Mario Kart Super Circuit - Strategy Guide (Page 01)

Below are the cheat codes, hints and help for Mario Kart Super Circuit - Strategy Guide (Page 01).

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______________________________________________________________________________
Mario Kart Super Circuit FAQ
������������������������������������������������������������������������������
G A M E B O Y A D V A N C E
______________________________________________________________________________
By Pyro Vesten and Jarred
������������������������������������������������������������������������������

.---------------------------------------------------------------------.
|If you have anything to add to the FAQ (that isn't already here), |
|shortcuts, tips, secrets, additional info etc then email it to either|
|Jarred, or Pyro. You will be fully credited for anything that is used|
|in the FAQ. |
|Pyro: vesten@optusnet.com.au |
|Jarred:jarredmilde@hotmail.com |
'---------------------------------------------------------------------'

______________________________________________________
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Version 0.3 - Last Update 8:41pm 3rd October, 2001
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FAQ SIZE: 257 kb

______________________________________________________________________________
������������������������������������������������������������������������������
Hello, and welcome to the first co-authored Mario Kart: Super Fircuit FAQ on
GameFAQs.
Pyro Vesten and Jarred are your writers.
We hope that the FAQ is of use to you, and we'd like to thank you for reading.
______________________________________________________________________________
������������������������������������������������������������������������������
(2)
CONTACT

Here are Pyro Vesten's contact details.

email: vesten@optusnet.com.au
AIM: PyroVesten
MSN: pyrovesten@hotmail.com
ICQ: 96736957

I'm not on ICQ very much, so if you want to contact me, try AIM, MSN or
emailing me first.

If you want to email Jarred, you can at jarredmilde@hotmail.com

______________________________________________________________________________
������������������������������������������������������������������������������
______________________________________________________________________________
Version 0.3
������������������������������������������������������������������������������
_________________________
(Tuesday October 3rd, 2001):
�������������������������
� (Jarred) I did a BIG update of the times, putting up all the times we
have recieved so far. Phew, I think in need to lie down for a while.
________________________
(Monday October 1st, 2001):
������������������������
� We've finished the rest of the maps and are now up for your viewing.

� (Jarred) I've fixed up the gramma and spelling mistakes around the FAQ.

� (Jarred) I did a small update on the fast times.

� (Jarred) Changed the track description for Cheep Cheep Island. (Thanks to
Josh Noel for the information).
______________________________________________________________________________
Version 0.2
������������������������������������������������������������������������������
_____________________________
(Saturday September 29th, 2001):
�����������������������������
� First verion of the FAQ is up on GameFAQs. Jarred is coming over very
shortly and we'll be able to do the multiplayer section.

� We've done the multiplayer section (and Battle Course maps).

� We've finished off all of the Shortcuts. Now only the rest of the maps
remain.

______________________________________________________________________________
Version 0.1
������������������������������������������������������������������������������

___________________________
(Friday September 28th, 2001):
���������������������������
� (Pyro) No more school for two weeks. Though I do have a full week of exams
when I get back, so I will have to put in a fair bit of study, but that
won't stop me relaxing, enjoying myself.. (is it just me, or did that
sound... uh... not good?) and writing FAQs.

� (Pyro) Done the final 20 track descriptions I had to do, which happened to
be for the first 20 tracks in the game.

� There isn't a whole lot more to do now, just the shortcuts for the 20 SNES
tracks, 20 more maps, multiplayer and then that's it. I think I'll take a
break for an hour or so though. And I might submit the FAQ as it is, and do
the rest in the next update.

� (Jarred) Finished my character descriptions.

� (Pyro) This version of the FAQ is ready, and about to be submitted.
The final three incomplete sections will be finished within the next two
days (see table of contents for more info).
_____________________________
(Thursday September 27th, 2001):
�����������������������������
� (Pyro) I've done all of the track shortcuts for the GBA exlusive cups.
The Extra cup shortcuts will be done tomorrow.

