It was a very good choice, and as Lobster says, there are different ones at other events so there is an even spread over the long term. I had a few friends doing some speed running there, was great to watch on twitch, wish i was there tho!

@Damo
Il see what I can do regarding finding any candidates. Will it be just on the original GB platform or is the VC download one on the 3DS a viable option aswell? Might be worth listing the options and how the validation process must be done (e.g live recording as there is no replay option etc).

I have a few friends that may be keen on this, will make some enquiries.

@chibichibi @WiiLovePeace
No the lap splits are not possible to get 4 lots of 11"23. That is the final lap strategy, which is faster as you finish in the sand, and the kart would slow down just after where the finish line is. So there is an opener lap which can be done just under 12 at max, then middle laps which are in the high 11"4x to low 11"5x and the fast lap for the final lap only which at the moment World Record is 11"23. The max potential is nearer a mid 57 but the zig zag charges to generate boosts makes it extremely difficult to stay on the shortest racing line as well.

@1337man1233 Bowser was the fastest in Super Circuit. A number of records are driven with him.

@1337man1233 In this game, Bowser and D.K.Jr have precisely the same driving stats. The only difference is their design. Some prefer using one or the other. Similarly, Mario / Luigi are indentical, Yoshi / Princess and Toad Koopa. So there are four character types. Always the heavyweights will get the best times. You may only want to use the lightweight characters for Battle mode.

@Rosalina Infact we don't have a lot of time... wish we did. I am 31 now and busy with work and family, so when I was in my teens I had a lot more holidays etc. So I probably play on and off for short sessions of 30-60 minutes sometimes maybe a few times a week, and then train with my niece Leyla Hasso who is also setting records actively. Most of the competition are aged 25-40 so a lot of them have busy careers, families and children of their own. But they probably limit their gaming just to this and maybe a couple of things on a handheld console for chillout when they are out and about.

@PinkSpider Hello, please read my replies to the various comments above, I explain the boosting in the game, which you all would have done on regular hairpins. It is just generated before some off road and the boost keeps your speed up for a bit, you just have to judge how much you can cut max.

@treeofmana
No problem at all, feel free to ask.
In answer to your questions, 1. Are you referring to the boost start? On PAL version it is roughly half way between the first and 2nd lights, on NTSC a little earlier. 2. Official SNES controller, probably one of the greatest controllers ever made. The R buttons can crack though if pressed too hard so handle them with care... a number of players compete on virtual console aswell to set records but maybe the wii classic controllers etc aren't as precise for the L and R button indentations. The official championships are all done on original SNES's. Have a look at this video, from the 2009 World Championships, we were featured on French television http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzlfWwCcrYY

We will be on twitch tv again live streaming in August 2014 hopefully. More news on that in the new year.

@ULTRA-64 I am mainly focused on the original Super Mario Kart only, though I used to compete for records on 64 well over 10 years ago and Super Circuit some years back. The reason mainly is time and availability around work, family and friends. Plus there are yearly world championships in the original SNES SMK so a lot of the available goes into training for that. Leyla and I were kindly interviewed by Nintendo at Eurogamer and also had a go at Mario Kart 8. I feel the driving will be similar to the Wii and MK7 however, but I am sure it will catch on well and there will be some great competition here also on Time Trial. I am good friends with a lot of record holders and pro gamers in different titles, and I definitely respect the time and focus they have put into their games. Main thing is to always make time for family, friends and other important things first, but if you have competitive video gaming as a hobby, it can be a lot of fun. Set realistic goals step at a time and see what you can hit. Definitely pick a game that you really enjoy and can excel at, more often it will be just one game in particular that stands out And enjoy it above all!

@Gioku Donkey Kong Jr and Bowser have the exact same driving stats, it is just down to choice who the player prefers. But at the moment, Guillaume, Karel and I prefer the famous ape over Bowser for Time Trialing so yes he will have a majority for now until another rival does something about it

@KevTastic84
GEEK 2014 is in Margate from 21st to 23rd February (end of the sch half term week if i am right). Eurogamer will be in London, usually late September (get tickets early as poss as that always sells out. One of the best events is also Play Expo 2013 in Manchester which usuall happens in October, dates TBA online sometime in 2014. Look us up on those as we will be running some things.

