Arguably one of the fastest courses in Lightning Cup, the aptly named Piranha Plant Slide has racers tearing past the dangerous foes, following rushing currents of water through a sewer. Drivers will have to think fast and act faster to handle the sharp turns, Goombas, and Piranha Plants that dominate the track.
Kart of Champions
Nintendo’s Best Time Trial: 2:12.079 |
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Player: Jeff C. M. |
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Racer: Wario |
Body: Sport Bike |
Wheels: Slick |
Glider: Parafoil |
Grand Prix
Right as you start, when driving down the curved slide, try to stay in the water rather than riding on the raised sections of the slide. You’re pushed along by the currents while in the water. Don’t miss Jump Boosting off the ramps as you enter the sewers!
When approaching the first Piranha Plant, pay attention to what side it is facing, and drive on the opposite side, staying in the water to keep up your speed. A mean trick here is to use items to force other racers to fall in range of the plant so it can bite them.
After slipping past the first Piranha Plant, the course takes a sharp left turn, through a small group of Goombas. You can avoid most of them by sticking to the inside of this turn, close to the wall.
As you clear the Goombas, you can try to jump onto a set of floating blocks to collect some Coins with the help of dash panel ramps. If you have Bananas, you can set them on these blocks to catch racers who try to follow you on to these narrow paths.
There’s a lack of guardrails on the two turns leading up to the large pipe that takes you underwater. As you Jump Boost off the small pipe ramps, watch for opportunities to knock rivals off the track, while also keeping an eye out for them trying to do the same to you!
After the pipe sends you underwater, you’re close to the second Piranha Plant. This guy has some serious range, so unless you have a Mushroom to boost past the side he’s facing, or use the nearby dash panels, you don’t want to be caught unawares by him!
The glide ramp at the end of the water section sends you flying upwards past a number of drain pipes. Do not touch the water flowing from them, as you’ll likely not manage to make it to the landing site for your final run towards the finish.
This winding series of turns has Goombas and fake signs of Goombas waiting for you! Avoid the real baddies as best you can while negotiating the turns. You can use Mushrooms for a significant shortcut here, so if you manage to get one in the water section, hold on to it! Once you get through this final series of turns, the finish line is literally around the final corner!
Time Trial Mode
The general rule for the first part of this Time Trial is simple: stick to the water as much as you can to enjoy the boost from the water current. Also, take advantage of any ramps you encounter throughout for Jump Boosting purposes.
Slip past the first Piranha Plant, and aim for the ramp behind it so you can leap onto a smaller section of the track to collect three Coins. On the following laps, it’s faster to drift and Mini-Turbo in the water currents on either side of the plant.
The turn just beyond the Piranha Plant should be cut as hard to the left as possible. Do this to avoid the Goombas and line up for one of the dash panel ramps that can launch you onto one of the floating block platforms, which contains some extra Coins.
Two small pipes on the ground in this section of the course have three Coins floating over them. It’s tough, but try to collect the Coins and Jump Boost off these pipes!
The underwater section is straightforward for the most part. During the first two laps, it’s easily possible to collect six Coins in one pass! As you approach the second Piranha Plant, stay to the right side of the track, and use the dash panel to blow past the baddie with no fuss at all.
After launching out of the water section back onto dry land, you’re on your way to the spot where you’ll want to use a Mushroom for all three laps. Launch yourself across the grass, through the pictured sign, while drifting hard to the left. By this point in Lap 1, you should already have ten Coins, so you can afford to miss a few here. Just make sure you hit this shortcut every time!
TM & © 2014 Nintendo.