Mario Kart: Super Circuit | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Intelligent Systems |
Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
Director(s) | Takeshi Ando Yukio Morimoto |
Producer(s) | Shigeru Miyamoto Kenji Miki |
Composer(s) | Kenichi Nishimaki Masanobu Matsunaga Minako Hamano |
Series | Mario Kart |
Platform(s) | Game Boy Advance |
Release | |
Genre(s) | Kart racing |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Mario Kart: Super Circuit [a] is a 2001 kart racing game for the Game Boy Advance (GBA). It is the third Mario Kart game and retains its predecessors' gameplay: as a Mario franchise character, the player races opponents around tracks based on locales from the Super Mario platform games. Tracks contain obstacles and power-ups that respectively hamper and aid the player's progress. Super Circuit includes various single-player and multiplayer game modes, including a Grand Prix racing mode and a last man standing battle mode.
Super Circuit was developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. It was the first handheld Mario Kart game and the only game in the series developed by Intelligent Systems. Its graphical style changed drastically from early demos, with the final release resembling Super Mario Kart (1992) visually. Nintendo revealed Super Circuit alongside the GBA in 2000 and released it in mid-2001, months after the console's launch.
Super Circuit received acclaim, with praise for its modes, presentation, gameplay, and difficulty, though responses to the multiplayer were mixed. Retrospectively, critics have ranked it as one of the best GBA games, but one of the lesser Mario Kart games due to its lack of technical innovation compared to its predecessors. It was nominated for several awards and won one. Super Circuit sold 5.91 million copies, which despite being the lowest-selling main Mario Kart game, made it the fourth-bestselling GBA game. It was rereleased digitally for the Nintendo 3DS in 2011, the Wii U in 2014, and the Nintendo Switch in 2023.
Mario Kart: Super Circuit is a kart racing game featuring characters and elements from the Mario franchise. The player controls one of eight Mario characters and races opponents in karts around tracks themed around locales from the Super Mario platform games. [1] Boxes labeled with question marks populate each of the 40 tracks; [2] they give the player a random item based on elements from Super Mario games to help progress. Items can either be power-ups, such as a speed boost, or offensive, such as one that freezes an opponent's kart in place. [1] Tracks are littered with obstacles that slow the player down, [3] and coins that increase their speed once collected. [2] Each playable character is sorted into one of three weight classes that determine how they play, with heavier characters having higher 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. [4] There are three difficulty levels themed after engine classes—50cc, 100cc, or 150cc—, with the harder difficulties' more powerful engine classes providing increased maximum speed and control difficulty. [5]
Super Circuit features three single-player modes: Grand Prix (GP), Time Trial, and Quick Run. [3] The main racing mode, GP, sees the player race against seven computer opponents around four consecutive circuits, with the objective of placing first in each race. Each set of tracks is part of a "cup", of which there are 10. Whoever achieves the best overall placements across all four races wins. [1] The player is graded at the end of the GP based on a formula which takes into account several factors of player performance, including how many coins the player collected and the weight class of the character they completed the GP with. [6] Achieving a high grade on any of the game's five original cups unlocks a single-player cup from Super Mario Kart (1992). [7] Time Trial allows the player to race on their own to complete a track in the fastest time possible. The player can compete against another player's fastest time shared via the Game Boy Advance's (GBA) Game Link Cable, a peripheral cable that connects GBA systems. [3] The Japanese release of Super Circuit was compatible with the Mobile Adapter GB peripheral, discontinued in 2002, which allowed the player to upload and download track times using a mobile phone's internet connection. [8] Quick Run allows the player to race with customizable aspects, such as lap count and toggling item boxes and coins. [3]
Multiplayer modes allow up to four players to compete via the Game Link Cable. [5] It is possible to play multiplayer even if only one player owns the game cartridge, though only one character and four tracks are selectable with this setup. [9] Three modes are playable in multiplayer: GP, Versus (VS), and Battle. [3] GP remains unchanged from its single-player version, though only two players can race at once. [4] VS allows up to four players to race around a single track without computer opponents. [4] Battle mode differs from other modes as it sees up to four players compete in an arena rather than a circuit. [4] Players begin with three balloons above their character and must pop the balloons of other players by attacking them with items. Players are knocked out if they lose all their balloons, and the winner is whoever remains the last man standing. [2]
