NAMCO Circuit

NAMCO Circuit
Information
Appears in	Mario Kart Arcade GP DX (April 21, 2016 update) (2016)
Cup(s)	PAC-MAN Cup
Music sample

NAMCO Circuit is the second track of the PAC-MAN Cup in Mario Kart Arcade GP DX. Like PAC-MAN Stadium, it is a stadium with a Pac-Man theme, and features sections based off of classic Namco arcade games. Aside from Pac-Man, it features cameos of characters from Dig Dug, The Tower of Druaga, Galaga, and Mappy. It was added as part of the version 1.06 update, released in Japan on April 21, 2016, and internationally on December 17, 2016, and is available on 100cc or higher.

The course features a gimmick new to Mario Kart Arcade GP DX known as Acceleration Areas, which are long, Dash Panel-esque strips that give the player a slight speed boost while driving on it, not unlike the conveyor belt-like strips featured on 3DS Rainbow Road. They are different from regular Dash Panels, as the speed boost is not continued once leaving an Acceleration Area.

Course layout

The track begins in an area with animated 8-bit Pac-Man murals. Multiples of Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Clyde can be seen cheering the racers. After a 90 degree turn to the right, the racers will move through the first couple of Acceleration Areas, across a group of billboards depicting art and the logos for Dig-Dug, Galaxian, New Rally-X, and Mappy. A slight left follows, entering the track's Dig Dug-themed area (marked by the game's logo), where large, glowing pop-up sprites of Taizo Hori, Pooka, and Fygar can be seen, along with sprites of said characters moving across the walls on screens. After another slight left turn within the area, the racers encounter a large right U-turn with a long Acceleration Area, leading them into an entrance based off of Quox's head, entering an area based off of The Tower of Druaga, featuring various enemies from the game. As the racers make a soft left turn, a Ghost appears before the player and casts a spell, causing the road to glow in a blue shade, of no consequence to the racers. This is followed by a sharp right leading to some Acceleration Areas that head out of the area and back into the main stadium, where several gigantic NAMCO arcade cabinets can be seen. After a soft right turn is a Dash Panel and a Glide Ramp, which launches the racers through a portal modeled after a Pac-Man arcade cabinet into a synthwave-themed area. Sprites from Mappy and Galaga can be seen all around. The racers will then make a wide left around a projection of the Special Flag, then through another portal leading back to the main stadium, followed by a sharp right U-turn to the finish line.

Profiles

Mario Kart Arcade GP DX

• Japanese website bio: ナムコゲームの歴史をつづる、ミュージアムのようなサーキット！直線と緩やかなカーブが多く、超ハイスピードなバトルが楽しめるぞ。 (A museum-like circuit that tells the history of NAMCO games! There are many straight lines and gentle curves, so you can enjoy ultra-high-speed battles.)

Gallery

• 

  View on the glide ramp aiming to the Pac-Man section (from the course's flyover introduction).

• 

  View on the bend with the Acceleration Area in the Dig Dug section of the course (from the course's flyover introduction).

• 

  Mario, about to enter the course's Dig Dug section.

• 

  Mario driving in the Dig Dug section, with a bend and an Acceleration Area ahead of him.

• 

  Mario, about to enter the Tower of Druaga section.

• 

  Mario driving through an Acceleration Area in the Tower of Druaga section.

• 

  Mario gliding towards the Pac-Man section of the course.

• 

  Course icon and map