Yoshi Valley

History:

Yoshi never had a lot of money. It was cheap then to convert a large desolate valley in Dinosaur Land on the borders of the Donut Plains into a Race Course. Yoshi didn't specify an exact path however, and his course instead winds through the sun-baked valley as a huge maze, with little direction. It was never that profitable, though, and after years of low attendance and difficult viewing spots by spectators, as well as the angering fact that no one ever knew who was in first or last place, Yoshi   was forced to close it down in the late 90s.

Fates shifted and the young Dinosaur was able to re-open the Valley as a Nature Sanctuary for his own people in time for the 2014 Grand Prix. The Valley underwent some tremendous changes in the nearly twenty years in between exhibitions, but much of the maze was preserved.

64:

Yoshi Valley first appeared in MK64, and there's never really been another track like it before or since. Yoshi's had plenty of tracks but they've all been pretty different. Super Circuit featured Yoshi Desert, it became Yoshi Circuit in Double Dash and the Jungle Track Yoshi Falls in DS. It's interesting that Yoshi  is so adaptable to different course styles, but this was the original.

It mostly features a Giant Yoshi Egg which is the only overt connection to Yoshi himself. There's also tons of pesky porcupines, some dangerous cliff edges and finally, plenty of paths to choose from. Some of the variable paths are clearly better than the others but here are a couple of your best bets:

This path veers towards the left once the maze starts, which is tough because it goes through a porcupine-filled stretch as well as a narrow tricky path with no guardrails. If you can maintain a course without killing yourself though this is one of the straightest ways to go with only one major turn in the maze itself, although that one may be too out of the way.

This is the broadest, safest route, with not a porcupine in sight. It's also incredibly slow as it takes the driver on the most extreme route through the valley. This might be alright for Beginners or those racing in the 50 cc cup with terribly stupid computer players. Then again, you can get a long way by taking the shorter, more dangerous routes there.

This would be a nice route if not for the brutal 360° turn near the end with the threats of Porcupines, a drop and a lot of speed going into the Central Mountain. The first narrow bridge is also a tricky shoot to make. In all, not a great path to take.

This is going to be the fastest route, but it's also probably the most hazardous. Porcupines abound, but it's still very direct if you can avoid them. It's also the wider tunnel and it has no major turns or brushes with the edges or extremes of the course. Still, those Porcupines can be Satanic, so watch out. Just make it to the huge Center Mountain and you'll be fine. There are some other paths through the Valley but they're all derivative of these four main routes. Mostly the trade off is safety for slowness, but that's typical for Mario Kart. A good driver here is going to have good control, there isn't a whole lot of room to get some nasty speed going.

8:

This course returns as the Final Course of the Retro Leaf Cup in Mario Kart 8 with some of the greatest changes ever for a course remake. These are primarily cosmetic, as the course adds more mountains, rivers, water falls, and slight alterations in the hills and landscape to make the course feel very different. There are other more oblique alterations, though. That Red Route above now holds a Barrel Cannon to Air Blast players along the long distance. The Green Route also had its bridge replaced with a tunnel, which doesn't change too much but feels hella weird.

There are some other differences. The porcupines are now Goombas, and the Final Egg is significantly smaller. The Staff Ghost here is Yoshi, of course, who pulls a 2:28.814 using the Wild Wiggler, Standard Tires, and the Flower Glider. It's the only Ghost that features the Wild Wiggler as well as the Flower Glider. Considering that Air Travel is optional and not really the best route, you can bypass that entirely. The Wiggler is decent, not much Speed lost for heavy improvements in Handling. Throw on some Metal Tires to make it even more fearsome.