� (Jarred) I've done a few character descriptions.

______________________________
(Wednesday September 26th, 2001):
������������������������������
� (Pyro) About 4 hours sleep three nights in a row is a bad idea. I am waaaay
tired, but I'll live. Only two more days of school then 2 weeks holidays,
w00t!
Hopefully we can get this FAQ finished by the end of the week... hopefully.

� (Pyro) Finally finished downloading the Return to Castle Wolfenstein
multiplayer test, at 64mb my 56k modem took a while.. I'm off to play it,
so toodles.

____________________________
(Tuesday September 25th, 2001):
����������������������������
� (Pyro) Time for use both to get stuck into the maps. I do have an
assignment due in on friday, but I'll make sure I get that done in my spare
time :P

� (Pyro) I've done 13 of the maps.

___________________________
(Sunday September 23rd, 2001):
���������������������������
� Jarred has begun work on his share of the FAQ today.

� I've done up the fast times table, now It's just a matter of putting the
fast times in.

� I have spent most of the day making the fast times table, and
putting the fast times in, but finally it's done. Now I can work more on
the few incomplete sections that remain.

_____________________________
(Saturday September 22nd, 2001):
�����������������������������
� Advance Wars is out in Australia now... and I'm going to be buying it
sooner or later. I have a feeling that Advance Wars will be my next gaming
addiction, so I'd better finish this FAQ off soon :P

� All of the track descriptions for all five of the the Classic Cups are
done. Excellent. Not too much more to go now.

___________________________
(Friday September 21st, 2001):
���������������������������
� It's the weekend. *dances* I can relax, enjoy myself, and I'll have a bit
of time to work on the FAQ as well.

� Did the "Secrets" section.

� Did some of the track descriptions.

_____________________________
(Thursday September 20th, 2001):
�����������������������������
� My friend Jarred is going to be getting Mario Kart: Super Circuit on the
weekend. Hopefully, we'll be able to finish this FAQ off together. For
the time being though, It's up to me, and I'm going to get working.

� Did a few of the smaller sections..... nothing too important though.

______________________________
(Wednesday September 19th, 2001):
������������������������������
� Ack! I'm tired, but I'm not going to bed at this time of the day, so time
for a little more work on the FAQ.

� Also, you might want to know, that I am most likely going to turn this into
a joint FAQ, and a friend and I will both be working on it. Not 100% set in
rock at the moment, but it has a very good chance of happening.

� Did the basics section, and added the advanced controls to the controls
section.

____________________________
(Tuesday September 18th, 2001):
����������������������������
� I've got some fast times to add to the FAQ, but I'll get to those a little
later on, as I need to do more actual FAQ first :P

� Did all the item descriptions.

___________________________
(Monday September 17th, 2001):
���������������������������
� I won't be able to get much, if anything at all done on the FAQ today.
Long story.

___________________________
(Sunday September 16th, 2001):
���������������������������
� Well, I've just finished my Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 - Dreamcast FAQ, and
so I've decided to make this FAQ. I love Mario Kart: Super Circuit, and I
will really love making this FAQ, so it's off to work I go.

� I've done the basic layout for the FAQ. Now to start the real work.

(1)Introduction
(2)Contact
(3)Version History
(4)Table Of Contents
(5)Game Review
(6)Controls
(7)Basics
(8)Characters
(9)Items
(10)Super Circuit Tracks
(11)Extra Tracks
(12)Rankings
(13)Shortcuts
(14)Multiplayer
(15)Maps
(16)Secrets
(17)Frequently Asked Questions
(18)Fast Times
(19)Credits
(20)The End

Introduction
������������
Mario Kart: Super Circuit has got to be by far the most anticipated of the
first generation of GBA games. Sure there have already been some great games
in the short life of the GBA, namely Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, and
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, but if there was one game that was
anticipated by the masses, and that Nintendo could use to get the GBA off to
an excellent start, Mario Kart: SC is it. First shown at Spaceworld 2000 and
looking very promising then, Mario Kart: SC has been in development for some
time.
It didn�t quite make the launch of the GBA, but those extra few months of
development time really paid off.
The final product is one of the greatest not only on the GBA, but of all
time... I kid you not.

