Customer Reviews

Mario Kart: Super Circuit

5 star:		(214)
4 star:		(53)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Although this game is not being released in the US for another month, I bought the imported Japanese version a few days ago (it's called "Mario Kart Advance" overseas), and I have been absolutely enthralled by it ever since my purchase. The graphics are phenomenal and really show off the capabilities of the Game Boy Advance's 32 bit processor. The backgrounds are lush and vivid, and the individual cars are detailed nicely. The music and sound effects are great as well, and the gameplay is true to the classic Super Mario Kart. For those that have played both the Super NES version and the N64 version, I'd say that this game is a bit closer to the original SNES game (which I personally thought was a better game than the N64 sequel).

I'd also like to mention that this game blows away Konami's Krazy Racers. I own both games, and wish that I had saved my money and bought only Mario Kart. Mario Kart has so much more depth that it puts Krazy Racers to shame. Mario Kart is the best game I have played for the GB Advance so far (Castlevania COTM is a close second).

If you're looking for a great, challenging go-cart racing game, don't waste your time with the Konami clone: wait for a month and buy Mario Kart Super Circuit- you'll be glad you did!

Happy New Year everyone! I just received a Game Boy Advance as a Christmas present. I had some doubts about the Mario Kart series going hand-held, but, as a big fan of the series, I still decided to make this game the first of my new Game Boy Advance collection.

What a surprise! This game is actually just as good as its predecessors! With vibrant graphics, crisp sound, lots of tracks (so far I've discovered 24), tight play control, and all the characters from the past two Mario Kart games, the GBA Mario Kart is sure to keep the series alive and well!

The best all-new features in this game would have to be the never-before-seen tracks. They are remarkably imaginative and beautifully detailed (especially Sunset Wilds), and although they're not very long (the longest one takes about 2 minutes and 45 seconds to complete 3 laps), they're loaded with obstacles that range from the quicksand traps of the Yoshi Desert to the blind mice of Cheese Land. Also, the play control is not only precise and varied among the weight classes, but you can even feel it getting more difficult among the more difficult tracks. In Yoshi's Desert, for example, you can actually feel the quicksand trying to pull you in, so it gets even harder to maneuver around the already tight turns.

But let's not forget about the things we already know and love about the Mario Kart series. Some tracks are a blast from the past, too! After all, no Mario Kart game would be complete without Rainbow Road! Plus all your favorite characters are back, too: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Toad, Donkey Kong, Wario, and Bowser are once again racing for the finish line! And the items are back, too--you can once again drop banana peels, shoot your opponent with a shell (green, red, or blue), blast ahead of the pack with a mushroom or a Super Star, become invisible with a Boo, and zap your opponents with a lightning bolt!

So run, don't walk--or better yet, drive--to the nearest video game store and pick up this game! I'll see you at the finish line!

P.S. The "warning" that I mentioned is that this game owes a lot more to Super Mario Kart (for the SNES) than it does to Mario Kart 64. The tracks are very 2-D, just like an official race track. Therefore, fans of Mario Kart 64 might miss the hills and jumps of the Wario Stadium, or the mountains and valleys of Choco Mountain and Yoshi Valley.

Mario Kart Super Circuit is a great deal. With 20 courses, different modes, fun characters, and super graphics, Super Circuit is the best GBA racing game ever. Special feature is 1 cartridge can play up to 4 players with just the Game Boy Advance Game Link Cable (too bad it's not included). There's eight different characters including Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Peach, Toad, Bowser, Donkey Kong, and Wario. The controls are simple with attacking items that can make yourself defensive and a sudden burst of speed. Others can make enemy racers lose items and crash. In Mario Kart Super Circuit, there's different cups, Mushroom (easy, Flower (medium), Thunder (hard), Star (advanced), and last but not least the Special Cup(win all four cups to compete in the Special Cup.)

1(worst) to 10(best) rating scale

Graphics 9
Character 10
Game Play 9
Difficulty 8
Overall 9

Mario Kart is awesome. It's very similar to the super nintendo and 64 versions so if you didn't like them don't get this game. The graphics for it are amazing. They're much better than the super nintendo version. And they're probably as good as the 64 version. It also has an excellent frame rate.
The game has three difficulty levels: 50cc, 100cc, and 150cc. 150cc is pretty hard so you probably won't be able to win those very soon after buying the game.
First you choose single or multiplayer (only with two to four gba's). Then you choose Mario GP, Time trial, or Quick Run. The time trail does have ghosts like the other Mario Karts. Quick run does't count for anything. Mario GP is the main type of game in Mario Super Circuit. In a Mario GP you choose a difficulty level then a character (Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Princess, Toad, Wario, Donkey Kong, or Bowser). Then you choose a cup: mushroom, flower, lightning, star, or special(unlock by getting a gold in the other four). Each cup consists of four races which are all different from the ones in the other two versions.There are two new boo races and four new bowser races. There are 20 races, all new. Also in each cup of each difficulty level you get a medal(bronze, silver, or gold) and a rating (***, **, *, A, B, C, D, or E) based on how many coins you picked up. I love this game. There are endless posibilities. It is really hard to get a good rating so you can almost always do better. The best rating I've ever gotten was one star. Go buy this game. I recommend it for all ages.

