_ __ _ _ ( | \/ \ ( | ) __|__ | | | |_/ | | | | __ ___ * __ / |\ __ ___ | | | | / | | / / /(_|_/ | \ / | | / /\ (_/ | \/\__/\/ \_/ \_/\__/ \_| \_/\__/\/ \_/ \_) ()_____________ Written by: Nintendoholic / / -------- Contact me at: Nintendoholic123@yahoo.com / SUPER / ----- ------ Document is © 2001 Nintendoholic / CIRCUIT / --- - --- /_____________/ ----- -- - (Version 1.6 - 10/7/01) / / / ==<>=====<>== ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Oh the pain, oh the blisters... From the tons I’ve played of this game, let me just simply say -- this game rocks. Purchase it immediately, I command thy. Classic Mario Kart action, yet better courses and graphics, and handheld to boot. Not only that, but retro tracks included! What more could you want? Well, maybe the game for free... hmmm so zesty it makes me want to wet myself. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ======================================================================== T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S ======================================================================== 1. Revision History / Updates 2. Modes of Play 3. Basic Controls 4. The Different Characters 5. Drivers’ Education 6. Item List and Usage 7. Difficulty Modes 8. Everything About Grand Prix 9. Mushroom Cup 10. Flower Cup 11. Lightning Cup 12. Star Cup 13. Special Cup 14. Retro SNES Tracks 15. Track Shortcuts 16. Secrets / Tricks 17. Contact Information 18. The Credits 19. Important Legal Information ======================================================================== 1. Revision History / Updates ======================================================================== Sunday, October 7, 2001 - (Version 1.6) I wasn’t even planning on updating this guide again, but did so to fix an annoying formatting error. The horizontal scrollbar that used to appear on the guide (and scroll over to empty white space) is gone. That is all, over and out. Wednesday, September 19, 2001 - (Version 1.5) Wee! I got a flurry of reader contributions (and lot’s of stupid spam... “amazing new diet revelation!” arf arf!) in my email box the past week. Reader contributions have all been added into the guide, and the Track Shortcuts are about as complete as they’ll ever be. I also added in another Paper Mario reference in the appropriate section of the guide. I know you just couldn’t do without that. This is definitely the last *official* update. Time for me too move on... bye. NOTE: Gamecube was also released a few days ago in Japan, expect some guides from me on the launch games! Tis my time to shine! *Goes off to play Jet Force Gemini* The colors Mommy, the colors! Thursday, September 6, 2001 - (Version 1.3) I basically finished the Track Shortcuts and Secrets/Tricks sections. I might add a few more things to them next update... or maybe not. I know I said this would be the last update, but it isn’t. Next update will be finishing up all lose ends in the guide. School has kept me very pre - occupied. Those punks! Monday, September 3, 2001 - (Version 1.0) Run through for every retro SNES course has been completed. Secrets and track shortcuts are next update and then I’m done here. Unless I happen to get some worthwhile reader contributions... Sunday, September 2, 2001 - (Version 0.8) A very substantial update here. A run through for every single course has been completed. I finished reformatting my guide as well. This FAQ will be done within the next two updates. Saturday, September 1, 2001 - (Version 0.4) The next day, and I’m already updating again. :P Hopefully I have gotten rid of any typos in my first hastily-written version. I finished the controls section, added in Drivers’ Education and Difficulty Modes. Some descriptions for a few courses are done. Friday, August 31, 2001 - (Version 0.1) I just got Mario Kart Super Circuit today! The layout of the guide is finished, along with the legal section. Table of contents and basic game information have also been written. ======================================================================== 2. Modes of Play ======================================================================== Single player what I would consider 80% of the game when you initially get it. Of course, after you’ve extinguished all the different options in Single Player you’ll be playing multiplayer a lot more. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SINGLE PLAYER ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MARIO GP Stands for “Mario Grand Prix.” Classic Mario Kart at it’s latest and greatest. Select your class from 50cc, 100cc, 150cc. Now pick your character. Choose which cup you wish to try and race for. Mushroom, Flower, Lightning, or Star. The Lightning Cup is new to this version. You must beat all courses within the cup, and get enough cumulative points for either 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place to get a trophy. 50cc is pretty easy, although I am having a bit of trouble due to me being out of practice. 150cc is plum confounded hard. TIME TRIAL Obvious means what it’s called. You can view your best times for every course, along with playing trials on the tracks to get even better times. Just select your character, pick the cup, then which course you wish to try your hand at in a time trial. QUICK RUN This is what you pick when you have a hankering for some 1 player racing action against the computer, yet don’t feel like doing a particular cup. Select your class of either 50cc, 100cc, or 150cc, then pick your character from any of the eight or a random option. Select any cup, then highlight the individual course you want to play. Great for practicing courses you’re having trouble with -- before you actually play the cup for real. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Multiplayer ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The classic multiplayer. So many things to say and play. Fight or race against you friends using a link cable and multiple Game Boy Advance. MULTI-PAK LINK Required: 2 to 4 Game Paks, 2 to 4 Game Boy Advance Here you can race or battle against your friends, race together with a partner in Mario GP, or go one on one in a versus race. Battle mode is loads of fun. SINGLE PAK LINK Required: 1 Game Pak, 2 to 4 Game Boy Advance This is a more limited mode of Multiplayer. However, it only needs one Mario Kart Super Circuit game pak. Just hook up together and race 2 to 4 players in one of four tracks. Each race is 5 laps long and each player is a different color Yoshi character. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ghost Exchange ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hook together two Game Boy Advances, and you can exchange your best Ghost times with your friend on certain courses. Erase ghosts as well. You get the picture. ======================================================================== 3. Basic Controls ======================================================================== Simple, yet eloquent and effective. That best encapsulates the controls for Mario Kart Super Circuit. They take about five minutes to learn, yet months to master. When you first play the game, you might have trouble reaching all the controls without shifting the screen. That will go away with practice. GAME BOY ADVANCE ________________________ L Button-------------/_L_/ ____________ \_R_\---------------R Button | | | | Control Pad---------|_|_ | | (B)|-------------B Button | | | | (A)--|------------A Button Start--------------|----* | <------|------|---------GBA Screen |__ * |____________| __| \_|__________________/ Select-----------------| CONTROL PAD - This is the means of movement in the game. Use it to steer your racer around the tracks or move the cursor on a menu. START - Press this to pause your game during a race, or use start to confirm something on a game menu. SELECT - Honk, honk, honk! Use this to honk your horn and taunt your opponents. Obviously more effective against another player then the CPU. A BUTTON - Use the A button to accelerate your racer. Can also be used to confirm something on a menu. B BUTTON - The break button for your vehicle. Can also cancel an option you selected on a menu. L BUTTON - Don’t forget about this little button! This allows you to use an item and cause chaos on the racetrack. R BUTTON - Opposite to the L button is this one. Pressing it makes your racer do a little hop. Use it to help stabilize yourself in sharp turns, but use it wisely. ======================================================================== 4. The Different Characters ======================================================================== The characters, AKA the people driving in the go-karts that you control to win races. Every racer has his or hers own specialty. Some are all for speed, others for bumping opponents off the road. Every character has only six attribute stars -- that are distributed between weight and speed in different combinations. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Lightweights ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PEACH Hmm lovely. My favorite lightweight racer and the character I use most often. A lower top speed but *---------------* accelerates extremely well. And has just enough | Speed: ***** | weight not to be thrown around like a tissue. | Weight: *---- | *---------------* TOAD Toad has the fastest acceleration in the game. As a cost, this guy IS thrown around like a tissue. *---------------* When using him, watch out for the heavyweights | Speed: ***** | who might try to bump him clear off the road. | Weight: *---- | *---------------* YOSHI Just another lightweight racer. If I were you, I’d just pick Toad or Peach. Yoshi has balanced *---------------* speed and weight, yet lent to the speed side. | Speed: ****- | This in turn makes him lack in both areas. | Weight: **--- | *---------------* ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Middleweights ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MARIO The most balanced character in the game, as usual. Good acceleration, handling, and weight. *---------------* Beginners might like him due Mario’s ability to | Speed: ***-- | compensate for driving mistakes. | Weight: ***-- | *---------------* LUIGI Balanced like his brother Mario, except better handling. As a cost to this he’s not as fast at *---------------* acceleration as Mario. Overall Luigi is a very | Speed: ***-- | decent racer. | Weight: ***-- | *---------------* ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Heavyweights ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DK The lightest racer within the heavyweight class. I dislike him. He has decent acceleration and *---------------* weight to push the other racers around but just | Speed: **--- | doesn’t quite cut it for me. | Weight: ****- | *---------------* WARIO Definitely my favorite in the Heavyweight Class. He has the same attributes as DK, only they don’t *---------------* suck. His acceleration is well balanced with a | Speed: **--- | very high top speed. Also lighter then Bowser. | Weight: ****- | *---------------* BOWSER All girth, no acceleration. That best describes this tub of Koopa lard. Sure he has the highest *---------------* top speed, but just try getting him to move... | Speed: *---- | Oh, don’t bump into anything if you want to win. | Weight: ***** | *---------------* ======================================================================== 5. Drivers’ Education ======================================================================== These are the skills you must learn to play the game, and must master to beat it. They are really simple, in theory. But most people forget about them when they’re playing the Special Cup, 150cc -- while in Lap 3 of the final course, and are in 1st place, with Bowser right behind them... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Screen Icon Explanation ------------------------------------------------------------------------ During a race, there will be many counters displayed on screen that you should pay attention to. TOP OF THE SCREEN - From left to right. There’s the coin counter, your current lap out of three total, the item display, and your current time. LEFT SIDE - There’s four portraits of the racers in 1st to 4th place, and your current place is the large number. RIGHT SIDE - A white map. Shows the layout of the current track. Red dots are the different racers, and the flashing dot is you. Black dots are racers that have already finished the race... hopefully you wouldn’t see too many of those. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ When to Use the Brakes and Jump ------------------------------------------------------------------------ You’re trying to win the races, correct? Which means you should use the brakes only when you absolutely need to. Stomp on the breaks to avoid obstacles or projectiles from opponents. Don’t use the breaks in curves, you’re better off letting go of the acceleration or using drifting/power slides. If you run over a puddle or banana, press the breaks briefly to keep yourself from spinning out of control. You’ll know you’ve avoided a spin-out when a music note appears above your characters head. Jump carefully and jump often. Your finger should be over the R button at all times during a race. Use jumping in sharp turns by continually pressing R it in a slow tempo for the duration of the curve. Jump to avoid puddles, pits, bananas, and other obstacles. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Learning How to Drift and Power Slide ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Drifting is one of the best ways to take on curves in a track. It requires a bit of skill though. Drive at the inside of a corner, then press and hold down the R button. Use the control pad to skid through. If you did it right, you won’t lose any speed. Obviously an extremely valuable skill to master. Almost required in 150cc difficulty. Now we move on to the classic Power Slide -- also seen in Mario Kart 64 on the Nintendo 64. The Power Slide in this game is a perfect drift. Take the inside of a corner like you normally would, then press and hold down the R button. Release the button and straighten your cart out using the control pad. If you time it exactly right, you will get a blue boost of speed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Use Items Wisely ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Don’t waste items if you don’t need to, but don’t keep an item if you think it’s worthless. This might sound obvious, but people often forget that when in the heat of a race. Sometimes holding onto a good item, like Triple Red Shells, might be wise towards the end of the final lap. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Executing a Spin Turn ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Spin Turn should only be used in case of emergencies, or when you need to take 90 degree angle turns ASAP. A Spin Turn is the tightest turn you could possibly do. Press (A+B), then left or right on the control pad depending on which direction you want to go. ======================================================================== 6. Item List and Usage ======================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Item Box ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ~ Tie dye colored box with a ? emblem. Found along all race tracks. ~ Run into them to have an item roulette appear in the white box at the top of the screen. ~ The roulette can stop at a random item or you may press L to stop it when you wish too. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Green Shell ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ~ Single green colored shell. ~ Press the L button to fire the shell forward in a straight line to hit another racer. ~ You can also hold down on the control pad and press L to have the shell fire straight back. You can’t aim the shell however since you can’t see behind yourself. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Red Shell ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ~ Single red colored shell. ~ Like the green shell, only better. Press the L button to fire off the shell and it will automatically track the racer closest in front of you, striking their car. ~ Press down on the control pad and L to drop the red shell on the road. It will make a bleep sound and stay in place like a land mind. It’s probably better if you shoot the shell. (Originally I had a mistake here, thanks to Neoevolution2001@aol.com for fixing it...) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Spiny Shell ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ~ Single purple shell with spines on it. ~ This item is very rare and usually only found when you are really behind in the race. Press L to fire it off and it will make an annoying alarm sound. ~ This shell automatically homes in on the racer in first place, no matter where they may be in the race track. It will also take out anything in its violent path. ~ If you hear the alarm sound and are in first place, it might be a good idea to slow down and get into second place temporarily, so the shell goes after someone else. When the shell hits you, you really slow down. Only stay in first place when you’re so far ahead it wouldn’t matter. Some extra tips on avoiding Spiny Shells -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Here’s what Neoevolution2001@aol.com wrote me: “...Also, there's something you can put in about how to block red/spiny shells. (For the 100cc or 150cc people) To block red/spiny shells, you drop a banana peel or shoot a green shell behind you. (I don't know if this works with spinies, however.) You can also jump over sections of track (For examples, visit Ribbon Road, Mario Circuit 2, or Bowser castle 1 (The SNES version), where you jump with bumpers to different sections of track) This trick is guaranteed to work if you have a spiny on your tail.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Thanks! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Triple Green Shells ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ~ A trio of green shells. ~ Press L to have the three green shells come out and encircle your racer like a shield. Any racers that bump into you will be hit but one of the shells will disappear. ~ While the shells are out as a shield, you can press L again to fire one of them off. ~ Shoot the three shells at walls for fun ricochets! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Triple Red Shells ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ~ A trio of red shells. ~ Just like the Triple Green Shells, except a slight upgrade. Press L like before for the shells to encircle you as a shield. ~ When the shells are out, press L again to fire one of them off. They will home in on the closest racer in front of you. ~ A multiplayer and my personal favorite. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mushroom ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ~ Your basic Mario-style red mushroom. ~ Press L to use the mushroom. Your racer will temporarily accelerate to high speeds. Be careful when coming into turns! Especially on tracks will little or no guardrails. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Banana Peel ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ~ Ohhh! Ba-nahn-a! I’ve been playing too much Donkey Kong 64... this item is very versatile but takes skill to use. Press L to place to drop it on the track. Any racers running over it will slide out of control. ~ A banana is yellow, hence very easy to spot. (except on those bright tan desert levels...) Place a banana in key locations where you think people will drive over them. Narrow roads, around hairpin curves ect. You can also hide bananas in front or behind of item boxes. ~ Press L, but hold it down. The banana will stay on the back of your race car until you let go. Good as a rear defense shield. Use this when all the racers are bunched together. ~ You may also chuck bananas ahead of your racer. Press the L button and up on the control pad to chuck it. Make sure to aim it so it lands in front of an opponent. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Star ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ~ A bright yellow star. ~ Press L and your racer will flash and music will play. You’re now temporarily invincible and will move faster. When you bump into any opponent, he will be pushed aside and spin out of control. Good for ego trips. Stop staring... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lightning ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ~ Yellow bolt of lightning. Another very rare item. ~ When you press L to use this item, and yellow bolt of lightning will fly from the sky and strike all of your opponents. They will shrink down to about 25% there size. This slows them down dramatically. ~ While your opponents are in there small state, you can run them over and squish them like a pancake. This slows there speed to a crawl. ~ Know when is the best time to use the lightning. Such as when an opponent is taking a sharp turn, or jumping over a pit of some kind. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boo ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ~ Boo the ghost! ~ When you use Boo the Ghost you are able to steal an item from your opponents. This feature is very valuable in battle mode. ~ Boo has another side effect. When you use him, your racer will be temporarily invisible and immune to any items used against you. ======================================================================== 7. Difficulty Modes ======================================================================== In this game there are three difficulty settings: 50cc, 100cc, and 150cc. This relates to how large the engines are in the go-karts, and in turn how fast you and your opponents drive. On higher difficulty your opponents will also have craftier AI. Know the difference between the three difficulty settings and plan your strategy. 50cc Your opponents are not very quick or bright on this setting. They rarely if ever use any items against you, so race without fear or retaliation when you strike them down. Just get into first as soon as you can, and hold the lead. Rather simplistic. 100cc One step up from 50cc. Your opponents are faster, but shouldn’t pose too severe a challenge. They will hit you an item when they get the chance, but you should be able to strike back. Get into first place whenever possible, and beat down the opponents on your tail. Medium racing skills and item usage required. 150cc The highest of the difficulty settings. Your opponents are fast and vicious. They will hit you with an item whenever they get the chance. When you get into first place, you rarely keep it for long. But the good side to that is the race is never over till it really is. You’ll be fighting tooth and nail through all three laps. Excellent racing skills and keen item usage are a must. ======================================================================== 8. Everything About Grand Prix ======================================================================== As the section suggests, this will tell you all the little things you need to know about the Grand Prix in the one player mode of Mario Kart. During a game Grand Prix, you must choose which difficulty you want to play. 50cc, 100cc, or 150cc. The five cups Mushroom, Flower, Lightning, Star, and Special all have two challenges for you. 1. You must try and get a gold trophy by finishing first in a cup. 2. You need to try and get the highest racing rank you can. Which trophy you get, either bronze, silver, or gold, is determined by how many total points you have at the end of a cup. Gold is first place obviously, and bronze third. Anything else is no trophy. A cup consists of four races. How points are determined in each race: --------------------- 1st Place - 9 points 2nd Place - 6 points 3rd Place - 3 points 4th Place - 1 point --------------------- 5th or below... ZERO! And you have to retry the course again. You only have three retries in any run through of a cup. The racing rank is a secondary thing in every cup. There are eight different ranks total. ***,**,*,A,B,C,D,E. *** is the best and is very, very difficult to get. E rank is the worst and extremely easy to obtain. Each rank is calculated by how quickly you finish each race, which place you got each time, and how many of the yellow coins you collected on the track. Yellow coins are laying on the ground of every track in little patches. Drive over a coin to collect it. Each course has 55 total coins and each time you bump into a hazard or another player you loss some. ...And that’s all there is to Grand Prix. Time to race! Three, two, one... GO! ======================================================================== 9. Mushroom Cup ======================================================================== The Mushroom Cup has courses that are generally forgiving, containing few hazards and sharp turns. This cup is basically a warm-up for pros and beginners alike. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Peach Circuit ---> Shy Guy Beach ---> | | Bowser Castle 1 <--- Riverside Park <--- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Peach Circuit Difficulty: 1/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A short, gentle track that winds through the grass courtyard of Peach’s Castle. Her humble abode is visible in the background while you race. This track has easy turns and no surprises. The perfect course for a beginner. There are absolutely no hazards. Unless you consider trees hazards. But you actually have to go OFF the road to hit them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shy Guy Beach Difficulty: 2/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This isn’t really a track at all. The course is made up of a series of sandy islands with shallow water in between them for you to race across. Ocean waves crash on either side of you and you can see a Shy Guy Pirates’ Ship sailing out in the water. There are actually a few things on this course that are well, hazardous. Watch out for the red crabs pacing back and forth on the islands. If you touch them you’ll spin out of control. On some of the islands there is green seaweed. If you drive over it you will slow down. Occasionally, the pirate ship out in the water will shoot cannonballs at you. Dodge them and don’t get hit! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riverside Park Difficulty: 3/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This track is a winding, twisty dirt road through a scenic forest. Stay on the road and you will be fine. When coming to a hairpin curve, use jumping or drifting to get around them. This track is longer then the previous two, but still not too bad. It also has two jumps -- one is over a river of water. Just make SURE to clear the jumps. Just drive and enjoy the beautiful background scenery! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bowser Castle 1 Difficulty: 3/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The final track in the Mushroom Cup. Like a “boss level” if you will. This track has you tearing through the lobby of Bowser’s Castle, filled with lava and all sorts of diabolical traps. The track itself is very short, but watch out for the 90 degree angle turns and Thwomps that pound the ground to block your path. Don’t get burned by the lava or fireballs either, and you’ll certainly win. ======================================================================== 10. Flower Cup ======================================================================== This is where the game starts to get challenging. The tracks in Flower Cups are longer then those featured in the Mushroom Cup, and have decent hazards and obstacles to throw you off kilter. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mario Circuit ---> Boo Lake ---> | | Bowser Castle 2 <--- Cheese Land <--- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mario Circuit Difficulty: 1/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Just take the Peach Circuit, make it slightly longer, then you have this track. The road is very wide and winds through a gentle grass park. Some trees dot the landscape. There are no surprises, just three hairpin curves that can be spotted coming a mile away. The turns shouldn’t even phase you due to the road being so wide. Shame on you if you get lower then 3rd place here. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boo Lake Difficulty: 6/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This track is actually kind of tricky. It takes place on a flimsy wooden boardwalk haunted by ghosts. In the distance is a forest of dead trees and an old mansion. The real hazard here is the track itself -- parts of the track have no guardrails, and the places that do are temporary. Meaning if you hit a part of guardrail with your car once it disappears. There are also two jumps near the beginning of the track. If you learn the track well and improve your turning skills, you’ll surely win 1st. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cheese Land Difficulty: 5/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This race takes place in a land far away, made entirely made of yellow cheese! You can see pillars and mountains of cheese in the background, and even a moon made of cheese highlights the sky. This course is longer then any previous ones you’ve encountered and contains many hairpin curves. Good turning skills are a must. The only tricky places would be two jumps near the middle of the track, and mice walking back and forth on the road. It is “Cheese” Land after all. The mice really come out in force during lap 3. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bowser Castle 2 Difficulty: 5/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The final track of the Flower Cup, and another visit back to Bowser’s Castle. This time you can see statues of the old Koopa himself in the distance. The track is decent in length, with the same old 90 degree angle turns. There’s plenty of hazards this time around. Watch of for the numerous lava pits and areas with the metal grating. The grated areas have no guardrails. And yea, the Thwomps are back again too. ======================================================================== 11. Lightning Cup ======================================================================== This cup is basically a set of medium difficulty tracks. Personally, I feel that the Flower Cup was harder then this one, but opinions may vary. You’ll encounter basic obstacles and hazards here. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Luigi Circuit ---> Sky Garden ---> | | Sunset Wilds <--- Cheep-Cheep Island <--- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Luigi Circuit Difficulty: 5/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This track is so depressing. It takes place on a gray rainy day at an airfield. You can tell it’s an airfield because you can see airplane hangers, a Luigi Blimp and a air traffic control tower. The track is pretty narrow and has tons of hairpin curves. You MUST keep control of your vehicle while turning. The hazards along the road come in the form of small blue puddles. Don’t drive over them or you’ll spin out of control. People often make the mistake of swerving around them. Don’t do that, instead jump over them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sky Garden Difficulty: 1/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This track is easy as pie. I’d expect a course this easy on the Mushroom Cup. The track is a very wide brick road floating on top of some clouds. In cliché fashion you can see many beanstalks. If you notice closely, you can see the Luigi Blimp from the previous track flying in the sky. Just race to the end. There are no hazards, no sharp turns, and nothing to get in your way. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cheep-Cheep Island Difficulty: 4/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cheep-Cheep Island will give you little trouble. The race has you drive across many large islands and some wooden bridges. In the background you can see a lighthouse and some giant Cheep-Cheep fish flipping out. The only real hazards are the crabs walking back and forth on the islands and that some of the bridges have no guardrails. If you touch the crabs you spin out of control and if you drive off a bridge you’ll fall into deep water and have to be towed to safety. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sunset Wilds Difficulty: 4/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The final track of the Lightning Cup -- a wild dirt trail through sandy pristine desert wilderness. The Japanese really are suckers for anything western... The track itself should cause little concern, but is a bumpy ride. Rocks are littered about, try to avoid them or you’ll spin out of control. And whatever you do, don’t hit an Indian Teepee. If happen to do so, a Shy Guy will latch onto your car slowing you down. Memorize the Zipper locations and you’ll really fly through this track. ======================================================================== 12. Star Cup ======================================================================== Now were talking! The Star Cup contains some tricky courses and many hazards. The courses here are longer then before. If you don’t know the tracks well you probably wouldn’t finish number one. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Snow Land ---> Ribbon Road ---> | | Bowser Castle 2 <--- Yoshi Desert <--- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Snow Land Difficulty: 4/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Racing across slick ice in a snowy climate -- that's all this course is. The turns are wide and contain no surprises. Just make sure to stick to either the dark blue ice or the light blue ice when driving, since the white snow will slow you down. There a few icy hazards on the road. Don’t hit the Penguins or you will lose control. I think I’ve said that so many times now. And do NOT drive across the very dark patches on the ice. That’s ice that has melted, hence water. If you drive into the patches, not only do you have to be towed to safety but you’ll be frozen for a short time, slowing you down. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ribbon Road Difficulty: 5/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ What were the creators smoking when they thought up this track? The track is a literal “red ribbon” winding through a fantasy land of bright colors, Christmas packages, and wrapping materials. The road is pretty narrow at times and there are a few tricky hairpin curves. This track will get much easier once you learn the layout. Make sure to make the two jumps in the level. When using the Zippers, try not to speed out of control. Use the breaks only if you really have too. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yoshi Desert Difficulty: 5/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Another desert track, and more nauseating bright tan colors. Giant ancient buildings, pyramids, and the great Sphinx of Yoshi are off in the distance. This sandy track swerves back and forth severely, giving some people some problems. Just DON’T fly off of the track, because the sand slows you down like lead. Also, just off the track are large sand cyclones. If you drive into one of them a Piranha Plant will chew on you for a few seconds. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bowser Castle 3 Difficulty: 6/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The final track of the Star Cup. This Bowser Castle track takes place on the rooftop of the old King’s castle. The turns here are very severe, either hairpin or at 90 degree angles. Unfortunately for you the Thwomps are back in even greater numbers, and are positioned in the most annoyingly places possible. Probably about one fourth of the course is grated, meaning no guardrails there. Remain in control of your vehicle at all times or suffer the fiery fate. ======================================================================== 13. Special Cup ======================================================================== To access the Special Cup, you must have beaten and a gold trophy in all the four previous cups: Mushroom, Flower, Lightning, and Star. This is the REAL cup for Mario Kart. All previous ones are simply child’s play. The Special Cup contains the most challenging tracks in the game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lakeside Park ---> Broken Pier ---> | | Rainbow Road <--- Bowser Castle 4 <--- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lakeside Park Difficulty: 7/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A thin dirt road leading through a park and around a lake. An activate volcano illuminates in the background. There is constant hairpin curves leading back and forth throughout the entire track. Make sure to drift and power slide frequently if you don’t want to go off the road. When the track gets near the lake shore, watch out for volcanic debris falling from the sky. If a piece of the magma hits you, you’ll lose control of your vehicle. In the middle of the track is a jump, don’t use the Zipper right before it unless you’re sure of where you’re landing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Broken Pier Difficulty: 9/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Definitely one of the trickiest tracks in the game. It’s like Boo Lake from the Flower Cup but harder. This dilapidated boardwalk is pestered by ghosts and in the distance you can see some haunted mountains. Most of the track has no guardrails at all, so STAY in control at all times! There are narrow wooden bridges, but pieces of the boardwalk with sharp turns are the deadliest hazard. Mushrooms and Zippers are NOT your friends here. Control over speed is a must. Don’t drive near the ghosts, or they will fly around your car and slow you down. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bowser Castle 4 Difficulty: 9/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The fourth and final Bowser Castle track. The brick track looks like it’s located in the basement of the castle. All turns on this track are undoubtedly harsh. There are many hairpin curves and places where the track gets very thin. Try not to bump into any of the walls. Near the beginning of the track is a large area with lava pits to dodge, and near the end is a nice little hazard for you -- a group of Mechikoopas pace back and forth. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rainbow Road Difficulty: 10/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is the ONE folks! The last track in the Special Cup, and the final track of the game! It’s by far the longest and most challenging. This track has you race through space along a narrow road, psychedelically rainbow colored. There are no guardrails through the entire race except at the starting point. Instead of guardrails there are mere bumpers. Not really much protection. You MUST stay in control or your vehicle or you will go FLYING off the track into space, requiring you to be towed back. Use your brakes the moment you feel you might fly off. And remember to use the string of Zippers right at the end of the track. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The End! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ After you’ve beaten Rainbow Road, you’ve also beaten the Special Cup and the game. Now watch the long boring credits. You’re not done yet! Here’s what you can do in sequential order: ~ Try beating and getting a gold trophy on all five of the cups in all three difficulty settings: 50cc, 100cc, and 150cc. ~ Have fun unlocking all of the retro SNES tracks hidden in the game. ~ Try earning a *** ranking on every single cup. ~ Play Time Trial mode and get lightning fast times on every track. ~ Race your heart out and earn world record times. After that, I’d guess you would probably be bored stiff with this game. You could still play the multiplayer modes with some of your friends... ======================================================================== 14. Retro SNES Tracks ======================================================================== You want MORE you say? Well there are 20 retro SNES tracks hidden in Mario Kart Super Circuit. There basically graphically upgraded versions of there Super Mario Kart counterparts while keeping the original music. To access these hidden tracks, you must first do the following things: 1. Win a gold trophy on all five cups on the SAME difficulty. Afterwards, using the SAME difficulty you won all five gold trophies on, you must unlock the new SNES tracks cup by cup... 2. Collect at least 100 coins on a cup to access the retro SNES counterpart cup. After that, you can find the “extra” cups by pressing L/R on the cup selection menu. Fairly simple. The retro cups are really hard to unlock on 150cc! All retro tracks take five laps to beat instead of the usual three, but are much shorter in length. Below are descriptions for every retro SNES track. EXTRA MUSHROOM CUP ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mario Circuit Difficulty: 0/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yes folks, I’m giving this track a big whooping zero in difficulty. The track is the shortest one in the entire game. Not only that, but the curves are so shallow it’s hilarious. The road is double the width of a normal one as well. Just drive fast, and uh... remember the road is the “black thing” and you’ll win. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Donut Plains 1 Difficulty: 3/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This track is a turbulent, bumpy dirt road through the forest. It will pose little difficulty due to there being no hazards. There are constant hairpin curves trying to throw you off the road onto the grass. That’s where most of the challenge is. There’s a bridge to cross as well, but it has guardrails. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ghost Valley 1 Difficulty: 3/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Another creepy boardwalk for you to race over, except this one is easy. The turns are very gentle. Not only that, but you can see them way before you ever have to turn. The temporary guardrails are back as well, but they cover about 90% of the track. There are a few tiny jumps for you to cross. The music here is creepy... hold me... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bowser Castle 1 Difficulty: 2/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yes this another Bowser Castle level, except don’t worry about it. There are absolutely no Thwomps, fireballs, or tricky lava pits to scale. Sure there is SOME lava. But if you can actually drive a car straight you can hop the lava using bumpers. If you had enough skill to unlock this cup, the small number of 90 degree angle turns wouldn’t phase you. EXTRA FLOWER CUP ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mario Circuit 2 Difficulty: 3/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Like the first Mario Circuit, this one is nothing to worry about. It is a step to being more difficult though. The road is normal width and there are a few tricky turns here and there, but generally nothing to give you problems. Towards the end of the track is a jump, but you should easily make it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Choco Island 1 Difficulty: 2/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A rugged road tearing through tough brown terrain. The turns are easy going and aren’t any trouble. Just remember no to go off the road at any time, because the ground REALLY slows you down here. Some places in the road have dark brown spots AKA mud. Since the mud slows you down, you can swerve to avoid or just hop as you drive through it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ghost Valley 2 Difficulty: 4/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This second boardwalk track can be tricky in places. The turns are of course more severe then in the first Ghost Valley and some pieces of the siding and boardwalk are missing. Try not to fall off, it wastes tons of time. Other then that there are no real hazards to speak of. Just get in the lead at the beginning and keep it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Donut Plains 2 Difficulty: 4/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Keep your eyes ON the road! This bumpy dirt trail swerves back and forth constantly and gets very narrow in places. Keep of the grass and you should do fine. There are no bridges or places of water to cross here. Near the beginning of the track is probably the trickiest place -- two hairpin curves and a narrow road. EXTRA LIGHTNING CUP ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bowser Castle 2 Difficulty: 4/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The second Bowser Castle track, and the Thwomps are still no where to be found. This time there are few tricky pits of lava to avoid. When the track splits up, make SURE to follow the white arrows STRAIGHT all three times. You should navigate that “pseudo-maze” with no problems. The 90 degree angle turns are more plentiful now, but still little trouble. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mario Circuit 3 Difficulty: 3/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Like the previous two Mario Circuits this is a yawn-a-thon and a very uneventful track. It’s a bit longer, and the road slightly narrower, but other then that nothing new. Near the center of the track is a very big hairpin curve, but the road should be wide enough for you to compensate for it. Now only that, you can easily spot it coming on your map. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Koopa Beach 1 Difficulty: 1/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Who cares how hard this track is, because it rules! Not only that, but the music here is the best in the game. Out of all the tracks, this is my second favorite one. Second only to Koopa Beach 2. All you have to do is race across some small sand islands, and the shallow water in between them. That’s all. Make sure to hop while driving over the shallow water, since it slows down your vehicle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Choco Island 2 Difficulty: 3/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Like Choco Island 1, only longer. Not only that, near the beginning of the track the road gets really thin. Stay and control and don’t drive off the road. Near the middle of the track, the road is going to open up into a large flat area with a huge mud pit. Drive over it hopping along the entire way. EXTRA STAR CUP ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanilla Lake 1 Difficulty: 4/10 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This track is basically circular. You’re racing across a plain of frozen ice in the snow which makes turning quite delicate. At certain parts of the track, you will find small white blocks. This is ice. You can either carefully drive around it or bang into each block once with your car to make it disappear. Make sure you don’t drive into the pool of water near the end of the track. It comes out of NOWHERE around the corner. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bowser Castle 3 Difficulty: 5/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Still no sign of the Thwomps here. But that’s not going to help much. This track has many 90 degree angle turns for you to navigate. Now only that, but the track annoyingly alternates between being thin and wide. So watch the walls here. About midway in the track you need to carefully navigates over the lava pool using the bumpers and tiny brick platforms. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mario Circuit 4 Difficulty: 3/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The final Mario Circuit, hallelujah! Use the same strategy you did with the previous Mario Circuits, just drive on the “black thing” AKA the road. Near the center of the track is two hairpin curves... how scary. The road gets real thin between the first and second hairpins. Don’t fly off the road when this happens. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Donut Plains 3 Difficulty: 5/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is the last Donut Plains track, and much harder then the first two. In this track you’re going to need to cross over two bridges. Both are narrow, and neither has any guardrails. The second bridge is broken in the center requiring you to use a bumper to jump the gap. The dirt road is very narrow the whole time you race. EXTRA SPECIAL CUP ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Koopa Beach 2 Difficulty: 2/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This track is easy just like the first Koopa Beach. But that doesn’t really matter, because this is my favorite level in the entire game and it totally rules. I can’t get enough of that music either. On this track all your going to need to do is race along the beach of a large island and through some shallow water offshore. That’s all there is too it. Too bad the track isn’t longer since it’s so much fun. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ghost Valley 3 Difficulty: 10/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ick! After just playing Koopa Beach 2 this one is quite a shock to the system. Thank God this is the final Ghost Valley... this is a VERY challenging track. You must have complete control of your vehicle at ALL times if you want to win here. About half of this haunted boardwalk has no guardrails at all. The other half just as guardrail scattered about in patches. The turns are sharp and there are three hairpin turns. Good luck, you’ll need it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vanilla Lake 2 Difficulty: 9/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is another difficult track. This is Special Cup after all! Just like in the first Vanilla Lake, the race track is a circular one having you race across slick ice and snow. Only one catch, there’s no inside guardrail protecting you from the frigid lake! The lake also “splinters” out in the ice forcing you to dodge the points of water jutting out. In two places on the track there are tons of ice blocks you have to dodge or break to get past. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rainbow Road Difficulty: 12/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Oh my God... This track is terribly difficult and the hardest in the entire game. Even harder then that other silly Rainbow Road reject in the normal Special Cup! You know why? But there are absolutely NO GUARDRAILS the entire time. NOT EVEN bumpers are here to save you. Sure, it may SEEM easy on 50cc... but don’t let fool you on the two higher difficulty settings. The track itself is again a rainbow colored road floating through space. The music is even stranger now... The road is thin the entire time, and near the end gets EVEN thinner. If the racers are bunched up you’re likely to be pushed off the side. Use your brakes frequently to save yourself. It’s better then falling off. Do NOT power slide, instead hop around the turns. ======================================================================== 15. Track Shortcuts ======================================================================== Here’s a shocker. Some tracks in Super Circuit actually have shortcuts in them! But luckily for you, you wouldn’t need to scour through every nook and cranny in a track to find them. I have listed most all of them here. I say most, because I’m SURE I probably missed a few of them... A lot of shortcuts are utilized by using a mushroom. Here is the list of shortcuts, in order by track. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riverside Beach (Mushroom Cup) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Start the race like you usually would. Go around the first hairpin curve then head down the road towards the river. Use a mushroom and shroom across the small brown bridge and the brown tiles sticking up in the water, landing on the bridge on the other side. You should skip a significant portion of the track. If you mess up you’ll plunge into the deep water. 2. Hop over the first jump in the track. Go around the turn just after it and look over to your left. You should see a light colored “bridge” of shallow water that you can drive across. This allows you to skip the next turn. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Luigi Circuit (Lightning Cup) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. This shortcut is near the end of the track. After the straight wiggly part of the road -- that part in the lower right hand area of your white map, You will come to a U-turn. Over to the left you should find a gap in the wall you can drive through. This lets you cut off the U-turn. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sky Garden (Lightning Cup) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. This track is so easy, so why there’s so many shortcuts on it is beyond me... At the beginning of the track after the first turn, over to the right and off the side of the road is a bumper to skip some track. You need to use a mushroom before driving over the bumper. 2. After jumping the first gap in the road, drive down the long straight part of the road. Over to the right off the road is two bumpers you can use to skip the U-turn. 3. Some time later in the track, you should come to a huge hairpin curve with a rainbow barrier in the center of it. After going around the turn, over to the left should be a cloud which you can jump across to skip some track. And there you have it... making an easy course retarded. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cheep Cheep Island (Lightning Cup) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. This one is very difficult. Start the race and cross the first bridge to the second island. Round the turn, and cross the second bridge section to the third island. Over to the left across the deep water you should just barely see a small gap in the rainbow barrier. Use a mushroom to shroom across the water and through the gap. From here you can shroom across the deep water again to a shallow patch of water. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sunset Wilds (Lightning Cup) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Near the end of the track, there will be a straight area of track with many Zippers and Shy Guy Teepees. At the end of this area, look over to the right at the rainbow barrier. You should see a bumper. Use a mushroom and shroom over the bumper to skip track. If you did this right your racer will land near the starting/finishing line. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ribbon Road (Star Cup) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. This shortcut is very neat and lets you jump ahead by A LOT. If you lose the race while still using this shortcut, you totally suck... After you’ve started the race, around two turns is the first jump. What you’re going to need to do is use the Zipper right BEFORE the jump. Midair while jumping the gap, steer your vehicle to the right and land on the track. If you mess up the first time, that’s OK. Takes a few tries before you actually get it. Especially on 100 and 150cc. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yoshi Desert (Star Cup) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. At the end of the course, at the last U-turn before the starting / finishing line, Over to the left with be a oasis of water. Cut across to the left of it against the wall to skip the turn. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rainbow Road (Special Cup) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. You MUST have a mushroom for this too work. At the very beginning of the track, go around the first turn. Ahead you should see a pit between you and another section of track. Use the mushroom and drive at the bumper on the side of the road. Hop the gap and land on the track on the other side. Even if you overshoot the road, Lakitu will be kind and tow you to a nice spot. 2. About half way through the track, you will find the track splitting into two paths -- the normal road veering to the right, and a thin strip of road with zippers on the left side. Use the bumper on the side of the road and hop over to the thin road strip. Drive along all the zippers to gain tons of speed. At the end of the strip will be a sharp right turn. You can either use your breaks to get around it, or you can cut the turn using your car’s inertia. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Here’s a crap load of shortcut-ness from crazymario2009@hotmail.com: Nintendoholic123: MKSC fan here, just want to tell you two shortcuts for the new Rainbow Road. maybe you know these already. for these shortcuts, you'll need mushrooms, and a lot of practice. 1. one mushroom needed. after turning over the "V" shaped turn, right after the item boxes, use your mushroom here and do a crazy turn to the right and you'll be able to jump really high and land over the other side of the track. this will save about 15-20 seconds on that lap. (very useful for Time Trials) 2. two mushrooms needed. you can only do this shortcut for Time Trials and only for 1 lap. start your trial, for the first "U"turn, turn half way and use one mushroom here (shoot yourself into the air!) aiming for the track on the other side (land right before the "~~" shaped turns). then going reverse for a little bit and use another mushroom here. you'll land where you should land for shortcut #1, but saved MORE time. finish the lap as usual. (i got 0:16:25 for that lap) hope these info will help you. -CrazyMario - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hey that’s Nintendoholic buddy! Without the “123.” I just use that for email... Glad you used spell check too. :P These shortcuts rule. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ RETRO - Choco Island 2 (Extra Lightning Cup) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Here’s a snazzy email from tdkim@umich.edu which read: “Hello. I thought I'd let you know of a mini-shortcut in the Choco Island 2 course (Extra Lightning Cup). From the starting line, just drive straight and you'll see a gap in the rainbow wall. Very useful for 150cc mode. Later.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - MY NOTE: Yes, this definitely saves some time at the beginning of the race. It is probably best to get a speed boast at the start of the race so you can easily drive over the dirt with little slow down. When driving over the dirt, also remember to hop using the R button. ======================================================================== 16. Secrets / Tricks ======================================================================== These are little observations, tricks, and Easter eggs amassed into one section of the guide. Most all of them are very useful so listen up! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Erasing Your Game ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This nice little trick allows you to erase ALL your game data. But once you do so, it CAN’T be recovered. MAKE SURE you really want to erase it. On the Game Boy Advance, HOLD down Start, B, L, R, then turn on the handheld. Wave bye-bye as the game data goes poof. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tricks on the Character Selection Screen ------------------------------------------------------------------------ You can have a little fun while selecting your racer. First go to the Character Selection screen. Highlight one of the of the racers. 1. Press L to have them shoot a shell. 2. Press R and they’ll jump. 3. Press the select button and the character will sound their horn. This also works when the “Random” character box is selected in the center of the menu. But the horn is the only thing that doesn’t work. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Accessing the Special Cup ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I think this would be rather obvious to everyone, but I included it here anyway. To access the Special Cup in Mario GP, earn a gold trophy on all four of the normal cups: Mushroom, Flower, Lightning, and Star. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Accessing the Retro SNES Tracks ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This was also included in the retro track section, but here it is again. To access the retro SNES tracks hidden in the game, first complete these two steps: 1. Win a gold trophy on all five cups on the SAME difficulty. 2. Collect at least 100 coins on a cup to access the retro SNES counterpart cup. After that, you can find the “extra” cups by pressing L/R on the cup selection menu. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Playing Retro SNES Tracks in Time Trial ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In order to play the retro SNES tracks in Time Trial mode, you’re going to need to unlock them in 150cc difficulty. Yes, another challenge. I know... Be a man and suck it up! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boost-o-logy 101 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ There a few places in the game where you can get secret boosts of speed. 1. At the very beginning of a race when all the cars are lined up in their starting places, over to the right you should see Lakitu with the starting light. Carefully wait, and hold down the acceleration AFTER the second light comes up and BEFORE the third light does. Use Lakitu’s hand signal if you need extra help. If you do this right you should get a speed boost right as the race starts. Don’t hit any of the other cars! 2. If you happen to have mess up while racing -- like falling off the track or getting stuck in deep water, Lakitu will have to tow your car back to safety. Wait till right before your car touches the ground, then hit the acceleration. If you do it just right you should get a speed boost. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Saving Yourself From a Spin-Out ------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you happen to be a clumsy driver like me, then you frequently run over road hazards like bananas. To keep your racer from spinning out of control -- after you’ve run over a hazard, immediately let go of the acceleration, and hit the brakes for a second. A musical note will appear over your character’s head. Supposedly their pleased with their efforts and ”singing with success.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Interesting extra info on this from danryu@danryu.freeserve.co.uk: “After something 'close' has happened (like almost slipping in SMK)it's almost traditional in Japan and England to whistle like 'phew'. This is what the racers in Super Mario Kart are doing when you take the accelerator off and brake. Don't you miss the feather power-up? ;)” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Indeed I do. And I think it’s kinda stupid on Intelligent System’s part that they put in retro tracks, while not including the best retro item, the jump feather. For those of you who actually *don’t* know about the jump feather, using it caused your racer to jump very high -- enabling them to clear HUGE gaps with ease. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cool Coinage ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In case you may be wondering about collecting those yellow coins while racing, it is possible to collect a max of 55 of them on each track. You can only get a total of 55 coins if you started the race in 8th place, since you get 5 coins to begin the race with. Starting in any other place awards you only 2 coins to start with. Good luck getting the *** race ranking... you’re going to need it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Paper Mario References ------------------------------------------------------------------------ OK, so this might not be the most important information in the world... but it’s pretty cool. If you’ve ever played the RPG Paper Mario on the Nintendo 64, you should recognize some Paper Mario references hidden in this game. 1. On the track Cheese Land, look closely at the mice wandering on the road. They’re the exact same mice that inhabit the desert area and Dry Dry Outpost in Paper Mario. 