Eat my dust!

Author's Rating:

Pros: Sound, visuals, control, replay value

Cons: No solo battle mode, control layout a bit rough on the hands

The Bottom Line: 
An instant classic to the GBA library, a game that everyone should own.

Author's Review
Ever wonder what caused the chaotic craze of kart games? You know what I am talking about. Almost every game, movie, cartoon, or whatever it may be has been licensed to appear in a kart racing game. Take for instance these following games. Crash Team Racing, Chocobo Racing, Woody Woodpecker Racing, Smurf Racing, Disney’s/Pixar Toy Story Racing, etc. etc. etc. Well, the credit belongs to the godfather and creator of those kart games. Of course I’m talking about the red capped, Italian plumber named Mario. It was back in the 16-bit days where the SNES would spawn out a new series to the racing genre and introduce gamers to Super Mario Kart. The game came out to be a “must own” SNES classic that would later on make another appearance on the Nintendo 64. However, after it’s appearance on the N64, the Mario Kart series would seem to have faded out, while other game companies try and use the same formula on their games, where the results would always be the same…. and that is failure. However, Nintendo decided to reclaim it’s throne on not only producing the best kart racing game on a home console, but also on hand held consoles as well. Which brings us to the point of this review, and that is of the Gameboy Advance’s newest game, Mario Kart: Super Circuit (MK: SC).

Right out of the box MK: SC gives you a wide variety or racers to use; all of the 8 racers will instantly be recognizable. The racers are broken down into three classes. The lightweight class racers (Yoshi, Peach, Toad) carry excellent acceleration that will especially come in handy when they go off the track, but their top speeds are rather low and can easily get bumped off the track by the heavier racers. Then there are the middleweight class racers (Luigi and Mario), who are basically average. Finally, there are the Heavyweight class racers (Bowser, Donkey Kong, Wario), who have the best high speed and weight for bumping the lower classed racers, but their acceleration and handling are the worse out of all the racers. But not only are the racers characterized by their weight class, but each racer also carries their own unique skill. Yoshi handles dirt roads with ease, Peach is the lightest racer out of them all, Toad has the fastest acceleration, Luigi has great steering, Mario is basically balanced, Bowser is the fastest, Donkey Kong has tight steering, and Wario is the heaviest out of them all. I find this great because it makes the game much more interesting when it comes to trying out different racers and seeing how each one handles the courses, making it sure that there are no favorites or a certain racer that can easily win all of the courses. Each racer is capable of winning; it’s just a matter of how you play when controlling them.

After selecting one of the eight selectable kart racers, you’ll be given a choice of playing one out of five modes, (Mario Grand Prix, VS, Battle, Time Trial, and Quick Run). The Mario GP mode puts you and the remaining seven racers in a cup where you’ll race upon four tracks, three laps each. Each cup offers four different tracks to compete on where the objective is to complete two things. Complete the track in first place, and gather up the coins that are found on the tracks themselves. Points are awarded to the top four racers, first place receives nine points, second gets 6, third gets 3, fourth gets 1, and anything below receives zero points. Coins can be found on the track and are optional when picking them up. And just as you can pick up coins, you can also lose them when colliding into another racer or hazards. After all four tracks are completed, trophies will be awarded to the three racers who rank highest in point. You’ll then get one out of the eight ranks (***, **, *, A, B, C, D, and E), which are decided depending on how will you did when racing and collecting coins.

The VS mode allows two to four friends to race on a single track. The Battle mode is only played when two to four friends join up to face off on one of the four tracks, where they will be given three balloons that will be tied to their go-karts. The balloons symbolize your life, meaning that when you lose all three balloons (by either being hit with a banana, shell, or a star-powered opponent, somebody heavier, or by falling off the ledge), You’ll then turn into a bob-omb, allowing you to blow up one the remaining racers. The winner is the last one still standing. Time Trial allows you to brush up on your go-kart skills by racing a three-lapped track. When there is a best time, you’ll then be able to race on that track again, but with a ghost. Ghosts are see-through characters of the person that had the best time on that track. They can be form a previous race that you did yourself or from a ghost exchange you’ve done with a friend. The point of the ghosts is so that when you come back to race the lap, the ghost will be there to race besides you, hopefully trying to make you improve your racking skills, a total limit of ten tracks can contain a ghost. Finally, there is the Quick Race, which is fairly similar to the GP mode, but instead of racing an entire cup’s worth of tracks, your able to select a single track to race upon.

