Why the Star Cup is the BEST Cup in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe | Level By Level

Mario kart 8 deluxe has a lot of great tracks, and with 48 more tracks coming in as DLC (when nintendo ever feels like announcing wave 2 of the booster course pack) there is a lot of competition for what is the best tracks. Something that may be even MORE difficult to decide is what is the best CUP in mario kart 8 deluxe, and while this may change due to DLC, I personally think the star cup is the best overall in the game. It consists of the tracks Sunshine Airport, Dolphin Shoals, Electrodrome, and Mount Wario. These range from being good to some of the best tracks in the entire series. So in today’s episode of level by level, we’re gonna be analyzing these four tracks based on their music, aesthetic, layout, shortcuts, and more! So let me explain to you all why the star cup is the BEST cup in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe!
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0:00 Intro
1:00 Sunshine Airport
4:36 Dolphin Shoals
8:26 Electrodrome
11:34 Mount Wario
19:05 Outro
The Greatest Video Ever Made:
• Cool Bowser Dances to ...

[@tylerheinisch6796]

I’d also like to point out for Dolphin Shoals that on lap 3 the music is the full non water version for the whole lap, making the final lap more climactic than it otherwise would’ve been.

[@somesarcasticboy7918]

ok, I feel dumb because I never noticed that, that's pretty cool

[@bettyunicorn6132]

It’s really cool.

[@narxmagee727]

One small detail I'm surprised wasn't mentioned was that when you're on the runway portion or anti-gravity section at the same time as a plane on Sunshine Airport, the characters and even the music will be slightly muffled because of the plane. I just think that's a fun little detail.

[@autismandgaming4532]

This is a reference to how planes are loud

[@siphypokemon]

The second wave is why I don't think Mario kart 9 is coming, because Nintendo just loves dlc so much. oh yeah dry bones for smash

[@davisvoelzke8011]

They probably will once they are done

[@Amexy-mr6lw]

The dlc is ending December 2023. Not year 2100 so it's not like they'll just release booster course pass cups forever

[@siphypokemon]

@@Amexy-mr6lw fine point, but once it's over in a year and a half Nintendo will wait a few years to even consider the idea

[@Amexy-mr6lw]

@@siphypokemon I think this dlc is just an appetizer for mk fans waiting for Mario kart 9 Not necessarily an excuse to not release mk 9 I think the dlc tracks are being made by a smaller team and Mario kart 9 is being worked by a bigger team

[@siphypokemon]

@@Amexy-mr6lw well only time will tell

[@Eclipsmon8421]

Once I got the idea of creating a Mount Wario-like track, except instead of going down a snowy mountain, you are going down an erupting volcano. I know DK Mountain kind of did this, but there aren't any lava on the track, so it isn't as good! I want a Mount Wario and Grumble Volcano fusion! Imagine if we went through a burning forest at some point! That would be epic!

[@gregheffley5745]

If it was up to me, the Wario vs Waluigi Tour would've debuted Mount Wario, not Wario Shipyard.

[@Gooomsire]

Mixing one of the best tracks and one of the worst is a risky move though.

[@Eclipsmon8421]

@@Gooomsire You mean two of the best tracks in Mario Kart history?

[@Eclipsmon8421]

@@Gooomsire I love Vanilla Lake as well. It's my favorite Super Mario Kart track! I just never found Grumble Volcano annoying ever. Just difficult and intense.

[@lailoutherand]

@@Eclipsmon8421 me too I genuinely enjoy grumble volcano i havent played the other mariokart games………….

[@speznerd5643]

It's so hard to stop and smell the roses while racing in this game, it makes me appreciate videos like this really analyzing everything. Great video!

[@ltAMeMario]

Yeah I was hoping we’d get Wave 2 in July maybe June but probably not August but ay Wave 2 looks better than Wave 1 and I bet we weren’t expecting a brand new track. I wonder if any of the booster pass cups will be able to beat the star cup? 🤔

[@itsamine4840]

Wave 1 released on my birthday.

[@Ultragay_bacon]

August is because it is mario kart's anniversary

[@T-raythekid]

Wave one was disgusting

[@crazycap2945]

@@T-raythekid I think it's pretty cool, the tracks are fun to race on and the visual complaints are justified but overblown just a bit.

