Glide Ramp

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The gliding ramp at Bowser's Castle, which leads them to the finish line.
A Glide Ramp in Bowser's Castle from Mario Kart 7

Glide Ramps[1] (also referred to as glider ramps[citation needed] or gliding pads[citation needed]) are a type of ramp that first appeared in Mario Kart 7. Glide Ramps appear in various courses and function similarly to regular ramps, except that when driven over they automatically deploy the Kart's Glider, which then enables the player to glide over sections of the course. Players are still able to perform Tricks off of these ramps to gain a speed boost when gliding. The panels on the ramps are cyan with scrolling white arrows on them to differentiate them from Dash Panels. From Mario Kart 7 onward, Barrel Cannons that appear in Mario Kart courses use a Glide Ramp as the method of propulsion instead of the Barrel Cannon's blast. Glide Ramps are also commonly used as shortcuts.

History[edit]

Mario Kart 7[edit]

Glide Ramps are introduced in Mario Kart 7 as part of the gliding function, where they are used in numerous courses throughout the game. As well as being used in all of the new courses except for Rosalina's Ice World, Glide Ramps are also used in most of the retro courses, replacing longer jumps and cannons and also to replace or provide alternative routes for some sections of the courses. Some sections are also entirely replaced with a Glide Ramp, such as the bouncing net at the end of Wii Maple Treeway. The only retro courses that do not use Glide Ramps are N64 Luigi Raceway, GCN Daisy Cruiser, and SNES Rainbow Road. Although most Glide Ramps remain in the same position, Toad Circuit and GBA Bowser Castle 1 have a Glide Ramp that emerges from the ground after an amount of time, usually after the first lap. Additionally, the Bouncing Note section in Music Park has a pair of ramps that change position every so often, leaving just a lower regular white ramp when they change height and side. The Glide Ramp will flash before changing, but can still be glided from when it is flashing. As well as the ramps, one of the Mushroom Trampolines in Wii Mushroom Gorge has now been recolored blue and functions the same way as a ramp, as once the player bounces off it, the Glider will be deployed and the player can glide over the remainder of the cave instead of bouncing over more mushrooms.

Mario Kart Arcade GP series[edit]

Glide Ramps reappear in Mario Kart Arcade GP DX, where they appear and function like in Mario Kart 7. The ramps are used in the courses Peach Castle, Kingdom Way, NAMCO Circuit, Bananan Labyrinth, DK Jungle, Aerial Road, Sky Arena, and Bowser's Castle. As Mario Kart Arcade GP VR reuses course elements from its predecessor, Glide Ramps also appear in this game.

Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[edit]

Bowser and the Koopalings from Mario Kart 8.
Bowser and the Koopalings gliding off a Glide Ramp in Shy Guy Falls from Mario Kart 8

Glide Ramps reappear in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, where they serve the same purpose as in Mario Kart 7. They are integrated into all of the new courses except Toad Harbor, Excitebike Arena, Dragon Driftway, and Mute City. They use the same design from Mario Kart 7, except in Twisted Mansion, where they use a cyan Dash Panel design. The ramps are also included in much of the retro courses, such as replacing the original boosted ramp in N64 Royal Raceway and being on the dash panel ramp truck in N64 Toad's Turnpike. The rising Glide Ramp returns in 3DS Toad Circuit, Merry Mountain, and Tour Rome Avanti, and the special lowering twin Glide Ramps return in 3DS Music Park and DS Tick-Tock Clock; the lowered Glide Ramp becomes black in this game. In courses where the layout changes between laps, Glide Ramps can appear in a lap where it was not previously; this happens in Tour Paris Promenade, Tour Sydney Sprint, Tour Berlin Byways, DS Peach Gardens, and Tour Singapore Speedway.

Mario Kart Tour[edit]

Shy Guy (Gold), Dry Bowser and Pauline (Rose) driving inside the Sydney Opera in Sydney Sprint
Shy Guy (Gold), Dry Bowser and Pauline (Rose) approaching a Glide Ramp in Sydney Sprint from Mario Kart Tour
A lowering Glide Ramp on Berlin Byways 2

Glide Ramps appear once again in Mario Kart Tour, where they serve the same function as their previous appearances. Just like in Mario Kart 7, Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Glide Ramps were implemented into retro tracks that previously lacked them, with the most prominent example being found on the remake of N64 Choco Mountain, where the section before the boulders was replaced with a giant pit where racers must glide over to get past it. Like normal ramps, players automatically trick off of them once they are driven over. The rising Glide Ramp also appears in 3DS Toad Circuit, Berlin Byways 2, London Loop 3, the R/T variant of 3DS Rosalina's Ice World, and the R variant of GCN Waluigi Stadium. In some courses, they can lower in addition to rising, like the twin Glide Ramps from Music Park from Mario Kart 7.

