Nintendo DS

History:

Like the Nintendo GameCube stage, every driver felt some extraneous metaphysical force that compelled them to put forth the joint funds that constructed this massive object floating high in space. In doing so they built it in the same night sky as that Grand Prix's Rainbow Road. No racer individually understood the purpose of the Grand Station, and it was abandoned soon after the completion of the 2005 Grand Prix.

DS:

This is actually a brutal course. The top screen is tilted at a slight angle, giving any Driver on that half a great High Ground Advantage in surveying the rest of the course. There are no guardrails, unlike Double Dash's GameCube stage, and falling off with a mistimed mushroom boost is perilous. It's also very open and expansive, allowing plenty of room for Shell and Bob-omb damage. The only safe areas are the hinges along either side where the flat half bumps up against the tilted half. Racers may hide from both view and slaughter by the merciless killers of the Tilted Half. The trade-off here, of course, is that they may also be cornered more easily. This course can accommodate many forms of gameplay because it's so open and inviting. You can sit atop and pick people off or dart around the whole course planting traps. As far as gimmicky shameless self-promoting stages, this is one of the best.