This game is...kinda good, but also...kinda not?

Like, presentation wise, the game is honestly pretty good, colorfull, with very creative track theme and music, but the lisibility of it is really mediocre, especially when the screen shake (shoutout to snow Land), to the point that they needed to implement arrow that show up before turn...IF YOU NEED TO USE ARROW TO GUIDE THE PLAYER, IT MEANS THAT THERE IS A A PROBLEM SOMEWHERE (shoutout to bubsy 3d)

As for the gameplay, in one hand, the trach design is legit really good, with creative layout and especially shorcut for a flat mario kart, (unlike the track from super mario kart, who are conveniently enough in this game as well, showing us the clear difference of quality between the two game design), but the control are really messy and slippery: like, thé drift is really slippery, and even going straight is kinda messy, making it really sloppy to play

So...yeah, to keep it short: its a fusion between the worst of super mario kart, and the best of Mario kart 64, making it the most mid game in the franchise

But hey, at least, this game have the best version of sunset wild and sky garden lmao

The only other 2D Mario Kart after the original Super Mario Kart, one of the nicest things to be said about Mario Kart: Super Circuit is at least it improves over its SNES predecessor (kinda?) The track variety is better at least, even though there's even more Bowser's Castles this time around.

One redeeming and better-aged attribute of Super Circuit is the track backgrounds, like the dynamic Sunset Wilds or the colorful Ribbon Road. They're vibrant and charming to look at on their own, but the moving and turning sprites on top of everything during the chaos of a race can make the screen into a headache simulator. The screen-shake effect on Snow Land is especially bad in this regard. The flat, 2D nature of some of these tracks can even result in jump ramps causing the player to go backwards in the course if taken at the wrong angle, pretty easy to have happen considering how many of these are placed right after turns.

The key problem here and most surefire way to kill a racing game is the poor control scheme. It's as if every road is ice while your tires have been coated in butter, drifting just does not feel intuitive or responsive, especially when coming from any later Mario Kart game. My goal with this game was just to beat all of the Grand Prix on 150cc, and it took some real effort learning the controls to have a shot at this. There's something to be said for a game not holding the player's hand and providing a challenge, but maybe the hyper-casual Mario racing game wasn't the place for it.

The Special Cup is a nightmare. Lakeside Park has multiple locations where taking turns the wrong way can send the player over 20 seconds backwards in the track. Broken Pier is one of the worst and most frustrating Mario Kart tracks I've ever seen. Parts of Bowser's Castle 4 are so cramped and narrow for no reason, awkward to drive and seeming ill-suited for a race with eight participants. Even Rainbow Road is a letdown compared to other iterations in the series.

Getting any place below 4th forces the player to use a continue (???) which just felt strange in a Mario Kart game. There's 3 total before a game over, even finishing the last race of a grand prix in 5th while still having enough points for first overall will force the player to try again.

On the bright side, some of the easier courses that actually have room to drive without fighting for your life on every turn feel anywhere from decent to enjoyable. There's also some decent music for what the GBA speakers are capable of, Sky Garden's track was always a standout to me.

Despite this review mostly being an onslaught of criticism, Super Circuit is salvaging a 2-star review here mostly on the grounds that any racing game on the Game Boy Advance probably wasn't going to hold up well 20+ years later. It was a solid effort for the first portable Mario Kart game on limited hardware, but alas, the gameplay is too slippery and not fun enough to rank much higher than near the bottom of the the Mario Kart franchise.

2.0/5.0

Mario Kart's first portable title takes more inspiration from SMK than MK64, which if you've seen my review for Super Mario Kart you'll know I don't see as a great thing.

It has definitely improved on the formula the first game set however. The flat 2D stages still limit the amount of personality the tracks can convey, however the fact that every track has a different theme definitely helps make them more memorable. Except for 4 freaking Bowser’s castles that all look the same. I swear, Super Mario Kart and Super Circuit were the 2 MK games I never played growing up, so when retro tracks became a thing I was always confused why there were so many Bowser’s castles that all looked the same. Between this and SMK, there’s 7 of the damn things that all look and feel the exact same.

Also these different themes lay some great groundwork for future games to use them as retro courses. Especially Mario Kart 8, any of the tracks from this game that MK8 got its hands on turned it into something brand new. There's courses in this game I genuinely can't wait to see remade like that again.

AI are far less obvious cheats, although they'll still pull stars out of nowhere in first place when you catch up to them.

