18 Greatest Last Levels In Gaming History

8. Rainbow Road - Mario Kart Series

Mario Kart DS Rainbow Road
Nintendo

A bit of a cheat to include a level that's been included in just about every game in a series, but no one is going to argue against the impact that the Mario Kart franchise's Rainbow Road has had on gaming culture as a whole, right?

Acting as the final stage of many of Nintendo's prized kart racing titles, Rainbow Road, although changing structurally and graphically with each new release, is always crafted with one design philosophy in mind: to be as treacherous as possible to the player.

Ask any gamer and they'll have a list of war stories about the times they've been screwed over by this frustrating track. Whether its making a rookie mistake on a final turn and flying straight over the edge, recovering just in time to see first place slip from your grasp, or attempting to show off your skills around your friends only to end up falling instantly to your death, everyone who's played Mario Kart will have painful experiences of trying to ace this ridiculously difficult track.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.