With the brand new Mario Kart 8 DLC being released yesterday, we thought it would be a good time to announce the winners of our Mario Kart 8 Track Creation competition which ended at the end of October.

We got several entries and each one was absolutely fantastic. The three entries which made it to the final judgement were very close, so close that without the third judge, we wouldn’t be able to announce the winner today. Only one person can win the eShop credit however.

Find out who won after the break!

1st Place – Bionis’ Leg Lap by Mr. Fuego

My track is set in Gaur Plain, the most iconic area in Xenoblade Chronicles. The track takes you around Gaur Plain, up the giant rock structures, and into an upside down flying section. Then on the way back, Armu and Ardun cross the track and must be avoided.
Bigonis'LegLap-Overview
A demonstration of my track, drawn onto an image of Gaur Plain [original image here: http://images.wikia.com/xenoblade/images/3/31/SX4P01-4.png], and in the style of a Mario Kart 8 Map.
I included numbers for reference, so you understand my track fully!

Bigonis'LegLap-Map with Markers?

The track starts[1] west (or south if you consider the perspective of the map, rather than that of the original game) of Jabos Rock Rest Area, and crosses the first bridge across the river (a trick can be performed on these bridges), before taking a left turn. Then, after as short straight section, the track splits[2], with two routes to take.

The left route is shorter, cutting straight back across the second bridge to the field, while the right route is longer and has a very sharp turn towards the third bridge. However, this route has a series of boost pads after the turn, and the route allows for two drift boosts thanks to the two extra corners, the second being when the tracks reconnect in an anti-gravity section[3].

The track goes up the cliffs, and then up the rock pillar[4] that supports the giant, curved rock structure. This straight section is entirely vertical, with one boost pad half way through, and some small bumps spread around to perform tricks on. Then, the track goes along the underside of the structure, curving slightly (as you can see in the first image), and the icicle-like hanging rocks that are on the track must be dodged.When the track reaches the edge of the rock, there is a flying section[5] over to the opposite structure. Then, there is another section dodging the hanging rocks before the track plunges back to a 90 degree angle, going down the supporting pillar[6]. Then, the anti-gravity part ends, and the track turns right[7], then gradually curves to the right.

The next part of the track is blocked by Armus and Ardun[8]! They must be avoided (like the Cows in Moo Moo Meadows), and their position is altered each lap (specific positions here: http://i.imgur.com/RIoALzl.png). Here, heavier racers have an advantage if they can hit lighter opponents into the creatures, causing them to spin out. This is the last obstacle in the track, and after this part the track turns left, back to the starting line.

Bonus: Mechon Kart

Bigonis'LegLap-MechonKartHQ

This Kart would come as a bonus with the track DLC. It’s a hovering vehicle based on the design of the Mechon M63 from Xenoblade. A unique feature of the vehicle is that you can choose whether it behaves as a Kart or Bike. Because a large portion of the Gaur Plain track is anti-gravity, this Kart has a special behaviour on this track: it goes faster on-ground (because there is no friction) but slower on anti-gravity sections.

This is the track which probably stood out the most to us, not for the detailed images but for the theming. I myself have never played the Xenoblade games [though Xenoblade X looks like I may have to purchase at some point] but Mr. Fuego has gone into a lot of detail with linking the track to a game outside the Mario franchise, to the extent he even included a Xenoblade cycle! I especially love points 4, 5 and 6 how you climb vertically up the memorable cliff and glide from one side to the other.

Have fun using your eShop credit Mr. Fuego!

Even though the following entries didn’t win any eShop credit this time, they were still very fun to read an imagine and deserve just as much appreciation!

2nd Place – Planet Tour by SuperMii3D

This track is based off of Super Mario Galaxy. It is called Planet Tour due to its planet leap. The small arrows tell you where you enter and which direction to head in.

PlanetTour-Entry

Entry Zone
This is where the race begins. Drivers immediately take a right turn to collect an item.There are a few bumps in the road after the turn to perform tricks and get a boost. Then, you go into a crater and proceed to enter zero-gravity.

PlanetTour-Crater

Crater
This is inside the Crater. Its a straightaway that lets you go on the walls. There are a few item boxes in there and a few spiky plants to hinder your progress.

PlanetTour-TakeOff

Take-Off Section
You appear on the other side of the Planet where you drive straight and have to do a trick in order to get over an empty crater (Think DK Summit or Waluigi Stadium from the Wii) then take another turn to get more items. There is a small spiraling stone tower that makes you take two loops and then sets you gliding.

PlanetTour-SmallPlanet

Small Planet
You glide to a Smaller Planet that’s mostly made of water. Once you land, you quickly dive into section 1 (The left side) where there is only one bend and a few Cheep Cheeps. There are a few ramps that you can get on to do a trick. Then you enter section 2 (The right side) of the Small Planet. There are more ramps, and one of them holds an item box. You quickly leave the water and head for a zero gravity zone where you perform a loop-dee-loop. After the loop, you begin gliding again.