Drifting feels far better than it ever did in the original, even if it's still not quite perfect. What I don't like is the mini-turbo though. Not only is there no visual indication of when you've managed to get one, but for some reason the turbo boost only happens about 2 seconds after you stop drifting, it's very hard to plan for.

The game includes every single SNES track, however it removed almost all their stage hazards leaving them with even less personality than before. It's nice that they gave you the extra content to unlock, but I just don't see the point when the stages were barely that fun to begin with, and now they've made them even more bland. Especially when compared to the much more varied Super Circuit tracks, unlocking these old ones as a bonus feels like getting dollar after winning $1000. I mean, sure it's nice to have more, but compared to what I just got it's almost like it isn't even there.

Coins are back for their last appearance until MK7. I'm very neutral on coins in Mario Kart, I really couldn't care less if they're in or out, however this game manages to make them annoying by giving you a constant beeping sound whenever you have 0 or 1 coins. There's really no need for that at all, it's not like having 0 coins puts you in any danger, and even if you have 30 coins you'll still be wanting to collect more, so having an audio reminder that I'm at 0 coins makes absolutely zero difference to how I play.

The coins do have a rather unique function, in that they're how you unlock the retro SNES courses. You have to collect 100 of them in a cup to unlock the relative cup of SNES courses. This is fine, however this game makes you lose coins just from being bumped into by another player. It can be extremely frustrating to be trying to unlock these tracks only to lose 10 coins at once because some asshole AI decides to play bumper cars with you on a straight.

Overall I think the game was fine for the first portable Mario Kart. If you were on a car journey or something and this was the only option it scratches that MK itch, but in almost any other situation you'd probably rather play Mario Kart 64 which was out years before.

Pros: Visually, it's a step up from Super Mario Kart, using models and concepts from Mario Kart 64 for the characters like Donkey Kong and Wario and items like triple shells and the notorious blue shell, which these visual facelifts also help make the game play better too. As now, it's easier to see objects coming up ahead on the road (particularly the item boxes, which are no longer flat textures that you have to drive over), and all characters on the track are more balanced using the same regular items, keeping the races frenetic and fun. There are plenty of creative tracks like Cheese Land, Ribbon Road, and Sky Garden that make this game a step above the SNES original. But, as an extra, every track from the SNES game is unlockable here as well! It's hard to deny this game as anything but better!

Cons: Generally, this feels like a step down from Mario Kart 64 though, as everything still has that "mode7" look and feel, which makes tracks less interesting, even if they have some creative background art and theming for a few tracks. Multiplayer is also Mario Kart's bread and butter, and even though this game does allow single card only multiplayer, where each player plays as a different colored Yoshi, it's kind of difficult to get a group together with four Super Circuit game paks, to play modes that require it, like Battle Mode... which, I barely played but once, and didn't feel much different than it did back on SNES. And yeah, similar to how the SNES didn't feel strong enough to truly deliver on an exciting Kart racer, the Game Boy Advance still wasn't strong enough to give us the most authentic Mario Kart experience either, and I'd say we didn't get that on a handheld until Mario Kart DS. But, for a GBA game, and when comparing to the SNES original, Super Circuit clears, it's the best of this "mode7" style of Mario Kart, for sure. Just wish Battle Mode was more accessible.

What it means to me: I didn't own this game as a kid, only played it at my step brother's house, and it was fun when we played multiplayer here and there, but just not fun enough, never got to the point where I loved the game. But hey, it's the first Mario Kart on a handheld system, that alone was pretty impressive!

I really enjoyed this game! Honestly I think this is one of the most underrated (and dare I say, most over-hated) Mario Kart games, I feel like I don’t often hear people talk about it, at least not as their first pick. In fact, I hear a lot of hate for this one! This wasn’t even my first MK game, so I can’t even say that I’m biased, I just genuinely like this game!

I played this game on my GBA SP and it was a blast. As with all the Mario Kart games (and racing games in general), it has a bit of a learning curve. The karts have a lot of torque to them, which I feel was really common in the older MK games anyways. Once you get the hang of how to steer the kart, it’s a really fun game to play and there are a lot of things I like about it.

I think the biggest thing that goes under-appreciated in this game is the graphics and art. Each course has really striking visuals and has very bold color schemes. This is one of those GBA games that really maximized the full grid of pixels and full range of color. You really can’t appreciate it unless you play it on a GBA with a backlit screen. Playing it on a higher resolution screen or a GBA that has no backlight on the screen is such a disservice to this game. The amount of detail they put into this game, the way they were able to make it look almost 3D, and the use of color is just phenomenal. There is not much to say about the gameplay because it’s like the other older MK games and can also be a bit tricky, but the art really sets it apart from the rest for me. Maybe I can’t recommend it because there’s a lot of things about the gameplay that people aren’t able to look past, but I think that if you give it the time to learn the steering, it can be quite fun!