@gsmaciel @Peach64 @Shiryu @KevTastic84 @Falco @WiiLovePeace Another example on a different track that you may be keen to see is where normal hop jumping is the only way as opposed to off road boosts. The Ghost Valley and Vanilla Lake 2 tracks are a prime example where it is about timing jumps across gaps. You will have seen my niece Leyla Hasso mentioned; she drove a live record on twitch tv at the World Championships in August 2013 on the Vanilla Lake 2 track in 52.53 seconds. She is doing some attempts here, then at around 9:40 on the video she does the actual run, nice to see the reactions as well as the driving level. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHyMKrObDOQ

Leyla and I will be attending some of the major Gaming / retro gaming events in the UK during the year also to do some more live demonstrations, races and tournaments for the visitors.

@Shiryu
That sounds great, i will check it out. Let me know on facebook if there are any music projects like that going. Quite a few I know may be keen to hear some

@Falco Yep im around for Q&A's today

@Shiryu F-Zero was actually the very first SNES game i played, didn't know anything of it at the time, but it was in 1992 in a Blockbuster video store locally to where i live. Great memories. I got that with Super Mario Kart that Christmas. The tunes are great in it also. As it was Mode 7 i picked up the driving techniques, but it is harder on some tracks. Unlike SMK which was reprogrammed for PAL, there is a direct conversion on F-Zero SNES between 50hz to 60hz so the times from all regions can be converted for comparison. The World Record (1'57"99 on NTSC 60hz) is insane and would match around 2'37"32 there on PAL. Different strategy though. Anyways, back to Super Mario Kart questions, il be around today if you have any more

@Shiryu I used to compete on F-Zero SNES on and off aswell; there is an extensive Time Trial community for all of the series; I reached the UK record on Mute City 1 there a couple of years ago (sorry for video quality, i was using an old camera then) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXX2x38YKFA

@gsmaciel Basically when you powerslide round a corner (hold L or R for long enough) then countersteer, you see the kart twitch a bit and the engine sound goes up for a moment. That is a mini boost. If you have played Mario Kart Super Circuit (Game boy advance) when you do exactly the same thing a blue spark comes out of the kart and you get the same boost. On Super Mario Kart you will have had this happen a lot after a hairpin turn. Now if you can trigger this just before any off road you can cut across a bit of it without slowdown. You just have to judge how much. Alternatively you can zig zag between left and right on the dpad fast to charge this boost as i have done here so it doesnt need to be done on a hairpin. But this is harder and can throw you off the racing line a bit. It is largely the same as generating any mini turbo on other mario kart games. But it appeared a bit more hidden / less obvious in SMK. However the off road boosting is only effective once absolutely maxing out normal driving, like the vid i posted above http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYCN0ALbK5I

@WiiLovePeace Definitely agree, the driving technique required is ridiculously hard to get near low 58s anyway so getting the limit would be robotic. My potential is nearer the mid 57 but that's absolutely maxing it out. Driving old skool methods on the edge of the road are easier to get more consistent as you dont have to do the zig zag charges but just hop round corners. See the lap splits here in a 1'01"05 time driving on the edge of the road only (12"41 opener followed by four 12"16s!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYCN0ALbK5I It is just a shame that the World Record route for a simple track is that complex that none of the top players can get consistent lap splits. But always opening up new potential is great, it keeps us fighting for more...

Many thanks guys, if you have any further questions or would like to see some more videos please let me know. The off road boosting can be done in some format on most Mario Kart titles, but that is what Mario Kart is about, a racing game that bends reality a bit and is fun. There are even more crazy looking maneuvers that can be done on racing modes. The competition in the original Super Mario Kart is growing and we have more people digging out their SNES's to join our Time Trial World Rankings; and also the official World Championships annually every August France that is part sponsored by Nintendo of France. Looking forward to hear from you all.

