Half-pipe (object)

This article is about the Mario Kart object. For the Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games Event, see Halfpipe.

A half-pipe in Mario Kart Tour

A half-pipe (also known as a halfpipe-style boost ramp) is a structure signaled by vertical dash panels (also known as half-pipe boost pads) that appears in the Mario Kart series, starting with Mario Kart Wii. It allows players to jump off the side of a course and perform a Jump Boost to gain a speed boost upon landing. Its panels are cyan, blue, and purple with scrolling white arrows on them and stripes across them, resembling those of a Glide Ramp, and despite the half-pipes' former North American name, they have only a signaling function, not giving any speed boost when touched. Said speed boost rather happens when the player lands after the jump, regardless of whether the vehicle landed on the half-pipe or not. Half-pipes may sometimes cause the player to be sent backwards.

History

Mario Kart Wii

A half-pipe in GCN Waluigi Stadium in Mario Kart Wii

Half-pipes are introduced in Mario Kart Wii, where they are known in North America as halfpipe-style boost ramps. The ramps appear in both nitro courses, such as Dry Dry Ruins and DK Summit, and some updated retro courses, such as GCN Waluigi Stadium and GCN DK Mountain. These ramps are also included in the battle stages Funky Stadium and Chain Chomp Wheel. When a player jumps, it is possible to perform a trick to receive a longer speed boost. The trick performed is the same one that is performed when the player jumps off a Dash Panel.

Mario Kart Tour

Larry performing a Jump Boost off a half-pipe in Mario Kart Tour

After being absent from Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart 8, half-pipes return in Mario Kart Tour, first appearing on Wii Maple Treeway and later appearing on Wii DK Summit, Wii Koopa Cape, and N64 Yoshi Valley. In this game, their mechanics are slightly altered, in that the Jump Boost is automatically performed as soon as the vertical jump starts, but if the jump is high enough, a second trick, named special trick, is performed. When this happens, the speed boost received upon landing is longer.

A different type of half-pipe, known as a super half-pipe, is introduced on Merry Mountain, and it differs from a normal half-pipe because of its magenta color. It leads to a longer boost upon landing without the need of a special trick, which cannot be performed when a player jumps from a super half-pipe. The super half-pipe also has a unique sound effect.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, a blue half-pipe appears on Merry Mountain.

Gallery

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  The super half-pipe of Merry Mountain in Mario Kart Tour

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	ハーフパイプ Hāfupaipu	Half-pipe
Chinese	U池技巧 U Chí Jìqiǎo	U Pool Skills
German	Halfpipe	Half-pipe
Italian	Rampa a U	U-ramp
Korean	하프파이프 Hapeupaipeu	Half-pipe
Portuguese	Rampa em U	U-ramp
Spanish	Rampa en U	U-ramp