Mario Kart Super Circuit
Encyclopedia
Mario Kart: Super Circuit, known in Japan
as , is a racing game
developed and published by Nintendo
for the Game Boy Advance
in 2001. It was the first Mario Kart released on a handheld game system; in 2005, a second handheld Mario Kart game titled Mario Kart DS
was released. It is the first Mario Kart game not to be developed by Nintendo EAD
; instead, it was developed by Nintendo's Intelligent Systems
division.
Super Circuit 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. In the game, eight racers take to the tracks and race for first place.
This game was well-received by reviewers after release.
series, in small go-kart
s, on tracks set in the Mario universe. Power-ups, strewn across each track, aid the bearer or hinder their opponents, as well as coins; the coins increase the player's top speed.
In the start of the race, Lakitu
shows a stoplight. Like previous Mario Kart games, players use items to disable other players. Shells can knock out a player; bananas will cause players to skid. Mushrooms temporarily boost speed (and if the player uses a mushroom just before a jump on any track, except Bowser's Castle, they will fly further and faster). Each racer's finishing position in each race determines the number of points he or she receives, 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.
for the SNES are available in Super Circuit. They have been retitled the Extra Cups. These cups are unlockable by winning a Gold Trophy for the corresponding regular cup and then collecting 100 coins in the same cup.
Each race in an Extra cup consists of five laps. The track arrangement has changed due to the number of 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.
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 50 cc unlocks the Special Cup at 50 cc, but not 100 cc or 150 cc. Time Trial mode for the Extra cups is unlocked when the player unlocks 150 cc.
These tracks are not exact replicas of the original courses. Many hazards have been removed, such as flashing Thwomps from Rainbow Road. The Super Circuit backgrounds are superimposed on the Extra Cup tracks. Some areas and shortcuts on the SNES tracks are now inaccessible or more difficult to reach due to the removal of the feather item from Super Mario Kart
.
Just as in the previous installment, Mario Kart 64, defeated players turn into Bob-Ombs. As long as there are two players still standing, those who had already lost have the opportunity of driving around to help destroy the remaining players' balloons by simply running into them.
(Mario
, Luigi
, Peach
, Yoshi
, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Wario
and Toad). Each has a specific weight and acceleration rate. In multiplayer mode, players who do not own Super Circuit become Yoshi, and are colored to differentiate between several players. According to this game, Peach was classified as lighter than Yoshi and Bowser was classified heavier than Donkey Kong, although most Mario games classify Peach being heavier than Yoshi while Bowser is lighter than Donkey Kong.
had been included instead of being released as a separate port.
In 2007, IGN named Super Circuit as the 19th best game on the Game Boy Advance.
Mario Kart: Super Circuit has sold over 2.53 million in the United States alone, thus placing it onto Nintendo's Player's Choice
list.
, to whom will participate in an upcoming Ambassador program after Nintendo officially issues a price-cut to the Nintendo 3DS starting August 12, 2011. This offer is available in all territories, and only to those who became eligible in the Ambassador program (by accessing the Nintendo eShop
before the date of the price-cut). Nintendo currently has no plans to release this game, or any other Game Boy Advance game, to the general public in paid form.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as , is a racing game
Racing game
A racing video game is a genre of video games, either in the first-person or third-person perspective, in which the player partakes in a racing competition with any type of land, air, or sea vehicles. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to entirely fantastical settings...
developed and published by Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
for the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
in 2001. It was the first Mario Kart released on a handheld game system; in 2005, a second handheld Mario Kart game titled Mario Kart DS
Mario Kart DS
is a racing game developed and published by Nintendo. It was released for the Nintendo DS handheld game console in North America, Australia, and Europe on November 14, 2005, and in Japan on December 8, 2005. The game is the fifth installment in the Mario Kart series of video games, and the first to...
was released. It is the first Mario Kart game not to be developed by Nintendo EAD
Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development
, commonly abbreviated as EAD, is the largest division inside Nintendo. It was preceded by the , a team of designers with an art background responsible for many different tasks, which Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka originally belonged to...
; instead, it was developed by Nintendo's Intelligent Systems
Intelligent Systems
is a Japanese first-party video game developer and internal team of Nintendo Co., Ltd. It has its headquarters in the Nintendo Kyoto Research Center in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture....
division.
