SNES Mario Circuit 1

Mario Circuit 1 is the first course of the Mushroom Cup in Super Mario Kart and as such, the first course in the Mario Kart series in general. It was later reused as the first Extra Course in Mario Kart: Super Circuit and the first Retro Course in Mario Kart DS, being the first Retro Course in the series.

The only hazard in this level are the Warp Pipes that appear near the second turn of the course. After the player passes the pipes, they find the only set of item boxes in the course. There is also a shortcut a racer can take by driving through the dirt right after passing the item boxes. The player needs either a Mushroom or a Star to successfully implement the shortcut without slowing down. However, taking the shortcut without an item does not take more time than following the course.

The course reappeared in Mario Kart: Super Circuit, and is the first track in the Extra Mushroom Cup. It uses the background from Peach Circuit. The pipe hazards were removed from the track, but an item box can be found in the shortcut.

Mario Kart DS
Mario Circuit 1 is the first course in the Shell Cup in Mario Kart DS, as well as the first retro course in the series overall. However, the course is slightly longer this time. Mission 1-8 (Perform 4 power-slide turbo boosts in 1 lap!) in this game takes place here. This course was available in Wi-Fi.

Official descriptions

 * Official website and Mario Kart DS instruction booklet: “Pulled straight from the SNES version of Super Mario Kart, this narrow track is further complicated by the pipes that protrude from its surface.”
 * Official European website: “The one that started it all. The first track from the original Super Mario Kart has a simple layout but don’t let that fool you. Veteran racers know that pixel-perfect precision is needed to negotiate this track’s turns without hitting the pipes jutting from the ground.”

Trivia

 * In the Super Mario Kart instruction booklet, the course map is upside down. This also applies to the Battle Course 1 map.
 * Mario Circuit 1 almost has the same track shape as Mushroom Bridge.
 * In the Mario Kart DS website when showing the video, it shows GBA Peach Circuit instead.
 * The music for Mario Circuit (and subsequent Mario Circuit courses) was arranged in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U as a track that can be heard on the Mario Circuit stage.