Is Mario Kart: Super Circuit Bad? 

Super Circuit was my first GBA game, I remember my parents putting the game and console in a huge box for Christmas Day as a joke so I didn't know it was a GBA, fun memories.

Once you master the controls, this game is a gem. I particularly love the soundtrack.

I personally think that Mario kart super circuit is a solid game

Regarding it's difficulty, I'd like to add that trying to ⭐⭐⭐ *_ALL_* cups is incredibly difficult in Super Circuit. Unlike MK8 which only requires all first place finishes or previous entries which are only a bit more difficult, SC requires first places, good times, a certain amount of coins, little to no item usage and perfect driving (no getting hit, avoiding off-road/shallow water/mud, bumping walls or other racers). Once you get real good most cups aren't too bad but the Retro Lightning Cup is notorious for being near impossible to ⭐⭐⭐.

This was my first ever game I owned. I played it a whole lot. I remember trying to get 3-star rank on every GP map, including the SNES tracks. I got enough that I managed to get the nighttime background during the splash screen intro. I also remember that I got good enough on some tracks that I could outrun blue shells at 150cc. the shell would stick behind me and if I slowed down even a bit it would hit me. However, if I maintained spped long enough it would despawn. The track I remember in particular where I did it regularly was Luigi Circuit. Some major nostalgia vibes. Now I want to play it again.

MK Super Circuit was my first hand held game. I remember getting it new with my game boy in 2001. One of the best Christmas presents I ever had.

Technical correction: With single-pak link, your main system is not actually treating the other GBAs as "additional screens"; it is sending program code and data into the (albeit limited) memory of the other systems. You'd still have up to four copies of Mario Kart Super Circuit operating, but given the RAM limitations, that leads into why the limited selection of tracks, characters, and animation frames. It is trying to squeeze a 4MB game into 256KB :-) You'll probably notice similar limitations with Nintendo DS games that do have download play. Mario Kart DS has severely limited single-pak multiplayer too. A much simpler game, Mario Bros (included in all the Super Mario Advance carts), was able to pull off this trick without compromises.

seeing this channel grow so fast is crazy! honestly when i first found you i though you mustve had hundreds of thousands of subscribers! glad to see you gaining traction and popularity!

One of my fav RU-vid series atm, keep it up!

I definitely appreciate this game more now that I’m older and find it easier to get a grip on the controls. At the time MK DS was the newest handheld entry to me so it was easy to see super circuits as outdated. Though I’ve appreciated it a lot more over the years and it ranks above some of the other fan favorites for me due to the skill needed to race and it’s fast paced gameplay.

I tried this game and i love it i also love how many shortcuts you can make up yourself in the rainbow road

I love your content bro keep it up! It’s funny that you posted this today because I was gifted this game for my birthday a few days ago😅

Great video as always. It would be interesting if you made a video ranking all the Mario kart games!

Peace be upon you! The Music from Mariokart: Super Circuit is really nostalgic for me, especially Snowland :]. Glad it made it back in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s DLC. This episode made my day~

Nice review on Mario Kart: Super Circuit, I used to play this game when I was a kid on my Uncle’s Game Boy, those were fun times! 😁😁😁

It's interesting that you prefer SMK's controls over Super Circuit's. For me, it's the exact opposite.

I think it’s okay imo, but that’s mainly influenced by how much the series has grown and been made easier to control and maintain leads as opposed to then Keep up the bangers

I have it on switch online, the tracks in this game are very good, controls in this game aren't so good but it's still a great game!

Amazing vid, as always. Btw waluigi kart

I don't know if you knew this but this is the only MK (at least to my knowledge) with a lot of cool features, for instance: -If you slip with a banana, crash on a mouse (cheese land), go through a puddle of water or a frozen puddle you can skip the damage by just braking the cart -You can plant red shells and blue shells by aiming backwards. Red shells will attack any player, even you and blue shells, of course, the one at first place -You can HONK the horn by pressing SELECT, no matter if is at the character select screen or in game, at the race!

I'm currently trying to complete this game 100%. it was amazing for the first handheld Mario Kart game.

This was one of my first video games. So nostalgic for me!

I got a gba yesterday. I don’t have super circuit yet but i played it on a friend’s switch and it is already my 2nd favorite mario kart game. After wii of course

It's like if Mario Kart SNES and Mario Kart 64 mixed together.