Courses with Glide Ramps[edit]

The numbers indicate how many Glide Ramps are present in the course. A dash (–) indicates that the course cannot appear as a classic course in a previous game, due to it being present as a new course in its respective game.

Course Original game Mario Kart 7 Mario Kart 8 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Booster Course Pass)
Mario Circuit 2 Super Mario Kart 1
Koopa Troopa Beach Mario Kart 64 2
Kalimari Desert Mario Kart 64 2 2
Toad's Turnpike Mario Kart 64 2
Choco Mountain Mario Kart 64 1
Royal Raceway Mario Kart 64 1
Yoshi Valley Mario Kart 64 1
Rainbow Road Mario Kart 64 2
Bowser's Castle 1 Mario Kart: Super Circuit 1
Mario Circuit Mario Kart: Super Circuit 1
Cheese Land Mario Kart: Super Circuit 3
Sky Garden Mario Kart: Super Circuit 1
Ribbon Road Mario Kart: Super Circuit 2
Waluigi Stadium Mario Kart: Double Dash!! 1
Sherbet Land Mario Kart: Double Dash!! 1
DK Mountain Mario Kart: Double Dash!! 1
Dino Dino Jungle Mario Kart: Double Dash!! 2
Cheep Cheep Beach Mario Kart DS 1
Luigi's Mansion Mario Kart DS 2
Waluigi Pinball Mario Kart DS 1 1
Shroom Ridge Mario Kart DS 1
DK Pass Mario Kart DS 1
Tick-Tock Clock Mario Kart DS 2
Airship Fortress Mario Kart DS 1
Wario Stadium Mario Kart DS 1
Peach Gardens Mario Kart DS 1
Moo Moo Meadows Mario Kart Wii 1
Mushroom Gorge Mario Kart Wii 1 1
Coconut Mall Mario Kart Wii 2 1
DK Summit Mario Kart Wii 1
Daisy Circuit Mario Kart Wii 1
Koopa Cape Mario Kart Wii 1 0
Maple Treeway Mario Kart Wii 2 2
Grumble Volcano Mario Kart Wii 2
Rainbow Road Mario Kart Wii 1
Toad Circuit Mario Kart 7 1 1
Daisy Hills Mario Kart 7 2
Cheep Cheep Lagoon Mario Kart 7 1
Shy Guy Bazaar Mario Kart 7 1
Wuhu Loop Mario Kart 7 2
Music Park Mario Kart 7 2 2
Rock Rock Mountain Mario Kart 7 3 3
Piranha Plant Slide Mario Kart 7 1 1
Wario Shipyard Mario Kart 7 1
Neo Bowser City Mario Kart 7 1 1
Maka Wuhu Mario Kart 7 3
DK Jungle Mario Kart 7 2 2
Bowser's Castle Mario Kart 7 2
Rainbow Road Mario Kart 7 5 5
Mario Kart Stadium Mario Kart 8 1
Water Park Mario Kart 8 1
Sweet Sweet Canyon Mario Kart 8 1
Thwomp Ruins Mario Kart 8 2
Mario Circuit Mario Kart 8 1
Twisted Mansion Mario Kart 8 2
Shy Guy Falls Mario Kart 8 1
Sunshine Airport Mario Kart 8 2
Dolphin Shoals Mario Kart 8 1
Electrodrome Mario Kart 8 3
Mount Wario Mario Kart 8 3
Cloudtop Cruise Mario Kart 8 2
Bone-Dry Dunes Mario Kart 8 2
Bowser's Castle Mario Kart 8 2
Rainbow Road Mario Kart 8 3
Ice Ice Outpost Mario Kart 8 2
Hyrule Circuit Mario Kart 8 1
Wild Woods Mario Kart 8 1
Animal Crossing Mario Kart 8 1
Super Bell Subway Mario Kart 8 1
Big Blue Mario Kart 8 2
New York Minute Mario Kart Tour 1
Tokyo Blur Mario Kart Tour 1
Paris Promenade Mario Kart Tour 3
Vancouver Velocity Mario Kart Tour 2
Los Angeles Laps Mario Kart Tour 2
Merry Mountain Mario Kart Tour 1
Berlin Byways Mario Kart Tour 1
Ninja Hideaway Mario Kart Tour 4
Sydney Sprint Mario Kart Tour 3
Singapore Speedway Mario Kart Tour 4
Amsterdam Drift Mario Kart Tour 1
Bangkok Rush Mario Kart Tour 1
Sky-High Sundae Mario Kart 8 Deluxe/Mario Kart Tour 1
Piranha Plant Cove Mario Kart Tour 1
Yoshi's Island Mario Kart 8 Deluxe/Mario Kart Tour 2
Athens Dash Mario Kart Tour 2
Rome Avanti Mario Kart Tour 2
Squeaky Clean Sprint Mario Kart 8 Deluxe/Mario Kart Tour 2
Madrid Drive Mario Kart Tour 1

In Mario Kart Tour, every course as four variants (normal, R, T, and R/T) that can add or remove Glide Ramps. A blank spot indicates that that variant of the course has not been released as of the latest tour.