[@militor_207]

@@itsamine4840 same Well, technically you were able to play it the day before

[@bamr1318]

Quick thing about Electrodrome: When the paths split into the pink and green, there are actually small sound differences. Where the music sounds a little more muffled when on the blackened part, I think its slightly different for each path And for the other, for each color the sounds that the stairs make are different. Really cool details!

[@EpicRobloxianReal]

I've been playing MK8 for 9 years (on the Wii U) and I have not noticed that at all!

[@noahppinkrevail]

Lets party!🎉🥳🎊 okay really I said that because of the dance theme.

[@LucasDanielCab5]

Ain't there no way this man just managed to take the funny plane green screen and make it a smooth transition into the next shot bro you're legendary

[@Angelobeta]

The pure hate in your voice when you said "YOU DON'T COUNT." At toad circuit is the absolute best thing I've heard this week

[@WeegeeMaro]

My favorite cup in 8 Deluxe is a tie between the Star Cup and Lightning Cup, both have some really solid tracks that have grown on me a lot since I've first played

[@cranberryjuice1005]

mines the star and bell

[@TrainWreckYT]

For me personally, Dolphin Shoals is my favourite mariokart 8 track. I love the music, the cliff, the pipes, the eel, and most of all I just really like beach aesthetics. That's probably also the reason why Seaside is my favourite Odyssey kingdom. I was sad when it only got a B tier and was called the low point of the cup but I respect your opinion and I think every track in Star cup (Maybe with the exception of Sunshine Airport) deserves an instant S tier. Great analysis video, went very in-depth about all the tracks. Definitely leaving a like even if I don't agree with your choices.

[@tloz171nfs]

dw I think Dolphin Shoals is the best and Sunshine Airport is the low point of the cup too

[@ayoutubechannel7143]

imo it's one of the worst non retro tracks but hey, you do you!

[@alessandroferrari5851]

Fun Fact: In the italian version, Music Park is named "Melodiodromo", and since it was present with the same name in 7, it was the real first track with a one-word-long name. There may be other tracks in the series in other languages with a one word name but in that case, I don't know. Sorry.

[@GameJack26]

i don’t remember for sure, but i saw the original electrodrome fact on twitter and the replies were talking about how, if i remember correctly, in german a bunch of tracks are only one word, so this fact really only works perfectly for english as far as i know there’s also the battle course skyscraper, but that’s not a race course so

[@HyperFlo519]

In French, Neo Bowser City is called "Koopapolis", same game

[@XNGsumaho]

@@HyperFlo519 indeed the italian name of neo bowser city is koopa city

[@dresseuse_de_johto]

Someone mentioned Neo Bowser City being "Koopapolis" in french, but we had another one word name track long before that in Double Dash, with Mushroom City being "Champiville" in french.

[@gerriehetschaap1854]

Both Dutch and German are languages that often put together words in order to make long words that combine the meaning of both. I used to have a Dutch copy of Mario Kart 7 (to me, a native speaker, the translated names sound incredibly lame, so I quickly changed the language to English) but I can destinctly remember Mushroom Gorge being called Paddenstoelengrot (which unsurprisingly) is pretty much a literal translation.

[@jayleaf23]

7:10 something I wanted to point out, there are actually 3 versions of Dolphin Shoals, the normal above water variant with the saxophone when you emerge from the water, the Deep Water variant that plays during the pipe section and eel section, as well as the Shallow Water section that plays everywhere else, the beginning of the track, the dolphin jumps, and the lead up to the pipe section. And in the above water variant, there’s an extended version of the track with the famous “Mariokart lick” that doesn’t play in normal gameplay, instead the only way to hear it in game is when spectating this track online or in Mariokart TV. Just something interesting I wanted to point out!

[@superdude11235]

Mariokart...lick?

[@jayleaf23]

The “Mariokart lick” is a part of the sax solo that plays during the extended theme of Dolphin Shoals, look it up I think it’s really cool! :)

[@shadowflamegaming5598]

Facts, Star Cup is awesome. Electrodrome is my favorite course and Mount Wario is arguably the best course. Sunshine Airport is also really good, and although I don’t like Dolphin Shoals gameplay as much, the song is a banger.

