Mario Kart Domination: Ranking the Best Tracks & Drivers in Every Game

Published on: Jun 04, 2025

The Definitive Mario Kart Ranking: Tracks and Drivers Across the Series

Mario Kart. The name itself evokes memories of intense races, strategic item usage, and maybe even a few friendly rivalries (or not-so-friendly!). From the humble beginnings of Super Mario Kart to the sprawling roster and customizable karts of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the series has consistently delivered accessible and engaging racing experiences. But which tracks truly stand the test of time? And which drivers consistently prove themselves to be the best of the best? This comprehensive guide will delve deep into the Mario Kart universe, ranking the top tracks and drivers across every mainline entry in the series, providing expert insights, and helping you achieve karting dominance.

Why This Ranking Matters: More Than Just Nostalgia

Rankings in a game like Mario Kart are subjective to a degree, but a good ranking considers objective factors: track design, item balance, strategic depth, and overall replayability. We'll also factor in community consensus and the competitive scene's preferences to give you a well-rounded perspective. Whether you're a casual player looking for the best tracks to play with friends, or a serious racer aiming to climb the online leaderboards, this guide will provide valuable insights and recommendations.

Super Mario Kart (SNES): A Nostalgic Beginning

The game that started it all! Super Mario Kart may look simple by today's standards, but its innovative gameplay and iconic tracks paved the way for the entire franchise.

Top Tracks in Super Mario Kart

Mario Circuit 1: A classic for a reason. Its straightforward design makes it perfect for beginners, while its sharp turns provide opportunities for skilled players to gain an edge.
Donut Plains 1: Introduced the concept of off-road hazards, adding a layer of challenge and strategy to the racing.
Bowser Castle 2: A challenging track filled with sharp turns, Thwomps, and lava pits, demanding precise driving and skillful item usage.

Top Drivers in Super Mario Kart

Driver stats in Super Mario Kart are limited, but each character possesses unique handling and acceleration characteristics. These differences, while subtle, can significantly impact your racing style.

Mario/Luigi: The all-arounders. Excellent balance of speed, acceleration, and handling, making them ideal for beginners and experienced players alike.
Peach/Yoshi: Known for their superior acceleration, allowing them to recover quickly from crashes or item hits. Their handling can be a bit slippery, however.
Bowser/Donkey Kong Jr.: Possess the highest top speed, but suffer from poor acceleration and handling, making them difficult to control, especially on tighter tracks. Mastering them requires a high level of skill.

Mario Kart 64: Polygons and Power Slides

The jump to 3D brought significant changes to the Mario Kart formula. Mario Kart 64 introduced four-player multiplayer, revamped item mechanics, and a new roster of iconic tracks.

Top Tracks in Mario Kart 64

Rainbow Road: An iconic track known for its vibrant visuals, challenging curves, and lack of guardrails. A true test of driving skill.
Banshee Boardwalk: A spooky track with tight turns, off-road shortcuts, and a haunted house section, requiring precise handling and strategic item usage.
Royal Raceway: Wide open track featuring Peach's castle. It encourages speed and has a fun easter egg where you can drive around the outside of the castle.

Top Drivers in Mario Kart 64

Mario Kart 64 offers a slightly more nuanced driver selection compared to its predecessor. Weight classes play a larger role, influencing speed, acceleration, and handling.

Toad: Lightweight character with excellent acceleration and handling, making him ideal for mastering tight turns and recovering from mistakes. However, he lacks top speed.
Mario: A well-rounded choice, offering a balance of speed, acceleration, and handling. Suitable for a variety of playstyles.
Donkey Kong: A heavyweight character with high top speed and powerful bumping capabilities. His poor handling makes him challenging to control, especially on technical tracks.

Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA): Portable Karting

Super Circuit brought the Mario Kart experience to the Game Boy Advance. While limited by the GBA's hardware, it delivered a surprisingly solid and enjoyable racing experience, featuring a blend of new and classic tracks.