Gameplay
��������
I can remember my first time in a go kart. Yep, back then we didn�t have these
jibba jabbery, hooba doobery, newfangled mushrooms and shells. No in my day
you had to use pure guts and determination. As long as you had a good, well
bred and well looked after stallion leading your go kart around the dirt
tracks, and plenty of skill, you could become a great go kart racer.
Yes in my day, we saw things only in black and white. There wasn�t a bit of
Mode 7 to be seen... you didn�t hear us complaining did you?
Yes, in my day to be a great go kart racer, you�d get up at 3:00am in the
morning, eat your prune and cheese cereal and then you�d be off for
th.... Zzzzzzzz

Mario Kart: SC takes all the best elements of the two previous games (the Snes
and N64 incarnations), squeezes them into a tiny cartridge, adds its own new
elements and then lets you play them anywhere you want.

For those unfamiliar with how the Mario Kart games, I�ll give you the quick
lowdown. You race in a number of different Cups, each with four races. You
race three or five laps against 8 other racers. Points are given out for 1st,
2nd, 3rd and 4th places. By then end of the four races, the player with the
most points wins and is awarded the Gold Trophy. To help you out in your
races are a number of collectable items, such as shells that you can shoot,
speed boosts and bananas (racers spin out when they run over one).

There are three modes of play to be found in the single player part of MK: SC.
They are Mario GP, Time Trial and Quick Run. They are kind of self
explanatory.

There are five different cups for you to race in Mario GP, with four three lap
races. You can race these on 50cc, 100cc and 150cc. As you move up the cc�s
you�re opponents will be smarter, more aggressive and a lot harder to beat.
Beating all of the races on 150cc will be a good challenge.
You can also unlock the 20 tracks that were in Super Mario Kart on the SNES.
To do this, you�ll have to not only win a gold cup, but over the four races
you�ll have to collect 100 or more coins.

The races themselves are reasonably short, and usually take from 1:00 to 1:45
to complete the three laps.

There are 8 familiar Mario faces for you to choose, Mario, Luigi, Princess
Peach, Yoshi, Toad, Donkey Kong, Bowser and Wario. Each character is unique,
but fits into one of three categories, heavyweight, middlewieght or
lightweight.

Throughout the 20 normal levels and 20 bonus levels you�ll race around
beaches, go-kart specific circuits, desert, on a cheese planet..., alongside
rivers, through the snow, in Bowser�s castle, across broken piers at night
and much more. Hell, you�ll even race up in the sky across clouds.

There is also a special ratings system the game uses when you complete a cup.
You�ll be awarded ***, **, *, A, B, C, D or E. To get the better ratings
you�ll need to collect as many coins as possible, get the lowest lap and
race times as you can, and more. Getting the three star ratings on each
track will take a looooong time.

Mario Kart: SC reeks of that classic Nintendo gameplay, the races are very
fun and challenging. You will be playing it for months, I can assure you.

9.6/10

Graphics
��������
Wow. That one word pretty much sums up the graphics of MK: SC. There is not a
single thing I can think of to complain about.

The first thing you�ll notice is the detailed, colourful and wonderfully
animated game menus. Next will be the great racer models. In all honesty, they
look as good as the N64�s models. They are must more colourful, and crisper,
on the GBA version, animated equally as well, but (obviously) running in a
lower res.

Once you start racing, Mario Kart: SC will show its true colours. For a 2D
game, this is as close to 3D as you�ll find anywhere. Advanced mode 7 scaling
has been used to create a seamless 3D look, while still running the game in 2D.

One thing worth mentioning is the really cool multi-layered rotational
backgrounds. When you see them in action you�ll get what I mean.
These really help create an even greater 3D effect while racing.

