The life cycle of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has been extended even further with the Booster Course Pass, an expansion pack that will add 48 new tracks to the game by the end of 2023. The first wave has recently landed on Nintendo Switch, bringing two new cups for a total of eight courses. The MK8 DLC is a lazy but genius addition to the game, being comprised entirely of existing tracks from previous Mario Kart games, intended to provide some content while fans await the series' ninth entry. The upgrades and changes made to each course in the first wave of the Booster Course Pass make each locale a bonafide Mario Kart 8 course, but some are still more impressive than others.
Bringing back classic tracks is not a new feature for Mario Kart, but this DLC has the novelty of transferring tracks from Mario Kart Tour, the series' mobile game that released in 2019. The platform requires simplicity in its courses, and many were worried that those from Tour wouldn't translate well to a traditional console Mario Kart. These have actually turned out quite well, are some of the better tracks offered in the Booster Course Pass' first wave, and are interesting enough additions to MK8 Deluxe until the supposedly still-in-development Mario Kart 9 eventually comes.
Overall, there is a noticeable lack of detail and atmosphere in the DLC courses when compared to those from the base game. This isn't necessarily detrimental, and points more toward the uniform quality seen in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. The major difference between the base game and DLC courses is that the latter don't have MK8's signature feature - the anti-gravity segments. As post-launch courses remastered from previous games, it's fairly easy to understand why Nintendo wouldn't want to drastically redesign each course just to include anti-gravity zones. Even with a return to basics, fresh off the heels of potential competitor Chocobo GP, the first wave of Booster Course Pass tracks are a reminder of how good a kart racer Nintendo can make.
#8 - Toad Circuit
Toad Circuit is the worst of Mario Kart 8's new tracks if only because it's the most basic. It comes to the Booster Course Pass by way of MK7 for the 3DS, where it was the first track in the game's first cup. Mario Kart games tend to put the most basic layout as an introductory course, and this is no exception. Toad Circuit is a simple and straightforward race, but won't excite those who've mastered MK8's mechanics.
#7 - Sky Garden
Sky Garden suffers the most from the Booster Course Pass' lack of anti-gravity sections. As a course thematically placed in the air, it would have been a perfect opportunity to adopt MK8's signature gimmick, and its absence leaves Sky Garden feeling like a less robust Cloudtop Cruise, which is a decently longer course as well. That said, Sky Garden's makeover from Mario Kart: Super Circuit on the Game Boy Advance shows the potential of the Booster Pass bringing retro tracks to the Switch, where verticality can be added and new shortcuts introduced.
#6 - Tokyo Blur
Tokyo Blur is one of the three courses in the DLC that originated in Mario Kart Tour, and is the worst of the bunch. It suffers mainly from including many straight legs, even as each lap changes to a new layout from Tour to introduce new turns.
Even on 200cc, the nicely rendered, imitation streets of Tokyo aren't very exciting to race through. Tokyo Blur in MK8 retains the Thwomps that its Tour counterpart has, but with them only appearing briefly on the second and third lap, they feel like little more than a gimmick to add obstacles in a course that is otherwise not heavily themed after the Mario franchise.
#5 - Choco Mountain
Out of every remastered track in MK8's first DLC wave, Choco Mountain is the oldest, hailing from 1996's Mario Kart 64. This latest rendition has a lot of visual similarity to Choco Mountain's appearance in Tour, but the layout of the track hasn't changed much since its original incarnation. One section of track has been replaced with a glide ramp, but the most detrimental change is the ever-present guardrail after the hairpin turn where boulders fall on the track. This rail was only there during 50cc races in MK64, and without it, players could get knocked down onto an earlier part of the track. Mario Kart 8 has unfortunately taken away some of the competitive risk by making the guard rail a permanent installation.
#4 -Paris Promenade
The first time racing on Paris Promenade can be a tad bit confusing, because the Mario Kart 8 version cleverly splices together three different variants of the course from Tour, a strategy upcoming Mario Kart 8 DLC courses will probably continue to take with Tour adoptions. Each lap takes players in a slightly different direction, which really helps Paris Promenade create a feeling of speeding through city streets. What really propels Paris Promenade into the upper echelon of Booster Course Pass' fist wave is the third lap, which makes players go around the course in reverse, making it possible to run head on into other racers if a large enough lead has been attained.
#3 - Coconut Mall
The return of Coconut Mall caused some excitement when MK8's DLC was first announced because it's one of the more memorable courses from Mario Kart Wii. Both the interior and exterior of the mall have been beautifully redone, and Coconut Mall makes a great addition to Mario Kart 8's ridiculous number of total courses.
The only fault to be found in the new Coconut Mall is the red and green arrows applied to the escalators. Aside from making them look nothing like actual mall escalators, it takes some of the difficulty out of the course just like the permanent hand rail on Choco Mountain.
#2 - Shroom Ridge
Shroom Ridge's place near the top spot might come as a surprise because it's a rather lackluster map at face value. Coming from Mario Kart DS, it's nothing more than a mountain road complete with civilian cars as obstacles. The combinations of curves make it an incredibly interesting course to master, and deftly avoiding cars while drifting and hitting Mini-Turbos is very satisfying. MK8's version of Shroom Ridge also introduces a couple of shortcuts that didn't exist on the DS.
#1 - Ninja Hideaway
The quality of Ninja Hideaway is what helps make Mario Kart 8's Booster Course Pass basically MK9. It's the third course that comes from Tour, but is so creative and well designed that it stands out from its comrades as a course that rivals some of the better ones in the base game. Players race through an oversized dojo and on the surrounding rooftops with multiple routes and moving obstacles. Ninja Hideaway's vistas are gorgeous with an almost neon color palette in places, making it not only the most fun, but also the best looking course in the first wave of the Booster Course Pack for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.