[@PhantomOfficial07]

A little late but I just found out that not only is it called Electrodrome (not dome), but the course takes place fucking outside in a city. I don't know how I didn't notice that, I thought it was some indoor club or smth.

[@powerguy3976]

Just noticed the luma on the back of the trophy! Also in Dolphin Shoals there’s another shortcut. In the split path, if you go on the far right (the way with boost panels), you can activate your glider and hold right to go through the crack and under Unagi.

[@Sconey-dj6ju]

I love that there is boomerang bros airlines, Galaxy air, and propeller toad airlines. There all so cool I can’t pick one I like best but I’m leaning towards Galaxy air

[@MarsJenkar]

The first two seem to be passenger airlines, while Propeller Toad Transport is obviously a courier service.

[@mariopenguin2588]

For me, my favorite cup is tied between Star Cup and Lightning Cup, I could easily see people loving this one more. Mount Wario was my favorite Mario Kart track from the first time I ever played. Can’t wait for your video on wave 2, loved the first one.

[@Typi]

Electrodome's two paths are amazing, not because the layout is anything too special, but because it's the most satisfying thing to annhialate the person on the other path with a bomb-omb lmao

[@ayoutubechannel7143]

But you're a fool if you take the green path. Over 1 second longer per lap

[@squidy5785]

That sunshine transition was just 👌

[@desmondruhling]

The fact that cool bowser is a canon part of this track brings it up about 50 points

[@civetmink9060]

I fully agree with you on sunshine airport and mount wario but I actually have my opinion the exact opposite for dolphin shoals and electrodrome. I think electrodrome is a pretty mid, generic track while dolphin shoals is a cool unique track that I absolutely love that perfectly shows everything Mario kart is about

[@flippyfrogman]

This was actually the first Mario Kart cup I ever played, back on my friend’s Wii U back in 2015. Good times.

[@NbLumineIzHere]

dolphin shoals is one of my favs from the base game bc of the part in the water where u drive above the pipes. theres a shortcut u can take if u go the far right path with enough speed, if u hold ur joystick back after tricking off the boost ramp and go straight u land at the pipes much faster than every other path. everytime i try it i always bonk my head after the pipes push me up but bc of this rly cool trick, the music, the enemies/animals/characters in the track (the dolphins, the eel, and the toads cheering us on) along with the really pretty visuals makes dolphin shoals up with electrodrome for me:)

[@dresseuse_de_johto]

One thing that shows how great Mount Wario is is how each portion of the track could have been the main theme of a whole track. Especially on section 2. You could make a whole track out of an ice cave. And a whole track in a snowy forest. And a whole track whose centerpiece is a dam you ride on in antigravity. And those three things all are inside Mount Wario. And only a third of Mount Wario. And the most incredible thing is that no portion of the track feels too short. While Ribbon Road is my favorite track, this one is a very close second, and it will be very hard to top in the future.

[@peachyarts386]

I always loved the star cups in Mario kart games, both in wii and 8. Probably because they both had my favorite tracks of that specific game for wii it’s maple treeway and for 8 it’s sunshine airport. It makes me happy to see that others agree with me!

[@asdunlavey]

The Star Cup is fantastic, but I quickly became sick of it because of how frequently players voted for those tracks when playing online in 2014.

[@eggsandbacon5677]

The final section I think might be a nod to the Mario and sonic Winter Olympic Games for ds as the ski slope is the incredibly similar in both games

[@shooshiwhooshi8736]

I think the music in all of these tracks is what makes them so good. My personal favorite is Dolphin Shoals, it goes so hard! Also Electrodrome is banging, also Sushine Airport too.

[@ryanfox283]

5:08 “this is just about the most generic a water track can get” _Cheep Cheep Lagoon is typing…_

[@karenbailey-pb3ly]

1:43 Every wii game ever: and I took that personally

[@rockyboi1961]

I have an incredible clip saved on my switch where I entered the final lap and suddenly a blue shell appeared on my tail. However, it was 200cc and due to the sheer speed I gained from going down the mountain, I managed to make it all the way to the finish before I got hit by the blue shell, a red shell, AND a blooper all at the same time.