Course Original game Normal R T R/T
Mario Circuit 1 Super Mario Kart 0 1 0 2
Donut Plains 1 Super Mario Kart 0 0 0 1
Ghost Valley 1 Super Mario Kart 0 1 1 1
Mario Circuit 2 Super Mario Kart 1 1 0 0
Ghost Valley 2 Super Mario Kart 1 1 1 1
Mario Circuit 3 Super Mario Kart 0 0 1 1
Choco Island 2 Super Mario Kart 1 1 1 0
Vanilla Lake 1 Super Mario Kart 1 1 0 1
Bowser Castle 3 Super Mario Kart 0 1 1 1
Donut Plains 3 Super Mario Kart 0 1 0 1
Koopa Troopa Beach 2 Super Mario Kart 0 1 0 0
Rainbow Road Super Mario Kart 0 1 0 1
Luigi Raceway Mario Kart 64 0 0 0 1
Koopa Troopa Beach Mario Kart 64 2 1 2 1
Kalimari Desert Mario Kart 64 2 1 2 0
Frappe Snowland Mario Kart 64 1 0 2 0
Choco Mountain Mario Kart 64 1 1 0 0
Mario Raceway Mario Kart 64 0 0 0 1
Royal Raceway Mario Kart 64 1 0 0 1
Yoshi Valley Mario Kart 64 1 0 1 1
Kalimari Desert 2 Mario Kart 64/Mario Kart Tour 1 0 1 0
Peach Circuit Mario Kart: Super Circuit 0 1 1 0
Riverside Park Mario Kart: Super Circuit 0 1 1 1
Bowser's Castle 1 Mario Kart: Super Circuit 1 1 0 0
Boo Lake Mario Kart: Super Circuit 0 0 0 1
Bowser's Castle 2 Mario Kart: Super Circuit 0 0 1 0
Luigi Circuit Mario Kart: Super Circuit 0 0 0 1
Sky Garden Mario Kart: Super Circuit 1 1 1 1
Sunset Wilds Mario Kart: Super Circuit 0 0 1 0
Snow Land Mario Kart: Super Circuit 0 0 0 1
Bowser's Castle 3 Mario Kart: Super Circuit 0 0 1 0
Bowser's Castle 4 Mario Kart: Super Circuit 2 3
Baby Park Mario Kart: Double Dash!! 0 0 1 0
Mushroom Bridge Mario Kart: Double Dash!! 0 0 0 1
Daisy Cruiser Mario Kart: Double Dash!! 0 1 0 0
Waluigi Stadium Mario Kart: Double Dash!! 0 1 1 1
Yoshi Circuit Mario Kart: Double Dash!! 0 1 1 0
DK Mountain Mario Kart: Double Dash!! 1 1 2 2
Dino Dino Jungle Mario Kart: Double Dash!! 2 1 2 0
Luigi's Mansion Mario Kart DS 2 1 1 1
Waluigi Pinball Mario Kart DS 1 1 1 1
Shroom Ridge Mario Kart DS 2 3 1 1
DK Pass Mario Kart DS 1 1 1 1
Mario Circuit Mario Kart DS 0 0 1 1
Airship Fortress Mario Kart DS 1 1 0 1
Peach Gardens Mario Kart DS 0 1 0 0
Mushroom Gorge Mario Kart Wii 1 6 0 1
Coconut Mall Mario Kart Wii 1 0 1 0
DK Summit Mario Kart Wii 1 1 1 1
Daisy Circuit Mario Kart Wii 0 2 0 0
Koopa Cape Mario Kart Wii 1 1 1 2
Maple Treeway Mario Kart Wii 2 2 3 0
Dry Dry Ruins Mario Kart Wii 0 0 1 1
Moonview Highway Mario Kart Wii 0 1 1 2
Rainbow Road Mario Kart Wii 1 1 1 2
Toad Circuit Mario Kart 7 1 0 1 0
Daisy Hills Mario Kart 7 2 2 2 1
Cheep Cheep Lagoon Mario Kart 7 1 0 0 0
Shy Guy Bazaar Mario Kart 7 1 1 1 1
Mario Circuit Mario Kart 7 1 1 1 1
Rock Rock Mountain Mario Kart 7 3 1 4
Piranha Plant Slide Mario Kart 7 1 1 1 0
Wario Shipyard Mario Kart 7 1 3 0 2
Neo Bowser City Mario Kart 7 1 0 1 0
Rosalina's Ice World Mario Kart 7 0 1 0 1
Bowser's Castle Mario Kart 7 2 3 2 4
