Mario Kart: Super Circuit is a 2001 kart racing game for the Game Boy Advance (GBA). It is the third game in the Mario Kart series and keeps the same gameplay as earlier games. Players choose a Mario franchise character and race against opponents on tracks inspired by locations from Super Mario platform games. Tracks include obstacles that slow players down and power-ups that help them move faster or gain advantages. The game includes single-player and multiplayer modes, such as a Grand Prix racing mode and a battle mode where the last player remaining wins.
The game was developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. It was the first Mario Kart game for a handheld console and the only Mario Kart game created by Intelligent Systems. The final version of the game had graphics that looked similar to Super Mario Kart (1992), which was different from early versions. Nintendo announced the game with the GBA in 2000 and released it in mid-2001, shortly after the console launched.
Critics praised the game’s modes, visuals, gameplay, and difficulty, though opinions on the multiplayer experience were mixed. Over time, it has been ranked as one of the best GBA games, but some consider it less innovative than earlier Mario Kart games. The game was nominated for several awards and won one. It sold 5.91 million copies worldwide, making it the fourth best-selling GBA game. It was later re-released digitally on the Nintendo 3DS in 2011, the Wii U in 2014, and the Nintendo Classics service in 2023.
Gameplay
Mario Kart: Super Circuit is a racing game that includes characters and settings from the Mario video game series. Players choose from eight Mario characters and race against opponents in karts on tracks inspired by locations from Super Mario platform games. Each of the 40 tracks has boxes with question marks that give players random items from Super Mario games. These items can help players by increasing speed or by harming opponents, such as freezing their karts. Tracks have obstacles that slow players down and coins that speed them up when collected. Each character is grouped into one of three weight classes that affect how they play. Heavier characters have faster top speeds but slower acceleration. Princess Peach, Toad, and Yoshi are lightweights; Luigi and Mario are middleweights; and Bowser, Donkey Kong, and Wario are heavyweights. The game has three difficulty levels—50 cc, 100cc, or 150cc—each based on engine power, with harder levels offering faster speeds and more challenging controls.
The game includes three single-player modes: Grand Prix (GP), Time Trial, and Quick Run. In GP, players race against seven computer opponents on four tracks in a series called a "cup." There are 10 cups in total, and the player who finishes first in each race wins. At the end of GP, the player’s performance is scored based on factors like the number of coins collected and the character’s weight class. Completing a cup with a high score unlocks a single-player cup from Super Mario Kart (1992). Time Trial lets players race alone to complete a track as quickly as possible. Players can also compete against another player’s best time using the Game Boy Advance’s Game Link Cable, a device that connects two systems. The Japanese version of the game supported the Mobile Adapter GB, a peripheral that allowed players to upload and download track times using a mobile phone’s internet connection, though this service ended in 2002. Quick Run lets players customize races by adjusting settings like the number of laps and whether item boxes and coins are active.
Multiplayer modes allow up to four players to race using the Game Link Cable. Even if only one player owns the game, multiplayer can be played with limited options: only Yoshi (with color variations) and four tracks from the SNES Mushroom Cup are available. Three multiplayer modes are available: GP, Versus (VS), and Battle. In GP, only two players can race at a time. VS lets up to four players race on a single track without computer opponents. Battle mode is different, as players compete in an arena instead of on a track. Each player starts with three balloons above their character and must pop the balloons of others using items. Players are eliminated if they lose all their balloons, and the last player remaining wins.
Development and release
Mario Kart: Super Circuit was the only Mario Kart game made by Intelligent Systems. It uses ideas from Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64 (1996), and has a similar look to Super Mario Kart, especially with its use of parallax scrolling and Mode 7-style scaling. The game was first called Mario Kart Advance in English. Nintendo announced it before its annual Space World event in 2000 and showed it with the GBA console. Early pictures from CoroCoro magazine showed a different cartoonish art style with characters having large heads. Some items from early versions were not in the final game.