Top Tracks in Mario Kart: Super Circuit

Rainbow Road: The GBA's rendition of Rainbow Road is notoriously challenging, featuring narrow turns and tricky jumps.
Cheese Land: A unique track set on a giant cheese wheel, featuring sharp turns, crumbling edges, and conveyor belts that alter your kart's speed and direction.
Bowser Castle 1: Features classic Bowser castle hazards.

Top Drivers in Mario Kart: Super Circuit

Driver selection in Super Circuit is similar to the original Super Mario Kart, with characters possessing slightly different handling and acceleration characteristics.

Mario/Luigi: The reliable all-arounders, providing a good balance of speed, acceleration, and handling.
Peach/Yoshi: Agile characters with superior acceleration, making them ideal for recovering from crashes and navigating tight corners.
Bowser/Donkey Kong: High top speed comes at the cost of poor handling.

Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (GameCube): Cooperative Chaos

Double Dash!! introduced a unique cooperative mechanic, allowing two players to control a single kart. One player drives, while the other handles items, creating a dynamic and strategic gameplay experience.

Top Tracks in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

Rainbow Road: A visually stunning track set in space, featuring long, sweeping turns and challenging obstacles.
Mushroom City: A chaotic urban track filled with traffic, sharp turns, and item boxes, demanding quick reflexes and strategic item usage.
Baby Park: An oval track with no obstacles, causing absolute item chaos for a hilarious time.

Top Driver Combinations in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

Driver selection in Double Dash!! is crucial, as each character possesses unique special items and handling characteristics. Certain driver combinations are particularly effective.

Diddy Kong & Bowser Jr.: Diddy's banana special and Bowser Jr's Bowser Shell, a powerful homing item, make this a formidable combination.
Peach & Daisy: Heart special is great for defense.
Mario & Luigi: Fireball special can be used offensively and defensively.

Mario Kart DS: Portable Power

Mario Kart DS brought the franchise to the Nintendo DS, introducing online multiplayer and dual-screen gameplay. The game featured a robust track selection, including retro tracks from previous games.

Top Tracks in Mario Kart DS

Tick-Tock Clock: A mechanically themed track filled with moving gears, swinging pendulums, and other obstacles that require precise timing and skillful driving.
Airship Fortress: A thrilling aerial track set on a fleet of airships, featuring narrow pathways, cannons, and Chain Chomps that can knock you off course.
Waluigi Pinball: A pinball-themed track filled with bumpers, flippers, and ramps that launch you into the air.

Top Drivers in Mario Kart DS

Mario Kart DS introduced karts with different stats for each character.

Dry Bones: Lightweight character with excellent handling and drift, making him ideal for navigating tight corners and maintaining speed through drifts.
R.O.B: Unlocked by winning every nitro cup in mirror mode. It's the fastest kart in the game.
Yoshi: Strong acceleration and good handling.

Mario Kart Wii: Motion Control Mayhem

Mario Kart Wii introduced motion controls, allowing players to steer their karts using the Wii Remote. The game also featured a large roster of characters, karts, and bikes, adding a new layer of customization.

Top Tracks in Mario Kart Wii

Maple Treeway: A visually stunning track set in an autumn forest, featuring winding paths, falling leaves, and a giant Wiggler that blocks your path.
Mushroom Gorge: A bouncy track filled with giant mushrooms that you can bounce on to reach shortcuts and avoid obstacles.
Coconut Mall: A shopping mall themed track that features escalators, moving cars, and other obstacles.

Top Drivers and Vehicles in Mario Kart Wii

Mario Kart Wii's vehicle selection offers a wide range of options, each with unique stats and handling characteristics. Certain driver/vehicle combinations are particularly effective.

Funky Kong & Flame Runner (Bike): Known as the best combo in the game due to the bike's inside drifting.
Daisy & Mach Bike (Bike): Similar to Funky Kong.
Rosalina & Mach Bike (Bike): Similar to Funky Kong.