Rainbow Road Mario Kart 7 5 4 1 3
Paris Promenade Mario Kart Tour 1 1 1 0
New York Minute 2 Mario Kart Tour 1 1 0 0
Tokyo Blur 2 Mario Kart Tour 0 0 0 1
Vancouver Velocity Mario Kart Tour 1 1 1 1
RMX Mario Circuit 1 Mario Kart Tour 0 0 0 3
London Loop 2 Mario Kart Tour 0 0 0 1
RMX Choco Island 1 Mario Kart Tour 0 0 0 1
Tokyo Blur 3 Mario Kart Tour 1 1 0 2
RMX Rainbow Road 1 Mario Kart Tour 3 3 0 1
Los Angeles Laps Mario Kart Tour 0 0 1 1
Merry Mountain Mario Kart Tour 0 0 1 0
RMX Rainbow Road 2 Mario Kart Tour 1 1 2 0
Berlin Byways 2 Mario Kart Tour 3 2 2 0
RMX Choco Island 2 Mario Kart Tour 1 1 0 0
Tokyo Blur 4 Mario Kart Tour 1 1 0 1
Ninja Hideaway Mario Kart Tour 4 2 1 0
Sydney Sprint Mario Kart Tour 1 1 1 1
Paris Promenade 3 Mario Kart Tour 0 1 1 1
Los Angeles Laps 3 Mario Kart Tour 1 1 0 2
RMX Vanilla Lake 1 Mario Kart Tour 1 1 1 2
RMX Ghost Valley 1 Mario Kart Tour 0 0 0 1
Sydney Sprint 2 Mario Kart Tour 1 1 1 1
New York Minute 4 Mario Kart Tour 1 0 1 1
London Loop 3 Mario Kart Tour 1 1 1 2
Vancouver Velocity 2 Mario Kart Tour 1 1 1 1
Singapore Speedway Mario Kart Tour 2 1 3 2
Los Angeles Laps 2 Mario Kart Tour 1 0 0 0
Amsterdam Drift Mario Kart Tour 1 1 1 1
Berlin Byways Mario Kart Tour 0 0 1 0
Amsterdam Drift 2 Mario Kart Tour 0 0 0 1
Bangkok Rush Mario Kart Tour 0 1 1 0
Singapore Speedway 2 Mario Kart Tour 1 1 2 1
Sky-High Sundae Mario Kart 8 Deluxe/Mario Kart Tour 1 3 3 1
RMX Bowser's Castle 1 Mario Kart Tour 0 1 0 1
Berlin Byways 3 Mario Kart Tour 0 0 1 1
RMX Donut Plains 1 Mario Kart Tour 1 0 1 0
Amsterdam Drift 3 Mario Kart Tour 0 0 1 0
Singapore Speedway 3 Mario Kart Tour 0 0 1 0
Bangkok Rush 2 Mario Kart Tour 0 1 0 1
Bangkok Rush 3 Mario Kart Tour 1 1 2 0
Piranha Plant Cove Mario Kart Tour 0 0 1 0
Piranha Plant Cove 2 Mario Kart Tour 1 1 1 0
Yoshi's Island Mario Kart 8 Deluxe/Mario Kart Tour 2 2 0 3
Athens Dash Mario Kart Tour 1 1 1 1
Athens Dash 2 Mario Kart Tour 1 1 1 1
Rome Avanti Mario Kart Tour 0 0 0 1
Rome Avanti 2 Mario Kart Tour 0 1 0 1
Piranha Plant Pipeline Mario Kart Tour 1 2 0 1
Squeaky Clean Sprint Mario Kart 8 Deluxe/Mario Kart Tour 2 3 1 1
Madrid Drive Mario Kart Tour 0 0 1 1
Madrid Drive 2 Mario Kart Tour 1 1 0 1
RMX Vanilla Lake 2 Mario Kart Tour 1 1 0 1
Athens Dash 3 Mario Kart Tour 0 1 1 0
Rome Avanti 3 Mario Kart Tour 2 2 1 0

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name Meaning Notes
Italian Pannello planata[2] Glide Panel

References[edit]

  1. ^ Musa, Alexander (May 30, 2014). Mario Kart 8 PRIMA Official Game Guide. Prima Games (American English). Page 9.
  2. ^ Mario Kart Tour in-game notification about Piranha Plant Pipeline course issues (PNG). Discord (English). Retrieved June 28, 2024.[dead link]