One of the reasons I dug my old SNES out of storage was to play Mario Kart again. It was more fun than should be legal. Now there is "Super Circuit", a game very similar, but with a few differences, to the SNES classic.

The track designs are upgraded, with more of a 3D feel to them. The Bowser's Castle areas look more like those out of Mario 64 than Mario Kart. The rich texturing and colorful animation take full advantage of the GBA's capacity (which is more powerful than the SNES, believe it or not). Too prevent the total deja-vu for older games, the track layouts are different, with more tracks, different objects to use both offensively and defensively, and a host of new challenges. This is a major plus because I beat the old Mario Kart in evey way possible. It is nice to have some new fun with an old concept.

The music is superb, and the sound effects are classic Mario. As usual, you have a bunch of characters to choose from, including Mario, Luigi, Princess, Bowser, DK, Toad and others. A nice addition is that each character is rated according to speed and weight, so you can be more informed about which racer to choose. The controls are easy to master, and allow for fluid control while driving on the circuit. For gamers on the go, I cannot think of a more fun game.

Overall, this is one of the benchmark games for the GBA, and one that ensures many hours of fun and quality game time. Anyone who has played the older Mario Kart will adore this, gamers new to it will love it just the same.

I have played numerous GBA games, and owned 5 over the course of the past 6 months. And there are only TWO I have had the urge to purchase/keep... Tony Hawk 2 and Mario Kart. This game is incredable. Dont expect somthing better than the 64 version, but this is LEAGUES ahead of its SNES counterpart. some complainers have mentioned "bad steering" and "impossible star cup races" I have found those to be stupid complaints. ALL the chars have different steering abilities, (the fat ones are the worst... a good steerer is Peach or Mario...) and the differnnt cups are ALL staggered... for example... I found 50 CC too easy... in 150 cc (the hardest level) I ONLY NOW [after a month) beat the whole GP mode... some courses are chalenging... this game balances EASY and HARD... and has LOTS to do all the time! even for a 5 min break you can race against yourself in timetrial... so you know what to expect, imagine a number line where SNES M kart is -10 and 64 M Kart is + 10 this game would prob be somewhere like -2. GRAPHICS are amazing! best I have seen on the GBA, maybe aside from Tony Hawk 2 good sound, medichore 3d levels (like the SNES...)

~Andy

To begin with let me say I have not played Konami Racers - the other cart racer available for the advance. From what I hear, that is also an excellent title and you should probably check that out if you are interested in this one. I chose to get this one since I am more familiar with the nintendo cast of characters. You get to choose from: mario, luigi, princess peach, toad, yoshi, donkey kong, wario or bowser on a total of 20 tracks. In addition to 3 modes (quick race, time trial - where you try to beat your old best score on a single track, and gp - the race) you have the option of playing against others using the link cable. If you have only 1 cartrige your choice of track and character is limited (to 1) so if this is the main thing you want to do you may want to pick up 2 or look at konamis title. The game is adjustable in difficulty with 3 "cc" levels, the higher the more difficult and fast. The gameplay is awesome and it feels just like the old super nintendo title if you ever played that. The graphics are very sharp like most advance games, but one thing that makes mario cart stand out graphically is the bright colors. As a result of the colors it is not ALWAYS necessary to use a light source. That is a huge bonus. The only reason I am not giving this game 5 stars is since it lacks originality (face it we have seen this type of game on the gameboy already and this particular cart is a straight conversion of the old super nintendo game). With that said, this game makes an excellent purchase and will be fun for all ages, esp if you have someone to play against. So fire it up.

This game is worth buying. I especially love the booby-traps like the pokey turtle and the banana peel. It is a super game and I am soooo happy someone just gave it to me in August 2006! Even though its an old game, it is very worth it!

If you're an old school gamer like me and loved Super Mario Kart on the Super Nintendo platform then this is the game for you. Even if you like racing games, this is just one of those games that you MUST play, without a doubt. It's great for all skill levels and age ranges. You have the easy/medium/hard option (50cc, 100cc, 150cc). There are 4 cups you can choose to race from, each having 4 courses. So that's 16 different race tracks to get your wheels on. And even better, when you get really good, choose the 150cc level and race in the Star Cup. If you manage to get first place (which is EXTREMELY hard) you can unlock the Special Cup that has 4 additional tracks to race.

The game graphics are excellent. I especially like the race courses where it's raining- it just looks very cool.

This is definitely one of my favorite games on Gameboy Advance and I highly recommend it for everyone, kids and adults alike!

Out of all the Mario Kart games that's come out(including Mario Kart DS); Mario Kart Super Circuit has to be my most favorite. It takes the best parts of Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64 and mix them together to create a whole new Mario Kart experience. There's 40 tracks in all(including the original tracks from Super Mario Kart), eight characters, Grand Prix and Time Trial modes, ghost mode that saves your ghost to the game to trade with other players or for you to race against, and more. The game itself is similar to the Super Mario Kart game but with better graphical and level design, better audio, and an over-the-top presentation. One thing it does and does well is prove just how powerful the Gameboy Advance really is. It, literally, pushes the system to it's limits.

It's a game every Gameboy Advance owner should have in their collection. One I highly recommend to all.