Mario Kart: Super Circuit

Mario Kart: Super Circuit is the third game in the Mario Kart series for the Game Boy Advance. The game is known under the name Mario Kart Advance in Japan. This game combines the elements from the previous Mario Kart games and contains all of the courses from Super Mario Kart.

Gameplay
The objective in this game is place first in the races, as with most racing games. Each race has eight contestants, all trying to win. The player can pick up Item Boxes which contain items. Using these items can be very helpful, but computer controlled characters can also use items. On the course, coins can be collected to increase a player's top speed. If the player has zero coins, he/she will spin out if he/she comes in contact with another racer. Fifty-five coins can be found on each course.

This game has five cups, and each has four new race courses. These cups are the Mushroom Cup, the Flower Cup, the all new Lightning Cup, the Star Cup and the Special Cup. If players collects 100 coins in a certain cup, they will unlock the Extra Cup version. These cups contain all of the courses from Super Mario Kart. This game has more courses than any other Mario Kart game in the series. If the player manages to collect a gold trophy on all of the Super Circuit cups, the background for the title screen will change to a sunset. If the player manages to obtain a triple star ranking for all cups, the title screen's background will change to a night time setting.

Controls

 * D Pad left or right: Steer left or right
 * A Button: Accelerate
 * B Button: Break
 * R Button: Hop and Power Slide (when holding for a few seconds, the player gets a mini-turbo)
 * L Button: Use Items, stop Item Roulette
 * B Button + D Pad down: Drive backward
 * L Button + D Pad up or down: Shoot Item in certain direction
 * A Button, B Button + D Pad left or right: Quick sharp turn left or right
 * Start: Pause game
 * Select: Horn

Game Modes

 * Grand Prix (1 or 2 players) In this mode, the player races against seven other CPU players in quest to finish first. The player chooses a cup and plays the four courses it contains. The player earns points by placing within the first four positions. When finished in fifth place or lower, the player must restart the race. The player is able restart a race three times representing three race flags as lives. When the flags run out, the player is unable to restart the race. When playing with two players, if one racer finishes in the Top 4 and the other didn't, they both move on to the next race. At the end of the cup, the player with the most points wins.
 * Time Trial (1 player) In this game mode, the player tries to break the pre-set times for each course. The player gets three mushrooms he/she can use in the race.
 * Quick Run (1 player) This is the first and only Mario Kart game to feature this mode. It's basically a single-player VS. mode. It's possible to access some options for the player by pressing the select button. The available options are turning on and off items and coins and changing the number of laps; either 3 laps or 5 laps.
 * VS (2 to 4 players) This mode is just like Quick Run, but with more than one player. CPU players are turned off. The game also counts how many times the players won or lost. Players can play with multiple game cartridges or just a single cartridge via Gameboy Link Cable.
 * Battle (2 to 4 players) Players try to pop each others balloons. CPU players are not available. The game also counts how many times the players won or lost. If a player loses when playing with 3 or 4 players, they turn into a Bob-Omb and can make it more difficult for other players by picking up items from boxes or blast into their karts.

Ranking
Depending on a players' performance in GP, which is determined by the amount of coins picked up and the time finished, he/she could achieve one of the following ranks:
 * Triple Star: The player must have collected all 36 points, beat the default best time in time trial on the courses and have at least 130 coins (150 on the Extra Cups).
 * Double Star: The player must have collected all 36 points and have at least 130 coins.
 * Single Star: The player must have collected all 36 points and have at least 100 coins.
 * A: The player must have collected all 36 points.
 * B: The player must have collected at least 30 points.
 * C: The player must have collected at least 25 points.
 * D: The player must have collected at least 20 points.
 * E: The Grand Prix has not been completed yet.

Characters

 * Additionally, in VS play with a single cartridge, all players use Yoshi, with each being a different color.

Non-Playable Characters

 * Boo
 * Cheep-Cheep
 * Crab
 * Lakitu
 * Piranha Plant
 * Shy Guy

Courses
The game featured twenty new courses, and brought back the original twenty courses of Super Mario Kart (But due to the Grand Prix Format, they were organized in five Grand Prix instead of four). However, most courses brought back had the hazards removed found in them such as the Monty Moles in the Donut Plains and oil slicks in the Mario Circuits.

Super Circuit Tracks
There are also new courses introduced in Mario Kart: Super Circuit. The player races three laps on these tracks in Grand Prix mode.

Mushroom Cup

 * Peach Circuit
 * Shy Guy Beach
 * Riverside Park
 * Bowser Castle 1

Flower Cup

 * Mario Circuit
 * Boo Lake
 * Cheese Land
 * Bowser Castle 2

Lightning Cup

 * Luigi Circuit
 * Sky Garden
 * Cheep-Cheep Island
 * Sunset Wilds

Star Cup

 * Snow Land
 * Ribbon Road
 * Yoshi Desert
 * Bowser Castle 3

Special Cup

 * Lakeside Park
 * Broken Pier
 * Bowser Castle 4
 * Rainbow Road

Extra Tracks
These courses were originally featured in Super Mario Kart, and were reused in Mario Kart: Super Circuit. The player races five laps on these tracks in Grand Prix mode.

Extra Mushroom Cup

 * Mario Circuit 1
 * Donut Plains 1
 * Ghost Valley 1
 * Bowser Castle 1

Extra Flower Cup

 * Mario Circuit 2
 * Choco Island 1
 * Ghost Valley 2
 * Donut Plains 2

Extra Lightning Cup

 * Bowser Castle 2
 * Mario Circuit 3
 * Koopa Beach 1
 * Choco Island 2

Extra Star Cup

 * Vanilla Lake 1
 * Bowser Castle 3
 * Mario Circuit 4
 * Donut Plains 3

Extra Special Cup

 * Koopa Beach 2
 * Ghost Valley 3
 * Vanilla Lake 2
 * Rainbow Road