Mario Kart: Super Circuit / Strategy

This guide was written by Mark Jones for advanced Mario Kart: Super Circuit players. If you don't think you're advanced yet, I suggest you practice and check out our Tracks section for help.

Preface
The purpose of this page is to provide information on and help with basic and advanced tips and strategies for Mario Kart Super Circuit (Mario Kart Advance). Most of the information here is geared towards the "Time Trial" mode however many of the tips and strategies for Time Trials can and often should be carried over into Grand Prix and the other modes. The information on this page is purely the opinion of the author and is by no means perfect. Any additions, comments or questions can be sent to me via E-Mail or AIM. Any sources I use will be credited and if you send in a tip that I include please give me your name so I can credit you.
- Mark

Table of Contents
Terminology
Basic Driving Info 101
Advanced Driving & Glitches 201
Recovery Techniques 101

Terminology
Boosting/Boost: The blue speed boost after holding an extended or multiple power slides
Shrooming/Shroom(s): Using a mushroom for a speed boost
Powerslide: Jumping using the R button and holding the slide around a turn
Non-SC: Non-Shortcut Racing
SC(s): Shortcut or Shortcut Racing

Basic Driving 101
The Beginning: OK... The first step you need to take in becoming an elite Mario Kart racer is to inform yourself about the intricacies of the game. If you find yourself reading this you are already off to a good start. I do not claim to be the best racer on the planet but I do know a lot about the game and most, if not all, of its inner-complexities. A key to getting good times is knowledge. Knowledge of the game, its limitations, its flaws and how to exploit these things to your advantage.

Choosing a Driver: Alright now for the basics. You are gonna need to start by choosing a driver. A lot of people will tell you about who they think is fastest or who is the best. The truth is each driver can be used to achieve a fast time depending on which track your driving. Each player has their strengths and their weaknesses. For some tracks you will need to use a specific driver if you want the fastest possible time. Other tracks it won't matter who you use. I will list what drivers you need to use for each track on the track strategy pages. For now I will just cover the drivers in general.

Driver Info: There are three driver categories: Lightweights (Toad, Peach, Yoshi), Middleweights (Mario, Luigi) and Heavyweights (Wario, DK, Bowser). On the driver selection screen Nintendo lists two different star-based rankings for each driver: "weight" and "speed." To my knowledge the weight stars are pretty much accurate. However the "speed" ranking is totally out of whack. I think what Nintendo meant to say was "acceleration" not "speed." The heavyweights have the highest top speed on paved/normal surfaces and also the slowest acceleration from a standstill. If you need some proof or convincing, as if my word was insufficient, go set a ghost on Peach Circuit with a driver in one class and then race it with a driver from a different class. This same test can be used with drivers in the same class. A good, and consistent, racer on Peach Circuit should be able to get better times using Heavyweights then slightly slower times using Middleweights and lastly Lightweights. A consistent racer should also notice that the times he sets with different drivers within the same weight classification should be pretty much the same. If you are going to be racing on a track that requires a lot of off-roading or requires a lot of acceleration from a stand-still then your best bet is to use a lightweight driver. A lot of lightweights are used in SCs because of the nature of SC racing and the need for good acceleration and tight turning.

Maintaining Speed: When competing for time trials, you need one thing: speed! The less speed you have the slower your times are gonna be. By using different driving techniques and tactics you can increase your speed and maintain your speed. The techniques listed here are to help you both increase your overall speed and maintain it. If you listen to your driver's engine you can hear the pitch of the engine determined by its RPM. In order to attain your true sustained top speed you must stay on the road or comparable surface long enough for your engine to reach its max RPM. Despite what you may think using a mushroom or any other speed-enhancing device (star or zipper arrow) will not change your driver's RPM. It will only give you a momentary burst of speed but will not change your overall sustained speed. For the heavyweights it takes longer to achieve your top sustained speed because of their weight and slower acceleration, whereas lightweights achieve theirs very quickly. The difference is that it might take longer for the heavyweights to attain their top speed but their top speed is far superior to the rest of the drivers.

The Rocket Start: Like in all other Mario Kart titles you can start with a boost by timing your your accelerator with Lakitu. Just before Lakitu's last light turns on, press and hold 'A'. If done correctly you will start and it will be like you used a mushroom, this gets you at close to top speed and is essential when using heavyweights.

