Koopa Paratroopa

History:

After Wario supplanted him in the mid-90s the loyal Koopa Troopa Bowser had chosen to race with him in the Grand Prix was looking for any chance to get back into the Races. When the Partner Rules of the 2003 Grand Prix were settled Koopa managed to wrangle another one of Bowser's forces, Koopa Paratroopa to ride with him. Paratroopa had seen heavy aerial combat in the many Wars against the Mushroom Kingdom, and although he would have rather been fighting Mario he agreed to race instead. Although Koopa has since found some stability, appearing in later races, Paratroopa disappeared after his only appearance. Koopa suspects that he used too many of his Red Shells on Lord Bowser, possibly sealing his fate after hours.

Double Dash:

Paratroopa only appears in Double Dash, as the default partner of Koopa Troopa, tho Koopa came back for Wii. I imagine in DS and Wii his role as a minor enemy has been taken by the more aesthetically interesting Dry Bones. Anyway, Individual Characters didn't matter in Double Dash as much as their Karts did. Characters determined Special Items and Kart Selection but not Stats. Each Character, though, has his or her own Vehicle. Paratroopa rode in the Para Wing.

The Para Wing is decent among Light Karts, but not the best. Its Acceleration is the 3rd Best in the game and its weight is 16th (both 3rd among Light Karts). It's relationship to the Koopa Dasher is similar to the Goo Goo Buggy's relationship to the Rattle Buggy. It has better turn speed but slower Top Speed and Acceleration as well as average shocks for those bouncy courses. It also somewhat inexplicably has one of the worst Offroad Speeds for a Light Kart, beaten only by the Bullet Blaster.

Paratroopa shares Koopa's Item with no changes at all, making that pair basically identical. The Triple Shell is one of the better Items in the game, although they no longer circle the Kart providing protection from aberrant objects. It's still a very good defensive and offensive item. Red Shells are especially useful in that Second or Third Place position to directly take down those ahead. Since you can't hold Items behind you it's a bit more difficult to deflect incoming objects but not impossible. They're pretty useful for climbing up a Grand Prix ladder.

There are Secret Staff Ghosts for each Track in Double Dash. Since no Secret Characters are used as Ghosts, the Koopas inherited the Mushroom Tracks from the Toads. Paratroopa leads on Mushroom City with Koopa in tow using the Koopa Dasher in 1:50:663. He also appears on Mushroom Bridge this time behind Koopa and goes a time of 1:31:458/

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.