History:
The Mushroom Kingdom is full of strange Ghosts called Boos. It is thought that Boos originate from deceased souls who are unwilling to pass on. Once they become Boos though, the souls have no recognition of their past lives and instead form a unique race in itself, with a loose allegiance to their King, who very well may have been some Great Koopa who ruled centuries earlier. The Boos are powerful, as their souls are both Mushrooms and Koopas they have no exact allegiance to either side in the great war between the two races, although due to their naturally creepy appearance they tend to align themselves with the Koopa Hordes.
The Boo Woods are expansive and include many swamps and forests in addition to a few huge mansions that are now faded and decrepit. They were once some of the wealthiest areas of the Mushroom Kingdom but as the Boo Infestation grew and grew the Mansions became virtually unlivable. The wealth of the area is apparent due to the heavy number of lakes, piers and boardwalks that the Boos have converted to Race Tracks. They were once great fleets of Yachts and sailors that now lie in ruin and disrepair.
The Boos have always had an interest in racing though, and as uncontrollable as they are often do not stay in their seats during a race, instead floating around and laughing at the Drivers. They even allowed themselves to become Items before their leader, the King himself entered the Cups. Shortly after this, Luigi came into posession of a series of Derelict Mansions in the area. The Boos didn't take kindly to this, but they delighted in terrifying racers and generally screwing with everything, so King Boo allowed him to proceed.
Super:
SMK featured Haunted Piers in the form of Ghost Valleys 1, 2 and 3. Ghost Tracks only appear in the Mushroom, Flower and Special Cups, and this game features a course in each. The tracks are notoriously difficult due to the sharp turns formed by the wooden planks and the fact that unlike tracks on solid land there is no Offroading - no room for error. It's actually so dark that it's not exactly clear if water exists in the lake bed anymore or if the Boos have just replaced it with an ever-growing darkness. All three of these tracks came back in Super Circuit which recreated the entirely of SMK although re-sorted its 5-Track/4-Cup system into a 4-Track/5-Cup system. Ghost Valley 2 also made a reappearance in Wii as a Retro Track. The Staff Ghost is King Boo, obviously, who raced a 01:06.595 in the Standard Kart L, but the Expert is an impressive 00:58.907 in the Torpedo.
64:
The penultimate track in 64 is Banshee Boardwalk, a course full of razor sharp turns, some long straightaways and a run-down shack full of Bats and graffiti, no doubt from some Mushroom Punk Kids hanging out on the wrong side of the harbour. It also features a giant Cheep Cheep that jumps over players, indicating that life in this part of the lake is actually sustainable. This track came back in the Retro Lightning Cup in DS. The Ghost is Dry Bones in the Dry Bomber with a time of 2:14:403. The Skeletal Koopa here is a bit more appropriate than his association with Donut Plains 1. With a good amount of bats and straightaways I might recommend a heavyweight here who isn't going to spin out as soon as there's a bit of danger. DK.
Super Circuit:
The Ghost Trend continued in Super Circuit, adding Boo Lake as the second track in the Flower Cup, the same position as Ghost Valley 2, and Broken Pier in the Special Cup, tho not the penultimate track.Boo Lake is very similar to other Ghost Tracks, its got the wooden path, the mysterious Black Lake and a horizon full of twisted trees and run-down mansions, implying that it takes place indeed in the Boo Woods. Broken Pier is a bit more interesting. The track is wooden, but much less straight, full of all these jagged, crumbly turns. It's also clearly not in any woods but seems to be in a lake over some High Creepy Mountains. These definitely aren't the mountains of the DK Jungle, nor do they really look like the ones surrounding Grumble Volcano. It's all part of the mystery and creepiness that pervades these courses.
DS:
There are no original Ghost Tracks in Wii, nor any at all in Double Dash. DS has Luigi's Mansion though, which breaks with the "Haunted Dock" tradition but still features Boos and some swamplands. There isn't doubt that this track was created more from the Boo's Love of Racing rather than Luigi's Intervention. It's a relatively long track, even for being the closer of the Mushroom Cup. There are swampy muddy patches, walking trees, Boos and some long wide patches of raceway. Luigi is the Staff Ghost with the Streamliner at 1:59:357. A good Offroader is necessary, someone light who doesn't falter in the mud. Toad's Mushmellow is up.
