Mario Circuit 2
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Mario Circuit 2 is the fifth and final race course of the Mushroom Cup in Super Mario Kart. It reappears in Mario Kart: Super Circuit as the first course of the Extra Flower Cup, in Mario Kart 7 as the second course of the Banana Cup, and in various tours in Mario Kart Tour since debuting in the Tokyo Tour. The course also appears in Mario Kart World, where it is combined together with Mario Circuits 1 and 3 to make up the course simply named Mario Circuit which is the second course of the Special Cup. It later became playable individually in VS Race, Time Trials, Online Play, and Wireless Play via the Ver. 1.8.0 update.
Super Mario Kart[edit]
Course layout[edit]
The course is much more complex than Mario Circuit 1. In addition to its many turns, both pipes and oil slicks appear as obstacles. The course begins with an immediate 90° turn to the left followed by a 90° turn to the right and another 90° left turn. There is then a brief straightaway, where racers encounter the only set of ? Panels, followed by another 90° left turn. Racers then take another left turn followed by three right turns separated by brief straights; the final right turn is a sharp U turn which brings racers to a bunch of zippers covering the width of the track. These zippers are placed directly before a jump pad, allowing racers to jump over a previous part of the track, something that does not happen on any other course. After landing from the jump there is one last 90° left turn and racers then reach the finish line.
When playing in Grand Prix mode, sometimes a computer driver (mainly last place) does not manage to complete the full jump where racers cross over the track, preventing them from completing a lap. This can also happen to a player when trying to do the jump too slowly.
Shortcuts[edit]
A notable shortcut can be found at the beginning of the course. After the first turn, the player can use a Mushroom or Star to drive through the off-road to the left of the track, cutting off the following two left turns.
Glitches[edit]
There is a bug that allows Lakitu to count two laps when only one lap was completed. For this glitch, the player needs one mushroom. Using the ramp near the end, the player must use the mushroom as soon as they use the jump, trying to land near the goal, but in the out-of-bounds area (for the glitch to work, the character must be a little stuck in the wall). If successful, Lakitu will position the player where the goal is, counting a total of two laps (the one the player traveled normally and the one that is glitched). This same glitch works in Mario Kart: Super Circuit.[citation needed]
Mario Kart: Super Circuit[edit]
Mario Circuit 2 reappears in Mario Kart: Super Circuit as the first course of the Extra Flower Cup. The background is from that game's own Mario Circuit. An extra Item Box is placed at the left of the track before the jump. The pipe and oil slick hazards have been removed.
Mario Kart 7[edit]
Mario Circuit 2 also reappears in Mario Kart 7 as the second course of the Banana Cup. Unlike its previous iterations, it has three laps instead of five, and is built in a larger scale, similar to that of SNES Mario Circuit 3 in Mario Kart Wii.
In this version, the Warp Pipes and oil slicks return as obstacles, after being absent from the Mario Kart: Super Circuit iteration. There are also some new gameplay changes in this version. There is a trick ramp which makes it easier to perform part of the large off-road shortcut; players can also now use a hidden Bullet Bill path to perform the entire shortcut. The segment before the ramp now has walls that funnel inward. The large jump now encompasses a glide ramp. After this glide ramp there is a long ramp on the left wall which allows racers to get extra distance. Players now may fall to the lower section of the track. If players do fall down, they will get picked up by Lakitu and brought back to the next section of the track. The finish line is also placed further back from its original appearance, and a starting banner has been added.
The course itself has been stretched diagonally. The straightaways between the 1st and 7th turns have been made longer, while the straightaway between the 9th and 10th turns has been lengthened in order to prevent racers from cutting the track by using the gliders, similar to how racers could exploit the jump in previous Mario Kart games.
This is the first returning course from a 2D game to feature slopes, which are otherwise commonplace in 3D games.
Mario Kart Tour[edit]
Mario Circuit 2 reappears in Mario Kart Tour, starting with the Tokyo Tour. It remains unchanged in terms of layout, taking its appearance and music from Mario Kart 7. It also shares its music with SNES Mario Circuit 1, SNES Mario Circuit 3, and RMX Mario Circuit 1.
The course also appears as Mario Circuit 2R (reversed), Mario Circuit 2T (with ramps), and Mario Circuit 2R/T (reversed with ramps). The first two were introduced alongside the normal variant in the Tokyo Tour, while the last was introduced in the 2020 New Year's Tour. In the T variant, there is a Chain Chomp near the trick ramp in the off-road , and the glide ramp is now gone. In the R/T variant, three Piranha Plants appear on the sides of the course.
Appearances[edit]
For this course's tour appearances, see List of SNES Mario Circuit 2 tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.
Top-tier and middle-tier items[edit]
Select "show" to reveal the drivers, karts, and gliders for which SNES Mario Circuit 2 and its variants are always favored or favorite courses. For instances in which additional drivers, karts, and gliders temporarily had this course and its variants as favored or favorite courses, see List of SNES Mario Circuit 2 tour appearances in Mario Kart Tour.
