As a fan of the Mario Kart series, I was anxious to finally pick up and play Super Circuit years after it's release. I've had a ton of fun on Mario Kart Wii and its always interesting for me to go back in the past a little bit to see how the games have progressed.
First off, Super Circuit is fun. It's a perfect portable game. The tracks are not so long as to take up too much time, yet they are long enough to not feel too cheap and tacked on for the sake of putting a Mario Kart game out. There is a nice selection of tracks to start the game off that each require it's own type of skill to master. Sure, as always, there is a track or two that sometimes feels unnecessarily frustrating, but the fun you have on the other tracks more than make up for it. Once you get the hang of sliding around corners, using the jump button to control those turns and coming out of them with a nice little boost to shoot you ahead of your opponents, you'll be having all kinds of great fun.
There are a few different modes to choose from. You can of course go for the classic Grand Prix mode with 50, 100, or 150ccs and test your mettle against your computer foes (I hate Peach). There is the Time Trial mode in which you can learn to master the tracks with no fear of being rear ended with a dreaded red turtle shell at the finish line, and then there is the Quick Run, in which you can simply load up any track you want and race against the CPU without worrying about doing an entire Cup. Unfortunately, you need another person with a Gameboy Advance and a connector cable to play Multiplayer and since I don't have that option, I can't comment on it. All I know is that I've heard that it is better if the other person were to have their own Super Circuit cart as well. You can play with only one game and a connector cable if you wish, but it will limit your character selection.
Super Circuit also harkens the return of the coins from Super Mario Kart, which means that the outcome of the race will rely on skill as much as it does luck. Whereas the newest incarnations of the Mario Kart franchise usually require an big chunk of luck (you tend to get punished for being good), you will have to collect as many coins as you can to help your speed and to keep you from spinning out each time you get hit, which will happen when you run out of coins. Collecting coins also brings up another cool thing about the game; if you collect 100 coins in each cup after getting gold in it, it will unlock that cup from the original Super Mario Kart. So, when all is said and done, you have the potential for unlocking another five cups for a grand total of 40 tracks to race. Not too shabby for a portable racing game.
Honestly, I found this game to be more fun than I expected. It's absolutely perfect for what it's intended for. When you are out and about and have your Gameboy Advance with you, it's great for playing bite sized chunks at a time. It takes very little time to compete in a cup and be done with it if that is what you wish. On the other hand, there are enough tracks and it is enough fun that you could sit in your living room or on a road trip and play it for hours. I recommend this game heartily for those that are fans of the Kart.
No comments:
Post a Comment