Mario Kart: Super Circuit was made for a different era — before the Nintendo 64's native four-player controller support made Mario Kart 64 battle mode the go-to arena for settling arguments, before the DS' wireless play made Mario Kart DS the most popular game on the school bus, or internet capabilities kept Mario Kart Wii alive past its shelf life, or modern game dev cycles blessed Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with balance patches 9(!) years after the original game released.

Actually, now that I say all that, Mario Kart: Super Circuit has next to nothing going for it.

I played this game so much as a kid it's ridiculous. I know the tracks by heart and music. But that's beside the point here the real question is should YOU play it. Yes and no.
I say play this game if you don't mind the short track length and you enjoy super mario kart on the snes.
No for the people who love more modern mario kart games and are not too fond on the older titles. You might not like how this game controls and plays.
But overall it's a solid handheld entry and is fun to go back to every now and then

Overall, I’m not a huge fan of Mario Kart. I have a nostalgic attachment to Super Mario Kart for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and still own my original cartridge to this day, but otherwise, I have steered clear of the franchise for most of my gaming life until picking up Mario Kart 8 Deluxe shortly after purchasing a Nintendo Switch. After playing the newest Mario Kart and restoring my Game Boy Advance, however, I decided to check out Mario Kart: Super Circuit for a bit of old-school fun on the go.

Mario Kart: Super Circuit was released for the Game Boy Advance in August 2001. The game is the third installment in the Mario Kart series coming after Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64, and retains the core gameplay elements of the series while coming in a portable package. Just like every entry in the Mario Kart series, players select from a slew of racers, pulled mostly from the Mario Universe, and speed down various whacky race tracks to see who can claim first place. Of course, obtaining and keeping first place is a challenge unto itself as the opposing racers will utilize an assortment of power-ups and weapons to take the top spot. It is this fast-paced racing action that makes all Mario Kart games so appealing and addictive. While I personally prefer the controls and gameplay of Super Mario Kart and the SNES controller over the Super Circuit and the Game Boy Advance buttons, there is nothing wrong with what’s provided here. The buttons are responsive and karts move exactly as expected, even if the drifting mechanic is sometimes finicky.

One of the most significant strengths of Super Circuit at the time of its release was its track selection. In total, Super Circuit introduced 20 tracks, with 16 of those being handheld remakes of tracks from the previous two Mario Kart games. The remaining four tracks are unique to Super Circuit. This combination of classic Mario Kart tracks with fresh courses made the game a treat for both veteran players and newcomers to the Mario Kart franchise upon its release, and was a nice surprise for this Super Mario Kart fan upon revisiting this GBA title.

While the hardware limitations of the GBA prevented Super Circuit from achieving the 3D visuals of its console counterparts, the pixel art used in the game has a timeless and charming quality that I’ll never grow tired of. The pixelated characters and tracks evoke a sense of nostalgia, harking back to the golden age of gaming when simplicity was the name of the game. The retro visuals, while not as flashy as the modern Mario Kart games, add a unique and endearing character to Super Circuit that always seems to invoke a smile. It's like a trip down memory lane, reminding players of the classic days of gaming when gameplay and fun were paramount over ever-darkening stories and ever-increasing pixel counts. In an era where high-definition graphics dominate, there's something refreshing about the enduring appeal of well-crafted pixel art.

Mario Kart: Super Circuit successfully translated the magic of Mario Kart onto a handheld console. The Game Boy Advance title brought the thrill of racing, the absolute chaos of race-changing items, and the joy of multiplayer competition to the palm of your hand without sacrificing the quality gamers had come to expect from the Mario Kart franchise. With the continued success of Nintendo handhelds and the release of the Nintendo Switch, the novelty of handheld Mario Kart is long gone, but it was something special back in 2001 that should be praised. While the graphics may show their age given the limitations of a GBA, the fantastic gameplay and track selection more than make up for it. While it has been succeeded by numerous other Mario Kart titles on various Nintendo platforms, Mario Kart: Super Circuit can still be enjoyed by fans for its retro charm and gameplay and stands as a testament to the enduring appeal of the Mario Kart series.

