Mario Kart Super Circuit

"Mario´s first handheld kart racer marks yet another glorious entry into the series"

The Super Mario franchise is, without a doubt, a phenomenon. Not only have Mario´s Jump and Run titles - the genre that made him a famous icon in the first place - been all-time classics with little exceptions, his forays into other genres have also established themselves as more than just mere exploits of the series´ popularity. No matter whether it´s "Super Mario RPG" or "Super Mario Kart" and their successors, they have been praised by critics and fans alike everywhere, and so it seemed only natural that "Mario Kart Super Circuit" was being hyped as the first blockbuster for Nintendo´s next gen handheld Game Boy Advance, and in this case, it was wise to believe the hype.

The basic premise of the gameplay remains largely the same as in the game´s two predecessors, which is of course a more than understandable move for Nintendo in view of their success and popularity. It´s once again the classic fun racer formula that created this genre in the first place, featuring a majority of the tracks, weapons and techniques from earlier titles. The different racers the player can choose from are, obviously, well known stars of the Mario universe - Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Bowser, Wario, Yoshi, Donkey Kong and Toad, they´re all there, all of them featuring their own distinctive strengths and weaknesses for example when it comes to the sheer speed of the kart. The main game mode of "Mario Kart Super Circuit" is once again the classic Mario GP mode. There, you once again have to participate in five different cups consisting of different 4 race tracks each. You can also choose from 3 different speed levels, those being 50 CC, 100 CC and 150 CC, and the higher the speed the more difficult the game becomes. Then, there´s highly similar "Super Circuit" mode. The tracks and rules are practically the same, even though it´s more competitive here. Depending on your position at the end of each race, you receive points (nine points for rank 1, six points for rank 2, three points for rank 3 and one point for rank 4), and the participant with the highest amount of points at the end of the cup naturally wins. However, the rules there are strict, as you must finish each race at least on rank 4, otherwise, you will have to restart the race at the cost of one of your 3 lives. If you lose all 3, it´s game over for you, so you have to be careful in that regard. Other than receiving a trophy once a cup is finished, your racing performance will also be judged and rated with rank E, D, C, B, A, one-star, two-stars or three-stars, and of course you´re free to retry each cup and improve your rating, as the game contains an automatic save function. But that´s not all yet: as a recurring feature from older Mario Kart games, you can find coins in each race (in a Mario typical fashion), and if you have managed to collect at least 100 of them, you can unlock the original tracks of "Super Mario Kart", one by one, having received a visual overhaul for this Game Boy Advance sequel. The original tracks can also be unlocked for each of the three difficulty modes in all 5 cups, assuring that there´s enough for you to do for quite some time. Apart from this massive gameplay mode, there are two more ways for you to spend your time in "Mario Kart Super Circuit": the Quick Run, where you can choose from any track you unlocked so far, as well as the good old Time Trial, although it remains largely the same as in earlier Mario Kart titles, with you having a chance to improve your records whenever you want, once again thanks to the automatic save feature. And don´t worry, Nintendo also did not forget to include several multiplayer modes as well, like a version of the Mario GP for up to two players, and it´s once again a total blast and perhaps the game´s biggest strength, since Mario Kart always and probably always will be the epitome of multiplayer fun in its most sophisticated form. The gameplay simply is perfect for a fun racing game, and I´d even go as far as saying that "Mario Kart Super Circuit" ranks on the same high level as "Super Mario Kart" and even surpasses its predecessor "Mario Kart 64" with its perfect spot-on controls and playability.

The graphics, while not as good as in "Mario Kart 64" due to the hardware limitations, are an excellent early showcase of what the Game Boy Advance is capable of, easily surpassing the graphics of "Super Mario Kart" with a great use of the mode-7 effect in order to create a convincing 3D feel that fortunately never causes the frame rate to break down because too much is going on on the screen. The character sprites and locations, now being more reminiscent of those seen in "Mario Kart 64", are now far more convincing due to a more colorful and detailed presentation, creating the sense of a consequent evolution of the visuals in "Super Mario Kart". For such an early Game Boy Advance title, the graphics definitely are outstanding, and they hold up considerably well even today.

Aurally, "Mario Kart Super Circuit" offers an excellent mix of old, well known Mario tunes hailing from either Mario´s Jump and Run titles (i.e. the Ghost House track or Bowser´s castle) or his former kart adventures and some all new tunes that fit into the series flawlessly. The remixes of the old themes sound great, even when coming from the rather weak Game Boy Advance sound chip, and they have an appropriate, fresh new feel to them that is perfectly fitting for the mood of this fun racer. As in most Mario titles since the Nintendo 64 era, Nintendo also included pieces of voice acting every now and then, most of them being some yells and cries, and even though their voice actors are rather cheesy, it´s funny to listen to and a nice addition to the audio enjoyment of "Mario Kart Super Circuit".

In the end, there´s no way that Mario´s first handheld kart racer disappoints. On the contrary, it´s a more than worthy entry into the series that is actually even able to compete with the original title of the series, and that´s a considerable feat in itself. No matter whether it´s the variety of the different gameplay modes, the splendid visuals or the excellent audio, it has everything that made "Super Mario Kart" such an all-time classic, and it´s a definite must buy for Mario fans.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/26/06