Super Circuit was my first GBA game, I remember my parents putting the game and console in a huge box for Christmas Day as a joke so I didn't know it was a GBA, fun memories.

Once you master the controls, this game is a gem. I particularly love the soundtrack.

Regarding it's difficulty, I'd like to add that trying to ⭐⭐⭐ ALL cups is incredibly difficult in Super Circuit. Unlike MK8 which only requires all first place finishes or previous entries which are only a bit more difficult, SC requires first places, good times, a certain amount of coins, little to no item usage and perfect driving (no getting hit, avoiding off-road/shallow water/mud, bumping walls or other racers). Once you get real good most cups aren't too bad but the Retro Lightning Cup is notorious for being near impossible to ⭐⭐⭐.

It's interesting that you prefer SMK's controls over Super Circuit's. For me, it's the exact opposite.

Back in 2001 we didn’t mind the controls bc there was simply nothing else like this game graphically at the time, PSP was 4 years away!

MK Super Circuit was my first hand held game. I remember getting it new with my game boy in 2001. One of the best Christmas presents I ever had.

8:03 mario kart wii retro rewind has it! I know it’s not official but

This was my first ever game I owned.  I played it a whole lot.  

I remember trying to get 3-star rank on every GP map, including the SNES tracks.  
I got enough that I managed to get the nighttime background during the splash screen intro.  

I also remember that I got good enough on some tracks that I could outrun blue shells at 150cc.  the shell would stick behind me and if I slowed down even a bit it would hit me.  However, if I maintained spped long enough it would despawn.  The track I remember in particular where I did it regularly was Luigi Circuit.  

Some major nostalgia vibes.  Now I want to play it again.

11:53 the yoshis neck is in pain rn

I'm currently trying to complete this game 100%. it was amazing for the first handheld Mario Kart game.

I’ve only heard Nathaniel Bandy talk about the star ranking system for this game. For those of you who don’t know how the star ranking system works, it’s based on how many skill points you have by the end of the cup. There are a ton of variables that cause an increase and decrease in the skill points.
Here are the basics, the character you pick will award you certain amounts of skill points.
Bowser: 45
DK and Wario: 40
Mario and Luigi: 30
Peach and Toad: 10
Yoshi: 0
This is based on how easy they are to control, so there’s some risk and reward factor here. It also depends on what cc you’re playing at. The higher the difficulty, the less skill points you’ll get. What happens in the race itself can drastically affect your rank.

Here are the variables that earn you skill points:
Collecting coins: +4 pts per coin
Hitting item boxes when your slots are full: +15 pts per item box pass
Hit by lightning: +40
Going fast as heck: depends
These four variables are the only things you can use to get more skill points. And most of them are completely arbitrary, like why does it matter if I’m holding on to items or not? And it’s more cryptic than that, because not all items that are held count as being held. Triple green and triple red shells do not count as a held item because you’re technically not holding the item button. So it’s actually really bad when you get those two items. And then there’s the factor of getting hit by lighting. Getting hit by lightning is a rare occurrence in Super Circuit which is so unfair because you actually get a ton of skill points from something that happens at any random time.

Now let’s talk about things that take away your skill points. Well I hope your ready because I have a long list of variables so here we go.
Being off road: -.25 pts per frame
Not accelerating: -.25 pts per frame
Braking: -2 pts per frame
Using triple red shells: -5 pts per frame
Using lightning: -5 pts per frame
Using Stars: -30 pts per frame
Hitting enemies or items on the road: -15 pts per frame
Spinning out: -15 pts per frame
Bumping into walls: -20 pts per frame
Using a rocket start: -25 pts per frame
Lakitu Rescue: -25 pts per frame
I kid you not, all of these variables can make you lose skill points. I mean heck, no wonder it’s so hard  to get 3 stars. Let’s just go over some of these like not accelerating, using my brakes are you kidding me? Why should that matter at all? This is a racing game. Every race is different so naturally I’m gonna be forced to play every race slightly differently. And then there’s the matter of the items. Using lightning, stars, or triple red shells as a detriment is completely stupid because you have no control over what items you receive. I’ve gotten stars in 2nd place tons of times when playing Super Circuit. So what am I supposed to do about that? And then there’s hitting enemies or items on the road, spinning out, and Lakitu rescuing you. I think those factors are fine, although bumping into walls is so petty if you ask me, then there’s using a rocket start. That is so contradicting considering the game wants you to finish laps fast. How am I supposed to do that when I’m discouraged to use the rocket start? And what’s crazy is I have never seen anyone talk about how evil this system is other than Nathaniel Bandy. So I’m glad to be sharing it with everyone watching this video now.

This list of variables misses out on one key factor that also makes a big difference. And that is drifting. Because yes you can drift in this game, but it’s incredibly awkward to do and takes a ton of practice to get used to. It’s similar to the other games where you have to jump and turn and then hold that pose for a bit to get a speed boost, but I do not have the skills to properly integrate it with my gameplay. It’s hard to master because everything feels so slippery. Drifting can be to sharp or too narrow which can cost skill points. And the computers do not help matters either. While they technically don’t rubber band, they are extremely aggressive and are still very difficult to deal with.

So there you have it.

I definitely appreciate this game more now that I’m older and find it easier to get a grip on the controls. At the time MK DS was the newest handheld entry to me so it was easy to see super circuits as outdated. Though I’ve appreciated it a lot more over the years and it ranks above some of the other fan favorites for me due to the skill needed to race and it’s fast paced gameplay.

I think it’s okay imo, but that’s mainly influenced by how much the series has grown and been made easier to control and maintain leads as opposed to then
Keep up the bangers

I still stand by the fact that super circuit invented retro tracks, DS built upon that idea

I loved the feature with the red shells that you could leave them on the track and they’d wait for another driver to get close enough to home in.

I played so much of this game but hard to go back to it in 2023

I also found it interesting that this game’s version of Rainbow Road also has Bowser’s Castle from Paper Mario floating in the background.

One thing you neglected to mention about the items is despite the fact the game introduces no new items, it DOES still mix things up.

As well as having some of the most chaotic item tables in the series (you will very commonly pull stars in 2nd or 3rd) this game also has a recovery mechanic if you get hit by a banana where you can brake with good timing to avoid spinning out.

The game also removes i-frames so you can hit a spun out opponent multiple times, and running into a spun out opponent will cause them to spin out again.

But my favourite favourite FAVOURITE mechanic that was ONLY in this game comes when you throw a red shell backwards. Instead of just flying backwards like a green shell, it sits on the track and then hunts the first person to drive past it.

There was so much strategy when you got into the meat and potatoes of this game which is why I ignore every review calling it bad.

I love this game my favorite part is the red shells can be left behind to wait for a car to come by and it will pursue the car .

Easily the most underrated game in the series