When the original Super Mario Kart first came out on the Super NES in 1992, I couldn’t believe how cool it was. My friends would come over and we would spend hours and hours throwing turtle shells at each other in the much-loved Battle Mode. SMK was the first game of its genre, which is another reason why everyone seemed to enjoy it so much. Nintendo’s sequel came out as Mario Kart 64 on the N64 in 1997. Although it remains one of my favorite N64 games, many admit that the Battle Mode was pretty bad and it had fewer tracks than the original (although they were longer). So here we are in 2001 and Nintendo releases the third Mario Kart game, Mario Kart Super Circuit, for the Gameboy Advance. How does it compare to the other Mario Kart games? How does it compare on its own? Let’s find out…
Aesthetics:
If you’ve played a few of the other racing games that have come out on the GBA such as GT Advance and Konami Krazy Racers, you’ll know that GBA racing games look like a beefed up SNES Mode 7. That’s exactly how Mario Kart Super Circuit looks; it runs much smoother than the original SNES Super Mario Kart. You’ll immediately find the game bright and colorful and although it lacks the polygons of Mario Kart 64, you’ll hardly notice since you’re dodging banana peels and hurling turtle shells at other racers. One interesting note about the racers themselves is that they actually look BETTER than they did on the N64. When your racer turns corners or spins out of control, the frames of animation per character are definitely better than on Mario Kart 64. Plus, the stiffness of the characters that plagued its N64 predecessor are also no longer apparent. When your character jumps and hits the ground, they squish down a little as if they were made of Jell-o. Overall, they have a more fluid feel to them, which is definitely a plus. The graphics may not blow you away, but they’ll be sure to impress.
Sound:
The music sounds nice, but the tunes aren’t something you’ll want to hum or anything. There’s some recycled music from the SNES Super Mario Kart, but that’s understandable since this game has some of the same tracks. The quality of the music is crisp and clear and less grainy than the music in some other GBA games.
The characters yell and laugh as you race around the tracks, many of the voices sound as if they were taken right out of the N64 version. The only voice that sounded different was Toad, it sounded like they took that happy yell of his straight out of Mario Party. Let’s put it this way, if you’ve played Mario Kart on the N64, you’ll know exactly what to expect in the sound department.
Control:
When compared to the other Mario Kart games, I find Mario Kart Super Circuit to have the most difficult play control. Maybe it’s because I’m trying to play on the GBA and it’s not as comfortable in your hands as the SNES or N64 controller. For those of you who are masters of the first two Mario Kart games and expect to jump right into this one without any problems, think again. The racers feel different and the road seems much more slippery at times than in the other two games. I’m not saying the play control is horrible; all I’m saying is that you’ll have to take a little time to get used to the changes.
The control setup is pretty standard of Mario Kart. The A button is gas, and the B button is brake. The L button shoots your weapon and the R button jumps. It would have been nice to be able to choose your own control setup, but it’s not that big of a deal.
One thing about the control on GBA games that frequently use the L and R buttons is that your hand may cramp up after extended play. It may be good to take a breather every hour or so, especially if you have big hands like me… and Donkey Kong.
Gameplay:
Fun, fun, fun! That is all there is to describe this and all Mario Kart games. Plus this game is LOADED with tracks! It’s like having TWO Mario Kart games in one. You start off being able to choose Mushroom Cup, Flower Cup, Lightning Cup, and Star Cup. Once you get a gold trophy on all those, you unlock Special Cup. The previous two Mario Kart games only had four cups with new tracks, but Super Circuit gives you five! And get this; once you get gold on all those cups you can unlock ALL the tracks from the Super NES Mario Kart. There are so many tracks in this game, it’ll make your head spin!
This game is less cheap than the other Mario Kart games. The racers don’t just magically appear from behind you at the last second before the end of the race even though you know you were miles ahead. If you’re way ahead, you STAY way ahead… unless you screw up which I occasionally do.
Weapons are pretty standard. Red turtle shells seek out your enemy, green ones you have to try to aim. The red shells are smarter this time around because when you launch them at another racer, it’ll turn corners with them. Stars make you invincible, but the time that you’re invincible is reduced when compared to the previous Mario Kart games. Banana peels make you slip, mushrooms give you a speed burst, spiny shells seek out whoever’s in first place, Boo steals items from other enemies plus makes you invisible, and the lightning bolt makes all the other racers (except you) tiny and slower so you can squash them. The only item from Mario Kart 64 that’s missing is the fake question mark block that knocks out all those who touch it. Good riddance, that item was cheap anyway.
This game saves for you automatically, which is good, because it’ll take you a few hours to unlock all the secrets this game has to offer.
Multiplayer:
How awesome is it that you only need one cartridge to play against people who are too cheap to buy their own copy of Mario Kart? It’s totally awesome! I just wish you could pick another racer other than Yoshi, but beggars can’t be choosers, right? The multiplayer in this game is SOOO much better than it was in Mario Kart 64. You have more tracks to choose from and the battle mode doesn’t suck. However, to truly enjoy the multiplayer experience you have got to convince your friends to buy their own copy, trust me, you get so many more tracks and you get to choose whichever character you’re most comfortable with.
OVERALL:
To this day, I still find the Mario Kart games to be the best of its genre and Mario Kart Super Circuit only adds to my belief. It’s got a few faults, but nothing that hinders the fun or the gameplay. If you’re expecting to find something new here, then you should go someplace else, but if you’re a fan or someone who’s never played Mario Kart before, this game is for you.
The Lowdown on  Mario Kart: Super Circuit
| Aesthetics: Awesome |
Control: Very Good |
| Gameplay: Awesome |
Multiplayer: Awesome |
| Sound: Above Average |
Innovation: 3/6 |
| Lasting Appeal: 5/6 |
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Overall: Awesome!
"Top of the Genre"
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Mario Kart: Super Circuit