Baby Luigi

History:

Unlike his brother, Luigi has proven himself fairly useless as a child. Baby Luigi often found himself kidnapped out of his home in the Mushroom Kingdom to the Dark Land, often by the Wizard known as Kamek, the Major Domo to Lord Bowser. Kamek was the de facto ruler of the Dark Land during the 1950s and 60s as Bowser's Power increased until he was able to fully take over the lands and Castle for himself. After many defeats, Kamek finally transported both Baby Mario and Baby Luigi into the year 2003, where they have existed in flux, weaving in and out of timestreams in an effort to return back to their own time and grow up naturally. Baby Luigi has had to step up in this new role as one of not utter uselessness.

Double Dash:

Baby Luigi appeared here mostly as a partner for Baby Mario. Double Dash was all about individual Karts and less about specific Character Stats. Each Driver though, determines the Weight Class of the Vehicle that players choose, as well as the Item. Baby Luigi is a Lightweigth and like his brother, uses the Chain Chomp Item.

Each Character also had a Signature Kart, but they weren't limited to using them. Baby Luigi had the Rattle Buggy, which was a colour variant of Baby Mario's Goo Goo Buggy, but far superior. With about equal weight (17th overall, very easily knocked around), it maintained a high Offroad Speed, identical to the Goo Goo, but traded up both Top Speed and Acceleration. The Rattle Buggy accelerates 5th in the game, which would be great if not for the Top 4 all being better Lightweight Karts. Its Speed is on par with the majority of faster Light Karts besides the Barrel Train and Bullet Blaster, which have atypical stats anyway.

Baby Luigi and Baby Mario both use a maniacal Chain Chomp as their Special Item, which at seems better than it is. Once unleashed, the Chomp tows their Rides, knocking everything out of their path and haphazardly increasing speed. It's rough though because there's no telling when the Beast will let go which can be dangerous if it you're headed towards a cliff or pit of lava. You'll also only see it if you're far behind the pack, meaning it will only come up if you're doing awful, and sometimes it can do more harm than good. If you release it at a weird angle or behind you it's possible that the Chomp will actually smack right into your own Kart and then much on without you. It's probably more trouble than it's worth.

Double Dash had Secret Staff Ghosts. Baby Luigi always partners with Baby Mario in the Goo Goo Buggy and drives himself in Sherbet Land with a time of 1:25:904. I'm not sure why Sherbet Land belongs to Baby Luigi, but it is what it is. He follows Baby Luigi on the more appropriate Baby Park in 1:11:108.

Wii:

Baby Luigi returned for Wii and is actually pretty good. Wii offered Six Karts and Six Bikes for Eight Racers each in Three Size Classes. Each of the then Twenty-Four Drivers had their own Stat Bonuses to add to the very specific set of Stats for all these Vehicles. Baby Luigi has both the best Speed Bonus (+5, tied with Baby Daisy) and best Weight Bonus (+8, tied with Baby Mario) in the game. Of course, even with a +8 Weight Bonus his tiny Small Vehicles aren't really going anywhere. Only the Mini Beast and Tiny Titan get up enough to knock around the lightest Medium Bikes. And there are so many Small Vehicles with terrible Speeds already, he only really makes the Mini Beast and Blue Falcon competitive. That said, no other Small Character can beef up the two worst Small Stats like this, so if you're looking to cover some faults and make a Small Driver seem like a bigger one, Baby Luigi's your guy. Here are his specific stats:

Again, his best ride probably becomes the Mini Beast. By far it takes the most advantage of his Bonuses. Baby Luigi only has one Staff Ghost, the N64 Retro Sherbert Land, continuing his bizarre association with these Frosty Tracks. He uses the Quacker in 02:48.651. The Expert version pulls a 02:28.356 in the Blue Falcon.

DK Tracks

History:

After Kong raced in his first Grand Prix he had a very strong desire to create some tracks of his own outside the Mushroom Kingdom, however he lacked the capital. The currency on DK Island at the time was the Banana, and the population was small and friendly enough to engage in a simplistic bargaining system. Eventually coinage was introduced to the Island, possibly from contact with the Mushroom Kingdom, and it became a very capitalistic society. Kong was eventually able to raise enough to create D.K.'s Jungle Parkway that ran through the Heart of the Kongo Jungle, near where Kong made his home.  Nearby he was also eventually able to construct a track leading from the Kongo Jungle to the nearby Monkey Mountains, using his Barrel Cannon technology to traverse an otherwise impenetrable section of Mountain. This was more recent in the History of DK Island, as the once-chilly Gorilla Glacier had since given way to massive Volcanic Areas.

