Mario Kart Super Circuit
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Mario Kart Super Circuit, known in Japan as , is a video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance in 2001. It combines features from earlier Mario Kart games (Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64) In particular, it features the gameplay mechanics of the latter title and tracks from the former game (unlockable). Super Circuit is also the first Mario Kart game to be on a handheld.
Single-player gameplay
As with its predecessors, Super Circuit is a lighthearted circuit racing game. In it, the player races against seven opponents, each a character from Nintendo's Mario series, in small racing karts, upon a series of tracks inspired by the Mario world. Strewn upon the tracks are power-ups to aid the bearer or hinder their opponents, as well as Coins which increase the player's top speed.Mario GP mode
The main mode in the game. The player races in a series of "Grand Prix" competitions (Cups), against seven computer-controlled competitors. Each Cup consists of four three-lap races. Each Cup may be approached at a 50cc, 100cc, or 150cc speed, determining the speed and therefore difficulty of the race.Super Circuit
The competitions and their tracks are, in order:
| Mushroom Cup | Flower Cup | Lightning Cup | Star Cup | Special Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peach Circuit | Mario Circuit | Luigi Circuit | Snow Land | Lakeside Park |
| Shy Guy Beach | Boo Lake | Sky Garden | Ribbon Road | Broken Pier |
| Riverside Park | Cheese Land | Cheep-Cheep Island | Yoshi Desert | Bowser Castle 4 |
| Bowser Castle 1 | Bowser Castle 2 | Sunset Wilds | Bowser Castle 3 | Rainbow Road |
Each racer's finishing position in each race determines the number of points he or she receives (nine for first, six for second, three for third, one for fourth, and none for a lower placement), and at the end, the player with the most points wins. If the player finishes in fifth place or lower on any given race, he or she loses a life and must restart. The player may also choose to restart a race at any time, at the cost of a life. Upon losing their allocation of three lives in each Cup, however, the player loses and is ejected from the competition.
At the end of the cup, the player is awarded a trophy based on his or her finishing position (Bronze, Silver, or Gold) and a rating based upon how well he or she raced (E, D, C, B, A, One-Star, Two-Star, Three Star, in ascending order) based upon the number of coins collected, their finishing positions in each race, and their lap times.
Extra
Also, the Cups and tracks from Super Mario Kart for the SNES are available as Extra Cups, through playing well in their namesake. To unlock these cups, first the Special Cup must be unlocked, and then a gold trophy must be won in that cup. Then the player must run each Cup again, winning a Gold trophy and collecting 100 coins or more. The appropriate Cup is then unlocked:
| Extra Mushroom Cup | Extra Flower Cup | Extra Lightning Cup | Extra Star Cup | Extra Special Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Circuit 1 | Mario Circuit 2 | Bowser Castle 2 | Vanilla Lake 1 | Koopa Beach 2 |
| Donut Plains 1 | Choco Island 1 | Mario Circuit 3 | Bowser Castle 3 | Ghost Valley 3 |
| Ghost Valley 1 | Ghost Valley 2 | Koopa Beach 1 | Mario Circuit 4 | Vanilla Lake 2 |
| Bowser Castle 1 | Donut Plains 2 | Choco Island 2 | Donut Plains 3 | Rainbow Road |
Each race in an Extra cup consists of five, rather than three laps. Also, the track arrangement is different due to the cups. In Super Mario Kart, there were four cups with five tracks each; in the Extra cups, there are five cups with four tracks each.
Note that unlocked tracks (Special and Extra Cups) are only available at the speed they were unlocked with. For example, obtaining a Gold trophy in each of the first four Cups at 50cc unlocks the Special Cup at 50cc, but not 100cc or 150cc.
