Mario Kart: Super Circuit - Mike Matei Review 

Hey guys, thanks for checking out my Mario Kart Super Circuit review! I’ve also been streaming often on Twitch. (you can visit here) www.twitch.tv/mikemateilive Also, if you happen to have amazon prime, you’re eligible for Twitch Prime! You can then subscribe for FREE and get our custom emote package. (They're sort of like emojis) with different ones like Shitpickle, Facepalm Picard and many others! If you do decide to sub, remember each month you need to re-sub (also free). Wish they’d make that automatic :P Lastly, if there are any video games you’d really like to see me review, please let me know! Thanks for watching!! ~Mike

This game was a blast for GBA. Felt like a blend between the original and 64.

Fun fact though, this was developed by Intelligent Systems (same guys who make Paper Mario and Fire Emblem). That's why there's a lot of Paper Mario references in this game.

A calm review with no yelling, no skits and no smash cuts/filters/ insanity. What a breath of fresh air. Good jorb.

I am glad you are reviewing this,i feel it is overlooked because more people were into Mario Kart 64 and Double Dash (all great games but this one needs some love)

All my friends in school were playing this with their link cable while i was still playing a hand me down Gameboy Color with Mario Land 2 and Pokemon Crystal version. I worked at old guy's yard pulling weeds for weeks saving up to get a GBA and 2 games and when i finally got enough... Everyone's moms bought them a Nintendo DS and the newest Pokemon. So I played this game to completion alone.

Oh, very nice! I loved playing this back then. Ah the memories. And I'm really liking that intro, very creative!

I really love this review. I wasn't really a fan of Mario Kart: Super Circuit because I couldn't understand the controls, but after watching this, I realized that others have the same feeling. The editing is amazing, the graphics, the quality, everything about this review is awesome.

Happy to see a new review by Mike. One of the best on youtube for sure.

this game is the only mario kart game get triple star rank is just nearly impossible.

You have some of the best video game reviews out there. Please do more.

This maybe be my favorite Mario Kart ever

I actually got this for my gba still play it and it is pretty fun.

I didn't mind this game, loved the SNES tracks they included. Mario Kart DS is my favourite Mario Kart game. I loved the mission mode. Never understood why they never brought that back for other Mario Kart games.

I really enjoyed this game as a kid with a GBA. My main gripe was multiplayer. I didn't have a cable and none of my friends had the game, which really takes away from the Mario Kart experience. Also once Mario Kart DS came out, this game was kind of forgotten about.

I had this game as a little kid, I used to play it all the time, I loved it. My favorite track was cheese road

It’s EPIC to see you review such an underrated classic like this! The intro is phenomenal as well.

This is my favourite Mario Kart! It also has my favourite graphics and soundtrack in the series~

This is my 3rd favorite MK between SMK and MK64. It was a satisfying mix between the two games. I'm old school, deal with it. Booya.

Finally MKSC gets some love! It's so sad when you see people give up on this game within a few hours because they haven't taken the time to learn the controls.

This is one of the games I played the most on GBA. I was crazy about this game and Metroid Zero Mission. Still own both.

I've heard some people say that this game has unmemorable tracks, and to that I say: This game really has some great tracks! Sky Garden, Cheep Cheep Island, Sunset Wilds, Ribbon Road, Bowser Castle 3 (the blue one)... The little level graphics really help and some of the music's killer *AHEM*Shyguybeach*AHEM*

Me and my bud shared a house back in the early 00’s. All we had before I got a PS2 was his Gameboy. We used to play time trials against each other’s ghosts on Suoer circuit constantly. So much fun!

If you like Super Circuit you should also check out Konami Krazy Racers (aka Konami Wai Wai Racing Advance), what little I've played of it was pretty fun and I've seen many players say they prefer it over Super Circuit.

Thanks for confirming the unlocking requirements for the SNES circuits!

I think the next Mario Kart will be Mario Kart 10, because they've numbered it just like Windows to this point. 8 Deluxe is 8.1, or "9."

Mike your review are better the ign

Great review, Mike! Love how relaxed it is without ever getting boring.