Uno de los mejores mario kart de todos, con la majestuosa jugabilidad de SNES (la más difícil de dominar por lejos), los gráficos de N64 (en ese entonces impresionantes), y presentando por primera vez mas copas y pistas, siendo el pionero de las "copas clásicas" hechas con pistas remasterizadas provenientes de otro mario kart anterior (en este caso todas las pistas de Super Mario Kart). Sin dudas el mejor juego de la Gameboy Advance, aunque haya pasado inadvertido y sea el mas olvidado de la saga. Para saber apreciarlo hay que aprender a dominar su dura curva de aprendizaje y lograr los derrapes imposibles, que aún siendo mas sencillos de dominar que el de snes (gracias a pistas sonoras, porque realizarlos es exactamente igual) siguen siendo una proeza de realizar. Hoy en día los últimos juegos de la saga derrapan solos sin ningún esfuerzo, convirtiendo el primer lugar en una suma de azares y atajos memorizables, pero ningun "buen jugador" de mario kart 8 puede dominar este juego. Razón por la cual es odiado por la generación de cristal. Mi MK favorito, seguido de cerca por MK7

If you're interested in Mario history or seeing what some of your friends might have grown up addicted to (if you didn't have it yourself on GBA), this is a diversion worth checking out for a little while. I basically just played through every cup to get a win on 100cc and roll credits ... had I spent more time with the game trying to take it seriously, I think the more frustrating aspects would have gotten on my nerves far more. But I don't need to unlock the SNES courses because I already played way too much SMK growing up (which may be why I was primed to cut this game some slack).

Still, I think the aesthetics and track ideas here are really nice, considering the limitations they had to work with, and started to lay the groundwork for some of the really cool ideas the MK series went on to explore. Intelligent Systems brought the same care and creativity for the Mushroom Kingdom that they were introducing in Paper Mario at this time (even literally including Bowser's floating castle from the first PM game). Including their love of Yoshi's Island elements and stylistic inspiration.

I dunno, people seem quick to write this one off, but I think it has its charm. There's very little reason to go back to it, of course, except as a curiosity. See what it's all about, and if you hate the controls, it's fine to leave this one in the past.

I swore so much that i'd never play this game and then Nintendo released GBA NSO and said "aight bet".

It's what i thought it always was: Super Mario Kart 2, except this one doesn't make me motion sick. It controls a bit better than Super but it also still kind of assaults my eyes a bit.

It's fine-ish. Being on the GBA limits it's track creativity. The background aesthetic is beautiful, it has the superior Cheese Land and Sunset Wilds is very cool but that's about it tbh. Like all Mario Karts, more fun with friends.

Mario Kart Super Circuit is Super Mario Kart done right. It is completely baffling to me that people have SMK rated higher on this site. I feel like it has got to be bias against handheld games. Anyways, let's go over what made it a massive upgrade.

It all starts with the track variety. While both games had 20 flat 2D courses, the rosters do not feel comparable at all.

Where there were 4 Mario Circuits in SMK, all with the exact same background, MKSC had 3 unique circuits, each representing a different character, much like MK64. Luigi Circuit was the first rainy course in the series, featuring many turns and shortcuts with some puddles to dodge for good measure.

Sequel tracks were handled In a much more innovative way as well. While there were 3 Donut Plains and Ghost Valley levels in SMK, one might not even realize they are on one of the special cup sequel levels in this game until they're told afterward.

Boo Lake acts as a traditional haunted boardwalk stage (being one of the best at that with its ramps and alternate paths). Broken Pier on the other hand acts as a shortcut focused followup that doesn't follow the same naming convention at all.

The parks are your new versions of the Donut Plains levels and it is astounding just how much better they are in my opinion. While Riverside Park does a good job of showing how ramps and shortcuts will work in the rest of the game like a good mushroom cup course should, its special cup counterpart Lakeside Park breaks the game with them. The best part is that these stages have their own similar, yet unique songs. Riverside is chill, while Lakeside is anything but with its volcano eruption.

The Bowser Castle levels are most similar to SMK on the premise that they are numbered still. In their defense, it is hard to make these lava levels anything but a BC in the Mario world. What I will say though is these are massively upgraded over the SNES versions, and just overall way more fun to play. BC2 is fun with its path splits later in the lap. BC4 has one of the most interesting minimaps you will ever see. BC3 is blue for some reason, and is a very racing lines oriented course with a fun shortcut. And BC1 well.... it's still more interesting than SNES BC1?

The difference between the Choco Islands and Sunset Wilds might be the most obvious case of the game just being an upgrade. While similar in appearance in some ways, Sunset Wilds has ten times the personality, with all the camping shy guys and changing sky.

Then there's Snow Land. Maybe it's not the most interesting of tracks, but it was another big upgrade over Vanilla Lake on the premise that there were no ice blocks alone.

