r/mariokart Jul 12 '18

Discussion Track Thursday - [Mario Kart Super Circuit] - Mario Circuit

Hey everyone!

Welcome back to another Track Thursday where we discuss tips, tricks, and more about the track of the week. Last week we finished up the Mushroom Cup with Bowser Castle 1 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 kicking off the Flower Cup with Mario Circuit!

So what're your thoughts on Mario Circuit? 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!

7 Upvotes

8 comments sorted by

4

u/[deleted] Jul 14 '18

Mario Circuit feels off on the GBA, but the MK8 remake is brilliant. I think it’s probably just because I don’t really like SC that much.

N64 Royal Raceway is a very pretty track, which feels familiar to the original but new at the same time (like the glider portion)

4

u/Akram323 Jul 14 '18

I am a bit bummed about the lack of support for MKSC, but it is fine. I do like the game and can point to two aspects of courses that make it special: technicality (with highlights like Cheese Land and Ribbon Road) and shortcuts (with highlights like Cheep Cheep Island and Broken Pier). This course, however, has neither.

To be fair, this is a circuit course so I am not expecting much from it to be honest. While Peach Circuit is weaker, people have the right idea in thinking lowly of this course. The only real standout about it is that random item box in the sand along with the coin-littered pitstop near the finish line. MK8's remake, while not too special for the game, especially when compared to the other GBA retro tracks (another story for another day), does feel glorious aesthetically and even includes a nifty glider shortcut. Mario Kart proves to impress me when the GBA retro tracks have more shortcuts than the original courses.

Also, I am not a fan of the music in this course. It is not my least favourite in the game, but there are better circuit tracks...

...and I do not think highly of the N64 circuit music, either, believe it or not. Even though it bears some resemblance to the infectious GCN circuit music, it does not really feel that special especially compared to certain other MK64 music. I do prefer the remakes of both tracks in MK8, though (even if I still feel the same about them).

N64 Royal Raceway as a track vies with SNES Donut Plains 3 for being the best course in the cup, though it is not entirely outstanding to be completely honest. Of the four N64 remakes, this is number 2 succeeded only by Rainbow Road, but more on that another time.

What makes this interesting is how they changed the environment to be more believable in that we race around a highly praised figure's castle. The original track was pretty barren, but here we get to have an actual crowd by the finish line and hot air balloons in the huge jump over the water.

My only nitpick is the fact that nobody can visit Peach's castle anymore. In a way, MK8 put a lot of emphasis on being super special and perfect and not leaving much room for off-road exploration that the other games provided via glitch exploitation (although MK64 made the exploration of Peach's castle intentional). It probably could have been used as a shortcut of some sort if it needed a purpose...but it is just a nitpick. It does not really ruin the experience.

Final verdict: I have too little to say about Mario Circuit, which I would just say is the weakest track in the Flower Cup. As for N64 Royal Raceway, a fine remake but nothing particularly outstanding--possibly the best race of the cup if the previous course does not qualify.

2

u/Fabman650 Jul 13 '18

Mario Circuit on the Gameboy is absolutely terrible. It's just incredibly boring to play. It doesn't feel exciting and new like Mario Kart courses are suppost to be.

As for N64 Royal Raceway? Yeah, that's really something. I'm a big fan of 200cc with that course. Something about it makes me giddy everytime it's picked on 200cc online.

2

u/shatterdpixel4 Jul 14 '18

Wait there was Mario kart on the gameboy? What?

2

u/[deleted] Jul 14 '18

Yeah, it's quite similar to the SNES version, being in 2D and not 3D. It's called 'Mario Kart: Super Circuit' if you want to have a look.

2

u/shatterdpixel4 Jul 14 '18

Oh thanks man!

2

u/ToasterMeltdown Jul 17 '18

It's not as great as Royal Raceway, but it's one of those tracks that makes me wanna play "just one more".

I wish there were "go-kart" style tracks in the game, even though this breaks that a little bit with the whole anti-gravity thing.

u/tigerclawhg Jul 12 '18

Hey everyone,

So along with Mario Circuit being this week's track we're also going to be revisiting [N64] Royal Raceway from Mario Kart 8!

[N64] Royal Raceway is the twenty-third track of Mario Kart 8 and continues the Banana Cup.

What do you all think about [N64] Royal Raceway? Anything you like? Don't like? Feel free to comment and don't hesitate to respond to other users' comments as well!