Best Regards,
Sami Cetin

Oh dear... what have they done... Now we do have an online community for SMK via emulators but 99% of the rest of the playing is done on console at meets. We have the Super Mario Kart World Championships starting in 8 days time in France... That will be at an event meet up, though it is addictive I have to say

Fantastic game and i think due to its age its not a major concern that the story is a bit vague and limited. The characters are sweet and u can make them to be the heroes or not. I liked the secret weapons hidden within the game that slaughter the enemy quickly later on

A lot of mixed opinions here, and i guess we all have our reasons for our favorites. I play in the professional crowd for some of the racing games including Super Mario Kart, so they will be higher up my list, but i have always enjoyed the rest. Infact i could safely say that i equally like most of the games mentioned in all the above posts. It shows how the SNES console was so great!

1. Super Mario Kart - Perfectly designed kart racer with controls to die for. The items are not as randomnised as the later versions, allowing for more driving skills to be involved. Many players around the globe are still active in the Time Trial and Multiplayer circuit, with yearly World Championships in France (also partially sponsored by Nintendo of France with some nice Nintendo related prizes and consoles!) Here is a video of my niece's Time Trial Record set at a large Retro video gaming even in the UK earlier this year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOFKUgsY1UM

2. Super Mario World - The game that set the console in motion, still so playable and fun today. Pure platforming perfection!

3. Donkey Kong Country - We thought this was gona be on the N64 when we saw the first screenshots... but it wasnt! Graphics, gameplay and music was awesome

4. Donkey Kong Country 2 - As per the above

5. F-Zero - Another mode 7 classic, although it lacked a multiplayer mode, the Time Trials certainly kept me busy. Does anyone else love the tune in Silence... and Big Blue, and Port Town... and Mute City! All of it!

6. A Link to the Past - Awesome game, i cant run through it as quickly as the platformers so i didnt put this one on top but enjoyed it every bit as much as OOT on N64.

7. Donkey Kong Country 3 - The 3rd one was still just as great, slightly prefer the first two but a lot of fun here.

8. Super Mario RPG - Got a nice boxed copy for my NTSC SNES and a pretty mint Japanese SFC copy too. Awesome to play through.

9. Super Street Fighter II - Slower than Turbo but good 2 player fun and extra features.

10. Yoshi's Island - Really enjoyable platformer and music, wasn't as good as the others i felt but still class.

I liked the GBA versions and F-Zero X, but the original SNES classic was the best for me. Playing F-Zero alongside Super Mario Kart as they both went well together on the Mode 7 Graphics. Most of my time was probably spent time trialing Mute City 1 until i got a PAL 2'38"22 record. Definitely want to pick this up again and keen to see if Nintendo are producing any more new ones in future

@3DSLUIGI

Mario Kart 7 was a very enjoyable game and i like the direction it went. It was definitely an improvement on MKWii. But i think after the snes they made the items a little too aggressive (regular triple reds, blue shells, lightnings etc). And thats fine for fun and casual gaming. On the serious competition end it is a little more difficult to manage that and pure driving technique. The lightning probability was more like 1 in 32 when in 2nd place on SMK Match Race for example, and the red shells would only move in a direct line to the opponent. So good driving an time trial skill would be rewarded in a racing situation to catch up to the opponent. Of course if you are doing Time Trial only then any Mario Kart game has a great setup for that. I used to play MKSC / MK Advance also on the GBA, the driving mechanics were much like SMK. Good memories

@Hetsumani

Lol! no no..
A few have asked how to pronounce my names; the C is pronounced like a "ch" in the word "check". Turkish origin.
Sami is pronounced "Sar-mi" not like "Sammy". It comes from Arabic originally so a bit of a mix there. There is actually a name "Semih" but its quite rare.

@DePapier & @3DSLUIGI

Much appreciated, however many of us on the rankings are at such a close level, the championships are always edge of the seat between any two rivals.

I have played MK7 before but not to this level, the game is designed differently. I barely made a 1'21" on Toad Circuit over a year ago on Time Trial for example. Il stick to the original probably and leave MK7 to the younger generation

@RadioShadow
Hello,
It says Sami Cetin on the top right photo caption, which are you referring to?

