History:
There are many Jungles throughout the Mushroom Kingdom, many of which have seen the intrusion of Race Tracks, seemingly inescapable in any location. Riverside Park was developed by Wario during his many travels to the far reaches of the Kingdom. It exists through the Emerald Passage far beyond the Dry Dry Desert. Wario also sought to develop the Lakeside Park park track on DK Island, next to the Monkey Mountains. Eventually as tensions rose between him and Kong this track was shut down and no one has raced there in a decade.
Yoshi's Island is the location of Yoshi Falls and Dino Dino Jungle, both in the midst of lush water resources. Yoshi however, after overextending himself in numerous Desert Tracks was forced to sell the Dino Dino Jungle rights to Kong, who, with no interest in managing the course, gave it to his buddy Diddy.
Super Circuit:
There are two similar Jungle Tracks in Super Circuit that have never appeared in any other game. Riverside Park is as it sounds - a winding twisting track around and across a wide river. It is also possible to use some nasty shortcuts here. There are a few straightaways but nothing that dominates the course, and much more often there's tight turns with a lot of grassy off-road spots. Someone Lightweight is going to be the key here that can maintain speed while dealing with all that junk. For only being the third track in the Mushroom Cup it's a decently complex track, with jumps and twists and hazards.
Lakeside Park is the same kind of deal. It's a winding track around a bit wider water hazard, although it does have the distinction of transitioning from daylight to darkness after the huge volcano erupts. There is somehow both more of a straightaway and more sharp turns, making a clear-cut choice for who should race this more difficult. Since Toad and Peach by far the better Drivers in this game, they're always a safe choice. This course leads off the Special Cup, which is actually similar to D.K.'s Jungle Parkway leading off that Cup in MK64. It also features a big jump and lots of water danger, making it somewhat of a spiritual successor.
Double Dash:
Again in the Special Cup, Double Dash featured Dino Dino Jungle, which can be a very difficult course. It's a relatively simple Figure-8 but features an unstoppable gigantic Dinosaur over part of the course and then a dastardly wooden bridge without guardrails. There's also evil geysers that erupt from the ground but generally you can see them coming. There are a good amount of hills near the finish line that will decimate Kart without good shocks like the Waluigi Racer, probably at the time you need it most. This map actually does a nice job dividing the track into four quarter-sections: Jungle, Bridge, Cave and Mountain.
Double Dash had Secret Staff Ghosts for each track in Time Trials. The Ghost here is Diddy Kong taking the lead with his partner, Donkey Kong. They ride in the DK Jumbo because of Donkey's heavyweight status. Still, they put in a time of 2:00:908. I suppose they needed to give the Jungle Course to the Monkey since Donkey has DK Mountain.
This course returns in Mario Kart 7 where it is generally the same. There are some more Air boost panels and a few other small differences but other than that it hasn't changed a huge amount. The Staff Ghost here is Yoshi in a befitting way. The Normal Ghost goes 02:29.837 in the Egg 1 using Roller Wheels and the Parafoil. The Expert uses the Egg 1 again in Monster Wheels and Swoop Glider. He'll have decent speed and very good handling. The moderate amount of air travel doesn't make air speed a necessity, stick to something with good acceleration around those turns, such as sticking the Wood Wheels on the Soda Jet.
DS:
Yoshi Falls is one of the shortest courses in any Mario Kart game and is really a very simple loop. Therefore we see it in the Mushroom Cup, in fact, it's the Second Course of the game. The key here is getting the inside track, because the actual course is very wide. What makes this difficult is the occasional waterfall along the Inside Track that can be very hazardous for sloppy drivers. The first and third falls are the only ones that inexperienced drivers should attempt to cross, the middle is much steeper and more dangerous. Beyond that, plenty of gentle curves and nice straightaways, feel free to nab someone like Bowser who has some Speed.
DS also had Staff Ghosts. Here Yoshi clocks in at 0:57:677 driving the Egg 1. This course came back in Wii though with no major changes. That game had both Normal Ghosts and unlockable Expert Ghosts. The Ghost is Yoshi again, this time the Normal uses the Zip Zip in 01:16.461 and the Expert goes 01:09.175 in the Super Blooper. He uses the Super Blooper, really? It's the only Ghost use of that Kart in the game. It's easy now to switch to Funky, who tears through this thing.
8:
The Thwomp Ruins could be considered a Jungle Track but it was different enough that I considered it its own course. You can find more information about it here.
There are many Jungles throughout the Mushroom Kingdom, many of which have seen the intrusion of Race Tracks, seemingly inescapable in any location. Riverside Park was developed by Wario during his many travels to the far reaches of the Kingdom. It exists through the Emerald Passage far beyond the Dry Dry Desert. Wario also sought to develop the Lakeside Park park track on DK Island, next to the Monkey Mountains. Eventually as tensions rose between him and Kong this track was shut down and no one has raced there in a decade.
Yoshi's Island is the location of Yoshi Falls and Dino Dino Jungle, both in the midst of lush water resources. Yoshi however, after overextending himself in numerous Desert Tracks was forced to sell the Dino Dino Jungle rights to Kong, who, with no interest in managing the course, gave it to his buddy Diddy.
Super Circuit:
Double Dash:
Double Dash had Secret Staff Ghosts for each track in Time Trials. The Ghost here is Diddy Kong taking the lead with his partner, Donkey Kong. They ride in the DK Jumbo because of Donkey's heavyweight status. Still, they put in a time of 2:00:908. I suppose they needed to give the Jungle Course to the Monkey since Donkey has DK Mountain.
This course returns in Mario Kart 7 where it is generally the same. There are some more Air boost panels and a few other small differences but other than that it hasn't changed a huge amount. The Staff Ghost here is Yoshi in a befitting way. The Normal Ghost goes 02:29.837 in the Egg 1 using Roller Wheels and the Parafoil. The Expert uses the Egg 1 again in Monster Wheels and Swoop Glider. He'll have decent speed and very good handling. The moderate amount of air travel doesn't make air speed a necessity, stick to something with good acceleration around those turns, such as sticking the Wood Wheels on the Soda Jet.
DS:
DS also had Staff Ghosts. Here Yoshi clocks in at 0:57:677 driving the Egg 1. This course came back in Wii though with no major changes. That game had both Normal Ghosts and unlockable Expert Ghosts. The Ghost is Yoshi again, this time the Normal uses the Zip Zip in 01:16.461 and the Expert goes 01:09.175 in the Super Blooper. He uses the Super Blooper, really? It's the only Ghost use of that Kart in the game. It's easy now to switch to Funky, who tears through this thing.
8:
The Thwomp Ruins could be considered a Jungle Track but it was different enough that I considered it its own course. You can find more information about it here.
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