Mario Kart: Super Circuit is my second favorite entry in the series, second only to Mario Kart 64. I received it for Christmas in 2001 along with Golden Sun. After having nothing to play on the Game Boy Advance for months, those two games definitely hit the spot.

Super Circuit is a game that has a few firsts and lasts for the series. It was the first game to be developed by a company outside of Nintendo EAD, that company being Intelligent Systems. It was the last Mario Kart game where it was possible to rank out during a Grand Prix; future games in the series gave points to all positions except for last. This means that after Super Circuit, if you mucked up a race, you couldn’t just retry it. Super Circuit was also the first to feature tracks from a previous entry in the series, the game features every track from the original Super Mario Kart.

Sky Garden, one of the best!

I feel as though this is the forgotten Mario Kart. Many people seem to forget about it when talking about the series, or discount it as a sub-standard entry. I had a great deal of fun playing this game over the years, the tracks are fast, filled with tight turns, and look far better than the original SNES game. The game's graphical style is a cross between the Mode 7 graphics seen in the SNES original and the Nintendo 64 character sprite designs. The backgrounds are also full of color and detail, and one track even features a sun setting over the course of the track.

Some of my favorite gameplay tweaks are lost after this game as well. Firstly, I love how you can drop red shells behind you and they act as a homing mine. Another thing is you can collect gold coins, just like in the SNES game. Collecting a lot will raise your top speed. If you can maintain a high top speed, it is possible to outrun oncoming red shells. You can keep driving around the track, and it won’t hit you unless you slow down. I have managed to survive for over a lap many times and it feels great to pull this off.

The game was also the first to feature a ranking system for completing the different cups. The best rank is a three star and can be very tricky to get. I never did know the exact requirements to obtain the best rank. Most people say you have to get lots of coins and fast times, while some say you cannot even use items. I did manage to do a bunch without using items, but I eventually lost interest in trying to do every cup in every class.

Super Circuit also had multiplayer, with both single-cart and multi-cart play. I only played with a friend a few times, mostly because no one I knew had the game, and single-cart only allowed for four tracks. A few years later, we did have a second copy to use, and we hooked it up through two TVs, GameCubes and Game Boy Players, which ended up being pretty fun.

Ribbon Road

I highly recommend playing Mario Kart: Super Circuit. To me, it offers a challenge without being overly cheap, and the few gameplay tweaks that are only present in this game are quite cool. Some people don’t like the way the game controls, but if you take the time to adjust to the feel, it is a very rewarding experience.