Kong eventually moved away from the Jungle Tracks on his own Island, perhaps he regretted the influx of Tourism and Mushroom Influence directly on his own land. He staked out the Northern Kremisphere, a huge continent located far North of DK Island, although with plenty of pleasant spots. Through his friend Dixie Kong, he was introduced to Blizzard Bear who had already been attempting to convert some stretches of the base of K3 into Race Courses. Here Kong was able to open up the DK Pass to the Grand Prix, as well as the DK Summit, which was soon infested by vacationing Shy Guys who seem to have an uncanny love for Winter Sports.

The most recent Kong Track innovation has been back to the Jungle, this time very close to DK's home, including a race around his actual house as well as the Holiest of Kong Lands, the Golden Temple, home of the Golden Banana Horde. Although this seems counter-intuitive to the best interests of Kong, it appears as if he has moved his most prized possessions elsewhere, suggesting that its whole presence in the latest Grand Prix is a red herring.

64:

Kong got his first track in MK64, and it's notable for featuring a huge jungle as well as a massive jump, the latter of which would define most DK Tracks in the future. This is also the first Jungle Track, but I decided that there were enough similarities between all of Kong's Personal Courses that the Jungle Tracks should be separate. There's actually plenty of tough turns here, mostly because any error puts drivers in the high grassy median, where they are assaulted by Coconuts until he or she spins out. The narrow bridge, easy shortcut up the dirt cave and the huge jump are the big features here. This track opens up the Special Cup and is difficult enough to deserve that.

This track came back in Wii where the Ghost is Kong himself. He uses the Phantom in 02:58.264 then the Expert comes back with a 02:37.782 in the Flame Flyer. This version is notably wider than the 64 version, and the Coconut Chuckers are also gone for some reason. In general the track is easier, although the Cave shortcut is much steeper and more difficult to pull off without a mushroom.

Double Dash:

DK Mountain in Double Dash is a lot like D.K.'s Jungle Parkway. It's a Jungle Trek with a huge jump, dangerous rocks and a narrow wooden bridge near its finale. There is, of course, a huge difference in its basic layout. It's the first Mario Kart track that was largely linear, with a huge automatic boost that takes most of the course. Wii would use this template plenty, but its inspiration was probably the big jump from 64 (in addition to Royal Raceway). This track closed the Star Cup and as such is similar in Grand Prix location as Jungle Parkway was. There is also a difficult shortcut, jumping over a section of twisty track that has disastrous results for failure. I try to pick someone who can turn and accelerate to nail it, as well as someone who isn't going to bounce and lose tons of speed on the ragged hills. The Boo Pipes seem a good fit.

Double Dash had a series of Secret Staff Ghosts. The Ghost here is Kong driving his own DK Jumbo with Diddy in tow at 2:12:639. This track was the second DK Track to return for Wii, where the Ghost this time is Funky Kong at 02:57.744 in the Wario Bike. The Expert goes 02:38.130 using the Flame Flyer, one of the faster Ghost Combos in the game. The Wii version again features a noticeably wider track and a few Boost Panels. There are so many Barrel Cannon-type levels in Wii that this course had to make an appearance.

DS:

DK Pass is the only Original Snow Course in DS and so shares some characteristics with the Frosty Tracks, like the Terrible Snowmen. It also opens up the Star Cup in DS, which Snow Land did in Super Circuit and Sherbert Land did in Double Dash, belaying the simple fact that every other Game besides Wii has also featured a Frosty Track somewhere in the Star Cup. It also features giant Snowballs, like the Rocks from DK Mountain.