Thanks for this review. SC was the first Mario Kart I owned (technically my younger brother owned lol we both played it to death) and holds a lot of charm and nostalgia. I think it has some of the most creative tracks out there esp Cheese Land and Sky Gardens!

I'm a huge fan of 2D Mario kart games, and Suoer Circuit is basically the entire first game but 2× I absolutely love this game

This game was my childhood. It may not be perfect, but when you get used to the controls, it actually runs smoothly compared to the SNES counterpart.

I played so much of this game but hard to go back to it in 2023

I love this game I think it's absolutely amazing this was one of the first games where I challenged myself to master the controls and I did il never forget the many super circuit sessions I had while in the back seat of the car with my mom driving to the grocery store and back I loved the learning curve this game has

MK64 was the first game I've ever played but this was the first Mario Kart game I truly played growing up if that makes sense. I got it with the red GBA SP and would play this for hours with Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga, Super Mario World and the Pokemon games. I'm glad Super Circuit is getting the recognition as it's really underrated.

I have the exact oposite opinion on the controls. I have an easier time with the controler than with both previous games

My favourite MK and feel-good game of all time. I still boot it up when I'm going through a rough patch. It helps a bit :)

Btw little Easter egg for the rainbow road, the bowser castle in the back is actually the same one in paper Mario 64

I used to play it a lot on my gba as a child. It's my main Mario cart nostalgia

I just played through this game for the first time and it's better than I remembered. Once you get used to the slidey controls its actually pretty fun and it fixes everything I hate about super mario kart

great graphics, great ost. i played this game so much that even when i wasnt playing i saw mario kart in my eyes a la tetris effect.

Love this game Cheep cheep Island and Sky Garden= best tracks Very fun game, played it on my DS today

Super Circuit was my childhood. I loved it when I was a kid. It was a hybrid of the first two Mario Karts, and especially for a portable title, it was incredible, especially for the time. Super Circuit walked, so DS could run.

Bro this game was my childhood bro one of the first games I've played.

My younger self getting Casually getting Confused with mario circut thinking it was mario kart 64

It’s a great game. I like it more than Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64. I wish Mario Kart Double Dash has all of the N64 tracks like Mario Kart Super Circuit having all of the SNES tracks.

I also found it interesting that this game’s version of Rainbow Road also has Bowser’s Castle from Paper Mario floating in the background.

The single pak multiplayer here actually works very similar to DS download play! It uses a feature of the GBA called multiboot, which allows the GBA to download a program over the link cable when it boots up and run it, just like the DS can do. There are obviously strict limitations, as the GBA has only 256 KB (yes, kilobytes!) of RAM to store a game in memory.

You can obliterate trees with a star by running into them AND it makes a cartoon slip sound. Best game ever

Do you happen to be aware of the discovered super circuit prototype?

wasnt it possible to fire homing red shells backwarts or have them wait for prey or something like that?

This was my first Mario Kart game and Mario game ( Weird one to start with I know. ) It's nothing special at all but I really like it and sometimes replay it every now and then.

This is the only Mario Kart that ive never played, let alone owned. I had a GBA back in the day and for some reason didnt even realize this game existed, despite becoming a huge fan of MK DS. Still have an old GBA, if i could find this game cheap id totally pick it up. Something tells me it would be a nostalgia BLAST.

When I was a kid with a gba I played the hell out of this. I didn't play any more recent mario kart games until the switch and for a long time I didn't know SC was considered the black sheep of the series, I always thought it was good and didn't get the dislike when I did find out.

It was the first handheld Mario Kart that you could take on the go. It has many great tracks that would return in many future titles including 8 DX. The Rainbow Road in the game has a Paper Mario reference. It was the first to include Retro tracks. Also it was the first not to be developed in house by Nintendo and instead being developed by Intelligent Systems, who did Paper Mario, Warioware, Fire Emblem, and many other games.

this was my first mario kart game. i could never being myself to hate it. it’s so charming and the music is so good for a GBA title, and it holds some great childhood memories for me. IS made a solid game on such limited hardware and you really have to commend them for that.

Easily the most underrated game in the series

20k soon 👀

I’m surprised you haven talked about this game yet!