Originally titled Mario Kart Advance in English, [10] Super Circuit was announced by Nintendo prior to its annual Space World exhibition in 2000 and was unveiled alongside the GBA console itself. [11] [12] Gameplay screenshots published in an issue of CoroCoro featured a different super deformed art style, depicting characters with large heads. [13] [14] Items from early versions were also absent in the final release. [3] Super Circuit was the only Mario Kart game developed by Intelligent Systems. [15] It uses a similar graphical style to Super Mario Kart on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, particularly with its use of parallax scrolling and Mode 7-style scaling. [5] [16]
Nintendo released Mario Kart: Super Circuit in Japan on July 21, 2001, in North America on August 27, and in Europe on September 14. [17] It released not long after the GBA itself, which launched in March in Japan and June elsewhere. It was the third entry in the Mario Kart series, after Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64 (1996), and the first released on a handheld console. [18] Nintendo intended to release Super Circuit in mainland China through iQue, which localized Nintendo games for the region. A Chinese translation was created, but its release was canceled due to significant piracy of iQue's first batch of localized GBA games. [19] The game was rereleased for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U's digital Virtual Console. On the 3DS, it was released free on December 16, 2011 for members of the Ambassador Program, eligible for entry to anyone who accessed the 3DS's eShop service before the console received a price cut. [20] It was made available for purchase on the Wii U in 2014 in North America and 2015 in Europe and Japan. [21] [22] [23] Super Circuit was also rereleased on the Nintendo Switch as part of Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, an expanded tier of the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service, on February 8, 2023. [24]
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
Metacritic | 93/100 [25] [b] |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
Electronic Gaming Monthly | 25.5/30 [26] |
Eurogamer | 9/10 [2] |
Famitsu | 34/40 [27] |
GamePro | 18/20 [9] |
GameSpot | 8.2/10 [4] |
GameSpy | 96/100 [1] |
GamesRadar+ | 95/100 [28] |
IGN | 9.5/10 [5] |
Jeuxvideo.com | 18/20 [29] |
Nintendo Life | 3DS: 7/10 [30] Wii U: 7/10 [31] |
Publication | Award |
---|---|
IGN | Editors' Choice Award [32] |
Mario Kart: Super Circuit received "universal acclaim", according to the review aggregator Metacritic. [25] The game was successful commercially, selling 5.91 million copies worldwide—the fourth-bestselling GBA game and the system's bestselling non- Pokémon game. [33] In the United Kingdom, Super Circuit sold 350,000 units by 2005 and was the bestselling GBA game in the region, [34] and by 2006 had sold 2.1 million units in the United States. [35] The game was added to Nintendo's "Player's Choice" lineup in 2006. [36] [37]
The single-player modes received praise. [7] [5] [4] Reviewers said the game had significant replay value due to the grading system and large number of tracks. [7] [5] [4] IGN praised the "ghost mode" that allows players to race their friend's saved best time, which they said contributed to replay value. [5] The multiplayer offerings were lauded; [5] [4] [7] [28] Nintendo World Report commended their speed, and GamesRadar declared Super Circuit the best multiplayer game on a handheld console at the time. [7] [28] The battle mode in particular drew praise, [4] [7] [28] although IGN criticized the inability to play against computer opponents in it. [5] The ability for multiplayer modes to be played over multiple consoles with only one game cartridge was met with a more mixed reception. [5] [7] [4] While GameSpot stated that the feature added further value, Nintendo World Report noted performance problems, which they said were enough to hinder gameplay. [4] [7]
Critics enjoyed Super Circuit's gameplay. [9] [30] [31] [28] GamePro described its controls as precise, though they found it difficult to input a power slide move. [9] Nintendo Life , in contrast, stated that controls could have been more precise. [31] GamesRadar said the vehicle handling was superior to competitors like Crash Team Racing (1999) and Diddy Kong Racing (1997), with movement that felt "effortlessly perfect". [28] Reviewers noted the difficulty; [5] [1] [31] IGN described its single player offerings as "extremely challenging" due to the intelligence of computer opponents and the process of unlocking tracks. [5] GameSpy and Nintendo Life agreed that the precision of the controls adds to the challenge, though they became less of a struggle through experience. [1] [31]
Super Circuit's presentation received praise, with critics admiring the visuals. Some reviewers noted its graphical similarity to Super Mario Kart, though they considered it an improvement. [2] [5] [4] [7] Nintendo Life and Nintendo World Report commended the track designs for their thematic variety and attention towards minute details. [31] [7] The original GBA model did not contain a backlit screen, a problem which GameSpot wrote the bright color palette helped rectify. [4] The sound design was well received: IGN described the music as "extremely upbeat", [5] and Nintendo World Report said its stereo audio contained a high degree of precision. [7]
GamePro said Intelligent Systems had combined all the positive aspects of previous Mario Kart games "seamlessly" to create Super Circuit. [9] GamesRadar and IGN said the game had few flaws, the latter naming it an exemplar for the GBA's hardware capabilities. [28] [5] Super Circuit received "Favourite Video Game" at the 2002 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. [38] It was nominated for the Handheld Game of the Year award at both the 5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards and the 2002 Golden Joystick Awards, [39] [40] and best "Mobile" game at the 2001 BAFTA Awards show. [41]