[@stinkymayas110]

Mount Wario is currently my favorite track. It's so much fun, and the best part is not having to go in a full circle- it changes each lap

[@DefenderOfChrist_]

3:02 I never noticed that before now lmao

[@horsesteam9173]

I've had the game since launch and didn't know about that shortcut to the runway! Nice

[@PeachyFanboy]

The Moon Cup from the Booster Course Pass needs to talk to ya

[@DefenderOfChrist_]

13:57 never noticed that before either

[@gnomeyt9339]

Always had this opinion. Great to see a whole video about it!

[@egg_ox]

I agree wholeheartedly. Every map in this cup is a banger

[@agentblackbird9435]

Wario’s tracks are great. The 2 stadiums, Colossuem, Gold Mine, Shipyard, and Mount. I’ve not played Colossuem and Shipyard, but I enjoy all the others.

[@ethanodell8044]

For whatever reason for every Mario Kart game I played the Star Cup has consistently been my favorite cup for every one of them. DS has Tick-Tock Clock and Airship Fortress which are some of my favorite courses in the whole game, probably the most solid Mario Circuit in the whole series, and DK Pass I still think is charming. 7 has Piranha Plant slide and Neo Bowser City which I am a huge fan of both, and I think Wario Shipyard and Maku Wuhu are super underrated. 8 has Dolphin Shoals and Mount Wario which are more of my favorite courses from that game, and I still love playing Sunshine Airport and Electrodrome whenever they pop up

[@theultranot-owl8840]

Ive always thought Star was the best cup tbh

[@eeveeon4081]

I would personally have Mount Wario as my second-favorite track in the series, since 3DS Rainbow Road still holds the place as my favorite.

[@ade1174]

I completely agree that the Star Cup is the best one among the base 12 cups. Mount Wario is one of my favorite tracks in the game, and I think Electrodrome perfects the music theme started by Music Park. Sunshine Airport and Dolhpin Shoals are also pretty fun. Additionally, I like all the paths in Dolphin Shoals. Also, every track in this cup has banger music.

[@internet-toe-licker]

To me personally, Dolphin Shoals is a track that gets better everytime I play it. When I first played it, I thought it was a Low C Teir, maybe even a High D Teir. But as I played it more, it started shooting it's way up my favourite tracks. My Top 5 Tracks If You're Wondering: 1) Piranah Plant Slide 2) Sydney Sprint (DLC OMG!!1!1) 3) Bowser's Castle 4) Dolphin Shoals

[@solfegesc]

it's awesome to see you grow in your content creation and humor dude :] a few things: - Sunshine Airport also has another cool detail, whenever you're next to an airplanes all the character voices get muffled to simulate the incredibly loud noises an airplane makes when it's taking off - small criticism: what exactly do you mean by "basic" for dolphin shoals? I feel like beach levels are a bit more basic in terms of water levels and a rocky shoal isn't something seen often - also dolphin shoals' 200cc shortcut at the end isn't that hard >:( - really liked how at the end you mentioned that the forest section in mount wario had a ton of thought despite being so short. that's a measure of really good game design so keep mentioning stuff like that - your humor is on-point, as always. keep it up, man. you're doing amazing

[@OlaAremu]

Subbed for the Sunshine Airport transition

[@Raz-cf3dz]

Sunshine airport might have my favorite music track it fits the theme perfectly!

[@LukeBowman-oe9iv]

I personally love lightning cup, but you provide a compelling argument. Keep up the good work!

[@LukeBowman-oe9iv]

Not lightning lol I meant the big blue, super bell subway, ribbon road, and neo bowser city cup

[@LukeBowman-oe9iv]

I think it’s the bell cup

[@Zack207]

This is such a banger cup. Each track has incredibly great music and I love all of these tracks, dolphin shoals not quite as much as the rest, but it's still fine. And mount wario is my favorite track in the game, it's so good

[@Zack207]

Glad to see it's your favorite as well. For the whole series I actually like 3ds rainbow road a bit more but that's prolly cuz of nostalgia lol

[@tabbything]

It’s kind of hard to notice because they are very similar, but there are 3 types of songs in Dolphin Shoals (I only realized this after I looked up the ost). There is one at the beginning and the iconic saxophone section, as well as one in the middle. This also helps make the sax section stand out because the deep water version is very simple and calming (even more calm than the shallow water section), which contrasts with the sax. Other than that, yes this cup is one of the best (so far) not only in this game but in the entire series (for me it is beaten out by Wii and 7’s Star Cup)

[@juanpablotorres7864]

Another cool detail about sunshine airport is as u glide down that filler turn in the far right u can see Koopa troopa beach in the distance

[@fyrecracker7201]

Star cup is my favorite as well, sunshine airport is my favorite track in the game

[@famoussaturn3237]

I agree with your analysis of Electrodrome, though I do feel like the aesthetic is so unique and well done that it covers up a very mid track layout

[@sebastiancastaneda3177]

Agreed.

