Booster Course Wave 4 for Mario Kart 8
Deluxe is here, and we’re checking out All Changes and differences made for the returning courses.
The second race of the Fruit Cup is GBA Riverside Park. Deep within a jungle under sunset skies,
this track features a river with freshwater mangroves, wooden bridges, a mud pit, and a
waterfall cave—all overrun with item-carrying Ptooies. So how does the most recent update
differ from past instalments? Let’s find out! Riverside Park in Super Circuit had many twists
and turns—including two big shortcuts—while its graphical limitations caused it to feel
like a vast forest clearing with huge trees only in the background. When being reimagined for Tour,
the entire course was given dynamics in depth and scenery, while, at the same time, it simplified
the turns and eliminated the shortcuts. The Switch update offers visual and auditory enhancements
from Tour’s model, but it also adds Ptooies: walking Piranha Plants from Super Mario Bros.
3 with a knack for hovering items above them with their controlled breathing. While this is
the biggest difference, there are many others. Let’s address all of the gameplay changes first by
elaborating more on the behaviours of these botanical balancers. Ptooies spawn from the
river by the broken bridge approximately every 18 seconds. These critters then travel towards
the cave, where they hop in the waterfall and into the basin below to vanish. If a driver hits
one—whether by an item or vehicle—it will drop its treasure. Each Ptooie may carry a Mushroom,
Banana, or nothing at all, depending on what the item settings are. ‘Mushrooms
Only’ or ‘Bananas Only’ will assign only those items or nothing, but setting this
option to Custom Items will strip the plants of all goodies, regardless of customisation.
With these classic enemies out of the way, we head to the starting line to evaluate the rest of the
track. In the original, this was placed just after the bridge, but ever since Tour, drivers
start near the middle of the bridge that is now wider. All of these bridges were given support
posts to raise them above water level. This water used to be a hindrance in Super Circuit, but Tour
made it out of bounds completely. Just ahead was a large U-bend, featuring the start of short palms
lining the roadside, with coloured block barriers running parallel to them. This bend was minimised
with Tour’s redesign, no longer having the left turn. The palms also were removed, but proper
foreground trees were added near the path, with some connected by vines. Even the layout of the
barriers here—and pretty much everywhere—was altered, with fewer blocks present. And yet,
now, a set of red blocks were added in the north next to the blue set to seal off this off-road
spot. Around here in the original was a huge shortcut across the river, taken by hopping with
a Mushroom across the partially-blocked portion to skip the entire north-eastern section. This sadly
was removed for Tour, but that area was simplified quite a bit anyway, and grass was made to buffer
all spots where the path touched the river. In the area that could be skipped initially,
the first main jump across the river was moved to the semi-diagonal part and turned into a
broken bridge. The farthest slanted log from the collapsed division could be used to climb back
onto the bridge if a driver fell. Preventing most falling were the tied ropes serving as
side barriers, much like the set for the next bridge encountered later. The ramp remained,
still holding the Dash Panel, but all Dash Panels beyond the gap were removed. Now, even this one
is gone, but the ramp still allows for tricks. Past this gap is the part of the track that had
the second big shortcut originally—one that used a narrow strip of shallow water to cross the river,
leading to the south-eastbound path. It was turned into a big grass cut, similar to most
corners since the facelift. For the latest update, orange and green blocks were positioned just after
the red type near the waterfall. At the same time, orange and red sets can be found on the
other side of the tree at the opposite end, nerfing the shortcut. Here, we find the only
mud pit since Tour. But in Super Circuit, four were present throughout the course. All of the
rafflesias that were along the path up to this point—starting at the first gap—were plucked,
with some repositioned to join the trees in this area. Similarly, mossy rocks that were found just
a little further ahead originally were thrown out, but many other clean rocks could be found off-road
since Tour. The cave elements occupying the loop have been a game-changer, with the walls keeping
the space limited and the floor now being visibly wet and slippery. Ever since the revamp, the
gap-turned-bridge in this winding region was given weaving ropes that one would think is possible to
squeeze through, but it’s not! The cave exit leads through the waterfall with the starting
bridge below, without the preceding dirt path from Super Circuit or ability to fall in the crossing
path—only a basin. And for the Switch version, the cave exit was reshaped a bit—particularly
the rocks adjacent to the ramp. Whew! Other than the obvious remake of the entire
course, there are a fair number of noteworthy visual changes. A waterfall was added in the
background in Tour, as well as the sun, bathing the environment in a golden glow.
The clouds were changed to a modelled style, but with the beautifying Switch enhancements,
they now look real, like the mist that can be seen in the distance. Tour also removed the small,
dark patches on the path, while leafy plants and grass clumps were moved to different locations
that match the updated style. The river was decorated with rocks, mangroves, and saplings,
too. Now, the river water ripples and flows westward. Some other details are new, such as
mould on the bridges, longer blades of clumped grass, spectators, and the little birds that are
right at home here. Speaking of home, let’s take a look at the starting line, which went from having
black and white checks to red and white in Tour, adorning it with two vine-wrapped rock formations
holding up a wooden sign. The classic logo displayed here was painted from an orange gradient
to flat white now. The mud pit now has traffic cones surrounding it. Spelunking the misty cave,
headlights turn on. But bioluminescent mushrooms now help to illuminate the walls, too. The ramp
at the cave exit looks different, also showing off its metallic, glowing redesign. The waterfall
effects are quite good now, but the water droplets don’t stick to the camera lens anymore. Finally,
animal sounds can be heard throughout the course as an auditory change, including in the opening...
Ah, the song of the wild. Speaking of which, the music is appropriate for
a safari, with some Afro-Latin influences and a classic rock and roll lead, likely inspired by N64
DK’s Jungle Parkway and soundtracks of the Donkey Kong Country trilogy. The original composition
features digital elements combined with instruments, including Latin percussion—especially
the cuica: a squeaky friction drum that emits sounds commonly mistaken for monkey chatter...
Catchy! Tour arranged this piece with the arpeggios featuring both digital
and stringed zither tones, as well as brass accompaniment, and a saxophone lead...
This is good, too! But the live performance of the latest version feels more African-inspired than
before, introducing the kalimba or mbira—thumb piano—to the arpeggios, joining the Latin
percussion, baritone sax and electric bass, soft brass accompaniment, and a bright brass lead...
Awesome! This beautiful fusion brings to mind the Congo Basin and the Amazon,
both containing rainforests with renowned rivers, just like this one.
And that’s about it for All Changes we found in GBA Riverside Park! It’s a fairly straightforward
track—albeit one pleasing to the eyes and ears—but the addition of the memorable Ptooies
generates great opportunities for getting ahead. But what do you think? Have you found
any notable changes that we missed? Let us know in the comments below. And of course,
stay tuned to GameXplain for more on Booster Course Wave 4 for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe,
and other things Nintendo, too. Thanks for watching! Until next time, ciao!