Changes
There were a few changes to the SNES courses. Most of the hazards were removed .(for example, there are no flashing Thwomps in Rainbow Road) The backgrounds were re-used from the Super Circuit tracks as well.Time Trial mode
Any track unlocked at 150cc in Mario GP Mode may be raced upon, alone, with the track's coins and power-ups removed. The player does, however, start with three Mushroom power-ups (see below) which may be used at any time. Normal Cups are raced for three laps, Special Cups for five. A lap-time and total-time record are set for each, to provide a challenge, and the player's best lap time and total time recorded. Upon racing once on a track, the player races against his or her "Ghost car", showing his or her progress on the previous attempt. This may be switched off.Up to 10 "Ghost car" runs may be saved in total, to be viewed as replays or raced against. This may be useful if a player is attempting to improve his or her fastest time on a given course, for example, by studying and competing against his or her current best run.
Quick Run mode
The player may choose any unlocked track, from any cup, and any speed, and race against seven opponents as in Mario GP mode. Coins can be toggled on or off, and the number of laps (three or five) changed and the Items can be toggled on or off.Multiplayer gameplay
Mario GP mode
Up to two players may progress in this mode. It works identically to the single-player Mario GP, except that there are two human players and six computer-controlled ones.VS mode
Similar to singleplayer Quick Run mode, with two to four human players, and no computer-controlled ones.Battle mode
Two to four players are placed in specially designed battle arenas, strewn with power-ups. Each player has three balloons attached to their kart, and each time he or she takes a successful hit (from an offensive item or aggressive ramming), he or she loses one. Upon losing the last, he or she is taken out of the game. The last player standing wins.Ghost trade
Up to two of the player's "ghost car" saves may be copied to another player, and up to two received in return. These may then be raced against in Time Trial mode or viewed as replays as though they were the player's own. This may be useful in attempting to better a friend's best time at a given track, or to show off a player's skill.Characters
There are eight playable characters, each with his or her own kart, drawn from Nintendo's Mario series. There are no hidden characters.Power-ups
Various power-ups are placed upon tracks in Mario GP, Quick Run, Battle, and Vs. modes. As in the previous Mario Kart games, the power-ups are items based on the Mario universe. All of the items from the original Mario Kart, minus the Feather, appear in this game.- Mushrooms grant the player a momentary boost of speed.
- Green Shells travel in straight lines, richochet off of walls, and can be launched forwards or behind.
- Red Shells, when launched forward, follow down the center of the track until they approach the next racer in front, at which point they home in and collide with that racer (which is different from previous Mario Kart games). They can also be dropped stationary on the track behind the player, and will home in on the next racer to approach them.
- Banana Peels cause a kart to slip and eventually spin out. However, there are ways to prevent spinning out, press/hold B as soon as you slip, and you wont spin out.
- The Starman provides increased speed, defense against all attacks, and the ability to make other racers crash by colliding with them.
- Boo renders a player invisible, and circles around the racer in first place, causing them to lose speed. The player using the Boo also steals an item from a random racer.
- Lightning Bolts cause all other racers who aren't invincible at the time to shrink to half size, slowing them down for a set amount of time. The player who used it can then run over the shrunken players and cause them to spin out.
- Triple Green Shells and Triple Red Shells orbit the player and can be launched individually.
- Spiny Shells pursue down the center of the track, knocking over any karts which get in the way, until colliding with the racer in front.
- Triple Mushrooms are found only in Time Trial mode. Players get one set of triple mushrooms at the beginning of every Time Trial race. There are no other items in that mode.
Reception
Mario Kart: Super Circuit was extremely well received by the press and public alike. Those frustrated with Nintendo's policy of remaking older games for the GBA were pleasantly surprised that not only had Nintendo released a brand new Mario Kart game, but that most of the courses from Super Mario Kart had been included instead of being released as a separate port.Trivia
- This game was featured in the movie Son of the Mask.
- Luigi, Wario, Peach, and Toad's voices in this game were originally used in the Japanese version of Mario Kart 64.
External links
- [Mario Kart Super Circuit] at MobyGames
- [Mario Kart Super Circuit] at GameFAQs.com
- [Mario Kart Central / Mario Kart: Super Circuit]
- [MKSC Player's Page]
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