Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - My Ideal Booster Course Pass

So, at the time of writing the Switch 2 has finally been confirmed and a brand new Mario Kart title is apparently on the way as well. With this next big installment finally confirmed after a decade of waiting, I've been doing some reflecting on Mario Kart 8 and the variety of updates the game has received since its initial release back in 2014. I'm sure most everyone who enjoys Mario Kart would agree that Mario Kart 8 and its Switch remaster made a great addition to the series, but thoughts on the Booster Course Pass are probably more diverse and divisive. I definitely remember the first few waves getting a fairly lukewarm reception back when they first launched, but I think by this point the majority has agreed that the Booster Course Pass made for an impressive and worthwhile expansion for the most part.

That said, I'm sure everyone who's a fan of the Mario Kart series has at least a few courses they didn't enjoy, or has a list of classic stages that they would've liked to have seen return. Of course I'm no different, so with that in mind I figured I might take a look back at all 12 cups added in the Booster Course Pass and consider which tracks I would've personally removed and swapped with others from across the Mario Kart series. Also, to make things interesting I'll set myself two rules;

• #1: All courses need to have appeared in Mario Kart Tour. It's not exactly a secret that the courses added in the DLC were repurposed Tour tracks, so I want to commit to that same restriction and try to keep my list realistic.
• #2: Any course from the BCP I choose to remove needs to be replaced with a course originating from the same game. This way the final number of retro courses from each past Mario Kart game stays the same, and I also have to actually put some thought into my choices instead of just going down a list of favorites across the series.

Obviously as with everything else I post this is entirely based on my own opinions, and I'm not trying to make any statements about a specific course being objectively good or bad. Remember, this is all just for fun. So with that said, let's get into it.

Golden Dash Cup

• 3DS Toad Circuit → 3DS Wario Shipyard

While I don't think I'd go as far as to say Toad Circuit is a bad track, I think pretty much everyone agrees that it's rather plain and just kind of underwhelming. It certainly doesn't help that Mario Kart 8 already had an abundance of fairly standard circuit-style courses. The BCP version of Toad Circuit is also notoriously considered one of the worst looking courses in the game, with its washed out lighting and very flat, plastic-like textures. By comparison, Wario Shipyard is definitely one of Mario Kart 7's most unique stages, both in terms of its course layout and its general theme. Additionally, the more detailed environments and gloomier lighting likely would have done a better job at masking the shortcomings of Mario Kart Tour's graphics.

Lucky Cat Cup

• DS Shroom Ridge → DS Luigi's Mansion

Truth be told, Shroom Ridge was actually one of my favorite courses back when I first played Mario Kart DS in like 2006, but even I can't deny that it's not exactly the game's most distinct or memorable track. It's also unfortunately up there with 3DS Toad Circuit as one of the most visually lacking tracks in the BCP, with just those two tracks arguably being the biggest reason people complained about Wave 1's graphics. Luigi's Mansion, on the other hand, is arguably one of Mario Kart DS's more iconic courses, and much like Wario Shipyard its darker and gloomier lighting likely would have helped cover up any perceived graphical imperfections. It's also worth mentioning that, had Luigi's Mansion been added to the Booster Course Pass, it would have solved the rather glaring issue of Luigi having no tracks to his name in Mario Kart 8.

Turnip Cup

• SNES Mario Circuit 3 → SNES Mario Circuit 2

As I said in my apparently unpopular opinions list, I actually quite like SNES Mario Circuit 3 even if it is a bit basic on the visual design front. I also feel like the classic Mario Circuit design and music from Super Mario Kart is too iconic to get rid of completely. However, I will concede that Mario Circuit 3 specifically is getting a bit stale considering it's yet another BCP stage that was also previously featured in Mario Kart Wii. I feel like Mario Circuit 2 would be a good compromise, with its tighter curves and added glide ramp making for a more interesting race experience while still maintaining the classic SNES Mario Circuit style.

Propeller Cup

• Sky-High Sundae → Piranha Plant Pipeline

I debated including this one as it feels like I'm bending my own rules a bit, considering it's entirely possible Piranha Plant Pipeline hadn't even been conceived of yet when Sky-High Sundae was added to the Booster Course Pass. However, since both courses are still some of the few non-city tracks originating from Mario Kart Tour I figured it was at least worth mentioning. I don't have anything particularly against Sky-High Sundae, but the track layout is admittedly fairly basic and really doesn't amount to much more than a slightly more visually interesting successor to Baby Park and Excitebike Arena. In comparison, Piranha Plant Pipeline has been regarded as one of the highlights of Mario Kart Tour, and many fans seemed genuinely surprised and disappointed when it didn't end up making the cut by the final wave of the BCP.

Rock Cup

• 3DS Rock Rock Mountain → 3DS Shy Guy Bazaar

Rock Rock Mountain (or Alpine Pass for anyone in the UK) is yet another example of a BCP course whose visual design left something to be desired for a lot of fans, particularly when comparing the art direction to the original version from Mario Kart 7. The course design, while popular in its time, also doesn't hold up amazingly compared to some later Mario Kart courses, and in my opinion when put up against the rest of the Mario Kart 8 roster it just feels like a poor man's Shy Guy Falls. Shy Guy Bazaar, on the other hand, features a fairly unique theme and course layout, and similar to Wario Shipyard and Luigi's Mansion the desert sand and evening lighting would potentially have helped mask Mario Kart Tour's graphical shortcomings.

Moon Cup

No changes

Fruit Cup

No changes

Boomerang Cup

• DS Mario Circuit → DS Airship Fortress

Yeah yeah, I know this is probably the coldest and most frequently repeated take on this whole list. Much like Shroom Ridge, I actually quite like DS Mario Circuit, and its music particularly is super nostalgic as someone who grew up with the Nintendo DS. That said, there's honestly no denying that the BCP really didn't need yet another fairly generic "circuit" track with plastic-looking trees and grass. The newly-added forest section and the giant wiggler that patrols it does help somewhat, but I don't think Nintendo could've changed anything that would've made up for not including what seems to be one of the most popular courses in the series instead. I still remember when leaks and datamining indicated that another Mario Kart DS course was probably coming, virtually everyone was expecting Airship Fortress to be filling the slot. In my mind this change would've just given everyone what they already wanted and expected.

Feather Cup

No Changes

Cherry Cup

• GBA Sunset Wilds → GBA Yoshi Desert

I don't think I've ever seen the Mario Kart community collectively flip their opinions on a track as quickly as they did for Sunset Wilds. I swear within minutes of Wave 5's release opinions immediately went from "this stage is great, they need to add it", to "they ruined this stage, why is it even here". For what it's worth, I get where they're coming from. The track layout was simplified considerably, and even I think it's pretty dumb that they removed the sunset from Sunset Wilds. By comparison, Yoshi Desert is still a GBA desert stage, but the course layout is much closer to the original and there's no noteworthy visual effects like the dynamic sunset for them to remove.

Acorn Cup

No changes

Spiny Cup

No Changes