All of the items you�ll use are made up of animated sprites, also giving the
illusion of them being 3D.

The game runs constantly at a very nice framerate as well.

Mario Kart: SC is almost as much a joy too look at as it it to play. And to
think that graphics of this quality are already being realised so early in the
GBA�s life. This is the best looking 2D game I can remember playing.. unless
you count Tony Hawk�s Pro Skater 2 for the GBA (but it uses polygons for the
characters).

9.4/10

Sound
�����
Nintendo games are famous for great gameplay, and great music (among other
things), so naturally I was expecting great, catchy music. As usual, Nintendo
didn�t disappoint.

With the power of the GameBoy Advance, blips and blops in portable games are a
thing of the past.
There are plenty of different tunes to keep your ears happy. They are very
well composed, catchy, and yes, a lot of them are 'happy'. Bass guitars seem
to be used in quite a lot of the music.
Of course the music is different for each track, and suits the theme of the
tracks themselves very well. The spooky tracks have eerie music, the jungle
tracks have a lot of drums and bongos used and so on.

As you begin your final lap of each race the music will speed up, which is a
nice little effect that Nintendo seem to implement in a lot of racing titles
like Mario Kart.

On the sound effect side of things, I�m also very pleased. There are sound for
everything you�d expect. The kart engines sound great, when you collide with
another races there is a satisfying crashing sound, when you car skids you
hear tires screech, the weapons all have their own sound effects etc. Actual
voice samples have been used for all of the characters, which sound
surprisingly good, and add to the audio side of the game very nicely.

Great music topped off with great sound effects. The first three categories
are looking mighty fine.

9.5/10

Multiplayer
�����������
Well, two days ago when I finished this review, I hadn�t yet had a chance to
play the multiplayer mode of Mario Kart: SC. Thankfully, I�ve now had the
opportunity to give muliplayer a good run through.

There are three modes of multiplayer for you to enjoy. Grand Prix, VS and
Battle Arena.
In Grand Prix you race in any of the cups player one has unlocked, competing
for the gold trophy. This can be great fun, and will keep you happy for
hours.
VS mode is just like Grand Prix, but only you and the other player racing you
(the other CPU racers aren�t included in the races).
Battle Arena, is just like the N64 and SNES Mario Kart versions. You can
choose to play in one of four arenas, you each have three 'lives' (represented
by balloons) and you pick up items that you use to attack the other players
with.
This is great fun for two people, but add another person or two and the real
fun starts. Battle Mode is awesome fun.
I can�t wait for the next trip I take in car or on a bus or plane with a few
of my friends! *dances*

9.3/10

Story/Plot
����������
As far as an actual story goes, Mario Kart: SC doesn�t have one. Presumably
Mario and friend have gotten together to have some competitive fun, and
go-karts just happened to be the way to do it.
Of course, I wasn�t expecting a story, it�s not like this is an epic RPG or
something.

N/A

Originality
�����������
As far as I know, Super Mario Kart was the very first Kart racing game. After
the enormous success of Super Mario Kart other companies knew kart racing
games were a winner, and so they brought out their own kart racers.
Considering this is the third (and in my opinion the best) instalment or the
original kart racing game, I have to give this a high originality score.

9.2/10

Controls
��������
There�s a button for everything here, and in the perfect places. It seems like
the GBA was made to play Mario Kart: SC on. You d-pad moves you around, A
accelerates, B brakes, the left shoulder button fires/holds a weapon, and the
right shoulder button jumps/powerslides. Start pauses and Select honks your
horn.

The controls themselves are very accurate and responsive. There�s nothing to
complain about controls wise.

Perfect.

9.7/10

Replayability
�������������
This is on of those games that you will be playing for months, and then years
later you�ll still pick up and play on the odd occasion.
I�ll do a breakdown of what there is to do, to give you an idea of just how
replayable this is.

