History:
Like the Beach Tracks, there is no one owner of the Frosty Tracks, but they all have some similar veins running through them. The Vanilla Lakes are on Property owned by the Toadstool Royal Family far North of the Mushroom Kingdom. There was minimal effort done to adjust them into Racecourses, but they are officially maintained now by Mario but owned by Peach. Frappe Snowland was another course in the North, although not as far as the Arctic areas of Vanilla Lake established by a joint venture between Mario and Yoshi in 1994. Ultimately the two disputed ownership and were forced to put it to bid in 2004 wherein it was purchased by Wario. Sherbet Land (64) was also christened in 1994 by Luigi in an effort to also maintain a racing presence, tho his Brood has maintained ownership.
Snow Land is also maintained by the Royal Family. Finally, Sherbert Land (Double Dash) is a recreational spot for Shy Guys and tho they do not typically field a driver, still hold ownership and profits from Races on their grounds.
Deep in the Cosmic Cove Galaxy Rosalina furbished her first track, naming it Rosalina's Ice World. Tho she is relatively inexperienced in racing or managing tracks, the power and influence of Rosalina far outweight most of the mortal men and women who have pursued such a venture. Rosalina's choice to use the Cosmic Cove Galaxy was one of both safety and on the insistence of her Penguin Allies there.
Super:
Vanilla Lake 1 and 2 are courses that seem the inverse of each other. One races around a giant snowy pile with the occasional cracks in the ice that can be dangerous. The other races around an enormous hole in the ice, which would provide inspiration for many Frosty Tracks to come. The track itself is very slippery and The Small Guys, Koopa and Toad have a tough time with it. Vanilla Lake 1 appears in the Star Cup but Vanilla Lake 2 is the penultimate course in the game. It feature many jagged, dangerous turns as well as some ice blocks, pipes and big patches of slowy snow to drive through. It's an intense experience. These tracks never showed up again, besides in Super Circuit, which recreated SMK verbatim (with the exception of changing the format from 5-Tracks in 4-Cups to 4-Tracks in 5-Cups), but provided a lot of inspiration for those to come in the future.
64:
Frappe Snowland is a snowy track rather than an icy one. There are a couple jumps so someone who can maintain their speed like Toad is of good use. There are again some wicked turns and power sliding opportunities as well as tons of Bomb-filled Snowmen who are deadly. This is also the only Frosty Track besides Vanilla Lake 2 that is not in the Star Cup, it calls the Flower Cup home. Despite featuring giant Yoshi and Mario statues this track returned for DS with a Wario Staff Ghost for some reason. I guess Wario is a better association with the Frigid Wastes than a cheery Tropical Yoshi, and there's plenty of Mario Circuits to take up the Red Plumber's time. Wario clocks in a 2:08:781 in the Brute.
Sherbet Land is one of only a handful of names that appears in different tracks in different games (the others being Bowser Castle, Mario Circuit, Luigi Circuit and Wario Stadium) and is the only name that reappears without attachment to a Racer. It's the clear successor to Vanilla Lake 2, although there is no snow to drive over, there are some tough turns and a giant icy lake in the middle to drive around. The Penguins here are nasty and navigating the Cave is very difficult. This track returned as a Retro Course in Wii where the Staff Ghost inexplicably is Baby Luigi. He goes a 02:48.651 in the Quacker and the expert is 02:28.356 in the Blue Falcon. I suppose there aren't really any other good Luigi-themed courses so they had to stick him somewhere.
Super Circuit
Super Circuit features Snow Land, a fairly unremarkable course for the Star Cup. It does feature some penguins and Snowmen again who block Drivers but don't explode. There are also some puddles that can trap players but they don't seem like Ice Cracks as this course features a snow raceway. There is also a constant Snowstorm, making it the second Mario Kart Course with a weather pattern, but it's never too much to be distracting. Its basic shape does actually recall Frappe Snowland a little bit but with a few more groovy turns. Anyone with good handling who can stay in the middle of the path is going to do well here, which might be someone heavier who won't slip out uncontrollably.
Double Dash:
The Second Sherbet Land appears in Double Dash, leading off the Star Cup, just as Snow Land did for Super Circuit and DK Pass would do for DS. I did decide that the two other snowy courses, DK Pass and DK Summit were more like other DK Courses than these Frosty Tracks, so head over there to see their info. All the Frosty Tracks are basically flat, with ice water hazards and usually some kind of moving or stationary (and exploding) object. This incarnation of Sherbet Land is no different.
The enormous Skating Shy Guys here are basically a recreation of the Penguins from 64 Sherbet Land. There is also a tunnel, tho it's far less dangerous and some snow to slow Racers down, but it's never exactly on the track they should be racing on. The biggest danger here might be the Freezies, which will temporarily chill a player and can destroy good laps right at the last second.