Regards,

@WiiLovePeace

Ok, i wasnt sure on the format, strange that its a mix of all the games, but hope its fun anyways
Sure, fire away on any questions, il answer those. Infact Leyla usually only plays once a week, or maybe a short second session. Maybe 2 hours in a session but we have kept it consistent through the year. As mentioned it is advantageous if i am tutoring her while she plays as she can see live demonstrations, but in the end of the day it is up to the player to figure out the controls and cornering techniques and refine them themselves. She attended the Super Mario Kart World Championships in France also this year and after playing multiplayer with 40 or 50 of the Top players in the World from around 8 countries this helped her visualise how to improve and drive certain tracks.

So basically play vs good players if there are any locally and watch some time trial videos and replicate the best you can what is being done. If you do want to join one of the Time Trial sites look them up like super mario kart. Once you become a good driver you will in turn become a good multiplayer racer as you can use the driving skill as a weapon. This works best in the original Super Mario Kart as the game is less focused on getting multiple blue shells, bullets etc etc that the new versions have. More driving technique and balanced item use.

She has played Mario Kart Super Circuit, Mario Kart DS, MK7 and MKWii briefly but only for recreation and not any advanced driving or Time Trialing. Super Mario Kart was the only one she pursued as it was my favourite also and easier to pick up on Time Trial. If you see the first video it will show how shes started young, but she did have long periods where she didn't play at all. This year was the one where she made a massive comeback.

On other news, she has done some more records this week, including a great Rainbow Road time under 1'30" seconds on PAL, which is on her new youtube channel that I am helping to manage:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Htp78npNNUM

She also drove a consistent Mario Circuit 1 time of 1'02"16 which beats the long standing Women's World Record of 1'02"18 set by Sue Cladingboel back in around 2000!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miEcYIJmQ00

Leyla now holds all 40/40 PAL Women's World Records for Super Mario Kart, and has climbed to 13th in the whole of the UK and 93rd in the World on the PAL rankings. I hope there will be more opportunities and interviews for her, and there should be some more interesting news next year.

You can find her speedrunwiki on google easily for further information.

Regards,

Sami Cetin

@ChunkyDroid
I looked up and apparantly its going to be on Mario Kart 64 on that Sydney tournament? Different game if so... But otherwise hit some Time Trials on whichever game it is to improve the driving techniques prior to the event.

@idork99
SNES's are cheap on ebay, where are you from exactly? You can pick up a copy of the native version PAL or NTSC then compare records to competitors around the World.

@ogo79
Yes the controller was from RetroCollect which I acquired earlier in the day. A very nice collectors item. RetroCollect's team made some great challenges at the Play Expo and also big fans of the 16 bit era. Please do check out their Facebook page when you can.

@idork99
I would say that Time Trial in all versions in fine in its own way as items arent there. Just depends which style fits you more. SMK and MKSC were two of my strongest ones as they are alike on handling mechanics. Mario Kart 64 was good for Time Trial and DS / MK7 too. For mutiplayer racing i would put SMK clearly on top, and Mario Kart Double Dash I observed was fairly balanced from a Tournament i was at in Norway, although i dont play this version much.

@Cauterize
Yeh cheers for that, I decided it would be a fitting prize for the SMK Tournament so gave that away for the occasion. Leyla was aware it was from the other comp, it was a great idea for a collectors item

@idork99
Just have to check online, there are various groups around the world doing events, the multiplayer on the newer version of Mario Karts has more randomnised items though. The 1 to 1 competition on Super Mario Kart snes really gives you a chance to show driving skills and tactics. If you did want to see the World Championship in France it happens annually in August.

@idork99
There are online ones that are on and off, but not sure on major World Tournaments on the other Mario Karts. The SNES Super Mario Kart one has yearly World Championships in France. We have held some smaller ones in the UK also. Depends how far you are?

Check us out on the Super Mario Kart Time Trial World Rankings guys, the link is available at the end of her World Record videos above, can be easily found on google too. There are many more skilled players and amazing records + videos.

Proud of you Leyla, you worked really hard for this, very well done! And all the best for future Time Trial record improvements and yearly Super Mario Kart World Championships.