Super Circuit combines features from earlier Mario Kart
Mario Kart
is a series of go-kart-style racing video games developed by Nintendo as a series of spin-offs from its trademark Mario series of platformer adventure-style video games...
games (Super Mario Kart
Super Mario Kart
is a go-kart racing video game developed by Nintendo EAD for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System . The first game of the Mario Kart series, it was launched in Japan on August 27, 1992, in North America on September 1, 1992, and in Europe on January 21, 1993. Selling eight million copies...
and Mario Kart 64
Mario Kart 64
is a racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It is the second installment in the Mario Kart series. It was released in 1996 in Japan and in 1997 in North America and Europe. In January 2007, Mario Kart 64 was released on Nintendo's Virtual Console service for the Wii...
). In particular, it features the gameplay mechanics of the latter title and tracks from the former game. In the game, eight racers take to the tracks and race for first place.
This game was well-received by reviewers after release.
Gameplay
As was the case with its predecessors, Super Circuit is a circuit racing game. In it, the player races against seven opponents, each of which is a character from Nintendo's MarioMario (series)
The video game series, alternatively called the series or simply the series, is a series of highly popular and critically acclaimed video games by Nintendo, featuring Nintendo's mascot Mario and, in many games, his brother Luigi. Gameplay in the series often centers around jumping on and...
series, in small go-kart
Go-kart
thumb|A [[Kart racing|racing kart]] at the [[Commission Internationale de Karting|CIK-FIA]] European Championship 2008A go-kart is a small four-wheeled vehicle...
s, on tracks set in the Mario universe. Power-ups, strewn across each track, aid the bearer or hinder their opponents, as well as coins; the coins increase the player's top speed.
Tracks
Mario Kart: Super Circuit features 20 original race tracks, as well as 20 from Super Mario Kart. Each set of tracks is organized into 5 cups of 4 tracks: the Mushroom Cup, the Flower Cup, the Lightning Cup (which debuted in this game), the Star Cup and the Special Cup. Many of the tracks included in Super Circuit are Mario Kart staples including Mario Circuit and Rainbow Road, the final race of the Special Cup in every Mario Kart.Mario GP
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 50 cc, 100 cc or 150 cc speed, which determines the speed of the race.In the start of the race, Lakitu
Lakitu
Lakitu, known in Japan as , is a video game creature in the Mario series. It was created by Shigeru Miyamoto. It first appeared in the Nintendo Entertainment System video game Super Mario Bros., where it dropped enemies called Spinies on the stage. It has a striped green shell, wears thick...
shows a stoplight. Like previous Mario Kart games, players use items to disable other players. Shells can knock out a player; bananas will cause players to skid. Mushrooms temporarily boost speed (and if the player uses a mushroom just before a jump on any track, except Bowser's Castle, they will fly further and faster). Each racer's finishing position in each race determines the number of points he or she receives, 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.
Extra
The cups and tracks from Super Mario KartSuper Mario Kart
is a go-kart racing video game developed by Nintendo EAD for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System . The first game of the Mario Kart series, it was launched in Japan on August 27, 1992, in North America on September 1, 1992, and in Europe on January 21, 1993. Selling eight million copies...
for the SNES are available in Super Circuit. They have been retitled the Extra Cups. These cups are unlockable by winning a Gold Trophy for the corresponding regular cup and then collecting 100 coins in the same cup.
Each race in an Extra cup consists of five laps. The track arrangement has changed due to the number of 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.
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 50 cc unlocks the Special Cup at 50 cc, but not 100 cc or 150 cc. Time Trial mode for the Extra cups is unlocked when the player unlocks 150 cc.
These tracks are not exact replicas of the original courses. Many hazards have been removed, such as flashing Thwomps from Rainbow Road. The Super Circuit backgrounds are superimposed on the Extra Cup tracks. Some areas and shortcuts on the SNES tracks are now inaccessible or more difficult to reach due to the removal of the feather item from Super Mario Kart
Super Mario Kart
is a go-kart racing video game developed by Nintendo EAD for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System . The first game of the Mario Kart series, it was launched in Japan on August 27, 1992, in North America on September 1, 1992, and in Europe on January 21, 1993. Selling eight million copies...
.