This video made me grab my gba and copy of super circuit qnd fish out the charger from my bag of cords!

honestly i’ve grown to like this game, it’s interesting that mario kart 8 used the beta version of the circuit theme

This was my first Mario Kart game that I ever played

It has the best star theme and most intense star theme outta all of them

One thing you neglected to mention about the items is despite the fact the game introduces no new items, it DOES still mix things up. As well as having some of the most chaotic item tables in the series (you will very commonly pull stars in 2nd or 3rd) this game also has a recovery mechanic if you get hit by a banana where you can brake with good timing to avoid spinning out. The game also removes i-frames so you can hit a spun out opponent multiple times, and running into a spun out opponent will cause them to spin out again. But my favourite favourite FAVOURITE mechanic that was ONLY in this game comes when you throw a red shell backwards. Instead of just flying backwards like a green shell, it sits on the track and then hunts the first person to drive past it. There was so much strategy when you got into the meat and potatoes of this game which is why I ignore every review calling it bad.

I appreciate you using the HD GBA settings for scaling.

This is my favourite Mario Kart Game! Unfortunately, another GBA game copied it in pretty much every way possible, that game is called “Antz Extreme Racing.” Make a video on which is better.

i always thought this game came before 64 until a few years ago lol i was shocked

Can you please do a video on Mario kart double dash.

Imo, Super Circuit and Tour are the most underrated Mario Karts. Super Circuit turns people away since it’s a 2D game even though it’s a great Mario Kart. And Tour is judged for how it was pay to win at the beginning, despite the pay to win aspects being removed and the game being a nice Mario Kart game.

does someone remeber mario kart double dash?

I think that the weird one is Double Dash for Nintendo Game Cube, Super Circuits feels like a middle point between Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64

This game was released the day that I was born. We came out on the same day 😁

I always thought this game was called Mario Kart Grand Prix for some reason lol

I’ve only heard Nathaniel Bandy talk about the star ranking system for this game. For those of you who don’t know how the star ranking system works, it’s based on how many skill points you have by the end of the cup. There are a ton of variables that cause an increase and decrease in the skill points. Here are the basics, the character you pick will award you certain amounts of skill points. Bowser: 45 DK and Wario: 40 Mario and Luigi: 30 Peach and Toad: 10 Yoshi: 0 This is based on how easy they are to control, so there’s some risk and reward factor here. It also depends on what cc you’re playing at. The higher the difficulty, the less skill points you’ll get. What happens in the race itself can drastically affect your rank. Here are the variables that earn you skill points: Collecting coins: +4 pts per coin Hitting item boxes when your slots are full: +15 pts per item box pass Hit by lightning: +40 Going fast as heck: depends These four variables are the only things you can use to get more skill points. And most of them are completely arbitrary, like why does it matter if I’m holding on to items or not? And it’s more cryptic than that, because not all items that are held count as being held. Triple green and triple red shells do not count as a held item because you’re technically not holding the item button. So it’s actually really bad when you get those two items. And then there’s the factor of getting hit by lighting. Getting hit by lightning is a rare occurrence in Super Circuit which is so unfair because you actually get a ton of skill points from something that happens at any random time. Now let’s talk about things that take away your skill points. Well I hope your ready because I have a long list of variables so here we go. Being off road: -.25 pts per frame Not accelerating: -.25 pts per frame Braking: -2 pts per frame Using triple red shells: -5 pts per frame Using lightning: -5 pts per frame Using Stars: -30 pts per frame Hitting enemies or items on the road: -15 pts per frame Spinning out: -15 pts per frame Bumping into walls: -20 pts per frame Using a rocket start: -25 pts per frame Lakitu Rescue: -25 pts per frame I kid you not, all of these variables can make you lose skill points. I mean heck, no wonder it’s so hard to get 3 stars. Let’s just go over some of these like not accelerating, using my brakes are you kidding me? Why should that matter at all? This is a racing game. Every race is different so naturally I’m gonna be forced to play every race slightly differently. And then there’s the matter of the items. Using lightning, stars, or triple red shells as a detriment is completely stupid because you have no control over what items you receive. I’ve gotten stars in 2nd place tons of times when playing Super Circuit. So what am I supposed to do about that? And then there’s hitting enemies or items on the road, spinning out, and Lakitu rescuing you. I think those factors are fine, although bumping into walls is so petty if you ask me, then there’s using a rocket start. That is so contradicting considering the game wants you to finish laps fast. How am I supposed to do that when I’m discouraged to use the rocket start? And what’s crazy is I have never seen anyone talk about how evil this system is other than Nathaniel Bandy. So I’m glad to be sharing it with everyone watching this video now. This list of variables misses out on one key factor that also makes a big difference. And that is drifting. Because yes you can drift in this game, but it’s incredibly awkward to do and takes a ton of practice to get used to. It’s similar to the other games where you have to jump and turn and then hold that pose for a bit to get a speed boost, but I do not have the skills to properly integrate it with my gameplay. It’s hard to master because everything feels so slippery. Drifting can be to sharp or too narrow which can cost skill points. And the computers do not help matters either. While they technically don’t rubber band, they are extremely aggressive and are still very difficult to deal with. So there you have it.

