Mario Kart: Super Circuit

The Good

Somewhat fun to play

Good track variety

Solid item balancing—items like blue shells and lightning, which are famously overabundant in later Mario Kart installments, are quite rare here, whereas some of the more moderately aggressive items (red shells, stars) are pleasantly commonplace

The Bad

Feels like a considerable step down from its 3D predecessor, Mario Kart 64

Loose, floaty controls

Has aged very poorly graphically

Below-par music—a few songs are actively annoying

The Bottom Line

Substandard. In addition to being the least innovative entry in the franchise, Mario Kart: Super Circuit has aged like fine milk. Every other Mario Kart game massively outclasses it in one way or another and would be a better choice to play.

The Good
The original Mario Kart was one of the best racing games on the SNES in its day and still has great gameplay even today, beating many of the poor 'Kart' game imitators hands down so it's great to see a return to the gameplay of the original but with even more control. There are 20 new tracks to race around which is lover-ly, time trial, cup races, quick races, 3 difficulty levels and loads of gameplay are all in here. If you have friends with a Gameboy Advance and Mario Kart, then you can race head to head with up to 4 of you, or you can battle one another just like the SNES title. As if that wasn't enough, there are extra tracks locked away in the cart. These bonus courses comprise every track from the original SNES version which makes for 40 tracks. Basically this is a classic title and a new one in the same package. Graphics and sound are some of the best seen on the GBA so far with smooth movement and sampled sounds.

The Bad
The nature of racing games means that at some point frustration will kick in. Getting all the way to the last track in a cup and totally stuffing it up is infuriating. Also, the harder modes can be a real pain because at times you can be attacked by multiple racers all at once leaving you spinning out of control long after everyone has overtaken you. On a personal note, I really don't like the mario universe characters. Of course this is very personal but if you don't like Mario, then you're gonna be less interested in this title immediately but this shouldn't deter you.

The Bottom Line
The best Kart game to date. And it's portable too. If you like a bit of zany racing fun then pick this up. It's the perfect handheld title.

The Good
Looking back at Mario Kart, I have to admit that the GBA version worked well compared to so many other titles that tried so hard to emulate the success of the franchise after the SNES original, and failed so easily.

What is it that makes Mario Kart such a great title? Part of it is the charm. It may be colourful and kiddy friendly, but there's no doubting how effective that is, even for an older gamer. That's mainly because it's so addictive, the other prime element. You just keep coming back for more, even after years of playing. You can say the same for every other title in the series so far.

It still works after all this time, and it's arguably the one and only reason you should own a GBA ... well besides Advance Wars, perhaps.

The Bad
Originally I mentioned here that the game still has the same collection of characters to race as. That can still be considered a downer, really. Especially if you compared this to its original release. I just find it interesting that no-one has considered 'Hey, what if we throw Kirby into a Kart?'

Editing the review now, it's hard not to compare Super Circuit to the two latest versions, Double Dash and Mario Kart DS. Especially DS, when it comes to multiplayer modes. The stock standard options are within this cartridge, so upon reflection it's a shame that it took so long for a handheld version of the game to really get multiplayer spot on. Still, what's here isn't anything to be frowned upon. It's still alot of fun.

The Bottom Line
Super Circuit was a sign of things to come. More tracks, remakes of classics, more colour. With the DS addition tearing up the tracks, especially online, I'd suggest hunting around for a copy of this little GBA gem, if only for some extra tracks and a battle mode more like the SNES original.