[@raetedr2246]

I absolutely love dolphin Shoals. I mean racing under water on a eel! And then that freaking music🤩😍

[@derekmccolgan1930]

you should discuss sand kingdom in level by level

[@kaiserofgaming6992]

1:43 anyone who’s played the Galaxy games. So you have chosen death.

[@spimuru5040]

I always go for the glider ramp in Mount Wario, even if I don't have a mushroom. I like looking down on all of the ground peasants.

[@DNYLNY]

I love this channel so much

[@MintE2805]

The transition to sunshine airport made me spit out my water in laughter

[@-KING_Luigi-]

the star cup is indied one of the best cups in mk8d, but my favorite is still the flower cup, shy guy falls and twisted mansion have such good music and also the looks of shy guy falls is just amazing but overall i also like the cups from the dlc, its awsome that the second wave is just a few days away and i can't wait to play this tracks, the looks of these new sky high sundea track is just amazing, i think we'll see more new tracks in the remaining cups, like the acorn cup, spiny and moon cup.

[@emmet042]

Here's something I never see talked about regarding Sunshine Airport: There is unique dialogue in the terminal section of an announcer reading off a list of flights that are boarding for "x" location! This can be rather difficult to here mid-race due to both the soundtrack and gameplay noise; but if you sit in the terminal for a while, then view the race replay without music, it should become distinguishable! (Super Bell Subway has this Easter Egg too) Also, no other track (though Mario Circuit with its Mobius strip design is close) shows off how twisted the anti-gravity section can make a course better than Eletrodrome for me. You can even see the split paths section weave under the starting line if you look back while talking the first glider ramp.

[@maelmcd]

hey funny dude i have a question what cc do you play when gamering on mario kart 8 ?

[@Vro789]

To very quickly talk about booster course pass gba snow land looks so good especially since this is its first remake since its not in tour yet but the ice and snow textures are good looking.

[@chelsear1400]

Personally my favorite is the lighting cup but I love this one too

[@Megggazap]

Dolphin Shoals actually has 3 different variations of its music. Above Water (The whirlpool area and the end of the track), Shallow Water (The start of the track and the dolphin area), Deep Water (The underwater cavern section of the track.) Also, as a side note, the above water version plays for the entirety of Lap 3 instead of changing throughout the map

[@aiexperimenthub]

I prefer egg cup. Yoshi circuit and dragon driftway have amazing shortcuts, exitebike and mute city are both very good because of the high speed fun

[@AnklesB]

mount wario is my fav track in game but agree with egg cup

[@VMan776]

I would maybe prefer Egg Cup if it wasn't for Excitebike Arena. To me, that is one of the worst tracks in the entire franchise. Yoshi Circuit is really good, though, even if they removed a shortcut.

[@1venusflytrap]

i have played hundreds of hours of both this game and the original mk8 and never even noticed the boost panel path on the pipe area of dolphin shoals. my mind is blown

[@fikriaimran9305]

Hi. I've recently 100 percented SMO, including all of the costumes, moons, and the Bowser final boss. Any tips on what to do next?

[@scottedwards8220]

Odyssey central my favorite track form, mario kart is mount Wario and can't wait for the super mario maker series to come back.

[@Sasha-ei3kw]

Idk why but I have an OBSESSION with star cup every time I play Mario kart I play star cup first

[@Sebboebbo]

Da king is back baby he neva miss

[@PixeldGlitch]

When you said YOU DON'T COUNT it sounds like when in wii deleted you sams story when the character of Kyle said to Samantha that eteled traumatised me

[@maria.garavaglia]

For those who want to hear more about the music, 8-Bit Music Theory has videos on both Dolphin Shoals and Mount Wario. Highly recommended if you're any kind a music nerd like me.

