N64 Bowser's Castle
N64 Bowser's Castle is the fourth and final course of the Lightning Cup, the final retro course, and overall final course in Mario Kart Wii. Its first appearance as a course was in Mario Kart 64. It is significant in that it has the slowest NU 3lap, NU flap, NG 3lap, and NG flap of all 32 tracks, essentially making it the longest track in the game.
Overview
| Type | Unrestricted | No Ultra | No Glitch |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3lap | 1:31.197 | 2:27.972 | |
| Flap | 18.299 | 43.379 | 47.620 |
N64 Bowser's Castle has a 3lap viable ultra shortcut, which uses supergrinding, barrel rolls, wallclips, and respawning to save time. Outside the ultra shortcut, it also currently benefits from the use of superhopping, wallclips, and horizontal wall glitch in 3lap and flap categories. Hence, it has three 3lap and three flap categories. Since no No Ultra 3lap exists which uses glitches, the No Glitch 3lap is technically the current No Ultra 3lap record.
Unrestricted 3lap
The current strategy for UR 3lap is to perform the ultra shortcut twice, on laps 1 and 2, then perform two respawn shortcuts on lap 3, using supergrinding. Funky Kong + Spear is used, because it is the only currently known combo that can perform the ultra respawnless.
- Lap 1: A supergrind is started on the bridge, accumulating EV. Then, a supergrind ejection is performed, followed by a bounce on the rail, into a wallclip at the start line pole; this gives enough height to perform the ultra without respawning, using two mushrooms. After hopping onto the rail, a left drift is done to charge a miniturbo and wallclip, backtracking to the last KCP respawnless and no-stop. After turning around with an SSMT, a trick is performed (landing on the edge of the ramp for reduced airtime). The last turn is driven using a double hop, to make up for the Spear's poor drift.
- Lap 2: The supergrind setup from lap 1 is repeated, again clipping the start pole. The last mushroom is used to perform the ultra with a respawn. After respawning, a wallclip is done (using airtime from bounces induced during the SSMT) off the side of the rail, to reach the last KCP without respawning. A spinhop into an SSMT is done to reach the KCP more quickly. The end of lap 2 is similar to lap 1, but using RFH for a lowtrick instead.
- Lap 3: Another supergrind is started on the bridge, to speed through the first turn. The supergrind is ended with an ejection, into a right drift with a miniturbo. Then, a complex sequence of wallclips is done to perform a respawn shortcut shroomless and no-stop. First, a lowclip into the wall causes a small bounce; it is immediately followed by a highclip during the bounce, then by a third wallclip to land quickly and get landing bounces. This sequence allows for the required airtime and height for the last wallclip, which triggers HWG using the arrow sign, letting the bike pass through the wall.
- The lap continues with some regular driving. Due to the Spear's low drift, the racing lines are quite awkward, clipping offroad at several points for better cornering. Then, another respawn shortcut is performed to skip the spiral turn, shroomless and no-stop. This is done by inducing bounces at the edge of the bridge for height, then clipping a wall; this gives just enough distance to land into the correct checkpoint. After respawning, the strategy for the trick and last turn are identical to lap 2.
Unrestricted Flap
The current strategy for UR flap is to perform the ultra shortcut respawnless, using Funky Kong + Spear like for the 3lap run.
The setup for the ultra, and the movement to reach the last KCP afterwards, are exactly the same as the lap 1 in the 3lap. The third shroom is used immediately after turning around in the SSMT, to accelerate quickly. The trick and last turn are done adjusted slightly, to compensate for the higher speed.
No Ultra Flap
- Video: 43.379 by Monster (2022)
The current strategy for NU flap is to perform superhopping and a respawn shortcut. Funky Kong + Shooting Star is used for being the fastest ODB combo.
The flap is started on the left rail; this is done to generate enough EV to start at 120 u/f, without compromising the entry line. Superhopping is performed throughout the flap, using the three mushrooms at the lava room, u-turn, and grass turn to skip through offroad or go through sections which would be tough for superhopping. Then, an ODB clip is performed shroomless for a respawn shortcut, skipping the spiral. The lap ends with a RFH low trick and more superhopping through the last turn.