Despite its positive reception, Super Circuit ranks low on retrospective critics' lists of the best Mario Kart games, [15] [42] [43] [44] and Nintendo World Report said it was the Mario Kart game with the "fewest innovations". [12] Critics blamed this on the hardware limitations of the GBA; GamesRadar said that the scarcity of the Link Cable made Super Circuit's multiplayer experience less memorable than other Mario Kart games. [15] Kotaku described Super Circuit as "lost", unable to live up to the technically pioneering releases of Super Mario Kart and 64 because of the GBA's hardware. [44] Nonetheless, critics rank Super Circuit among the best GBA games. [45] [46] [47]
Super Circuit was the first Mario Kart game to include tracks introduced in previous games, a tradition that would carry with every entry in the series starting with Mario Kart DS (2005). [48] In 2017, Paste ranked Super Circuit's Cheese Land as the tenth best track in the Mario Kart series; he cited it as an example of Super Circuit having "some of the wackiest, out-there tracks", surmising that "the course designers hadn't yet been stultified by the series' massive success to come during the DS and Wii eras". [49]
The Game Boy Advance (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2001, and in mainland China as iQue Game Boy Advance on June 8, 2004.
Mario Kart is a series of kart racing games based on the Mario franchise developed and published by Nintendo. Players compete in go-kart races while using various power-up items. It features characters and courses mostly from the Mario series as well as other gaming franchises such as The Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing, F-Zero, Excitebike, and Splatoon.
Super Mario Kart is a kart racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The first game in the Mario Kart series, it was released in Japan and North America in 1992, and in Europe the following year in 1993. Selling 8.76 million copies worldwide, the game went on to become the fourth best-selling SNES game of all time. Super Mario Kart was re-released on the Wii's Virtual Console in 2009, on the Wii U's Virtual Console in 2013, and on the New Nintendo 3DS's Virtual Console in 2016. Nintendo re-released Super Mario Kart in 2017 as part of the company's Super NES Classic Edition.
Dr. Mario is a 1990 puzzle video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy. It was produced by Gunpei Yokoi and designed by Takahiro Harada. The soundtrack was composed by Hirokazu Tanaka.
Mario Kart 64 is a 1996 kart racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64 (N64). It is the second main entry in the Mario Kart series and is the successor to Super Mario Kart (1992) for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released in Japan on December 14, 1996, and in North America and Europe in 1997. It was released for the iQue Player in China on December 25, 2003. It was released on the Wii's and Wii U's Virtual Console in 2007 and 2016, and on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack on October 25, 2021.
Mario Tennis is a 2000 sports video game developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64 (N64). Following Mario's Tennis, it is the second game in the Mario Tennis series. The game is known for being the introduction of Luigi's arch-rival, Waluigi, and the re-introduction of Princess Daisy and Birdo.
F-Zero is a 1990 racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It was released in Japan on November 21, 1990, in North America in August 1991, and in Europe in 1992. F-Zero is the first game in the F-Zero series and was a launch game for the SNES. F-Zero was rereleased for the Virtual Console service on various Nintendo platforms and as part of the Super NES Classic Edition in 2017.
Sonic Advance is a 2001 platform video game developed by Sonic Team and Dimps and published by Sega for the Game Boy Advance. It was the first Sonic the Hedgehog game to be released on a Nintendo console with Sonic Adventure 2: Battle on the GameCube, and was produced in commemoration of the series' tenth anniversary. The story follows Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy as they journey to stop Doctor Eggman from taking over the world. Controlling a character, players are tasked with completing each level, defeating Eggman and his robot army, and collecting the seven Chaos Emeralds.
Excitebike is a motocross racing video game developed and published by Nintendo. In Japan, it was released for the Famicom in 1984 and then ported to arcades as VS. Excitebike for the Nintendo VS. System later that year. In North America, it was initially released for arcades in 1985 and then as a launch game for the Nintendo Entertainment System later that year, becoming one of the best-selling games on the console. It is the first game in the Excite series.
Mario Kart DS is a 2005 kart racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It was released in November 2005 in North America, Europe, and Australia, and on December 8, 2005, in Japan. The game was re-released for the Wii U's Virtual Console in North America and PAL regions in April 2015 and in Japan in May 2016. The game is the fifth main entry in the Mario Kart series, and the first to be playable via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection online service. Like other games in the series, Mario Kart DS features characters from the Mario series and pits them against each other as they race in karts on tracks based on locations in the Mario series.
