Grumble Volcano

History:

In the far North of the Dark Land, a newly formed Dry Bowser set about crafting his own lair. The lava bath that burned away its soul made the heavily volcanic region the perfect location for his diabolical home. Dry Bowser used his Dark Willpower to carve a track out of the Great Mountain, but it was unstable. It wouldn't hold together very long, and sections were always shifting as the great Lava Lake tried to reclaim the unnatural Rock that Dry Bowser had upheaved. Needless to say, this remains one of the most dangerous Grand Prix Circuits ever created.

Wii:

Grumble Volcano finishes off the Star Cup in Wii, and is one of the more difficult tracks. There are many split paths, dangerous falls, tight organic turns, and entire sections of the course that break off and fall into the surrounding lava. Like many of the tracks in Wii that have a lot going on, such as Dry Dry Ruins or Bowser's Castle, it's actually a fairly obvious loop. That said, there are tons of things going on here and constant danger. There are four places to take alternative paths, almost all of them have some elevation difference. I tend to always stay on the outside so the turning is less harsh.

There is also the eponymous volcano that continually spurts out flaming rock that is most hazardous on the Southernmost Turn. There are also Fire Snakes that bounce around and destroy racers. What's interesting is that this course has a little bit of everything. There are offroad bits that Toadette, Yoshi, or Dry Bowser can take advantage of to cut corners. There are also straightaways, although the one in the middle is filled with moving platforms and the one leading to the finish is filled with jumps. And of course there are some really difficult twisting turns. The course itself rubs up against both offroad, edges, and solid walls, and it's one of a handful to offer all three.

The Staff Ghost for this course is Dry Bowser. It's a sinister track with tons of lava and fits the guy pretty well. He uses the Offroader to go 02:28.237, which is a solid choice that takes advantage of Dry Bowser's Stat Bonuses and can handle the turns. It's speed is lacking though. The Expert Staff Ghost trades in that ride for the Spear and drops down to 02:11.852. The Spear is a better choice for speed on the long straightaways but it compromises how well it can take the turns, and Dry Bowser's Stats do not suit its strengths, anyway. This is a solid Funky / Flame Runner choice.

Dry Bowser

History:

During a routine battle with Mario in his Castle, Bowser was knocked into a pit of lava. While normally his thick skin would have protected him, this time Bowser tried to absorb the very power of the pit around him in a last ditch effort to destroy Mario. This proved to be too much for even the Dark Koopa Lord to take on, and Bowser's soul actually passed on to the netherworld but his dark essence was able to survive and reanimate his skeletal structure similar to Dry Bones. Now a soulless monster, Dry Bowser, as he came to be known, terrorized the Mushroom Kingdom and became King of the Dry Bones. Bowser's soul was eventually able to return to a new fresh body provided through the efforts of Bowser, Jr. and Kamek. Now that Dry Bowser and Bowser exist independently of each other, they have entered in an uneasy truce, as Dry Bowser possesses much of memories and abilities of Bowser, tho twisted and demented because he survives only as the product of a Dark Magic Will.

Wii:

Dry Bowser may be the coolest racer in any Mario Kart game and he makes his appearance only in Wii, where he is a Large Class Driver. Each size class in Wii has access to Six Karts and Six Bikes, all of varying stats. Additionally, each character adds his or her own specific bonuses to certain stats. Dry Bowser is a tricky driver. His +6 Off-Road Bonus ties Toadette as the best in the game, although there are far less vehicles available for him to take advantage of. His +6 Mini-Turbo ties Wario, Dry Bones, and Koopa Troopa as the best in the game, which again, is tricky to take advantage of. His specific stats for each vehicle are as follows:

His best ride may be the Phantom, which does have a pretty decent Off-Road, making him able to snake through shortcuts with ease as well as making mistakes or accidents that send him into the rough a little more forgiving. If there's a course without this advantage though, such as Rainbow Road or Toad's Factory, either the Honeycoupe or Shooting Star with his superior Drift, Speed, and especially Mini-Turbo can be deadly.

Dry Bowser has two Staff Ghosts in Time Trials. His first and arguably signature course is Grumble Volcano, a course literally succumbing to the Lake of Lava it rests in mirrors his own twisted existence. He does a 02:28.237 in the Offroader, while the Expert switches to the Spear and goes 02:11.852. The Offroader, despite providing his great Off-Road advantage, is not nearly fast enough for Time Trials, and the Spear doesn't really take advantage of his strengths, although it is very fast. His other Ghost is on the Retro Bowser Castle 3, which has no Off-Road at all, so it robs him of that advantage. The Normal goes 02:58.304 in the Standard Kart L and the expert goes 02:39.391 in the Flame Runner. It's an exceedingly difficult course but Dry Bowser in the Flame Runner isn't the best option, play to whatever speed or handling strength you have and take him down.