PlanetTour-Rocket

Rocket Area
You land on the Main Planet again, only to run into a straightaway once again. When you land, there is a broken rocket that is in the track. You can perform a trick off the smaller, broken top of the rocket, or simply go around it. Again, there a few bumps in the road for more tricks. Then, there’s the big part of the rocket. If you get on it, you can go into the rocket by slipping through the window, where you will be led to a boost ramp in the turbine for a trick. If you stay on the rocket, you can stay on the rocket, you can drive towards the wings for an item and perform a small trick off of them. You could also jump off the turbine without and item for a small trick. Of course, you can just go around it.

PlanetTour-Entry

Entry Zone: The Back
This is the beginning, and you are led to the bottom right section after the Rocket Area. If you got a mushroom, you can take a shortcut that cuts the bend and lands you on a tree stump.

This was definitely fun to read… mainly because I am a sucker for space themed course. Either way we found it was very creative and wasn’t just your average Rainbow Road, try imagining being able to race on a bunch of of intertwined galaxies from Super Mario Galaxy. The flying between planets and the small water planet really stood out to us.

3rd Place – Mystic Forest by Homer Fanboy

You start out on a dirt path. You are deep in a mysterious forest, on the sides of the tracks are huge twisty trees with barely any leaves. Purple, blue and green foliage is spread around. Everything is cool colors. Old looking cracked faded purple towers are also seen.

You drive forward for a bit and then turn right. Item boxes are available for you. You make another turn left, then right (a mud shortcut is there but it slows you down), then left and then you turn right one last time.

It is a pretty curvy path and there is purple and green goombas sleeping on the paths,with little sleeping hate or sleeping masks. If you knock into them they wake up and walk around the track, ticked off that they were woken up. After that final right turn I told you about you go straight and light starts to shows through the thick trees above, and they start to disperse to look more open.

You make a slight turn left then right and run into some item boxes. There is a massive log for you to ride on floating above a sparkling pool of water. You can go in the water of on top of the log. There are bumps on the log and also bumps in the water for you to use as speed bumps. There are octopus enemies in the water and also cheep-cheeps. There is a small shortcut for those who took the water route all the way to the left. Those who took the log go straight then make a sharp turn left. Both paths meet at this spot and you continue straight into an antigravity strip. You can now see the beautiful night sky and multiple birds fly around.

The sky is clear with lots of stars out. You are driving around a small mountain. There are streams of water flowing from the top in different spots. This is no water you can swim in, just water that pushes you down a bit. You keep swirling around the mountain till you get to the top to reveal a small beautiful pond. You also can now see the huge full moon that takes up a large portion of the sky, it’s even reflected in the water! You make a quick turn around pond and you go back off a ramp which also takes away your anti-gravity.  You are now flying straight into the view of the moon.

Under you is a huge clearing in the forest.  You glide high atop this clearing and use speed rings to give you a boost and to keep you from landing in the clearing. You can still drive down there though. There are shooting stars falling all around you, it really is quite stunning. You slowly get lower and lower down closer to the clearing and eventually you drop from your gliding segment onto the ground into some item boxes.

You drive on a long bend left on the edge of another beautiful pond. There are still twisty trees around you and plenty of foliage, but not as thick and you can still see the sky. You continue driving and you drive right into an anti-gravity cave. You can drive along any wall in this cave. The top, the bottom, the sides, any thing! There are plenty of rocky bumps to use as speed bumps. Koopas hang out along the bottom of the cave. There are holes in the top of the cave that let light in so be careful not to fall out of those! You come out the other end of the cave and are in the thicker portion of the forest now, like the beginning. You go straight into some item boxes and then a little farther and you are back at the start of the course.

MysticForrest

Once again Mystic Forest is another fantastic track. Though a Mario forest theme feels a bit generic, there is something about this course which really makes it shine. My favourite parts of the course are probably the pond areas and the fact that there is a day/night cycle, something which I don’t think has ever been done in any Mario Kart tracks.

Before we close this up, we would just like to say well done to everyone who entered the competition, especially Mr. Fuego for winning the eShop credit, and we also hope everyone continues to enjoy Mario Kart 8 and Ninety Buzz. Hopefully we may decide to hold more competitions like this one in the near future.

So, what was your favourite entry from above and why? Tell us in the comments below and we shall see you all very soon!

Leon Fletcher

I am a huge Nintendo fan, hence why NintyBuzz exists. I especially love all things Zelda and Metroid. NintyBuzz was started by me back in the Summer of 2014, it started out mainly as a hobby, though the site has gradually grown, and I hope it grows for many years to come!