Time Trial
In Time Trial, the player choose any of the tracks they unlocked on Mario GP 150cc. and race for the best record. The player will start with 3 mushrooms, which can use during the race.Quick Run
The player may choose any unlocked track, from any cup and any speed, and race against seven opponents as in Mario GP mode. The number of laps may be changed between three or five, and the coins and items can be toggled on or off. This feature can also be used to practice for the Mario GP. It is essentially a VS Mode where settings can be modified, though it is not an official VS Mode.Multiplayer
Link It Up! mode
Mario Kart: Super Circuit was one of the few Game Boy Advance titles to use the Link It Up! mode of the Game Boy Advance. Using a Game Boy Advance link cable, up to four Game Boy Advance units can be linked together and the game can be played with multiple players using only one copy of the game. Due to the memory limitations of the Game Boy Advance, only the first four tracks from Super Mario Kart are selectable and all four players' characters are different-colored Yoshis.Mario GP
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.
Similar to single-player Quick Run mode, with two to four human players, and no computer-controlled ones.Battle
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 and in three-four players game, turned into walking bombs that explode when they come in contact with other players. The last player standing wins.Just as in the previous installment, Mario Kart 64, defeated players turn into Bob-Ombs. As long as there are two players still standing, those who had already lost have the opportunity of driving around to help destroy the remaining players' balloons by simply running into them.
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 characters in this game. The cast is made up of the same characters from Mario Kart 64Mario Kart 64
is a racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It is the second installment in the Mario Kart series. It was released in 1996 in Japan and in 1997 in North America and Europe. In January 2007, Mario Kart 64 was released on Nintendo's Virtual Console service for the Wii...
(Mario
Mario
is a fictional character in his video game series, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
, Luigi
Luigi
is a fictional character, featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by prominent game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the slightly younger fraternal twin brother of Nintendo's mascot Mario, and appears in many games throughout the Mario series,...
, Peach
Princess Peach
is a character in Nintendo's Mario series of video games. She is the Princess of the fictitious Mushroom Kingdom, and often plays the damsel in distress role within the adventure series. In 2007, Princess Peach landed on Forbes magazine's Wealthiest Fictional People list, with a fortune upwards of...
, Yoshi
Yoshi
, is a fictional dragon-like character who appears in video games published by Nintendo. His debut was in Super Mario World on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as Mario and Luigi's sidekick , and he later established his own series with several platform and puzzle games, including Super...
, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Wario
Wario
is a fictional character in Nintendo's Mario series. The character was designed as another antagonist to Mario , and first appeared in the 1992 Game Boy title Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins as the main antagonist and final boss...
and Toad). Each has a specific weight and acceleration rate. In multiplayer mode, players who do not own Super Circuit become Yoshi, and are colored to differentiate between several players. According to this game, Peach was classified as lighter than Yoshi and Bowser was classified heavier than Donkey Kong, although most Mario games classify Peach being heavier than Yoshi while Bowser is lighter than Donkey Kong.
Reception
Mario Kart: Super Circuit was well-received by the press and public alike once it was released. People who were 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 all of the courses from Super Mario KartSuper Mario Kart
is a go-kart racing video game developed by Nintendo EAD for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System . The first game of the Mario Kart series, it was launched in Japan on August 27, 1992, in North America on September 1, 1992, and in Europe on January 21, 1993. Selling eight million copies...
had been included instead of being released as a separate port.
In 2007, IGN named Super Circuit as the 19th best game on the Game Boy Advance.
Mario Kart: Super Circuit has sold over 2.53 million in the United States alone, thus placing it onto Nintendo's Player's Choice
Player's Choice
Nintendo Selects is a marketing label used by Nintendo to promote video games on Nintendo game consoles which have sold well; Nintendo Selects titles are sold at a lower price point than other games...
list.
Limited re-release
On July 28, 2011, Nintendo announced that Mario Kart: Super Circuit, as well as nine other Game Boy Advance games, will be available to limited Nintendo 3DS owners, via Virtual ConsoleVirtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
, to whom will participate in an upcoming Ambassador program after Nintendo officially issues a price-cut to the Nintendo 3DS starting August 12, 2011. This offer is available in all territories, and only to those who became eligible in the Ambassador program (by accessing the Nintendo eShop
Nintendo eShop
The Nintendo eShop is an online service for the Nintendo 3DS handheld gaming system. Launched on June 6, 2011 in North America and June 7, 2011 in Europe and Japan, the eShop was enabled by the release of a system update that added the functionality to the 3DS' Home Menu...
before the date of the price-cut). Nintendo currently has no plans to release this game, or any other Game Boy Advance game, to the general public in paid form.