My favourite Mario Kart game. The trick to the cornering is to hop out of turns, it helps you maintain your control much better.

Kinda disappointed the intro race course wasn’t shaped like the Cinemassacre Chainsaw but loved the review, keep it up!

This is still my favourite Mario Kart game. It still feels like a racing game as opposed to its sequels which just feel more and more like party games to me.

I love this game so much. Brings back memories. I played it on my GBA SP, so I had no issues about playing in the dark. Only problem is that my game boy is out of battery and it won't charge.

Don't forget the best part of these red shells! Firing them backwards would actually make it wait for the next opponent to travel past.

My second favourite Mario Kart game, just underneath 64 :) The music to "Sky Garden" is still burned in my mind. Class soundtrack, great game

Personally, I think Mike missed on a big point as to why I love this game. The way he said that "the GBA has limited hardware, so they had to compensate with better graphical palettes", I think the same could be applied to the level design. The tracks had to be relatively basic in terms of size and scope, so you get courses like Lakeside Park with an absolute bullshit turn (but in a good way), the Bowser castles with holes in the middle, and Ribbon Road with it's windy jumps. The music is also great, despite not having the quality of instruments that the N64 or SNES had. I appreciate someone going back and talking about this game, it's very overlooked despite being incredibly fun to play, for me.

That intro was dope AF. Great review. I agree that the throwback tracks alone are worth owning this game. I got my copy for $5 from GameStop, totally worth it considering Super Mario Kart sells for $20+.

I love how this Mario Kart is 32-bit in 2-D. Gameboy Advance put out so many great SNES-style games.

Brings back many memories! Who else had Toad as thier favorite racer?

that super mario kart cinemassacre intro was awesome

My 2 cents to this video: I like the slower pace of the video not so many ADHS jumpcuts as other review youtubers. The tone is mellow, easy to listen to and the footage is chosen good. One thing I would like to criticize is the some redundancys in the writing. For example you make the point for an appealing colour palette on simplistic graphics twice. Its very much the same sentence. But dont take my words to seriously, I dont know much about making reviews. Just a thing that popped out to me. cheers

Great review! Despite growing up with it, ever since the series reached the third dimension I struggled with the controls of the original Mario Kart, and I fear the same would apply here

awww yes my favourite mario Kart, That music from rainbow road gives me the chills still!

This game is my childhood, I have put a lot of hours playing this game, I even still have it with a copy of the manual. It's one of my favorite Mario Kart games too

''Even simple graphics can be beautiful if the colors look beautiful.'' That's deep Mike! I should remember that.

The multiplayer with one card was awesome. Every day before class we would race.

I have to agree that handheld Mario Kart games were super brutal. Not the kind of hand holding like in MK8

I love this game so much. Played it all time time back in 2001-2006. I still have it and played it

That opening graphic was so well done.

“Assuming you’ve played Mario kart before” looks up from playing it on his 2DS*

My first Mario Kart game, I have some nostalgia from this game and that nostalgia is still sticking with me right now. Sure it might not be the best Mario Kart, but I always liked the tracks, music, and the colors from this game and seeing some of those tracks come back in the newer Mario Karts like Cheese Land, with the epic jazz music makes me have many tears in my eyes. Now the question is.. when are we gonna see Sky Garden, Sunset Wilds, Snow Land, Lakeside Park, Bowser Castle 4 and GBA Rainbow road in HD? I want to see them get the Cheese Land and Ribbon Road treatment! (although Ribbon Road had surfer music for some reason)

You hit the nail right on the head with this review. To me, other than of course the original Super Mario Kart, it's the best Mario Kart by far. I like the feel of it, the lack of blue shells, the lack of excessive turbo on every turn, the way you've got to be a little more precise in your control than the following games. Also, back in the day, being able to play this game two players (which was also available having only one cartridge!) on two GBA, each player having his own screen, was awesome and new. It's one of the Mario Kart games I enjoy the most playing against the computer (doing the cups) and doing the time trials. Definitely underrated in my opinion.