Single Player -> 5 cups (10 all up because of the snes tracks) -> 3 difficulty
levels on each cup -> 8 ranks to attain on each cup in on each difficulty level
-> 100 coins on each cup on each difficulty level required to unlock Snes
counterparts.
If you don�t quite get the idea, that is a **** load of stuff to do.

Time Trail - This will keep you busy for quite a while, because the game is so
fun that you�ll really enjoy shaving 0.2 of a second of your best overall time
for each track. The ability to save 10 ghosts all up is also really handy, and
cool. And you can trade ghost with your friends, so it�s just like you�re
racing them :P

Multiplayer - You can play three types of multiplayer game, Grand Prix, VS and
Battle Arena. Each of these are really fun, and will assure you keep playing
MK: SC for months, even years to come.

9.3/10

Difficulty
����������
Mario Kart: Super Circuit caters for everyone. With three difficulty levels,
you�ll have a fairly easy time getting golds on the 50cc and 100cc modes, but
getting golds on all ten cups on 150cc mode will be vary difficult. As you
master the game you�ll want to try and achieve the ultimate status on each of
the cups, on each of the difficulty levels (three stars), which is extremely
hard, but is possible, with practice, patients and skill.

Load Times
����������
I really can�t see portables going to discs of any kind in the near future.
Portable gaming has to be easy to just pick up and play with no hassles.
As you should know, the GameBoy Advance uses very small (in physical size)
cartridges, that can store a lot of data, but have literally no load times.
That means that as soon as you want to start a race, you can.

Long live cartridges!....... (in portables at least :P).

Pros
����
(_) 40 single player tracks! That is insane!
(_) Classic, brilliant Nintendo gameplay.
(_) Excellent music, and sound effects.
(_) Great graphics, and to think they�ve been achieved so early in the life of
the GBA.
(_) With an extensive single player mode, you will surely be playing for
months.
(_) This, as far as I�m concerned is the best game out for the GameBoy Advance
to date (note, Advance Wars is almost out in Australia, and I have a
feeling that it may just top the excellence of Mario Kart :SC)
(_) Three great multiplayer modes, for up to four people. Talk about fun.

Cons
����
(_) You are unable to switch between the on-screen map, and your speedometer
during races. Not a huge problem, but I was expecting to be able to do so
:P

Buy/rent
��������
Come on! I�m sure you�ve gathered so far that this is a must buy. Unless you
have some sense and realise my reviews stink, so you just skipped down here to
see if I thought it was worth buying or not.
Well, this is a 100%, positive must have. As I�ve said, this, in my opinion is
THE BEST GBA GAME to date.
If you don�t have the game, go buy it not, if you don�t have a GBA then this
is well worth the purchase of the system, just so you can play it.

Alternate Action
����������������
On the GBA:

- Konami Krazy Racers

Other Systems:

- Mario Kart 64 (Nintendo 64)
- Super Mario Kart (Super NES)
- Diddy Kong Racing (Nintendo 64)
- Crash Team Racing (Playstation)
- Wacky Wheels (PC)
- Wacky Races (Dreamcast)

Overall
�������
Probably the most well known title in the GBA�s short life, Mario Kart: Super
Circuit is also its best. Nintnedo really know how to make games, and this is
a prime example of why Nintendo are the greatest video game developers in the
world, followed closely by Rareware and Sega.

Overall
9.6/10 (Rounded to 10/10 for GameFAQs)

- Pyro Vesten

________
A Button - The A button is used as the confrimation button in the game menus,
�������� but more importantly, as the Acceleration button when racing.
________
B Button - The B Button us used in menus as the back, or cancel button.
�������� In races, it is used to slam on the brakes of your kart.
_____
D-Pad - You use the D-pad to navigate menus, and steer your kart when racing.
�����
_____________________
Right Shoulder Button - While racing, hit the Right shoulder button to jump.
��������������������� While in the air, turn left or right to being a
powerslide.
You'll need to master the powerslide if you want to be
the best racer you can be.
____________________
Left Shoulder Button - The left shoulder button is used to fire/use the
�������������������� item/weapon you have.
You can hold the Left Shoulder button when you have a
banana, single green or single red shell to hold it
behind your kart (which will act as a sheild) and while
holding an item you can pick up another.
_____
Start - Start acts like like the A button in game menus, and will pause the
����� game when racing.
______
Select - Select honks the horn of your kart when racing. Each kart has a
������ different sounding horn.