No Glitch 3lap
Funky Kong + Flame Runner is the optimal combo. Daisy + Mach Bike has also been tested extensively.[1] While it gains several frames over Flame Runner at both the shroom and the spiral, it loses more time everywhere else due to lower top speed and higher tricks.
- First bridge: Each individual plank has its own collision, causing many unavoidable airtime pockets. On lap 1 only, a startslip is performed to delay the first chain wheelie.
- First turn: Mostly a softdrift, but with a few hard inputs early to get a tighter line initially. After releasing the miniturbo, it is slightly faster to drive on the offroad for 2 frames for a better line.
- Castle turns (2-6): Very similar conceptually; hard left/right turns, with a small amount delay drifting (except for the second turn which is fully delayed), and a quickhop after each turn for realignment. Holding down for most of each hop gives better rotation late in the drift. On laps 1 and 2, the Thwomp before the 4th turn gets in the way, while on lap 3 it's not down; with other tiny optimizations, it's just barely enough to save a frame.
- Lava room: When driving on the bridge, getting a stick or airtime is almost equal. Hopping at the right spot (and holding up) reduces airtime when leaving the bridge.
- Stairs + u-turn: The mushroom is used on each lap to cut through the grass inside the u-turn. To get a good drift, land late on the stairs with a landing bounce, then start drifting in midair. Vertical inputs are used to get favorable landing bounces throughout. Holding up during the big airtime allows to hold right early for a better line, and still get good rotation.
- Grass turn: Hard right turn with one frame of spin. Drifting over the grass for one frame is worth the speed loss, for a better racing line. A slipchain is done on the second bridge to remove the following chain wheelie.
- Spiral: Three miniturbos using chain drifts. The second miniturbo is held briefly to get better rotation for the third. The wall hit doesn't lose any speed, and also gives better rotation.
- Flip trick: Airtime is reduced with RFH and a drift trick, which also allows to land on the rail to the right. On lap 2, the fire pillar gets in the way, so the drift trick must be omitted and airtime can't be reduced as much; the trick direction also changes from down to right. The following stunt trick is performed by driving off the rail and touching the edge of the ramp for lower airtime.
- Last turn: A spindrift, to bounce over the rail and gain as much rotation to the right as possible. To optimize the rotation, the previous trick boost is used to drive to the left edge of the rail, then turn back right once the boost has almost run out.
- QM locks: First bridge (bad QM causes massive airtime); lava room (can't get a low hop with bad positioning); second bridge (no airtime required for slipchain); last trick (bad positioning results in less airtime reduction).
No Glitch Flap
Like for the NG 3lap, Funky Kong + Flame Runner is the optimal combo.
- Lap entry + first turn: The first mushroom is used to cut through as much grass as possible to the right of the first turn. The line entering the lap is a bit diagonal, for a good entry into the grass.
- Castle turns - u-turn: Same strategy as the 3lap.
- Grass turn: The third mushroom is used here, to drive over the grass. This also removes the need for a slipchain.
- Spiral - last turn: Same as the 3lap.
History
TODO: History of all strat developements. Section devoted to the ultra shortcut, its variations, and its subsequent routing challenges, the spiral skip and all its variations, the sign bypasses, and supergrinding/superhopping.
TAS Competitions
N64 Bowser's Castle has featured in two tasks of the MKWii TAS Competition (Task 9 2020, Christmas Task 2023).
Future
Known timesaves
NU 3lap
- No 3lap run has been created yet. It would follow the same strategy as the flap on every lap.
NU Flap
- Implement arrow sign HWG shortcut.[2]
NG Flap
- Optimal boost distribution.
- (Likely) slightly better optimization from the 3lap.
Potential timesaves
UR 3lap/Flap
- If a different bike were able to perform the ultra respawnless, it would likely be faster than Spear. Flame Runner's drift would save time throughout the driving on lap 3. Zip Zip is also a possibility, for ODB mechanics. It would save time throughout with superhopping, and at the spiral shortcut with a faster setup, but lose time at the lap 1 ultra landing and at the arrow sign shortcut due to lack of inside drift.
References