Mario Kart 7 (3DS): Gliding and Underwater Racing

Mario Kart 7 introduced gliding and underwater racing, adding new dimensions to the gameplay. The game also featured customizable karts, allowing players to fine-tune their vehicle's performance.

Top Tracks in Mario Kart 7

Rainbow Road: A reimagining of previous Rainbow Roads, combining elements from past iterations into a single, epic track.
Wuhu Loop: A scenic track set on Wuhu Island, featuring gliding sections, underwater tunnels, and stunning views.
Mount Wario: A downhill course that goes down the snowy Mount Wario.

Top Drivers and Karts in Mario Kart 7

Kart customization in Mario Kart 7 allows for a wide range of performance optimizations. Character weight also plays a crucial role.

Honey Queen/Wiggler + B Dasher/Blue Seven + Red Monster/Slick: A popular build known for its high speed and decent handling.
Metal Mario + B Dasher/Blue Seven + Red Monster/Slick: Good speed and decent handling.

Mario Kart 8 & Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Wii U/Switch): Anti-Gravity and Unprecedented Content

Mario Kart 8 introduced anti-gravity sections, allowing karts to drive on walls and ceilings. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe expanded on this foundation, adding new characters, battle modes, and all DLC tracks from the original game, creating the definitive Mario Kart experience.

Top Tracks in Mario Kart 8 & 8 Deluxe

Rainbow Road (N64): A faithful recreation of the classic N64 track, retaining its iconic visuals and challenging layout.
Big Blue: A futuristic track inspired by the F-Zero series, featuring high-speed sections, gravity-defying turns, and stunning visuals.
Mount Wario: Downhill course with several shortcuts.
Electrodrome: A vibrant dance club set to music.

Top Drivers and Karts in Mario Kart 8 & 8 Deluxe

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe features a vast roster of characters and kart parts, allowing for a wide range of customization options. Character weight and kart stats play a significant role in determining performance.

Wario/Dry Bowser/Morton + Mach 8/Sport Bike + Roller Tires/Button Tires + Cloud Glider: Known for its high speed and acceleration.
Donkey Kong/Roy + Mach 8/Sport Bike + Roller Tires/Button Tires + Cloud Glider: Similar to Wario's build.
Yoshi/Birdo + Teddy Buggy/Comet + Roller Tires/Button Tires + Cloud Glider: Good handling and acceleration, which helps with avoiding blue shells.

Mario Kart Tour (Mobile): A World Tour on Your Phone

Mario Kart Tour brings the Mario Kart experience to mobile devices, featuring a gacha system for unlocking characters, karts, and gliders. The game features a constantly rotating selection of tracks based on real-world locations.

Top Tracks in Mario Kart Tour

Track availability in Mario Kart Tour is constantly changing, but some standout tracks include:

Tokyo Blur: A visually stunning track set in Tokyo, featuring iconic landmarks and challenging turns.
Paris Promenade: A romantic track set in Paris, featuring scenic views of the Eiffel Tower and other famous attractions.
New York Minute: This track has a lot of turns.

Top Drivers, Karts, and Gliders in Mario Kart Tour

Character, kart, and glider selection in Mario Kart Tour is heavily influenced by the gacha system. Certain combinations offer significant advantages on specific tracks.

Gold Mario: Exclusive driver with good item skills.
Rose Gold Peach: Exclusive driver with good item skills.
Gold Train Kart: A great kart for tricking.

Conclusion: The Enduring Appeal of Mario Kart

From its humble beginnings on the SNES to its current iteration on the Nintendo Switch and mobile devices, Mario Kart has consistently delivered accessible, engaging, and endlessly replayable racing experiences. The series' enduring appeal lies in its perfect blend of skill-based driving, strategic item usage, and chaotic multiplayer fun. Whether you're a seasoned veteran or a newcomer to the world of Mario Kart, there's always something new to discover and enjoy. So, grab your kart, choose your favorite driver, and hit the track! The race is on!