2. In the final track of the Star Cup, Bowser Castle 3 -- pay close attention at the very end of the track. You should see Kammy Koopa flying around on her broomstick. She’s Bowser’s right hand henchwoman in Paper Mario who makes Mario’s quest more difficult. 3. In the Rainbow Road track, look out into the sky. You should see Bowser’s Castle. This is the exact same graphic model that was used in Paper Mario. You may be wondering why there would be Paper Mario references in Mario Kart Super Circuit. It’s because the 1st party developer that made Paper Mario, Intelligent Systems, also made this game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Those Cheap Punks... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ It turns out that in a few places Nintendo decided to dummy-down the retro SNES tracks from the Super Mario Kart originals. What I mean by dummy-down is make easier, which ticked me off... 1. The original Mario Circuit in Super Mario Kart, had many blue Mario-style pipes all along the track. Those are removed in this game. I don’t know why, I mean the track was always retardly easy... 2. In the original Super Mario Kart -- on the track Donut Plains 3, the second bridge in it had two gaps to jump with your car. In this game, there’s only one gap on the bridge, and you use a bumper to get over it. 3. The original Rainbow Road in Super Mario Kart had believe it or not, Thwomps in it! The retro Rainbow Road in this game sadly, has none at all. This makes it much easier to beat which annoys the heck out of me. And that wraps it up... farewell... ======================================================================== 17. Contact Information ======================================================================== Want to contact me? Have a question? Want to contribute something to this FAQ? Found a mistake somewhere? I want to hear from you! Drop me an email. I’ve gotten into the habit of checking my mailbox daily now. Even if I don’t reply to an email, consider it read. :P I only have one simple rule to an email: “Don’t suck.” Now how do you not suck, you ask? Read below for “The List.” 1.) DON’T USE ALL CAPS. WHEN YOU DO, PEOPLE THINK YOU ARE YELLING LIKE RIGHT NOW. ANNOYING ISN’T IT? OK I’LL STOP NOW. //caps off. 2.) You’re not a painter. Stop with the excess color. Colors are fine, just no yellow, pink, or lime. Or any other nauseating color for that matter. 3.) Absolutely no |-|4x0r t4||<, |t’$ |-|4r|> t0 r34|>. Totally frikkin’ annoying. 4.) Try to put the name of the game, or something that gives me a clue about it in the subject title of the email. I have guides for several games, so it can get confusing when I get messages like “HoW do you gEt to level 5???” What, that’s supposed to mean something to me? What am I, Miss Cleo? Deh Tarot Cards peer into you’s soul mahn! :P 5.) Have some concept of good grammar. “HEyS buddyo WAHSSUP MaNNN!” Ick! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Oh yea, and don’t be a punk and send me crap letters like this I got: > >Subject: Cancer (DO NOT DELETE) - You must forward!!!!!! Hi, my name is Amy Bruce. I am 7 years old, and I have severe lung cancer from second hand smoke. I also have a large tumor in my brain, from repeated beatings. The doctors say I will die soon if this isn't fixed, and my family can't pay the bills. The Make A Wish foundation, has agreed to donate 7 cents for every name on this list. For those of you who send this along, I thank you so much, but for those who don't send it, what goes around comes around. Have a Heart, please send this. Please, if you are a kind person, send this on. > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dear God give me strength... Follow the guidelines, and you’ll be fine. ~ Nintendoholic ~ ======================================================================== 18. The Credits ======================================================================== -- PEOPLE Me - For writing this FAQ for a truly superb game. Readers - Because they give me chocolate! -- CONTRIBUTORS (from email) Neoevolution2001@aol.com - Gave me some addition tips on avoiding those dang Spiny Shells, along with fixing an error -- that if you shoot a red shell backwards, it hits the player behind you. In reality, it lays the shell as a land mind. tdkim@umich.edu - Emailed me a nice shortcut for the retro track Choco Island 2. I should have remembered that one, after all I did play Super Mario Kart WAY too much. :P danryu@danryu.freeserve.co.uk - Emailed me some nice extra information on what the characters do after narrowly recovering from a spin-out. Can be found in the Tricks section. Not at all too useful... but dangit, that’s cool! crazymario2009@hotmail.com - Contributed two extremely good shortcuts for the new Rainbow Road. Really all I can say... -- COMPANIES Nintendo Company Limited - They developed the Game Boy Advance. Intelligent Systems (IS) - 1st party development house for this game. -- INTERNET CJayC - He posted this guide. Rumor has it he gets 10 minutes of sleep every night. :P www.GameFAQs.com - Site your reading this from hopefully. If not, I’ll be royally ticked off and feel like rubbing my groin on hot coals. And NO, I would not enjoy that you sickos... :P ======================================================================== 19. Important Legal Information ======================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Legal Disclaimer ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This FAQ that you are currently reading now was researched, compiled, typed, edited, and produced by me. Therefore, I legally own it. Any and all altering of this document is not sanctioned unless the original meaning contained herein remains exactly the same, and permission is asked and granted from me, the author, to do so. This FAQ may not be directly posted around the web. It may not be reproduced from the web in any magazine, newsletter, video game players guide, CD-ROM, or any possible form of printed, verbal, or electronic media. It may not be used as a form of barter, trade, or advertisement for your website or place of business. It cannot be given away as a free item, prize in some form of contest or raffle, for some monetary value, given away with the video game itself, or given away in any situation without my direct permission to do so. Characters, places, objects, and anything else relating, or pertaining to the Mario Kart Super Circuit video game are © 2001 Nintendo Company Limited who have legal rights to it and/or them. I, the author, am in no way affiliated or associated with Nintendo Company Limited, or with the development and distribution of the game Mario Kart Super Circuit. << PS >> Yes, an individual may read this guide on the web if it is in sanctioned form, and print it out for private use. Private use meaning to use and read just for yourself, and maybe a few friends. That doesn’t mean distributing it out to large amounts of people in some way. Document is © 2001 Nintendoholic. All rights reserved. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Proper Way to Display This Guide on Your Site ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This FAQ that you are currently reading may ONLY appear on: - GameFAQs The reason being, is that I DIRECTLY send my FAQs there. Not only that, but the webmaster CJayC does a good job of getting the FAQs up and keeping them updated. Along with, rejecting crappy work from the site and checking for plagiarists constantly. HOWEVER, if you want to use my guide, but are not that one site listed above, here’s exactly what you do. **** WEBMASTERS PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THE FOLLOWING: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ What NOT to do: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ <<<<<< DO NOT >>>>>> ...copy and paste/post this FAQ on your website. This obviously, does not apply to www.gamefaqs.com, like I said before. <<<<<< DO NOT >>>>>> ...link this FAQ directly to your webpage. Again, this does not apply to GameFAQs. In other words, DON’T link to anything that is the actual text guide or has a “.txt” or “.doc” at the end of the URL. I repeat, NOTHING that ends with a “.txt” or “.doc” Don’t make me repeat that a third time. Just don’t, because not only does it aggravate me, but it also violates the GameFAQs legal section that can be found here: http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/legal/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PLEASE DO: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ...link to the GameFAQs Mario Kart Super Circuit page. In other words, link to the page on GameFAQs where it shows a COMPLETE list of ALL the guides for this game. That way, not only do you get my guide, but access to other peoples as well. No muss, no fuss. Since the webmaster of GameFAQs CJayC allows that, you DON’T even have to ask permission to do it either. It will probably take you thirty seconds max, then you never have to worry about any of the guides updating. You could name the link something like “GameFAQs guides about Mario Kart Super Circuit.” ~ Nintendoholic ~ T H E N D “If you can read this, you don’t need glasses.” - Spaceballs, the movie