Helo Edit: I’ve never played super circuit but this seems like a good watch :)

I would love to play this with a friend but, I don't have a friend to play with 😢

I still stand by the fact that super circuit invented retro tracks, DS built upon that idea

I think they made a sensitivity too high

keep posting good content

This game is freaking brutal to get 3 stars on every track in

I didn't even know it had Mario kart... Honestly if you had this Tomb Raider and street fighter alpha 3 you literally had the perfect line up of impossible ports.

I'm happy this game is getting back into peoples minds. Would I technically call it my least favorite Mario Kart? Yes, but only due to circumstance of how great the others are! So even at it's supposed worst, Mario Kart Super Circuit is still a quite fine game! Plus it has the Japanese MK64 voice cast that I love so much with Julien Bardakoff's Luigi and Thomas Spindler's Wario!

Super circuit was great you got a large amount of track and more creative than 64

The frame rate is too smooth, from what I remember.

I like Super Circuit more than DS. What are you gonna do, arrest me?

NO When the GBA Nintendo Switch ONline games came out, i think the first one i tried was Super Circuit I think it's actually one of my favorite Mario Kart Games, better than the Original and i'd even say 64 The controls are janky, but i actually really love them and the increased difficulty they provide In fact, the game as a whole is harder than any Mariokart i've played, and i love that Plus, really unique tracks for it's time i think, at least in the theme

Lies! I never forgot this game. Very good interesting information.

Never trust Wario (aka me) in battle mode.

I'm amazed that a different company that this game made a vs mode, it's embarrassing that Nintendo didn't give vs mode to Double Dash and the most embarrassing 7

Don't forget, Namco developed Mario Kart Arcade GP 1 & 2 so this isn't the ONLY MK game Nintendo outsourced.

If you take it at face value, it’s pretty unremarkable. It’s better than SMK, but not as fun as 64, in my opinion. BUT, the incredibly strict grading system is what makes it truly special. It’s the only MK game that bases its grading on the technique of the player’s driving (as far as I know), and that offers a really unique challenge for the series, especially with the unusually slippery controls. I just wish drifting were a tiny bit more practical, since not being able to utilize it most of the time can make races feel pretty samey.

I don't know how to feel about this guy sneezing out every four words

How to make the game look like yours on android

I’d play the shit outta this tbh!!

This was always my least favorite Mario Kart game. It didn’t help that, as a kid, I already had a racing game on my GBA in Cartoon Network Speedway. My first Mario Kart game was DS, which sparked my love for the series

yes

My first ever game bot game ever

it's my least favorite. almost done 3 starring mirror mode for wii, and then on to super circuit to 100% every mario kart game. u can play absolutely perfectly and not get 3 stars bc they punish u for using certain characters (I main toad) and not somebody like bowser or wario who control like ass. I don't look forward to it, might even have to shave the dpad for zzmt. sigh...

easily my most played mario kart of all time so no it wasnt bad

Solid game but bad controls

I love Super Circuit but the pure sole existence of Snow Land makes it the worst Mario Kart 2:04 also THANK GOD they recycled the 64 sprites instead For those with problems with controls, a trick to avoid slipping away the track you can hop in the opposite direction you were drifting/turning to

I rather go back too SC then MK7

I think this one way better than Super Mario Kart, easily one of the best Mario Kart games.

Super Circuit controls >> Super Mario Kart controls

is it a bad game? Yes... but only by modern standards. Within its original context? no. Not at all. We simply got spoiled by better games - such as Mario Kart DS which was a massive MASSIVE step up.