Super Smash Bros. is a crossover platform fighting game series published by Nintendo. The series was created by Masahiro Sakurai, who has directed every game in the series. The series is known for its unique gameplay objective which differs from that of traditional fighters, in that the aim is to increase damage counters and knock opponents off the stage instead of depleting life bars.
F-Zero is a series of futuristic racing games published by Nintendo, developed by Nintendo EAD and other third-party companies. The first game was released for the Super Famicom in Japan in 1990. Its success prompted Nintendo to create sequels on subsequent consoles.
The Virtual Console is a defunct line of downloadable retro video games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U home video game consoles and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. The Virtual Console lineup consisted of titles originally released on past home and handheld consoles and were run in their original forms through software emulation, therefore remaining mostly unaltered, and could be purchased from the Wii Shop Channel or Nintendo eShop for between 500 and 1200 Wii Points, or using real currency, with prices depending on the system, rarity, and/or demand.
Mario Kart Wii is a 2008 kart racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It is the sixth installment in the Mario Kart series, and was released in April 2008. Like its previous installments, Mario Kart Wii incorporates playable characters from the Mario series, who participate in races on 32 different race tracks using specialized items to hinder opponents or gain advantages. The game features multiple single-player and multiplayer game modes including two- to four-person split screen. Online multiplayer was supported until the discontinuation of Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection in May 2014. Mario Kart Wii uses the Wii Remote's motion-controls to provide intuitive and conventional steering controls. Each copy of the game was bundled with the Wii Wheel accessory to augment this feature and mimic a steering wheel.
The Japanese multinational consumer electronics company Nintendo has developed seven home video game consoles and multiple portable consoles for use with external media, as well as dedicated consoles and other hardware for their consoles. As of September 30, 2021, in addition to Nintendo Switch, Nintendo has sold over 863.07 million hardware units.
Mario is a Japanese multimedia franchise created by Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto for Japanese video game company Nintendo, which produces and publishes its installments. Starring the titular Italian plumber Mario, it is primarily a video game franchise but has extended to other forms of media, including television series, comic books, a 1993 feature film, a 2023 animated film, and theme park attractions. The series' first installment was 1983's Mario Bros. even though Mario made his first appearance in 1981's arcade game Donkey Kong and had already been featured in several games of the Donkey Kong and Game & Watch series. The Mario games have been developed by a wide variety of developers. Mario games have been released almost exclusively for Nintendo's various video game consoles and handhelds, from the third generation onward.
Mario Kart 7 is a 2011 kart racing video game developed by Nintendo EAD in cooperation with Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. As with the previous games in the Mario Kart series, players participate in racing on various Mario-themed tracks, playing as one of seventeen different Mario characters. While racing, the players make use of power-up items that either assist their character or hinder opposing characters. New additions to the game include hang-gliding attachments for karts, the ability to drive underwater, the ability to drive in first person, and the ability to fully customize the vehicles' builds. The game supports both local and online multiplayer for up to eight players. The game was a critical and commercial success, becoming the best-selling game on the Nintendo 3DS with over 18.98 million copies sold worldwide.
Banjo-Pilot is a 2005 kart racing video game for the Game Boy Advance (GBA) and the fourth installment in Rare's Banjo-Kazooie series. It plays similarly to the Mario Kart series by Nintendo: the player races one of nine playable characters around tracks, attacking other racers with bullets and collecting power-ups. The game features a number of single-player and multiplayer modes, such as time attack and item hunts. Unlike other kart racing games, characters control airplanes instead of go-karts.
Mario Kart 8 is a 2014 kart racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. It retains the gameplay of previous Mario Kart games, with players controlling a Mario character in races around tracks. Tracks are themed around locales from the Super Mario series populated with power-ups that help players gain advantages in races. Different difficulties are selectable prior to a race; harder difficulties make gameplay faster. In the new anti-gravity sequences, players drive on walls and ceilings. Mario Kart 8 contains a variety of single-player and local and online multiplayer game modes, including Grand Prix racing and arena-based battle modes.
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is a 2014 action puzzle video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. The game was re-released for the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo 3DS in 2018 with additional content. It is a spin-off of the Super Mario series and a part of the larger Mario franchise. The game stars Captain Toad and Toadette as they complete levels, defeat enemies and save each other from the antagonist Wingo. Each level is contained within a miniature diorama-like environment that requires puzzle-solving and platforming challenges to complete. The player also uses the Wii U GamePad to rotate the camera and reveal new information and interact with the environment.