Mostly though, it is a true Mountain course in its layout, with a huge uphill section and then a huge downhill section, which makes it more akin with DK Mountain and DK Summit than any other Frosty Track. In general it's nice to see the makers of Mario Kart realise that there are more locations in the Donkey Kong Games than jungles, and their use of snow, which should have been Gorilla Glacier until Donkey Kong Country Returns got rid of it. This is a tricky course with mostly a limited path of road then snow with some huge drop-offs without a lot of room for error. There are some snow patches to blow through on your way up though. Someone light with good Offroad is important then, otherwise you can speed through this. The Staff Ghost is Kong using the Wildlife in 2:14:607.

This course returns in Mario Kart 7 with more of its ramps offroad to be accessed by mushrooms and tricks and with some Gliding action near the big ending jump. The Ghost is Donkey Kong using the Barrel Train, Wood Wheels, and Super Glider in 02:35.045. This leaves his speed moderate, handling pretty good, and mini-turbo outstanding. The Expert goes 02:16.534 using the Bolt Buggy, Red Monster Wheels and Parafoil, which is a very good combo here. To beat it, something that handles well while succeeding off-road navigator is vital. Go for the Koopa Clown with Red Monster Tires.

Wii:

DK Summit is basically a combination of DK Pass and DK Mountain. It seems like it's a focal point for Winter Sports, including Ski Lifts and Lodges as well as plenty of pesky Snowboarding Shy Guys, who seem like a holdover from the Sherbert Land of Double Dash, which featured them Ice-skating. The Barrel Cannon appears again, this time even sooner than it did on DK Mountain, and the remainder of the Track is a long downward journey, at times turning into a half-pipe down to the bottom. It's a slippery track, I've actually had a whole lot of luck with Bowser driving the Honeycoupe. You don't need someone knocking you into the gaping abyss during Grand Prix. The Ghost here is Kong again, this time using the Standard Bike L in 02:34.693. The Expert uses the Flame Flyer in 02:17.546. This is also the only DK Track to appear in the Flower Cup, and only the second Frosty Track to do so.

It deserves mentioning that Wii's Maple Treeway also features a Barrel Cannon and uses Diddy as its ghost, proving some relation to the DK Tracks. It is such a weird track filled with many more Mushroom Kingdom references though, so we won't talk about it more here.

7:

DK Jungle takes an identical position to D.K.'s Jungle Parkway in MK64, opening up the Special Cup. It lakes a huge barrel jump but does reflect changes Donkey Kong has had within the Nintendo gaming world. It is heavily inspired by Donkey Kong Country Returns and includes many of those enemies as obstacles. There is a river and a big Flower Jump, along with a wood bridge, but none are as distinctive as in D.K.'s Jungle Parkway. Instead, the most distinctive element is the huge Golden Temple that really shifts gameplay in the middle of the track, giving some right angle turns, a series of boost jumps and treacherous falls. There are many tough turns, obstacles and a good amount of air time, anyone with fast air speed, good stability is key. Use the Roller Wheels and Ghastly Glider with whatever Kart fits your play style.

 The Normal Ghost here is Kong himself, using the Bolt Buggy with Red Monster Wheels and the Super Glider in 02:24.040. The Expert goes a 02:10.777 using the Wood Wheels with the Standard and Swoop Glider, which should hurt its air speed. Stick with the above-recommended customization.

DK Jungle returns in Mario Kart 8, in the Banana Cup. It's not tremendously unchanged from 7, especially due to the fact that 8 retained the air travel and jump elements that makes a pretty smooth transition. There is the addition of a large anti-gravity portion in the Golden Temple, which makes the already difficult right-angle turns a bit more complex. The Ghost here is DK once again, pulling a 2:26.900 using the Varmint, Monster Wheels, and Super Glider. The Varmint and the Monster's stats nearly cancel each other out but ends up with slight boosts in traction and min-turbo. There are enough straightaways to favor some pretty fast racers, Sport Bike will do with whatever level of handling you need from the driver.