The Secret Ghost here is Baby Luigi/Baby Mario in the Goo-Goo Buggy at 1:25:904. This was probably the inspiration for giving Baby Luigi the 64 Sherbet Land recreated in Wii, but still...what the hell? There aren't any recreations of this course anywhere, and for sure the 64 Sherbet Land is a bit more iconic. It is surprising that there hasn't been a later incarnation of these tracks, but to be sure Original Tracks in DS and Wii are as a rule much crazier than these guys.
7:
Rosalina's Ice World is fairly different from any other Frosty Track that has come before it. The half-pipe sections echo parts of DK Summit from Wii and there are large stretches of a broken ice lake that has been repeated plenty of times, but it is a generally darker track than some of the others here and has a lot more ice than snow portions. It also has a substantial underwater section, so that should be sure to come into your Kart and Wheel selection, although there is not many spots for Air time.
The Staff Ghost naturally then is Rosalina, who goes a 02:25.784 using the Standard with Sponge Wheels and the Parafoil. Neither Rosalina's Cruiser class nor the Sponge Wheels are very good underwater, so that may be where you can strike. The expert though, uses the Gherkin, Red Monster Wheels and Super Glider in 02:13.091. This combo is pretty awful at everything but Land Speed, so either take advantage of the water again or try to match it with something that loses less, such as the B Dasher and Gold Tires, or even the same combo with a Light or Featherweight.
Like the Beach Tracks, there is no one owner of the Frosty Tracks, but they all have some similar veins running through them. The Vanilla Lakes are on Property owned by the Toadstool Royal Family far North of the Mushroom Kingdom. There was minimal effort done to adjust them into Racecourses, but they are officially maintained now by Mario but owned by Peach. Frappe Snowland was another course in the North, although not as far as the Arctic areas of Vanilla Lake established by a joint venture between Mario and Yoshi in 1994. Ultimately the two disputed ownership and were forced to put it to bid in 2004 wherein it was purchased by Wario. Sherbet Land (64) was also christened in 1994 by Luigi in an effort to also maintain a racing presence, tho his Brood has maintained ownership.
Snow Land is also maintained by the Royal Family. Finally, Sherbert Land (Double Dash) is a recreational spot for Shy Guys and tho they do not typically field a driver, still hold ownership and profits from Races on their grounds.
Deep in the Cosmic Cove Galaxy Rosalina furbished her first track, naming it Rosalina's Ice World. Tho she is relatively inexperienced in racing or managing tracks, the power and influence of Rosalina far outweight most of the mortal men and women who have pursued such a venture. Rosalina's choice to use the Cosmic Cove Galaxy was one of both safety and on the insistence of her Penguin Allies there.
Super:
 |
| Vanilla Lake 2 |
64:
Super Circuit
Double Dash:
The Second Sherbet Land appears in Double Dash, leading off the Star Cup, just as Snow Land did for Super Circuit and DK Pass would do for DS. I did decide that the two other snowy courses, DK Pass and DK Summit were more like other DK Courses than these Frosty Tracks, so head over there to see their info. All the Frosty Tracks are basically flat, with ice water hazards and usually some kind of moving or stationary (and exploding) object. This incarnation of Sherbet Land is no different.
The Secret Ghost here is Baby Luigi/Baby Mario in the Goo-Goo Buggy at 1:25:904. This was probably the inspiration for giving Baby Luigi the 64 Sherbet Land recreated in Wii, but still...what the hell? There aren't any recreations of this course anywhere, and for sure the 64 Sherbet Land is a bit more iconic. It is surprising that there hasn't been a later incarnation of these tracks, but to be sure Original Tracks in DS and Wii are as a rule much crazier than these guys.
7:
Rosalina's Ice World is fairly different from any other Frosty Track that has come before it. The half-pipe sections echo parts of DK Summit from Wii and there are large stretches of a broken ice lake that has been repeated plenty of times, but it is a generally darker track than some of the others here and has a lot more ice than snow portions. It also has a substantial underwater section, so that should be sure to come into your Kart and Wheel selection, although there is not many spots for Air time.
The Staff Ghost naturally then is Rosalina, who goes a 02:25.784 using the Standard with Sponge Wheels and the Parafoil. Neither Rosalina's Cruiser class nor the Sponge Wheels are very good underwater, so that may be where you can strike. The expert though, uses the Gherkin, Red Monster Wheels and Super Glider in 02:13.091. This combo is pretty awful at everything but Land Speed, so either take advantage of the water again or try to match it with something that loses less, such as the B Dasher and Gold Tires, or even the same combo with a Light or Featherweight.
No comments:
Post a Comment