Interesting tech fact: the background is 60fps, but the characters and the track are 30fps and each updates at alternate frame from each other.

i absolutely love what this channel has morphed into. It used to be just James reviewing Nintendo games and goofing around. Now it's so many more personalities, different angles, and it's a lot of fun. Thanks guys.

This was my first mario kart game as well as one of the first games I ever played. So much nostalgia

It was a great game. I bought it on launch day. Played it to death. But traded it with a friend from the neighbourhood. Not permanently, but for a couple of weeks. He suddenly moved to another city. Took my games with him (I got one game, he got 2 - Jurassic Park Builder as well). I'm still pissed about this. I never saw him again. No social media, no nothing.

This one was on GBA or DS?(Whats a Google/question asked while watching) Whatever you used to grab the footage makes it look super crisp.

Wow, nice intro and ending. Its sure feels nostalgic and well cared for good old Super Mario Kart

The intro cinnemasscre animation gets better and better. 😆

Preferring dumber red shells is just absurd. The whole point of red shells is that they’re completely self-guided.

The game is pretty much balanced, it has the same tricks from SMK, good design tracks that test your skill at steering and drifting. You can even avoid Red Shells and Blue Shells by keeping your top speed and outrun them.

the video is impressively well edited. I loved the backlight dimming and the way the 4:3 pillar boxes dynamically changed. very well done.

Oh man, this is was my first and absolute favourite Mario Kart game. The graphics were beautiful, the controls great and it has, in my opinion, the best Rainbow Road track (and the best song too)

Rainbow road on this game is absolute hell even all these years later.

I never knew the blue shell was in this game. After 15 years, i never encountered it.

I doubt cartridge memory size was the reason Monty Mole et al. were cut from the SNES tracks. SNES game: 0.2 - 4 MB storage GBA game: up to 32 MB

Out of all the Mario Kart games that have come out, MK Super Circuit has to be my most favorite game of all. Simply because it is closest to the original game yet different, overall. Not only that but you can also unlock the original MK racetracks to race on. It is only game out of the whole series that I beat completely. Fun times.

The biggest nitpick I have with the game is the characters leaning into turns. That's realistic, mind you, but it becomes a problem when the camera rotates around them (like on the character select screen) and they lean with it.

The racing physics are weird at first, but very satisfying once you learn them. Too bad that the AI doesn't give a flying fuck about them, they just follow scripted paths like a railcar, and if you happen to cross the paths with them, they'll hump the side of your kart until you're out of coins. This game also taught me the concept of the rubberband effect.

I played the portable Mario Kart games (GBA and DS) more often in my youth than any of the home console versions for the fact that I found them more challenging. Loved seeing my favorite tracks from those games get an upgrade in Mario Kart 8 (easily the most well-balanced and fun racing of all the titles).

Mario Kart 7 & 8 is where I started in the series. Never played the classics

I remember getting this game when it came out. A year ago I picked it up again and sort of mastered the controls. It's an awesome game to say the least, I actually like it better than Mario Kart DS

I'm glad to see these classics on the gba previewed I feel like I missed out not playing some of these games back in the day.

to me mario kart on NDS is the most underrated one. but i completely forgot about this one lol

I spent so much time in this game. I mastered it and beat every developer time. Man this brings me back. I love Sky Garden. The music gives me so much nostalgia.

Mike Matei, busting those track unlock myths so you don't have to.

My friend leant me the cartridge to this and he had 3 starred everything. I wanted to earn the stars so I reset the cartridge. He thought I was joking when I told him and I couldn't stop laughing. I still feel bad about it - a teeeny bit. I still laugh thinking about it, though.

You know, Mike, you seem like a big ol' goofball on James and Mike Mondays and the AVGN episodes you're in and whatnot, but your reviews are always really fair, well-reasoned, and concise. It's obvious you put a lot of effort and thought into these, and I just wanted to say that I appreciate that

I had a lot of fun with this one. I unlocked everything in it twice!!

