1992, 2001 Nintendo
Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Yoshi and Wario all return for some frenzied kart racing action in Mario Kart: Super Circuit. With 20 new tracks, and all the original tracks from the Super Nintendo original, Mario Kart: Super Circuit offers plenty of challenges to master.
Features
- Grand Prix, Time Trial and Battle Mode
- Link cable support for four players (multi-cartridge and single-cartridge modes)
- More than 40 tracks
- 20 Original and Bonus Remixed tracks included
- Only for Game Boy Advance
Anthony: Mario Kart: Super Circuit is without a doubt the best Mario Kart title I have ever played. I was a big fan of the original, and a mild fan of the Nintendo 64 sequel, but this version takes everything good from both prequels and adds on top of it. The single player game has so much depth, it's so ironic that it should happen to a genre stereotyped as being easy and shallow. Everything from 20 original tracks, all the original unlockable tracks from the Super NES version, time trials, ghost racing duels, coin collecting challenges, cup rankings; there is enough to keep you busy for a long time.
The multiplayer mode is irresistible. What is the one thing that will always blow me away? When a game manages to offer a deep single player mode and combines it with an equally addictive multiplayer mode, it makes the game indispensable. Despite the quantity, I really admire the game for face value. Everything from the tough AI, the course designs, to the wonderful animations each character is brought to life with. I was not expecting a Game Boy Advance version of Mario Kart to simply outdo all the other versions. Nintendo did a great job with F-Zero: Maximum Velocity, but Mario Kart: Super Circuit is an absolute marvel.
Pete: What I really like about Mario Kart: Super Circuit is the more balanced GP circuit. The computer controlled racers do not tail you at all times like they did in the N64 version, but this is a lot more like the SNES version. The amount of new tracks totals 20, and the track designs are definitely some of the most challenging in the series -- they pathways are not nearly as wide or as forgiving as the SNES or N64 predecessors. The game plays like a dream and being able to unlock the classic SNES tracks in the game by collecting coins and winning various different cups gives the GBA rendition of Mario Kart an extra layer of replayability. Sure, the SNES tracks are missing a few details, like zippers and pipes, but its still a blast to rip through these classic courses with updated graphics.
The 1-player mode is great, but what about multiplayer? Multiplayer racing is a total blast, especially now that each human player can have their own screen. My only real gripe here is the rather thin "Battle Mode", which consists of four rather dull battle arenas. Maybe I've just become used to the 3D "Battle" modes on the N64 version, but I think this mode could've offered a lot more. It's still relatively fun, but the actual racing modes are what you'll probably be playing most of the time. You're really going to have to splurge on separate Mario Kart: Super Circuit cartridges for each player, however. The one-cartridge "Link" play simply doesn't cut it as you're limited to racing as different colored Yoshis on a few select tracks
Overall, this is easily one of the best handheld games ever created. Mario Kart: Super Circuit is almost perfect, and I'd definitely say it is more than worthy of the Mario Kart name. Not only is it one of the best handheld games released so far this year, it's one of the best games released this year period.
Jason: Yet another game to add to the impressive repertoire of killer apps on Game Boy Advance. This game is certainly one that is a must play for anyone that is in possession of a GBA. I really found the game to be straight out fun and best of all, responsive. The controls were spot on with superb handling for all characters in the game. I even ventured into the realm of heavy weights (which I never did in the original) and found them to be actually really great in terms of control.
So what is there to like in this game? Well the track design is very inventive and fun. There are many tracks that at the very least rival the quality of the originals. The graphics have taken a definite turn for the better too. I would even say that the players look better than the N64 incarnation of Mario Kart. Thats quite impressive coming from a handheld system. The high resolution on the screen allows the game to use very good quality pictures for backgrounds and track preview art. Also, sprite scaling during in-game play really is a great improvement. The game is indeed of high caliber in terms of polish. However, there are certain things I just cant let slide.
The gameplay has some noticeable flaws. The designers opted to stick with the item selection from Mario Kart 64. With this method, you get an item that matches your rank in the race. Basically, if you are in last then you get the power weapons almost every time. This makes for a race for second as I like to say. Why would you want to be racing in first place all the time if you're going to just get banana peels? I feel random item selection would have been better. Also, the weapons are far too unbalanced. Leaving a red shell is truly unfair and completely unbalances the system, and green shells are now almost useless. This really is disappointing. In any case though, the game is fun and is a worthwhile experience.