More like Mario Kart: Meh Circuit

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More like Mario Kart: Meh Circuit

On 08/09/2020 at 10:05 AM by daftman

My oldest son was obsessed for a few days with watching gameplay of the original Mario Kart and playing it on our Super NES Classic. He kept asking about the other games in the series and eventually—almost randomly, it seemed—he asked to play the GBA game, Mario Kart: Super Circuit. He didn't stick with it very long. I played a lot of that game when it came out but it is easily the most forgettable game in the series. Even my least favorite entry, Mario Kart Wii, is at least memorable in the ways it is terrible. So I picked up the GBA SP after my son was done and played through a couple cups. I do not like the way it controls! Something about the slide is off, not sure exactly how to articulate it. It just doesn't feel right. So while it's cool that I still have the game (complete in box!), Super Circuit has reinforced its position as the most forgettable Mario Kart.

Comments

Super Step Contributing Writer

08/09/2020 at 10:20 AM

Huh .. I remember playing it quite a bit, but it's definitelt just a casual pick-up-and-play title, nothing super special. I like it for what it is though.

daftman

08/10/2020 at 02:02 PM

It was sure cool at the time to have a portable Mario Kart but its portable successors all beat the pants off it, in my opinion.

KnightDriver

08/09/2020 at 08:53 PM

I've seen it on best of games list, and I managed to get a copy years ago, probably in some bargain bin. I probably tried it but didn't like playing a racing game on a handheld.

daftman

08/10/2020 at 02:03 PM

Anybody putting Super Circuit on "best of" lists are blinded by nostalgia lol.

KnightDriver

08/11/2020 at 03:33 PM

It's got a 93 on metacritic but I didn't like it much either. The only Kart racer games I've liked so far are Diddy Kong Racing and Sonic's Allstar Racing.

daftman

08/21/2020 at 12:53 AM

I'm not too surprised at that Metacritic score. Almost all of those reviews would be from when the game first came out and it was certainly an impressive game back then! But I don't think it has aged very well.

Cary Woodham

08/09/2020 at 09:03 PM

So I'm probably the weird one here, but Super Mario Kart on the SNES is my favorite Mario Kart game. It's also one of my top five favorite games of all time. So since Mario Kart Super Circuit looks closest to SNES Mario Kart, it's my second favorite Mario Kart game! It feels more like a SNES sequel and I love how all the tracks from the SNES game are unlockable in the GBA one, too!

The Last Ninja

08/10/2020 at 12:20 PM

Yeah, you're weird lol The original MK doesn't hold up too well imo. Multiplayer can be a lot of fun, but the one player mode is sooooo hard.

daftman

08/10/2020 at 04:51 PM

While a lot of genres struggled with the move to 3D, I think racing games by and large benefitted right away, Mario Kart included. I can appreciate that mode 7 style but it's not my favorite (though I'll play them before Mario Kart Wii!).

SanAndreas

08/10/2020 at 05:58 PM

I started with Mario Kart 64, and so when I tried Super Mario Kart I just didn't find it very playable. I never even bothered with Super Circuit. 3D simply makes far too much of a difference in racing games.

daftman

08/21/2020 at 12:56 AM

Mario Kart 64 was my first one too! Yeah, I generally find it pretty hard to go back to any not 3D racing game.

The Last Ninja

08/10/2020 at 12:22 PM

No one ever talks about Super Circuit. It seems to be the spiritual successor to the original, but the original doesn't hold up that well imo so that means this one doesn't hold up well either. Some of the tracks are cool though.

daftman

08/10/2020 at 04:52 PM

It sure was something at the time but yeah, no reason to really go back to it at this point, especially since its best tracks are likely to show up in the newer games anyway.