Basic Cornering: There are 3 basic ways to take any corner in the game. You can just turn your kart normally, you can jump around the corner or you can powerslide around it. The first cornering technique should not be used very often. You'll find that almost every corner can be taken more efficiently by using a jumping or powersliding strategy. Only very slight turns should be taken without jumping or powersliding.

Jump Cornering: When going around corners it is often helpful to jump. A corner might not require a full-fledged power slide and if you don't feel like losing your speed you can jump around it by using the 'R' button. Also, jumping can be used to realign your driver after a different cornering technique, like recovering from an overcooked power slide. Jumping around a turn allows you to stay tight around the corner and gives you ultimate control over you kart. An alternative to jump cornering is quick sliding. Instead of slimply hopping or jumping around a corner, you can hold one or several short slides for a small period of time on your way around the turn. However if not done correctly it can lower your overall speed and throw you off line compared to if you were jumping.

Power Sliding: This is one of the most important techniques in the game and a lot of advanced techniques branch off of it. When you hit a turn your driver can power slide by jumping before the turn and holding the 'R' button for the duration of the turn. While in the powerslide it is essential to keep holding down the R button until you have finished the turn. If you get into a slide and let go of the R button you will lose the slide and revert back into a normal turn. However there is one caution that comes with this technique. If you hold a power slide for too long you can spin out. You can also spin out when power sliding on many consecutive turns and changing direction frequently. If you don't understand this, take Bowser for a power slide test on Luigi's Circuit.

Boosting: When you power slide (or execute a series of power slides) around a turn you can get a blue boost at the end. In order to get the boost you must hold the power slide for a few seconds. I find it helpful to tap the opposite direction of the way you were sliding to trigger it or to simply jump to straighten out. Getting a "blue boost" increases your driver's overall RPM and is VERY helpful when using heavier drivers.

Shrooming: In time trials you get 3 shrooms, so use them wisely. Find out the best shrooming strategies for each course, they make a world of difference for your times. Shrooms should normally be used in order to cut some piece of the track or over a jumper. Only use shrooms on straights when it is totally necessary (like all the Bowser Castles). Shrooms can be very versatile. You can use a shroom in a variety of ways and many of these will be covered in the Advanced Driving section.

Advanced Driving & Glitches 201
"Tree-Tricking": In MKSC there are 3 basic ways to extend the capabilities of your shrooms. The most important, glitchy and versatile of these ways is "Tree-Tricking." This name of this technique originates from its earliest known use. Japanese players discovered that you could extend your shroom on Peach Circuit by shrooming into a tree. What you do is: Line up with the tree you are trying to hit. When you are in shroom range use your shroom and drive strait into the tree. Just before you are about to hit the tree, jump and release the accelerator (A Button). If you did it right you should now be coasting at maximum speed. The boost will last for a couple of seconds as long as you do not touch the accelerator. While you are boosting you can drive over grass or any surface (besides deep water) without slowing down. You also have the ability to turn incredibly sharp around corners eliminating the need to jump or powerslide. A good way to take a sharp corner like a U-Turn is to hold B as you take the turn. If you do this you will not lose your boost but the duration of the boost will be shortened. There are a lot of complexities with this technique. For one the distance from the tree at which you use your shroom will impact how fast and how long your boost will be. If you shroom too far away from the tree will boost will be short lived. If you shroom too close to the tree your boost will be at maximum length but you will some of the pre-tree boost time. The key is to find the right distance from the tree at which to shroom so that you get maximum pre and post-tree boost. Also, if you turn slightly before impact your kart will boost at an angle. This can be helpful if you need to turn a certain way after your boost wears out. Coasting like this at an angle will not affect how long your boost is. However, jumping and braking will shorten the length of your boost and hitting the accelerator and running into other objects will kill your boost. Oh ya, this not only works on trees, but virtually every stationary object in the game. Snowmen, umbrellas, cacti, tile corners and even flat tile walls are fair game! You can also use this technique in combination with zipper arrows and objects.