The visuals in MK: SC are, in two words, ground breaking. Thanks to the Mode 7-style, the visuals really bring out the best in this game. It’s hard to compare to where the game is best when comparing them to the SNES and N64 versions. While the models for the racers are taken from the N64 version, the detailed is more of the SNES, which is not supposed to mean that they bad, because they are far from that. The characters in the game look extremely detailed from such things as Bowser’s spiked shell and wrist bands to Peach’s pointed crown, or to the go-karts themselves with the exhaust pipes spewing out clouds of smoke to the tires spinning as you let loose on the tracks. And even though the characters are seated down in their go-karts most of the time, they still carry some smooth animations when such things as their go karts spin out, or their bodies leaning when they turn, to their own little celebration when completing the track add in much to the game’s visuals. The tracks themselves are totally recreated and not just ported over from the other kart games (that is speaking for the already opened 20 tracks), and appear just as beautiful as the characters themselves. Each track carries it’s own theme, such as Peach circuit where you’ll race upon a paved course that is surrounded by fields of grass where trees and bushes are scattered, and deep in the background are hills, clouds, and more noticeable, Peach’s towering castle. Or in Shy Guy Beach, where you’ll race along long strips of islands composed of sand as the ocean surrounds you while you try to avoid the hazardous beach crabs while you look into the crisp, clear background as waves ride upon the lonely islands. The tracks themselves are beautifully done and again, the Mode 7-style visuals allow the tracks to give off a 3D appearance as you race through them, my only complaint (a minor one) with the tracks really is how while some levels seem entirely different, there are times in which the theme is kept the same. Such as racing in Bowser’s castle three times, but each track looking different from the other, but the theme being the same.

The sound in the game is up to par with the visuals. The musical tracks played when racing along the tracks are composed of high tuned beats and rhythms that set the cartoonish feel into the game, however I can’t help but feel that the game’s musical tracks are a tad too low, making some gamers not even notice them at all unless they really concentrate on it, which is pretty hard to do when racing the third lap of the final track in which you’ll need to finish with first place to claim the gold trophy. Sound effects however really stand out. Right when the game starts, you’ll hear the sputtering of eight go karts perfectly aligned up as the gasoline in them burn away, seconds later the wheels begin to squeak as you go off with the motor sounding off a loud buzz. Collisions are heard well and clear when a red shell is homing in close on you, tires will squeal as you spin out of control from a banana peel, and so you listen to your character give out a cry of help as the racer who had planted that banana peel or red shell lets out a shout of sweet victory as they pass you down with your horn blazing off at them. The music in this game is really something, being that there is never a silent moment, but to get the most out of this, players should really plug in a pair of headphones, allowing them to audio experience.

Control is extremely sharp and well done when playing this game. Each character handles differently in certain situations, and you’ll notice it when you take that first turn with Luigi or zoom by your opponents using Toad. The directional pad is used for steering, the A button is used to for acceleration, B is for using your kart’s brakes, select is for your horn, R is to be used to either jump or to do a power drift, and L is to use your special items (shells, bananas, mushrooms, stars, etc.). Controlling the kart with a directional pad may not be everyone’s choice when we all have become so used to the analog stick, but somehow Mario Kart makes it feel so right that picking up the control will take players mere minutes as they go on to finish in first place.

Finally, there comes the replay value. And while no game has an unlimited amount of replay value, Mario Kart: Super Circuit is the closest thing. Being that each character plays and handles completely different, you’ll be able to have a totally new experience when racing among the 20 tracks as you open up the 20 hidden ones in three different engine classes (50cc, 100cc, 150cc). So if you thought the opponents in 50cc mode were way to easy on you, just step up to the 100cc and you’ll then be given a race in where victory is only a second away from losing, and when playing in the 150cc mode, victory is merely milliseconds away from losing. Plus, you’re able to brush up on your skills with the time trial mode as you go on to race your own ghost, or a ghost from your friend. Or if you happen to have two to four friends with GBA’s just laying around, challenge them in the battle as you go on a mad, balloon popping craze in becoming the last man standing, although the only way in which someone can experience this is by having friends with them, meaning for those who either don’t have friends (for shame), or have friends who don’t own a GBA, your most likely never going to use this mode, which I don’t see on how Nintendo couldn’t of made it possible that the CPU could of controlled the other opponents since Bomberman could have. Still, all the right modes are there, nothing is put to waste; it’s just a matter of having friends with GBA’s and having the time to play. And you and your friends don’t all have to run out and buy a copy of MK: SC. All you need is one copy for up to four people to play.

So in the end, Mario Kart: Super Circuit is an overall masterpiece. It scores high in every factor, such as visuals, sound, control, and in having fun. Making it one of those games that will be an instant classic on the GBA for a long time.