Nintendo released Mario Kart: Super Circuit in Japan on July 21, 2001, in North America on August 27, and in Europe on September 14. It came out shortly after the GBA, which launched in Japan in March and other regions in June. It was the third Mario Kart game, following Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64, and the first made for a handheld console. Nintendo planned to release it in mainland China through iQue, a company that localized Nintendo games for that region. A Chinese version was created, but the release was canceled because of heavy piracy of iQue’s first GBA games.
The game was later released again on the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U’s Virtual Console. On the 3DS, it was given for free on December 16, 2011, to members of the Ambassador Program, which included people who used the 3DS eShop before the console’s price dropped. It became available for purchase on the Wii U in 2014 in North America and 2015 in Europe and Japan. Super Circuit was also released again on the Nintendo Switch as part of the Nintendo Classics service on February 8, 2023.
Reception
Mario Kart: Super Circuit received high praise from reviewers on Metacritic, a website that collects game reviews. The game sold over 5.9 million copies worldwide, making it the fourth-best-selling Game Boy Advance (GBA) game and the best-selling non-Pokémon game on the system. In the United Kingdom, it sold 350,000 copies by 2005, becoming the top-selling GBA game in the region. By 2006, it had sold 2.1 million copies in the United States. Nintendo added the game to its "Player's Choice" lineup in 2006.
Reviewers praised the single-player modes, noting that the game’s grading system and large number of tracks made it fun to play repeatedly. IGN highlighted the "ghost mode," which lets players race against a friend’s saved best time, as a feature that increased replay value. The multiplayer modes were also well-received. Nintendo World Report praised their speed, and GamesRadar called it the best multiplayer game on a handheld console at the time. The battle mode was especially praised, though IGN pointed out that players could not race against computer opponents in it. Some reviewers had mixed opinions about the ability to play multiplayer across multiple consoles with one game cartridge. GameSpot said the feature added value, but Nintendo World Report noted that it sometimes caused performance issues that affected gameplay.
Critics appreciated the game’s gameplay. GamePro described the controls as precise but noted that performing a power slide move was difficult. Nintendo Life said the controls could have been more precise. GamesRadar compared the vehicle handling to other games like Crash Team Racing and Diddy Kong Racing, saying it felt "effortlessly perfect." Reviewers noted the game’s difficulty, with IGN calling the single-player mode "extremely challenging" due to smart computer opponents and the need to unlock tracks. GameSpy and Nintendo Life said the precise controls made the game harder, but players improved with practice.
The game’s visuals were praised. Some reviewers said the graphics were similar to Super Mario Kart but improved. Nintendo Life and Nintendo World Report commended the track designs for their variety and attention to detail. The original GBA model did not have a backlit screen, but GameSpot said the bright colors helped make the game easier to see. The sound design was also well-received, with IGN calling the music "extremely upbeat" and Nintendo World Report praising the stereo audio’s precision.
GamePro said Intelligent Systems combined the best features of earlier Mario Kart games to create Super Circuit. GamesRadar and IGN said the game had few flaws, with IGN calling it an example of the GBA’s hardware capabilities. Super Circuit won the "Favourite Video Game" award at the 2002 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. It was nominated for Handheld Game of the Year at the 5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards and the 2002 Golden Joystick Awards, and for best "Mobile" game at the 2001 BAFTA Awards.
Legacy
Super Circuit received positive reviews when it was first released, but many critics later ranked it lower among the best Mario Kart games. Nintendo World Report noted that Super Circuit had "fewest innovations" compared to other games in the series. Critics pointed to the GBA's limited technology as a reason for this. GamesRadar mentioned that the rare Link Cable made multiplayer fun in Super Circuit less memorable than in other Mario Kart games. Kotaku described Super Circuit as "lost," saying it could not match the advanced features of earlier games like Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64 because of the GBA's hardware. However, critics still consider Super Circuit one of the best games for the GBA.
Super Circuit was the first Mario Kart game to include tracks from earlier games in the series, a feature that continued in later games starting with Mario Kart DS in 2005. In 2017, Paste ranked the Cheese Land track from Super Circuit as the tenth best in the Mario Kart series. The article noted that Cheese Land was an example of Super Circuit's creative track designs, saying that the course creators had not yet been limited by the series' later success during the DS and Wii eras.