[@Truyoung]

1:02 Fire transition

[@PlanetaryALT]

Not sure if you already knew but at the last glider section if you look at the right you can see Koopa Troopa Beach from MK64

[@pmdmakesmecri2]

Actually there are three versions of Dolphin Shoals. Underwater has two versions: Shallow (Intro/Dolphins) and Deep (Pipes and Unagi). Shallow mainly uses ukulele and steel drums. Deep keeps the Steel Drums, but the ukulele is gone and the whole song has a distorted effort along with a muted bass.

[@leblondjames8092]

Personally my favorite is the triforce cup I just think it’s a great mesh of tracks especially having extremely good tracks like rainbow Road

[@TheQuackNationShow]

That forest area always make me want a race mostly like that

[@sklorkgd]

Suggestion. Steam Gardens: Mario Odyssey’s Best Level

[@LifeWKai]

You analyzed the name of the track for Electrodrome and how it was the only one word track, so when you moved on to Mount Wario, I was expecting the fact about how Mount Wario is the only track whose title is both a location and a command.

[@benjaliaanimations9860]

I love this series!

[@benjaliaanimations9860]

thx for the heart!

[@l.r.4116]

3:00 I actually never knew about this shortcut and never seen anyone go there

[@chefalbertocabrera]

Alright let’s get to electrodrome. COOL BOWSER S TIER. Ok next one

[@tabbygale5430]

Ah excellent, a 20-minute video confirming my personal opinion

[@BellHillMayor]

My favorite cup ever in the game, 100% agreed with everything you've said :)

[@datmeme6643]

It couldn't be Odyssey Central without Cool Bowser.

[@_Funniman]

*I knew I wasn't alone on Star Cup!*

[@ultimatebrawlers64]

4:50 chose Larry over dry bones for a chance,that interesting

[@Odyssey_Central]

Fun fact, that’s actually because my dad wanted to help with footage, so any Larry gameplay is him 🔥

[@JediSteve-J3-]

the main reason I actually got Mario kart 8 deluxe was because of a Mario kart tournament I was in. the first track was chosen by the audience based on how much cheering it got (it was fricking moo moo meadows, but I managed 1st) 1st and 2nd moved on and the next track for the following two races was mount wario (my favorite track and one of the only tracks that is also a command) and oh boy was it tense, and by tense I mean I actually had the dream final of me and one other constantly going in and out of each other's slipstream and actually getting a photo finish(I got second). 3rd race wasn't as interesting as me and the guy who got first last race messed up really badly, but was still fairly close (second again). of course the final was big blue and the four people going in agreed that whatever happened was mostly luck but would be fun regardless. I got 3rd but had an amazing time on mt wario that I just had to get the game so I can experience it as something other than Yoshi on standard everything.

[@rockitoutnight8160]

I actually just got a switch I have mario kart and mario maker 2 but should I get mario oddesey or smash bros

[@purrowpet]

I need only one change for me to agree, and that's for the electrodrome song to be either a more proper 80s disco track or something dubsteppy. I just can't look at those massive speakers and imagine them playing a song with such puny bass.

[@reglissh952]

"the star cup is the best cup" me, liking none of the courses in it: I take offend

[@arcfurrie4856]

Btw, one Electrodrome, when racing, the characters will actually bob their heads to the music throughout the race

[@everettgaspar3482]

I saw the title and agreed immediately. I’m a fan of sunshine airport and I LOVE Dolphin Shoals which is probably tied for my second favourite track in the game with RR64. I kind of don’t love electrodeome but I understand why everybody likes it so much. And OF COURSE Mt Wario is the best track in the game

[@huhneat1076]

Fun fact: there are actually 3 versions of the dolphin Shoals song, not including the solo. One for shallow water, one for the pipes/eel section, and one for above water

[@gunnadahun]

Ranking every odyssey central video when?

[@imaginationsquare]

You know Sky-High Sundae is clearly still made for Tour just 'coinsidentally' released earlier here

[@BaconNuke]

Ya honestly having some of the booster courses be completely new tracks gives me hope since it feels like they put more effort into it.. instead of "they could have just made this a retro track in the next game anyways"

[@LarryDeskPlant]

I think it would be cool to see a level by level on seaside kingdom

[@superman5710]

yes Yes YEs YES!!! I love this cup!! Couldn’t agree more!!