Author Topic: Mario Kart: Super Circuit  (Read 2877 times)

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Offline Traveller

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Mario Kart: Super Circuit
« on: May 17, 2011, 07:08:39 PM »

Is it one of the best in the series?

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/extralife/26314

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.

Nicholas Bray - Australian Correspondent

Offline AV

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Re: Mario Kart: Super Circuit
« Reply #1 on: May 17, 2011, 08:22:42 PM »
I really did enjoy this game but the lack of hill's and valleys made the tracks less interesting to me. I'm not sure of the GBA could handle those graphics but still

Offline Tanshin

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Re: Mario Kart: Super Circuit
« Reply #2 on: May 17, 2011, 09:22:13 PM »
Ah how I miss this game. It was one of the first ones that I owned myself (I always played MK64 at my cousin's house) and I remember the amazing feeling from when I placed first in a race for the first time (it was Peach Circuit).

And I must say, the remakes of the GBA courses just never felt the same as they did in the original game. They're lacking that speed and precision that was required on the original (the remakes always felt larger and more forgiving). Plus, I can't think of any other Mario Kart that had so many secret passages and shortcuts.
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Offline KnowsNothing

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Re: Mario Kart: Super Circuit
« Reply #3 on: May 17, 2011, 11:42:07 PM »
This is my favorite version of Mario Kart.  I know that's an unpopular opinion but I had outrageous amounts of fun with this game.  Then one day I lost it on a boat, so it's probably in the ocean somewhere.  Free copy for those who wish to search the ocean for it!  I'll give you a hint: Atlantic.

This better come to the 3DS e-Shop or someone will suffer.
kka wakka wakka wakka wakka wakka wakka wa

Offline Traveller

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Re: Mario Kart: Super Circuit
« Reply #4 on: May 17, 2011, 11:48:37 PM »
Ive been playing this a bit on my Micro. Still so much fun. I didn't think of this at the time of writing, but this game is also somewhat of a precursor to MK Wii's power slide mechanic. In this if you hold the slide down long enough, you will gain a small boost.
Nicholas Bray - Australian Correspondent

Offline NWR_pap64

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Re: Mario Kart: Super Circuit
« Reply #5 on: May 18, 2011, 12:13:47 AM »
This is my favorite version of Mario Kart.  I know that's an unpopular opinion but I had outrageous amounts of fun with this game.  Then one day I lost it on a boat, so it's probably in the ocean somewhere.  Free copy for those who wish to search the ocean for it!  I'll give you a hint: Atlantic.

This better come to the 3DS e-Shop or someone will suffer.

TO THE OCEAN!

*Runs off to get it
Pedro Hernandez
NWR Staff Writer

Offline TalesOfFan

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Re: Mario Kart: Super Circuit
« Reply #6 on: May 18, 2011, 12:46:29 AM »
I use to play this game quite a bit as a kid, though Mario Kart DS will forever remain my favorite in the series.
James Dawson
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Offline Mojave

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Re: Mario Kart: Super Circuit
« Reply #7 on: May 18, 2011, 04:46:31 AM »
Ive been playing this a bit on my Micro. Still so much fun. I didn't think of this at the time of writing, but this game is also somewhat of a precursor to MK Wii's power slide mechanic. In this if you hold the slide down long enough, you will gain a small boost.

This is used to maximize speed, and to set records you need to be able to utilize this properly. Here is a site where they track records sent in by users, and back in the day it was great fun to actually be playing Mario Kart competitively and see your own score shown on a website. The site has been around for years, and it's still highly active, i suggest you check it out!


Offline SilverQuilava

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Re: Mario Kart: Super Circuit
« Reply #8 on: May 18, 2011, 05:54:34 PM »
Oh man.... this was my first ever Game Boy Advance Game. I played the hell out of this game when I was little. It's one of my favorite games.