Every Rainbow Road in Mario Kart Ranked by Difficulty
#9: Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (2003)
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! on the Nintendo Gamecube had its fair share of tough and difficult courses, like the hard-to-navigate Yoshi Circuit. But this iteration of Rainbow Road doesnt stand among them, earning the spot on our list for the least difficult. Half of the course is made up of straightaways, and the twists and turns arent nearly as dastardly as others on this list. You can still fall off the course, but the road is wide enough to where that is pretty rare. Even at the trickiest spots, youll usually be safe from going over if you arent reckless. While the music and overall vibe of Double Dash!!s Rainbow Road are immaculate, its easily, well, the easiest.
#8: Mario Kart DS (2005)
Mario Kart DS holds a special place in many a gamers heart, and has a lot of fan favorite courses. The second handheld version of Rainbow Road can be found at the end of the Special Cup, and is another take on the iconic course that truly isnt that bad. Compared to Double Dash!!, you have a much higher chance of getting bumped off the edge and making a mistake, since the road is more narrow and barriers arent as common. The loop-de-loops add a much welcome flair to the course. And naturally, the music is great. But this is another one of the easier Rainbow Roads in the series.
#7: Mario Kart World (2025)
Weve been putting in a lot of time with Mario Kart World since it launched. And I can confidently say that while this newest version of Rainbow Road is far from the hardest, its easily the longest and the most gorgeous. Its also a ton of fun - getting launched into space from Peach Stadium and landing on Rainbow Road looks great on Switch 2. And the separate river and space station sections of the level are just as captivating. At 150 CC and 24 racers on screen, it can be a little difficult. But when it comes to layout, there are much, much harder versions of Rainbow Road still to come on this list.
#6: Super Mario Kart (1992)
The one that started it all. Rainbow Road, and honestly most of this games courses, are pretty tough. The controls and mechanics of the first ever Mario Kart game honestly havent aged super well. And while this Rainbow Roads design is fairly simple, the lack of barriers and a handful of Thwomps blocking your way can make it difficult to come out on top. The tight turns and bad visibility dont help much, either. If youre familiar with the game and the shortcomings that come with its age, its probably easier to handle. Otherwise, it can be frustrating. Is this the genesis of one of the most iconic levels in video game history? Yes. Is it annoying and hard to maneuver? Also yes.
#5: Mario Kart: Super Circuit (2001)
Take all the gripes we have with the Rainbow Road from Super Mario Kart, add a tiny handheld screen, with no backlight on the original Game Boy Advance, a more complicated track layout, and voila, you have Super Circuits take on the course. This one is pretty tricky, as you once again have to deal with a lack of barriers keeping you from tumbling into the abyss. And the turns are much tighter to make. Super Circuit is another game that was great at the time, but has definitely not aged well. The saving grace of the GBA Rainbow Road is the soundtrack, which is easily one of the series best.
#4: Mario Kart 64 (1997)
Many of you have a deep nostalgia for Mario Kart 64, as do I. If you grew up with the N64, its probably one of the key multiplayer experiences you had and helped develop a lot of core memories. Truly, its one of the best games on the system. But its version of Rainbow Road is brutal. Its the longest course in the game, by far, with lots of tight twists and turns, and a few sections have big Chain Chomps as an obstacle, just munching through the road. The whole course has barriers, which is a welcome change. But even then, bumping against them while trying to make turns and dealing with other players or CPUs is frustrating.
#3: Mario Kart 7 (2011)
Mario Kart 7s Rainbow Road is one of the coolest as far as design is concerned. Various planetoids make up most of the course, which is a lot of fun. Its also pretty difficult. Most of the course has no barriers, and there are sections of the track missing, which makes it easy to fall off. One part of the level even waves up and down and has holes, followed by another with a giant Chain Chomp rolling around ready to smush any racers unlucky enough to get caught in its path. Its a fun, beautiful mess with an unorthodox layout, and one of the series most difficult courses.
#2: Mario Kart 8 (2014)
Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U (and 8 Deluxe on the Switch) is likely the game a lot of people have the most experience with, since it was the only modern entry available for over a decade until World in 2025. This version of Rainbow Road is one of the hardest and most dynamic in the whole series, and is just shy of the #1 spot on our list. Its got branching paths, anti-gravity sections, almost no barriers, and plenty of twists and turns to trip you up. This game also has a handful of revamped versions of Rainbow Roads past, but this is absolutely the hardest one in the game.
#1: Mario Kart Wii (2008)
Mario Kart Wiis version of Rainbow Road is the most difficult in the series, hands down. It truly puts players' racing skills to the test, especially if youre trying to navigate it using the Wii Wheels motion controls. A severe lack of barriers and a multitude of jumps and boost pads make it extremely easy to fall off the edge and plummet back down to Earth. And for novice players, its best to just avoid trying to use the halfpipes all together. There was more of a learning curve here than with any other version. But its difficulty wasnt cheap, and we all strived to master its physics and layout for a chance at earning first place.
Which version of this iconic, chromatic racetrack gave you the most trouble? Let us know in the comments below.
