Due to being on the GBA, Mario Kart: Super Circuit returns to 2D. It's also the only mainline MK title to not be made by Nintendo directly but instead Intelligent Systems and I have to say they did a great job with limitations.
This game has 20 nitro tracks, among which my favourites are Cheese Land, Rainbow Road, Sky Garden, Sunset Wilds and the legendary Lakeside Park which honestly competes with some modern tracks. Additionally you can unlock all 20 SNES courses. The way you unlock them is not great as you have to beat the cup once then beat it again while collecting 100 total coins to unlock that version of the Extra Cup. To be honest the SNES tracks are kind of worse here than they were in Super Mario Kart due to missing obstacles and feeling more cramped, but it's still cool they were included anyway. I mean it gives this game 40 fucking tracks, which, for a game this old, on a portable console is insane. The music in this game is also great, easily the best in the series so far.
Just like Super, it takes time to learn this game's controls but my god once you do they feel so snappy and satisfying. This is further amped by the plethora of insane yet intended shortcuts you can preform on several of the tracks in this game, many of which require a lot of skill. The developers really knew what they were doing.
The character roster is the same as 64 which is a bit disappointing but at least we got Random, right guys?
Overall, this is a pretty good Mario Kart, especially considering the limitations.
Also, can we all agree that the render of Mario on the box art is one of the coldest images this series has ever dropped.
This game has 20 nitro tracks, among which my favourites are Cheese Land, Rainbow Road, Sky Garden, Sunset Wilds and the legendary Lakeside Park which honestly competes with some modern tracks. Additionally you can unlock all 20 SNES courses. The way you unlock them is not great as you have to beat the cup once then beat it again while collecting 100 total coins to unlock that version of the Extra Cup. To be honest the SNES tracks are kind of worse here than they were in Super Mario Kart due to missing obstacles and feeling more cramped, but it's still cool they were included anyway. I mean it gives this game 40 fucking tracks, which, for a game this old, on a portable console is insane. The music in this game is also great, easily the best in the series so far.
Just like Super, it takes time to learn this game's controls but my god once you do they feel so snappy and satisfying. This is further amped by the plethora of insane yet intended shortcuts you can preform on several of the tracks in this game, many of which require a lot of skill. The developers really knew what they were doing.
The character roster is the same as 64 which is a bit disappointing but at least we got Random, right guys?
Overall, this is a pretty good Mario Kart, especially considering the limitations.
Also, can we all agree that the render of Mario on the box art is one of the coldest images this series has ever dropped.