Of course there are a few other fun courses as well that weren't really tied to a SMK course to begin with. Sky Garden was almost like a daytime take on Rainbow Road, taking place in the clouds among beanstalk. Cheese Land was definitely a fun idea, taking place on the moon with all the mice. These levels stick out in your memory.

Of course, Ribbon Road was also one of the first tracks in the series that I saw as a complete standout. Outside of the staple Rainbow Roads, this course was really the first to just make the statement that a track can really be any abstract idea. This course was the precursor to some of the most popular courses in series history, like Waluigi Pinball or Music Park. It redefined what MK courses could and even should be.

A lot of people are nostalgic for MK64's Rainbow Road. GBA Rainbow Road was the exact opposite of that, and I think it was so much better for it. While MK64's RR left a lot of time for reflection, the GBA course will be completed by the time you get halfway into a lap of the 64 version if you take the time to master it. The guardrails don't guard you from falling anymore. They act as invites for adventure. With how mushrooms and ramps stack in this game, it makes for a crazy experience and perhaps my favorite time trial in any MK game. They knew exactly what they were doing with this one and it was so fun because of it.

I think the game had a quite underrated soundtrack as well. Ribbon Road, Sunset Wilds, Cheese Land, Sky Garden, and the Parks stand out to me.

SNES tracks also return. They exist I guess. Personally, they don't add much for me. It's hard to say they're hurting anything though. My biggest issue with them is the unlocking criteria. Getting 100 coins in a cup to unlock them is fine. Great even. But having to do it on a 2nd playthrough of a cup is annoying. And then you have to do it on every engine class. Yikes.

The tracks are more enjoyable for me in this game though. Mainly because I hated the obstacles on these courses and for the most part, they are gone (with exceptions going to Vanilla Lakes ice blocks). They are probably scaled too small but they feel better to play here in my opinion. It also helps that MKSC mechanics help out a little here.

One of my biggest complaints about SMK is that acceleration amongst the fastest characters is horrific. This game finds a much better balance, the course hazards feel more fair, and the AI actually uses the same item system that you do. Bowser and DK feel strong to use, but aren't too overpowered in races. It makes for a much more fun time in my opinion.

Content wise the game is very good for its era. 10 cups is quite a bit, and going for 100% is quite challenging. The GP mode ranking system got introduced in this game, and getting 3 stars on cups is actually quite challenging and really makes you master the controls in order to achieve. This makes the Grand Prix mode much more engaging to me because I feel a sense of urgency when trying to get the best rank.

Quick Run was a desperately needed feature for a handheld Mario Kart game. It is what it sounds like it is. While that sounds simple enough, not every entry would have this feature in future games.

I never got to play this game with friends growing up because I played it on my DS. However, I finally got to experience it with Switch online, which was awesome. I never realized how red shells truly operated in this game when you threw them back. I'm not sure if them targeting behind is better, but it was certainly interesting even if it only occurred in this game.

Battle mode was admittedly mediocre, but fun enough in its own right. Playing as a bob-omb after elimination was very funny, and getting squished by a thwomp for last place finishes in races was too.

This isn't the best MK of all time. It might be the most underrated however. A lot of people are very dismissive of it because it was a handheld follow-up to their favorite console MK. Make no mistake though - MKSC is a good time, and surprisingly replayable. It's not a popular take for sure, but I find it to be more enjoyable than MK64. While MK64 was the founder of the more modern manual mini turbo system found in MKDD and MKDS, MKSC was the game that mastered the mechanics of the original. It is a fully realized version of the original MK game, and even though no game has been like it since, I think it is good that we got what I see as a solid version of where it all began.

I first need to give a disclaimer that I started the MK franchise in 3D, having never played the original which probably biases my opinion a bit.
I paid ~$15 bones for this loose a few years ago, and now that I've played my fill, do I feel like I really got my money's worth? There's no unlockable incentives, and no reason for me to gold-out the cups on 150cc- getting all gold on 100cc felt like enough completion because of that. Additionally, with owning MKDS alone, I don't really know if I have reason to come back to this one, and I’m not even sure if it warrants a stay in my collection.
I do think this game is impressive in its pseudo(semi?)-3D graphics- always a really cool thing to see on the GBA, like with Monkey Ball Jr. and Spyro. However- and this is probably because I've never played the OG- the completely flat tracks became way too repetitive for me, even though there are so many of them. It feels contradictory to have so many tracks but for so many of them to be slight regurgitations of each other. Whatever, Cheese Land is my favorite track.