The replacement of the Chain Chomps from the original track with Bouncing Chomps, which bounce over the track and make it wave near the middle of the track.Several parts of the track had their star-shaped guardrails removed, in order to increase the difficulty.
SUPER MARIO KART 64 SOUNDTRACK SERIES
A final section which includes the gliding launch introduced to the series with Mario Kart 7.In addition, the inclined parts of the course are also anti-gravity, including the one after the starting line. A modification of the second loop (the one which circled around the star in the original version) to support the anti-gravity feature.A flying train circling along the first loop of the track, floating in the sky, with Toads kindly tossing coins onto the track.Rainbow Road also currently has the most physical on-stage coins out of any track in Mario Kart 8, at a shocking total of 62. It is the first retro course to use this format. Also due to its length, the number of laps has been changed to one lap (divided into thirds), similar to the 3DS Rainbow Road. In the new game, the loop points outwards with anti-gravity section, while in the original N64 game the loop was inside the track, towards the finish line. However, a massive difference in the layout is the fact that the "smiling star helix" has been switched from the original game to the MK8 version.
This obviously cuts off with the "Final Frontier" setting of the original two versions but also proves the abilities of the new Nintendo console.
Not only did the developers reuse the "square tiles" rainbow pattern used in Super Mario Kart, they also reused the city setting from the Double Dash version of Rainbow Road. Rainbow Road 64 has been heavily updated to the newest installment of the franchise, but with some unique and new features. Right after the starting line, a racer can jump over the railing on the left while the track starts to slant downhill and land on a different part of the track. It is possible to take a shortcut and skip about half of the course at the beginning. Approaching the end, racers turn around in a corkscrew and then a twisting stretch to finally return to the checkered line. From here, the path is mostly level with a few shallow drops here and there. This long course starts out with a large drop followed by a gentle uphill stretch, passing through a rainbow ring.
Near the middle of the track, the course harbors a large, three-dimensional, smiling star. Chain Chomps plague this otherwise peaceful course, traveling inside the road itself and knocking up racers they happen to collide with. With some of the most motivational and inspirational music in Mario Kart history, racers swerve past neon-lighted pictures of the eight playable characters, as well as various items from the series. Its setting may have been switched to the deep space setting in order to help the console manage the track. It is a colorful course through the final frontier, while the original Rainbow Road featured a starry purplish sky instead. At 2 kilometers - which engenders laps that are two minutes long each - this course is the longest course in the game.