Thoughts on Mario Kart World
I wanted to create a ranking of the tracks in Mario Kart World for fun, but before that I figured I could share my general thoughts on the game.
Grand Prix
The primary mode straightforwardly involves multi-lap races in four separate tracks constituting “cups” and I have no major thoughts on it. There are “achievements” in the way of earning bronze, silver, or gold trophies for your overall placement in each cup, and there are sub-achievements in the way of gold stars (up to three) for how you performed in each cup. So, you can earn 1st place overall but not get 3 stars if you got 2nd place for one of the races in the cup. The achievements themselves look nice and are largely for the sake of being a completionist, but getting gold in each cup on 150cc (the fastest speed) unlocks the Special Cup. Racing in all cups on 150cc, regardless of placement and performance, is also a component in getting another unlockable in the way of mirror mode.
Knockout Tour
Personally, I think this mode is stupid. Not in online, as it poses a unique way of racing across “rallies” involving 6 separate legs of a long-distance race across long chunks of the world, but when it comes to being a completionist—getting “perfect” records for each (a gold trophy with 3 stars)—is among the most aggravating gaming experiences out there due to the sheer reliance on RNG (i.e., chance). In each rally, you need to be in 1st place at the end of every leg to get a perfect score. On paper that sounds like a fun challenge, but that’s discounting the Mario Kart factor: playing perfectly does not matter when a blue shell or lightning item can occur at any moment. Anyway, other than that, this mode has potential for additional rallies and even possibly allowing players to create and customize their own routes, but for now it’s kind of just a mildly entertaining alternative to normal races only online. Oh yeah, racing in each rally, regardless of placement and performance, is another component of unlocking mirror mode.
Free Roam
This is the mode I had the most fun in. It’s called Mario Kart World for a reason, and that’s because there is a cohesive world to explore. It’s pretty awesome the way that all the tracks are interconnected, and can further be approached from the wild outside of regular roadways. Free Roam is the primary non-milestone way of collecting stickers (literally just images that appear on your chosen bike/kart); here you can collect them via ? Panels, Peach Medallions, and P Switches (which themselves provide a variety of missions); otherwise, stickers are collected via other milestones the game tracks while you play the game (e.g., number of coins collected, kilometers raced). Stickers are the primary “reward” for most things, and they’re as lame as they sound… but they’re something, I guess. Anyway, the main fun isn’t really from the rewards but from the neat areas to explore and ways to find them. It’s also kind of dumb that the game doesn’t provide a way to track which things you’ve collected, only providing a total number of each that you have collected. It’s dumb for the obvious reason that you wouldn’t likely recall many, let alone all, of the ~750 collectables spread out across the map, which means if you’re a completionist you’ll probably be returning to ones you’ve already gotten repeatedly. Getting at least 10 ? Panels, Peach Medallions, and P Switches (each) is another component to unlocking mirror mode. It’s notable that mirror mode is available in every mode—which means in Free Roam the entire world is reversed. Pretty cool.
Edit: An update in September 2025 added markers on the world map to track collectibles you’ve already collected, making most of my complaints outdated.
All right, now to rank each track (by my personal opinion).
#30: Choco Mountain
The chocolate looks like mud and is ugly-looking. That just about sums up my thoughts on it: an ugly-looking track. It’s the least fun to look at and the least fun to race on. There are a few notable shortcuts, and falling rocks and Chargin’ Chucks provide some interesting obstacles, but I simply don’t like the aesthetics of this track.
#29: Koopa Troopa Beach
It’s 5 laps that is basically a circle with almost no notable features. Its beach aesthetic is nice, I guess, and there is at least one interesting shortcut, but otherwise its repetitiveness lowers it on my list significantly.
#28: Desert Hills
Getting into the basic-tier of at least piquing my interest for a generic but bottom-of-the-barrel fun race is this desert. There are some neat shortcuts, and the weird statue things that sit on the outskirts and occasionally run across the track add something unique.
#27: Starview Peak
This is pretty much on par with Desert Hills, but it has a better aesthetic and a bit more nuance to the race between icy roads and waterways. It had potential with a Mario Galaxy theme, but it doesn’t quite fulfill it.
#26: Rainbow Road
This track is gorgeous and has several notable shortcuts. The thing is, it’s just not my favorite, mostly because it feels really long. If I were to rank these tracks by their first impressions, this track would be number 1. Alas, its initial awe is diminished upon replaying it.
#25: Crown City (Mushroom Cup & Shell Cup)
I think the Shell Cup track is the inferior one of the two tracks going through Crown City, though both leave a lot to be desired. The concept of racing amidst construction and traffic is interesting, as is going through the skid row section, it’s just not that great to race on. Same thing with the straightaway along the thoroughfare.
#24: Peach Stadium
It’s… meh. There are several cool things to do in the way of tricks and shortcuts that make the track feel less uneventful as the previous tracks. Simply a track that I don’t have a strong opinion on either way. It’s fine.
#23: Peach Beach
I like the aesthetic quite a bit, and I enjoy how it goes through both a beach area as well as a town alike Mont Saint-Michel. Although the environment is lovely, there’s not a lot going on strategy- or skill-wise when racing it.
#22: Cheep Cheep Falls
All right, this track has more going for it strategy- and skill-wise; I just really dislike the water section. Granted, the water section has the most tech involved with racing the track (such as the “Tarzan” shortcut), but racing just doesn’t feel great while on water.
#21: Dandelion Depths
Easing out of the basic-tier to the good-tier, this track has a brief and fairly enjoyable water section. It is bordering on “basic,” but the environment, tech, and music altogether make it a more fun experience.
#20: Toad’s Factory
This track better utilizes the “industrial” concept the previous Crown City track failed to utilize, though I wouldn’t say it’s spectacular. It’s certainly fun, and provides good variety in its sections including offering alternative options for players to prioritize coins or items as well as alternative routes between cranes, bulldozers, and questionable terrain with bumps, mud, and speed boosts.
#19: Mario Circuit
This is a track that feels like a traditional kart race. It’s simply good in my opinion, with tight turns that provide the rare opportunity to use brakes as opposed to always just accelerating. There are also some decent shortcuts both with mushroom items as well as the feather.
#18: Mario Bros. Circuit
The first track in the game is surprisingly pretty cool. It introduces the rail grind mechanic and provides a variety of alternative pathways. I don’t have any knocks against it, it’s just a straightforward and good track.
#17: DK Spaceport
The moving obstacles along the track, including the mecha-DK, make this track interesting. While the more I think about it the more the ending straightaway feels similar to the Crown City thoroughfare which I find meh, the trick shortcuts in addition to the possibility of cutting corners with items before then are sweet.
#16: Boo Cinema
The aesthetic and creativity of this track would be among my top favorites, though taking the racing element into account it is not quite all that special. Still, the spooky theater environment carries it up far enough on my list.
#15: Wario Shipyard
Ugh. I like the idea of racing amidst wrecked ships, but UGH! The water. It’s practically everywhere. Yet, there are enough cool tricks providing the reward of being a shortcut as well as making the water factor not a huge issue that makes me forgive this track.
#14: Salty Salty Speedway
Another significantly water-filled track, though it again has certain tricks that make parts of the water sections more fun. And yes, the track going through a pretty city with majestic waterways is to my aesthetic satisfaction.
#13: Dino Dino Jungle
The various dinosaurs provide interesting, ever-shifting roadblocks. The Jurassic Park-esque dinosaur break-out is a fun concept, and racing along it is never not entertaining.
#12: Dry Bones Burnout
This Day of the Dead-type track feels like a weird blend of hell and South America, which isn’t a bad thing. I think the tricks and skips bump this up quite a bit on my rankings.
#11: Airship Fortress
Moving on from the good-tier to the great-tier, the various rails in the beginning portion of the track mixed with turns are difficult to maneuver, making for a rewarding (when done well) and frustrating (when not done well (or bumped)) experience to race on. The ending long spiraling turn is surprisingly thrilling, followed by a neat trick and shortcut option to end the track on.
#10: Sky-High Sundae
The colors almost make the entire place an eyesore… almost. The various sweets along the track are just vibrant enough to be appealing. And the variety of paths to take along the track are very nice, including providing uses for a mushroom or feather or tricking to ride a wall.
#9: Acorn Heights
This track surprised me. At first, I really didn’t like to race along the canyon/overgrowth section as well as the wide plant-stem hill area with acorns tumbling down it. The uneven ground didn’t feel terrific to race on. Honestly, it still sort of doesn’t feel that great, but mitigating the awkward driving with optimized pathing or tricks made this track a whole lot better of an experience.
#8: DK Pass
The ski/snowboarding resort-type track is pretty darn neat. There are very cool tricks to utilize that involve staying airborne, riding walls, and cutting corners. It’s also cool that there are hardly any rails that this track uses, but there is still such variety of pathways.
#7: Shy Guy Bazaar
The latter half of this track feels pretty straightforward, but the first half has such a crazy amount of tricks involved that make it wild to race on.
#6: Bowser’s Castle
In terms of tricks, this track would probably be at or near #1. The beginning has such a variety of ways to perform a very large shortcut and each are fun to pull off, the lava section has a shortcut involving riding and tricking off the wall of the track, and there’s yet another shortcut that can be reliably taken with a mushroom through the lava or crazily taken by tricking off a lightning rod and then riding the wall of the track. Many are risky, but the reward makes them often worth doing.
#5: Moo Moo Meadows
Okay, the cows may have influenced my opinion on this track just a little. But, what seems like a straightforward race through a pasture really has very cool tricks and shortcuts to use, some even involving the cows themselves.
#4: Faraway Oasis
Honestly, 5 and 4 are a tossup for me. I think I give the edge to Faraway Oasis because of the various rail tricks while Moo Moo Meadows is more item-dependent. The penultimate corner-cut can be done either with optimal use of tricking or items, and the final cut can be done either with a mushroom or feather. Feather cuts are underrated.
#3: Great ? Block Ruins
A track that is high in the sky makes attack items very treacherous and almost as coveted as shortcut items. Almost. The environment is imaginative and the tricks are cool.
#2: Wario Stadium
Tracks that have multiple routes to take on their laps make for dynamic and strategic play. This track offers this variety, and I’d argue does it better than most if not all tracks. Whether you want to prioritize items, coins, or the fastest route, this track has each option, and, depending on your need at a given moment during a race, each option is viable.
#1: Whistlestop Summit
I like trains. Also, the various difficulties in shortcuts and time-savers makes this such a fun track to race on. At the end of the day, regardless of track aesthetics (which are great in this track), this track is my favorite for the ending shortcut. It was the first serious shortcut I learned in the game, and, though I’m not consistent with it, it always provides the same rush as when I performed it the first time.
