The retro equivalent of the Stella Trophy awaits only you: the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe track guide has arrived at the Leaf Trophy tracks
Welcome back to ours guide a Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: after reviewing twenty-four piste the time has come to do the same with the four traced of Leaf Trophy. As it stands for its nitro counterpart, the Star Trophy, once again we can expect great and challenging circuits. The championship starts with DS Stadio di Wario, continues with GCN Circuito Gelato, offers us the music bends of 3DS Melodiodromo and ends with N64 Valle di Yoshi. It will be hard to be concise with the layout of this ambitious track, but we will try. Start your engines!
DS Wario Stadium
The series boasts “dirty” motocross tracks in every episode, and the DS version of this challenge to your driving skills makes its way through the tracks of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. We are talking about DS Wario Stadiumwhere you can expect mud, fireballs, acrobatics and, if you are not careful, even a lot of curses …
- Layout: After the first few corners, a turbo ramp awaits you. Sudden acceleration is the norm on this track, so be on the lookout! The next curve precedes four islets in the mud, each with its own turbo platform. The two turbo ramps after the next corner will force you to zigzag for a while, otherwise you will get burned in the fireballs. The fiery bars that follow the next curve have been placed on the anti-gravity section, unreleased for this version. Falling on the runway you will still find yourself dealing with turbo ramps, one last underwater bend, and the final glide.
- Assessment: A type of track that is usually unpleasant, but one of the best level designs has been able to do justice to it. There is more purity in the DS version, but even with a few more frills the Wario Stadium knows how to be loved. 8/10.
GCN Circuito Gelato – Mario Kart 8 Deluxe track and track guide
We just finished talking about Wario, and here is a lead whose English name pays homage to the arrogant fat man. Inspired (albeit only nominally) by Wario Land’s Sherbet Land (“land of sorbets”), GCN Ice Cream Circuit it is a riot of Christmas atmospheres… and of Shy Skaters, of course.
- Layout: The lake after the first few turns will put you in front of a choice. You can dodge the Shy Guys on shore or dive and continue underwater, still finding yourself in the tunnel (with a turbo ramp, just in case). The left-hand bend in the cave includes a pillar in the center – avoid bumping into it. The external section, after two fairly “peaceful” curves, proposes the initial deviation: under water you will have to be careful not to get lost, while the part on the surface is swarming with Surgelini. Beware of the latter, under penalty of freezing that will make you slide by inertia!
- Assessment: A glacial track always represents a considerable challenge rate, and due to its layout this circuit guaranteed heart-pounding races already in the original Double Dash !!. It will not be a place you will visit often, but there are much more anonymous tracks. 7.5 / 10.
3DS Melodiodromo – Mario Kart 8 Deluxe track and track guide
The predecessor of the Electrodrome appears, fittingly, in the same position as the retro counterpart of the Stella Trophy. Each corner of 3DS Melodiodromo represents a different musical instrument, and the sounds emitted by the track vary according to the curve we are on.
- Layout: The first musical section, the piano, is also the first downhill “corkscrew” hairpin. At the end, a straight stretch awaits you: try to avoid the range of the Piranha Plants on the sides. If you have mushrooms, you can cut to the left to take advantage of the ramp on the dirt before the curve to the right. After the aforementioned xylophone, a left-hander immediately awaits you aboard a metallophone. The next straight consists of a drum that acts as a springboard: watch out for inertia. After the next right turn you will find two ramps for gliding, which are active intermittently. Try to take the one currently active to glide safely and avoid at least the first of the three dancing musical notes. When they jump, they generate a shock wave: by jumping with the right timing you will perform a stunt to give you the momentum. The penultimate left-hand corner does not have a guard rail: if you know what you’re doing, you can cut the drum off the track and anticipate your opponents on the final right-hand corner.
- Assessment: You saw how many things we had to describe, right? And as with the Monte Wario, this is a symptom of excellent level design. 9.5 / 10.
N64 Yoshi Valley
A track so crazy that, in the original on Nintendo 64, it is impossible to view the positions of the drivers on the side until the end of the race. For most of the journey, in fact, N64 Yoshi Valley it is a continuous maze of crossroads. We will not dwell too much on them, as we have anticipated: already Melodiodromo has taken us a lot of time, we certainly do not intend to stay at night!
- Layout: The first fork awaits you after the first corner. The streets are all alike, except for a path aboard a suspension bridge on the left and a section where you will be fired from a cannon on the right. Goombas are the only constant danger at different points in the labyrinth. In any case, until the roads converge, you will be dealing with a few opponents at a time. After the (eventual) section in the cave, all the paths will be definitively reunited. A parabolic curve to the left awaits you, before a couple of curves completely suspended in the void. Afterwards, a clearing in which to avoid a giant egg will introduce the final part: a couple of curves to cut in joy if you have mushrooms. Better still if you take advantage of the ramps with some stunts!
- Assessment: The idea of gameplay, while resulting in an otherwise complex layout, is simple but effective. Scattering the drivers along the various alternative routes results in a relaxed race for the first half, before escalating into chaos once the roads come together. Difficult to ask for more from a track. 9/10.
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