# Retro Game: Mario Kart: Super Circuit ## Overview *Mario Kart: Super Circuit* successfully translated the beloved kart racing experience to a handheld for the first time, delivering a massive amount of content that remains impressive to this day. Serving as a direct follow-up to *Super Mario Kart* and *Mario Kart 64*, this Game Boy Advance title features 20 brand-new tracks and, as a monumental bonus, includes every single track from the original SNES game. It was the ultimate portable package for racing fans. ## Background Developed by Intelligent Systems in collaboration with Nintendo EAD, *Mario Kart: Super Circuit* was a premier launch title for the Game Boy Advance in 2001. Its primary goal was to prove that the new handheld could deliver a rich, console-quality experience that rivaled its 16-bit predecessors. The game was a stunning technical achievement, faithfully recreating the Mode 7-style graphics of the original SNES game while running smoothly on the GBA's small screen. It was a massive critical and commercial success, becoming one of the best-selling games on the platform. ## Gameplay *Mario Kart: Super Circuit* returns to the classic top-down, "flat" track design of the SNES original, but with the refined handling and character roster of its N64 cousin. Players choose from eight characters and race across a total of 40 tracks—the most in any Mario Kart game at the time. The gameplay is fast-paced, with an emphasis on tight cornering, strategic item use, and collecting coins scattered on the track to increase top speed. A major draw was the multiplayer capability; using the GBA Link Cable, up to four players could connect for frantic VS races and classic Battle Mode showdowns, cementing its status as a must-have for any GBA owner with friends.