I got insanely good at MK64 when i was a kid, i always chose 150cc without knowing what it even did

Hey, Mike. When you were talking about items and stuff, I couldn't help but notice you left out a few things. Red shells, when thrown behind you, stay in place until someone drives near or past them, at which point they lock on to whoever got close. And bananas, water, fireballs, anything that make you do that little "back and forth then skid" animation, can actually be cancelled before you spin out. Bananas, for example. If you hit them straight on, then brake WITHOUT TURNING beforehand, it cancels the animation and you can keep driving without spinning out on them. Same happens with water, or again, any other hazard that causes that animation. Hope that helps you; I really enjoyed the review otherwise!

Never really considered the use of color saturation for the GBA: interesting stuff.

Loved playing this game as a kid (2nd MarioKart game I ever played, right after the N64 version)

I would beat the crap out of Mike anyday at SNES MarioKart.

I noticed that you didn't comment on the music. What do you think of it? I personally don't think it's very good, which is disappointing considering how good the soundtracks of the previous 2 games are. Because it's on the Game Boy Advance, that means the quality of the instruments is gonna be low, but even worse is that the compositions themselves aren't very good. Poor instrument quality can be saved with great, memorable compositions, and there are songs on the GBA that prove this, like the Cackletta theme, Cackletta battle, and Gradius Galaxies' boss theme. The only 3 songs from this game I like are the 2nd title theme, Sky Garden, and Rainbow Road; Rainbow Road I actually love and think it's one of the best RR themes in the entire series, and I'm looking forward to its remix in Mario Kart 9. I honestly think they shouldn't've made this one because it just feels like a huge step back. The last one was in 3D, and now we're going back to 2D? Yeah, I know the GBA couldn't do 3D, but in that case, they just shouldn't've made it.

Even blown up on a big TV, SC looks surprisingly good!

One of my favs also. Learning curve is hard, but most enjoyable. Playing it now, I am not sure how I was able to unlock all the SNES tracks on all difficulties!

I personally found that whole thing with Red Shells screwing up to be a real pain in the ass.

I had this! Then I lost my gba and all of my games that were in case pouch. So upsetting, still don't think I'm over it

Never knew of the mini turbo! Now I want to boot the old GBA on!

Crazy that I just posted a picture of this game on my Instagram this morning. I'd rate it as a top 3 Mario kart game

If I had to give an award for “Most Underrated GBA Game”, Super Circuit would win hands down. I prefer it over Super Mario Kart, actually.

That opening is INSANELY AWESOME

Super Circuit and 7 have my favorite Rainbow Road themes!

Nice review Mike! I replayed Mario Kart Super Circuit about one year ago and I was delightfully surprised of how awesome this game is! In fact, it is the only Mario Kart where you can deflect a Red Shell and a Blue Shell without any item. I felt rewarded for my skills in every race, and this made me conclude that this Mario Kart is the best in the series for me. Granted, I did not play Mario Kart 8, but I feel like there is too many factors out of your control in other Mario Kart games.

Mario Kart Super Circuit was the first Mario Kart game I've ever played! I'm just gonna assume that I played this game back in 2001 when I got my game boy advance original alongside Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure and I play that game again when I went to the Connart's house with my mother back in 2006 because my mother was a housekeeper! I went to David Connart's son's room and his son had the original game boy advance model and the Mario Kart Super Circuit cartridge and I played the hell out of this game and that game was not only fun but challenging! But this was the first Mario Kart game that I played the most and like I said, this game was fun, addicting, but very challenging!

My favorite portable Mario Kart game, drifting is not that hard if you get used to it.

I used to play this game all the time as a kid, and honestly I never remember having trouble with the controls. I only had trouble with them when I redownloaded the game onto the 3DS virtual console, but that's mostly because I was using a circle pad instead of a d-pad. I was hoping you would make a comment about the music because the music for that game is awesome!

Trying to 100% this game (getting highest rank on everything) is a NIGHTMARE.

Currently on a week long work trip. Packed my GBA SP with two games. Mario Kart Super Circuit and LoZ: Link's Awakening. Love the Bowsers levels. Yoshi is my favorite to use.

This game was my childhood, i literally payed it until the catridge burns and was unplayable