This comes back in 7 with some jumps to incorporate the Air travel possibilities of the game along with some dangerous Boos popping our of walls but other than that it's very similar to DS. The Staff Ghost here again is Luigi. The Normal uses the Gherkin, Slim Wheels, and Super Glider in 02:09.982. The Gherkin is pretty awful and this shouldn't be a problem. The Expert, however, uses the Egg 1, Monster Tires, and Parafoil in 01:58.539 , which is much more potent considering both its land speed and off-road capabilities. Stick on the path and cut the corners quicker with anything that has better handling and get the win.
8:
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Twisted Mansion is very similar to Luigi's Mansion, although much more of it takes place within the mansion rather than the grounds outside. Its entrace is actually most similar to Wii's Bowser's Castle, with its split carpeted paths that swirl up and down, though naturally here they are actually on the walls and provide the first of many anti-gravity sections here. The turns are brutal from there and involve a good amount of right angles in an ethereal water section where a giant wall of water is prevented from spilling into the rest of the mansion by some unholy force.
After that there is a brief air jump and then some Boos hidden in Statues that smash racers in the one section pretty similar to most of Luigi's Mansion. The Staff Ghost is Luigi, who is really the go-to creepy dude whenever a game doesn't have King Boo. He pulls a 2:16.195 using the Mach 8, Slim Tires, and and Super Glider. That's an exceptional combo, but will falter a little in anti-gravity and especially in water. Something like the Tri-Speeder may give you an edge during those underwater sections without sacrificing too much anti-gravity speed.
The Mushroom Kingdom is full of strange Ghosts called Boos. It is thought that Boos originate from deceased souls who are unwilling to pass on. Once they become Boos though, the souls have no recognition of their past lives and instead form a unique race in itself, with a loose allegiance to their King, who very well may have been some Great Koopa who ruled centuries earlier. The Boos are powerful, as their souls are both Mushrooms and Koopas they have no exact allegiance to either side in the great war between the two races, although due to their naturally creepy appearance they tend to align themselves with the Koopa Hordes.
The Boo Woods are expansive and include many swamps and forests in addition to a few huge mansions that are now faded and decrepit. They were once some of the wealthiest areas of the Mushroom Kingdom but as the Boo Infestation grew and grew the Mansions became virtually unlivable. The wealth of the area is apparent due to the heavy number of lakes, piers and boardwalks that the Boos have converted to Race Tracks. They were once great fleets of Yachts and sailors that now lie in ruin and disrepair.
The Boos have always had an interest in racing though, and as uncontrollable as they are often do not stay in their seats during a race, instead floating around and laughing at the Drivers. They even allowed themselves to become Items before their leader, the King himself entered the Cups. Shortly after this, Luigi came into posession of a series of Derelict Mansions in the area. The Boos didn't take kindly to this, but they delighted in terrifying racers and generally screwing with everything, so King Boo allowed him to proceed.
Super:
 |
| The Infamous Ghost Valley 2 |
64:
Super Circuit:
 |
| Boo Lake |
DS:
This comes back in 7 with some jumps to incorporate the Air travel possibilities of the game along with some dangerous Boos popping our of walls but other than that it's very similar to DS. The Staff Ghost here again is Luigi. The Normal uses the Gherkin, Slim Wheels, and Super Glider in 02:09.982. The Gherkin is pretty awful and this shouldn't be a problem. The Expert, however, uses the Egg 1, Monster Tires, and Parafoil in 01:58.539 , which is much more potent considering both its land speed and off-road capabilities. Stick on the path and cut the corners quicker with anything that has better handling and get the win.
8:
Twisted Mansion is very similar to Luigi's Mansion, although much more of it takes place within the mansion rather than the grounds outside. Its entrace is actually most similar to Wii's Bowser's Castle, with its split carpeted paths that swirl up and down, though naturally here they are actually on the walls and provide the first of many anti-gravity sections here. The turns are brutal from there and involve a good amount of right angles in an ethereal water section where a giant wall of water is prevented from spilling into the rest of the mansion by some unholy force.
After that there is a brief air jump and then some Boos hidden in Statues that smash racers in the one section pretty similar to most of Luigi's Mansion. The Staff Ghost is Luigi, who is really the go-to creepy dude whenever a game doesn't have King Boo. He pulls a 2:16.195 using the Mach 8, Slim Tires, and and Super Glider. That's an exceptional combo, but will falter a little in anti-gravity and especially in water. Something like the Tri-Speeder may give you an edge during those underwater sections without sacrificing too much anti-gravity speed.
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