Switch News app (US):
- This course is entirely new to the Mario Kart series!
- Fans of the Super Mario World™ 2: Yoshi's Island™ game for the Super NES™ system will find a lot of callbacks here―from enemies to locations to sound effects. Even the coins have Yoshi's face on them!
- Use the question mark clouds near the end of each lap to create a handy shortcut.
- Nintendo Switch News app (UK):Take a tour of Yoshi's Island!
Here's a closer look at another course released as part of the fourth wave, which is available now: Yoshi's Island.
Appearing as a course for the very first time in the Mario Kart series, Yoshi's Island takes inspiration from the Super NES™ game of the same name and is replete with familiar enemies and gimmicks. For a nostalgic touch, the coins have Yoshi's face on them, and the sound effect when you grab them sounds just like it did back in the day! A hot tip for the end section of each lap: If you touch the Winged Cloud, it'll reveal a shortcut that might just give you the winning edge!
Gallery[edit]
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[edit]
The course icon
The full course icon
Results screen
View of the starting line
View of the finish line, showing aGoal Ring and Yoshi's house
Stilt Guys
Huffin Puffins
Huffin Puffins
The Nep-Enut
Several variants of Birdo on the course
Baby Mario, Birdo, andYoshi on the course
Birdos andBaby Peach on the course
Birdo gliding
Yoshi gliding
Baby Mario gliding
Various racers at the starting line
Mario Kart Tour[edit]
Course icons[edit]
- For this subject's image gallery, seeGallery:Mario Kart Tour race course icons (original courses) § Yoshi's Island.
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 starting line
Stilt Guys on the course
Alternate view of Stilt Guys on the course
APiranha Plant hanging of a tree
The underwater section
View of the castle section of the course
View of the volcano section of the course
View of the cloud section of the course
View of aWinged Cloud
View of the red bridge at the end of the course
Upward view of the volcano and the mountains
Downward view of the island
Naming[edit]
Internal names[edit]
| Game | File | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Kart Tour | Gmob_YoshiIsland | YoshiIsland | Yoshi Island |
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ヨッシーアイランド[?] Yosshī Airando | Yoshi Island | |
| Chinese (simplified) | 耀西岛[?] Yàoxī Dǎo | Yoshi Island | |
| Chinese (traditional) | 耀西島[?] Yàoxī Dǎo | Yoshi Island | |
| Dutch | Yoshi's Eiland[?] | Yoshi's Island | |
| French | Île de Yoshi[?] | Yoshi's Island | |
| German | Yoshis Eiland[?] | Yoshi's Island | |
| Italian | Isola Yoshi[?] | Yoshi Island | |
| Korean | 요시 아일랜드[?] Yosi Aillaendeu | Yoshi Island | |
| Portuguese (NOA) | Ilha Yoshi[?] | Yoshi Island | |
| Portuguese (NOE) | Ilha do Yoshi[?] | Yoshi's Island | |
| Russian | Остров йоши[?] Ostrov yoshi | Yoshi Island | |
| Spanish | Isla de Yoshi[?] | Yoshi's Island |
References[edit]
- ^A number of internal text strings inMario Kart Tour (ArrowMobyi,ArrowSignMobyi,FlowerRingMobyi,HeyhoMobyi,RoadAppearMobyi, andRoadPartsMobyi) refer to map objects that are seen in the Yoshi's Island course; they are referred to as belonging toMobyi, indicating that the course has theMobplatform code, used for courses originating fromMario Kart Tour.
