Mario Kart: Super Circuit / Tracks / Star Cup

This is it - only one more Gold Trophy needed to unlock the Special Cup. If you're in the mood for some frantic, high-speed racing, look no further than the Star Cup. The Snow Land, Ribbon Road, Yoshi Desert, and Bowser Castle 3 courses have one thing to offer, and that's high-intensity racing.


Snow Land

Map Numbers
1. Keep your kart lined up with the entrance to this narrow passage to pick up the seven Coins. Feather the A Button around the turn to hit the Dash Pads straight on.

2. Take a moment to slow down and line up with this mammoth-sized row of Coins.

3. Although you can hop and slide behind the tree to take this turn, it's a lot faster to power-slide turbo around it. Just be sure to keep an eye on the penguin and the locations of the water holes.

4. Keep driving straight after the Dash Pad to jump over the course boundary via the hidden jump strip in the snow.

Note: There are 50 coins in this course.

Course Overview
Racing the Snow Land course is a very slick affair. The snow has been plowed aside to reveal an icy lake, and some portions are much slipperier than others. Like most lakes, the Snow Land course is not completely frozen - fail to avoid the holes in the ice, and you'll be going for a cold water swim. Here to increase the danger is a bevy of penguins, snowmen, and pine trees.

Hazards
Just when you thought a course couldn't offer any less traction than Sunset Wilds, you're lopped down on an icy raceway - with penguins, no less! Feather the accelerator around bends and try to avoid sudden, sharp turns. Also, scan out ahead of you to look for changing road conditions. The very lightly colored ice patches will cause your kart to spin out of control if you hit them while you're driving too fast.

- Penguins: Lose four Coins and spin out of control.
- Water: Lose two Coins and sink.

Note: The slippery nature of this course encourages a slower, more deliberate driving style. Therefore, driving onto the snow to avoid a snowman or penguin isn't necessarily a bad thing since the loss of speed may help you set up for a subsequent turn.


Ribbon Road

Map Numbers
1. Get some extra speed off the Dash Pad on the right and angle your kart to the right as you hit the jump strip. Keep turning to the right while you're airborne to land on the second section of track extending to the right.

2. Stick to the inside of this turn in order to catch the Dash Pad on the right. Keep your kart going straight through the chicane to drive over the second Dash Pad on the left.

3. Be sure to bypass the Dash Pads at least once so you can grab the Coins split wide throughout the S-turn.

4. This last chicane before the finish line is a great place to use your Mushroom. Don't bother following the curving road; just blast straight through to the checkered flag.

Note: There are 50 coins in this course.

Course Overview
Arguably the fastest course in the entire game, Ribbon Road is a windy, two-lane track with long straight-aways and few sharp turns. Skilled drivers will link consecutive Dash Pads together for amazingly quick laps. More creative drivers will make use of a shortcut that takes a rather lengthy section of the course out of play - and you don't even need a Mushroom!

Hazards
It must be Christmas 'cause only Santa could deliver all of the gifts scattered throughout this course! The Ribbon Road track consists of a fast, red ribbon surrounded by a much slower wrapping ping paper surface. Large and small gifts alike litter the sides of the track, serving as immovable obstacles that you must drive around, unless you have the Star, that is.

- Leaping off Course: Lose two Coins and fall.


Yoshi Desert

Map Numbers
1. Power-slide around this turn until you clear the cacti. Tap in the opposite direction on the + Control Pad as you let up on the R Button to turbo out of your side.

2. Drive around the Dash Pads if you're looking to collect the 16 Coins. Otherwise, try to chain the two Dash Pads together with the small bump in the road to go flying over the trees near the oasis.

3. This particular turn is the most conducive to using the power-slide turbo. Give yourself a boost ahead of the other racers and grab one of the Item Boxes.

4. Get your Mushroom ready and slow your kart down as you come around this bend. Behind the quicksand near the course boundary, there is a jump strip you can use to leap over the water into the final stretch.

Note: There are 50 coins in this course.

Course Overview
Yoshi Desert is a challenging, winding course that takes you on a power-sliding journey through Yoshi's homeland. With monumental pyramids and sand dunes serving as the backdrop, you might be surprised to encounter water on this course. Well, you had better believe your eyes; those aren't mirages! One wrong turn and you can end up swimming to the finish line.

Hazards
Sliding into in oasis should be the least of your worries at Yoshi Desert. Scattered throughout the course are large circular pools of quicksand. Instead of quicksand, they contain kart-eating plants. Luckily, these Mario-eaters haven't yet developed a taste for gold Coins, so they merely cost you some time. You'll also have to dodge the occasional cactus, tree, and rock, as well.

- Water: Lose two Coins and sink.


Bowser Castle 3

Map Numbers
1. Be careful when you're coming through here, as there is no guardrail on the far side of the road.

2. If you've got a Mushroom ready and there's no one in your way, activate the Mushroom just before you hit the fifth and final jump in this section. Angle your kart toward the road to the left and hit the jump strip as near the left edge of the road as you can. This shortcut has a low success rate, but it can save large amounts of time.

3. Just because the road is zigzagging doesn't mean you have to. Stick to the center and drive straight through to the hard left turn at the end.

4. You had better stick to the center of the road through here if you don't want to end up charbroiled. Beware the witch flying back and forth in front of the finish line.

Course Overview
Things have been toned down a bit at Bowser Castle this time around. The mazes of lava gaps have been replaced with long, fast straight-aways. Races are hotly contested in this third run through the sweltering dungeon of Bowser Castle. But, unlike the other Bowser Castle courses, this one has a shortcut to exploit.

Hazards
This race might be faster, but it's not a Bowser Castle course without the typical dangers.

- Block Statues: Lose eight Coins and get flattened.
- Flames: Lose four Coins and spin out of control.
- Lava: Lose two Coins and sink.

Please continue to the Special Cup.