______________________________________________________________________________
Advanced Controls
������������������������������������������������������������������������������

_________
Spin Turn - This is pretty much for mucking around in multiplayer, or if you
��������� run into a problem while racing (literally).

Hold A and B and either left or right on the D-pad. Your kart will
spin around very fast on the spot. You can turn 360 degrees in
about a second. If you hit a wall, and need to turn around 180
degrees in a hurry, then by all means use the spin turn, but
you'll loose a lot of time, just from making the mistake or not
being an elite driver >:P

________________________
Special Weapon Functions - Just hitting the fire button will use/fire the
������������������������ weapon's normal mode of fire. But some weapons have
a second function, and here I list them:

__________________
Single Green Shell - If you hold down on the d-pad and fire a green
������������������ shell, it will fire directly behind you, instead
of infront of you.

________________
Single Red Shell - If you hold down on the d-pad and fire a red
���������������� shell, it will stop exactly where you shot it,
and wait for the next kart to pass it, when this
happens, it will home in on them. Very sneaky.

______
Banana - Hold up/forward on the d-pad when you have a
������ banana and you'll fire it infront of you,
instead of dropping it behind you.

_________________
Blue Spiked Shell - Hold down and fire the blue spiked shell/spiny
����������������� shell and it will wait where you left it (like a
red shell) and when the leader of the race comes
past it next, it will chase after them.

______________________________________________________________________________
The "cc" Classes
������������������������������������������������������������������������������
____
50cc - Think of this as your training for the "real" game. The very first time
���� I played my copy of Mario Kart: Super Circuit I went to the 50cc
mushroom cup, and my places were three 1st's and one 2nd. This mode
will help you to get to know the tracks a bit better, and give you a
good feel for the game.

If you manage to have problems with 50cc mode.... and you're old enough
to read this then perhaps playing games isn't your ideal recreational
activity.

_____
100cc - In 100cc, at first you can run into some problems, because at this
����� stage, you still won't have mastered the controls of the game, or
know the tracks off by heart. 100cc though, shouldn't give you toooooo
hard of a time.

By 100cc, you'll be getting to know tracks better, and figuring out
small strategies and so on that can only be discovered through
practice.

_____
150cc - This is where it's at! Races will be fast, intense and have the edge
����� of your seat right through. By 150cc, you will know the tracks well,
and by the time you get a gold trophy on a cup, you'll know the tracks
like the back of your hand.

Expect very tough races on 150cc.

______________________________________________________________________________
On Screen Display
������������������������������������������������������������������������������

A B C D D
| | | | |
| | | | |
\ / \ / \ / \ / \ /
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
|() 48 LAP 2/3 -------- TIME 1'23''45 |
| | | |
|+------+ | | |
E---> || | | | |
|| | | | |
|| | -------- |
|+------+ |
| |
|+------+ |
|| | |
F---> || | |
|| | |
|+------+ *** |
| ** * |
|+------+ *** * |
|| | ** * |
G---> || | ** * |
|| | * * |
|+------+ *** * |
| * * |
|+------+ ** * |
|| | ** * |
H---> || | ** * |
|| | * ******* |
|+------+ *** * |
| * ** **|
| ** ** ******* |
| * ** *** |
| *** ST **** |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
/ \ / \
| |
| |
I J

{gcdtbes}

Mario Kart Super Circuit - Strategy Guide (Page 01)

Mario Kart Super Circuit - Strategy Guide (Page 01)

Platforms: