Rainbow Road

This page is about the stage in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS. For the song in Brawl, see here.

Rainbow Road
Rainbow Road in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
Universe	Mario
Appears in	SSB4 (3DS)
Availability	Starter
Crate type	Presents
Maximum players	4
Music Bolded tracks must be unlocked for 3DS Main: Rainbow Road Medley Alternate: Rainbow Road (Mario Kart 7)
Tournament legality Smash 4 Singles: Banned Doubles: Banned
Article on Super Mario Wiki	3DS Rainbow Road

“	The Rainbow Road course from Mario Kart 7 is the inspiration for this stage. Platforms will hover above the course, touching down at random places during the race. Watch out for Shy Guys racing in their karts!.	”
—Super Smash Bros. 4 Official Site

Rainbow Road (レインボーロード, Rainbow Road) is a stage in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS. It is based on the Rainbow Road course from Mario Kart 7.

Stage overview

Rainbow Road consists of a flat rainbow platform that travels around the track and landing in several areas. Some of those destinations include the rings of Saturn, a white polka-dotted mushroom trampoline, the finish line, and a moon. It is a cruise-style stage similar to Port Town Aero Dive, Delfino Plaza, Mute City, and Skyloft. Much like Figure-8 Circuit in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Shy Guys will drive around the course and serve as damage-dealing obstacles. Unlike said stage though, the Shy Guys cannot be knocked out of the stage. Similar to Mute City from Super Smash Bros. Melee and Port Town Aero Dive from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the track while the moving platform is in motion deals upwards knockback.

Ω form

The stage only consists of a single platform which does not follow the track, instead remaining still above the split-up roads following the tube. The Ω form depicts these roads as curved; in both the stage and the racetrack, the roads are straight.

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  Ω form.

Origin

Rainbow Road as it appears in Mario Kart 7.

Rainbow Road first appeared in Super Mario Kart as the final course of the Special Cup, and a variation of it has appeared in every main Mario Kart game. Due to being the final course in a Mario Kart game's main lineup, its iterations are designed, and often considered by players, to be among the series' most difficult tracks.

In most appearances, it takes the form of a multi-colored track floating in deep space, above a lit-up city, or other locations. This Rainbow Road is based on the Mario Kart 7 version, which emphasizes the space theme by taking place among the Moon, asteroids, and several shrunk-down versions of planets of the Solar System. This iteration of the track would go on to reappear in Mario Kart Tour and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Shy Guys, originally from Super Mario Bros. 2, made their Mario Kart debut in Mario Kart DS as the only drivers recipient players of DS Download Play could play as, but made their proper debut as part of the roster in Mario Kart 7. In this stage, Shy Guys drive in their Standard Kart and use Super Gliders.

Trophy

Rainbow Road's trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

Rainbow Road

This beautiful seven-color course is the finale of the Special Cup in Mario Kart 7. Set high above in space, drivers navigate the rings of Saturn and cross craters on the moon. Shy Guys are racing on this course as the fighters compete on and around it, and they have no problem hitting you with their karts.

The Special Cup's final course in Mario Kart 7. This space track takes you through Saturn's rings and the craters on the moon. While fighting on the Rainbow Road stage, you'll fly around and sometimes even descend onto the track itself. Watch out! Shy Guys are having a proper race down there, and they don't brake for anyone!

Gallery

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  Fox, Wii Fit Trainer, and a few Shy Guys on the stage.

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  Lucario using Extreme Speed on the stage.

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  The moving platform moving past the finish line.

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  Rosalina & Luma and Samus fighting on the stage.

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  Lucario using Double Team on the stage.

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  Ryu on the stage while passing by the moon and a planet.

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  Shy Guys on karts hitting fighters.

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  Yoshi, Luigi, Diddy Kong, and Fox passing by a sharp turn.

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  King Dedede, Rosalina & Luma, and Yoshi near a planet.

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  Mario, Kirby, and Samus going through a tunnel.

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  The starting line.

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  Mario, Kirby, Samus, and Toon Link in an area full of jump ramps.

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  Luigi and Yoshi with a close-up of a Shy Guy.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	レインボーロード	Rainbow Road
English	Rainbow Road	—
French	Route Arc-en-ciel	Rainbow Road
German	Regenbogen-Boulevard	Rainbow Boulevard
Spanish	Senda Arco Iris	Rainbow Trail
Italian	Circuito arcobaleno	Rainbow circuit
Dutch	Regenboogbaan	Rainbow Runway
Russian	Трасса Радуга	Rainbow Trail
Portuguese	Estrada Arco-Íris	Rainbow Road

Trivia

• The track in the stage is slightly altered from its original appearance in Mario Kart 7.
  • All of the speed/gliding ramps are missing. Despite this, Shy Guys can still be seen with their gliders.
  • The mushroom-based platform on the course no longer bounces racers off of it.
  • The area right before the second section sign is no longer bumpy on the sides.
  • Saturn's ring doesn't have breaks in it on the sides.
  • The road right before the moon no longer bounces.
  • The rainbow track layer is notably thicker, as opposed to the thin layer from the original. Coincidentally, Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe feature Rainbow Roads with this trait (its own Rainbow Road, as well as the Rainbow Roads from Mario Kart 64 and Super Mario Kart)—however, its own rendition of Mario Kart 7's Rainbow Road keeps the original's thin layer of rainbow track.
• The stage's starting line is extended at the beginning of the stage, in spite of the fact that it can appear at its normal length when the stage is stopped by the starting line. It is to make way for the touring platform.
• Rainbow Road and Melee's Mushroom Kingdom are the only two Mario stages not to appear in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
  • Additionally, this stage and Pac-Maze are the only new stages in for Nintendo 3DS (not counting Battlefield and Final Destination) to not appear in Ultimate.
• This is the only Mario Kart stage to have Shy Guys with different colors. Every other stage only uses red Shy Guys.
• The "Rainbow Road Medley" music track that is used for this stage is a medley of the Rainbow Road themes from every handheld Mario Kart game, which is likely a reference to this stage being exclusive to the 3DS version of Smash 4.
• Curiously, a brand new iteration of Rainbow Road appears in Rosalina and Luma's reveal trailer, but does not resemble the version that appears in Smash 4.