• Sami Cetin

All: If anyone would like to know more about competing in Super Mario Kart SNES Time Trials or Championships please send me a message. Many thanks!

Mine just arrived but il have to charge it and test later. Will come in handy for doing Super Mario Kart Time Trial demos when out and about at events. Of course proper SNES and tube tv will always work best

I havent returned to tidy up the 3DS version of the track yet, i was using the wrong car and strategy so i should be a few seconds faster than my 1'18" / 1'19" pretty soon. The World Record is 1'13"805 on that by a Japanese player.

Anyway, my niece hit on the SNES SMK Rainbow Road the Women's World Records of 1'31"91 and 0'18"15 this weekend, pretty nice for a 12 year old. Heres that vid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glqB7e_7_iQ

@Hipster-Dashie

Hi Hipster-Dashie,

Yes i didnt do a perfect run either, a few minor bits which could be sharpened on the Toad Circuit. I tried again a few times and got 1'24" with Mario and regular standard car etc. Then with the faster cars i normally use i made a high 1'21" earlier today. Its not my favourite track to be honest. At the moment im working with my niece a lot on Super Mario Kart SNES as she is working to reach the Women's World Title on Time Trials. She is infact working on the Rainbow Road track to hit those respective records there this weekend, il post some vids up if she gets there. The times are currently 1'32"13 and 0'18"16 set by a lady in Germany on the PAL version

Btw yes that was I at BitTrip evening briefly, the flat screens do lag a lot so it was difficult to drive on but i was able to do some demos. Old tube TVs work best for older consoles, so we value them a lot and use them at the yearly world championships for SMK held in France every August.

@StarDust

Its not a 16.7% ratio for SMK, because if it was made like that, the game would have been slow as ever for PAL version. So as i mentioned it was reprogrammed and they adjusted various statistics in it a little, like turning angles, off road slowdown, item speeds when fired, and the speed. There is probably only a 2.6% difference in the times actually if you factor in both PAL and NTSC driving in a straight line on Super Mario Kart. On other games this wasnt the case and 16.7% was correct.

So basically on the World Rankings for SMK (http://www.mariokartplayers.com/smk/) when I developed it over 13 years ago we had to make a separate ranking for PAL and NTSC, then everyone could compete vs the best in their regions. And some players bought the Japanese Super Famicom consoles etc if they wanted to compete with all the US / Brazilian / Japanese players on records. Myself and some of the top French / Dutch players done so. And vice versa, a few American players done the same with PAL. If you check the site you will see the spread of the players.

Ive gota do a bit of shopping today so i will try to pop to Westfield briefly within a few hours if anyone is around.

Hi everyone,

Heres the the Rainbow Road SNES vid I only just managed to upload: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaEv9cd3Ua4

However the World Records can get beaten frequently, we already had times of 1'26"72, 70, 68 previously by 3 of us on the website.

I only compete seriously on the original Super Mario Kart SNES, I have got a set of times on MK7 but they aren't so fast compared to the current top players as I dont have the time to play it and learn it inside out.

The chart you are referring to in the pic was a fun challenge on MK7 that happened near my work somewhere so i thought id give it a go for a laugh, but we were only allowed a few tries on it. Hipster-Dashie : How did they let you play for 3 hours then enter a time?!? I did tell the staff there that I only really play the original SMK and showed them a couple of vids on my phone, and made them aware that there are faster MK7 players out there by a good few seconds. I wanted a 1'24"9xx but they made me enter the 1'25" time after my 3rd try or so, and i had to go back to work anyway. This was done on Toad Circuit, with Mario and one of the regular cars so the speed is not the best you can get. I have a 1'22" with other vehicles and characters, and the World Record is a shocking 1'19" something at the moment.

As for the Time Trial Rankings question, for Super Mario Kart SNES yes we split PAL and NTSC up because the PAL was slightly reprogrammed when made with subtle differences (being a few seconds slower etc). For example the NTSC World Record for Rainbow Road is 1'23"78 by Karel van Duijvenboden: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxqdyRCbg7o&feature=youtu.be

If you have any other questions please let me know.