Delayed/Grass Boosting: This is one of the harder driving techniques in the game to master. The idea here is to hold a powerslide through a turn or series of turns and keep your blue boost from coming out until you reach a corner where you can use it to cut grass or other slower surfaces. In order to master this technique you must first understand powersliding boosts and how they happend and how they can be controlled. As stated in the basic driving section you will get a boost after you hold a powerslide for a certain amount of time. However you will not get the boost until you straighten out. By doing this the game is rewarding you, not only for powersliding, but for also being able to control your kart after completing the powerslide through the straightening of you kart. To release the boost after the slide just wait until your kart returns to its normal straightforward position, adjust your kart in the opposite direction to make the boost happen faster or jump out of the slide and land driving straight. This advanced technique requires you to utilize the 3rd method of releasing your boost by jumping after your slide. The trick to this technique is to learn how to approach the upcoming turns by setting up your slides so that when you come out of the powerslide and into the turn you are trying to cut across you are not fully straightened out. Then if the upcoming turn is the same direction as the way you were sliding simply jump into the grass to release the boost. Or, if the upcoming turn is in the opposite direction of your previous slide, jump and turn the other direction to set yourself up, while still holding your boost, and then jump a 2nd time into the grass to release the boost. Two good examples of these different approaches can be found on Peach Circuit. On the first turn of the lap you hold a left facing powerslide then jump into the grass to the left of the first turn and release your boost. On the last 2 turns of Peach Circuit you use the other method. First you hold a left powerslide around the first turn then jump to the right to delay your boost and set up for the last turn and then jump into the grass to the right of the last turn and release your boost. As I said this is one of the hardest techniques to master and only practice will help you master it. If you were confused by this explanation it might be best to watch a movie of somebody doing this to more fully understand how its done.

The Water Glide: So whats the best way to attack long stretches of shallow water? Jumping? Well... yes and no. Just jumping across shallow water is faster than driving through it but gliding through the water is faster. This technique takes a bit of practice to master but its not too tough. This technique works wonder on courses like SGB, KB1 and KB2. To glide on the water, simply jump into the water as if you were about to start a powerslide. However once you land and start you slide release R and don't touch the directional pad. Just glide for a split second and keep your speed up. Once the brief glide wears off, jump again to straighen out and then repeat the process for long stretches of shallow water.

The Water Glide (w/ Shroom): This is the 2nd way to extend your shrooming power. It is hard to find good spots to use this, but there are some out there. For this technique you will need a shroom and large stretch of shallow water. Start your shroom and jump and slide into the water like in the normal water glide. If you do it right you will maintain your shroom speed over the entire length of the water. (Thanks to Jason Whalls for this one.)

The Water Skip: In MKSC you can use a mushroom to execute a series of skips over shallow or deep water. For some shortcuts you can jump over a tile that is in the water (like on Riverside Park). Start your shroom early and try to time the skip so that you hop over the tile to the other side.

Shrooming Jumpers: And this is the final way to extend your shrooming power. In the first shroom extension method we shroomed into objects that the game gave us. In the second method we shroomed over water and in this method we are gonna use a 3rd element that the game gives us: jumpers. You can increase the range of your shroom by shrooming over a jumper. On some tracks its even possible to bounce multiple times on a series of jumpers like Boo Lake or Rainbow Road. As long as you keep landing on jumpers you will maintain your shrooming speed.

Recovery Techniques
There are certain situations that require you to recover from an error or possibly an SC that causes you to slow down. These techniques will help to minimize your reduction of speed.

Jumping: Sometimes when you overcook a slide you have to take a corrective jump to straighten yourself out. Also when forced to drive over a surface such as grass, water or snow jumping greatly increases your speed. Combining and slide with your jump over grass or water will also keep your speed up somewhat. If you hit a wall (which is sometimes unavoidable) or any other obstacle without the aid of a shroom, a jump just before impact will greatly assist you. You will just ricochet right off and keep on going. Try running into a tree on Peach Circuit at full speed without a shroom and jumping into it, and see what happens.

Brake Tapping: If you hit a course obstacle like a crab or ice puddle, you can tap your brake 'B' and avoid spinning out. If you see a little music note appear you know you did it right (that and the fact you didn't spin out :-) ).

The 'A'+'B': This is very rarely used on most Non-SC Time Trial runs. However it is essential for many of the SCs. Press 'A' and 'B' at the same time to execute a stationary spin.

Lakitu Rocket Start: If Lakitu is replacing you on the track, you can get a limited rocket start away from him if you time your ignition right just like at the beginning of the race. I try to tap the gas and rev it at full throttle a split second before I am down.

Every adult needs a little break from Mario Kart now and then. Be sure to try some online casinos. You can play internet poker, slots, roulette, or my personal favorite: online blackjack.