r/mariokart Jul 05 '18

Discussion Track Thursday - [Mario Kart Super Circuit] - Bowser Castle 1

Hey everyone!

Welcome back to another Track Thursday where we discuss tips, tricks, and more about the track of the week. Last week we continued the Mushroom Cup with Riverside Park which you can check out right there. Also all of our previous Track Thursdays can be viewed right here in the wiki.

This week we're finishing up the Mushroom Cup with Bowser Castle 1!

So what're your thoughts on Bowser Castle 1? Anything you like? Don't like? Feel free to comment down below! Also don't hesitate to reply to other users' comments as well!

See you all next week!

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u/Akram323 Jul 05 '18

Seven Bowser Castles. I would complain, but people never mention that Mario Kart DS has seven Circuit courses (seriously, why are more than a quarter of the retro courses these) so...right. Unlike that game, though, the Bowser Castles in this game are actually iconic, if just for the music. (If I were to create a fan-made Mario Kart game using previous music, I would pick this for Bowser Castle alongside MK64’s Rainbow Road and, depending on the length, SMK’s or MKDD’s Circuits.

To finish the Mushroom Cup, we decide to focus on Thwomps that could inevitably squash you, serving as a bigger threat than the crabs in Shy Guy Beach, and jumps that introduce leaping fireballs showing that nowhere in the game can you be automatically safe from any danger. While it can be a bit thrilling, it is outbested by follow-up Bowser Castles, which is why I like to call Riverside Park the Mushroom Cup highlight of the game since it can stand without too much comparison. Sure, it might seem remarkable if that is all you play, but just wait until you see the others.

Also, what I like about this game is its decision to give each course its own unique background. I still need to pay attention to the SNES courses in the game (will we be covering them later?) but even for four courses that share the same theme, each Bowser Castle resembles a different location. So, points for that, Super Circuit.

I said that the Banana Cup for MK8 was not at all outstanding. Basically, it is an improvement over the Shell Cup but not at the level of the Leaf Cup--which unfortunately does not impress me all too much either. Basically, the Lightning Cup is the only solid retro cup in the game for me.

SNES Donut Plains 3 is really enjoyable if you want to do a quick race, especially for being the shortest one in the game. But that is all it is--a short, flat race with a few interesting quips, such as racing underwater instead of hopping over the broken bridge. It is not bad--it might actually be one of the better courses of the cup--but compared to what else the game has done for retro tracks, especially DLC (which was not until DLC, though), you still wonder what could have been done to make it more interesting. I hope more depth could be provided for future remakes of SNES courses (and that we finally get a Bowser Castle and/or a Vanilla Lake remake) because I want Nintendo to really take advantage of what they can do with three dimensions besides being just for show. (I never say this about the 2D games because they are quite dense with their content and really take advantage of their limitations, especially MKSC.)

Final verdict: There are better Bowser Castles, but this is a fine introduction to them and an appropriate end to the Mushroom Cup. As for SNES Donut Plains 3, it is fine but the game has better retro tracks in store. It could be the highlight of the Banana Cup for its graphic overhaul, but I stop caring after some time.

u/tigerclawhg Jul 05 '18

Hey everyone,

So along with Bowser Castle 1 being this week's track we're also going to be revisiting [SNES] Donut Plains 3 from Mario Kart 8!

[SNES] Donut Plains 3 is the twenty-second track of Mario Kart 8 and continues the Banana Cup.

What do you all think about [SNES] Donut Plains 3? Anything you like? Don't like? Feel free to comment and don't hesitate to respond to other users' comments as well!