This article has a talk page!This page details bugs of Super Mario Kart.
Some of these bugs are well-known among the speedrunning community.
Interestingly, all of the physic related and most of the lap skip bugs also found their way to Mario Kart: Super Circuit.
Extra Boosts#
Off-Road Boost#
Watch on YouTubeJump and hold L/R and then make numerous left and right motions until you are about to hit the off-road (dirt, grass, etc.), then jump, make one final countersteer, and release L/R. You will boost through the off-road with full speed.
This happens because several drift boosts are generated by sliding back and forth, which is normally generated by continuous three-second long sharp drifts.
This can be seen in the video on the right at 1:09.
Long Boost#
Watch on YouTubeFind a corner or wall where you can bump into and have a wide, clear space ahead.
As you get near the wall, release B and at the same time use a Mushroom to get a boost. Then jump against the wall and continue to hold L/R at least until you've landed and the boost has peaked. The boost will take a very long time to die down.
This can be seen in the video on the right at 1:53.
Lap Skip Glitches#
Laps can be skipped in a number of ways, usually through some difficult tricks.
Wall Crash at Finish Line#
Watch on YouTubeOn Donut Plains 1 and 3, Mario Circuit 4, and Koopa Beach 2 it's possible to skip laps by doing very tricky and exactly-timed jumps at the wall where the finish line ends. This can trick the game into thinking that you successfully made a lap, but is very difficult to do. This can also cause Lakitu to display some glitched lap counters.
Lakitu Pick-Up at Finish Line#
Watch on YouTubeOn all Ghost Valley tracks, if you drive backwards and jump past the finish line into the abyss so that Lakitu will pick you up, you will skip a lap.
This can also be done in Vanilla Lake 1 and all Bowser Castle tracks, but requires a Cape Feather in order to jump above the walls.
Underwater Trick#
Watch on YouTubeIn Vanilla Lake 2, turn left just after the finish line and head straight into the lake. Just before Lakitu fishes you out, drive a little to the left. After you have been fished out, you will be thrown straight into the next lap.
Can be seen in the video at 27:35 (which ironically is a promotional video from Nintendo showing their own bug).
Flashing Tire Bug#
There is a secret CPU ghost mode that can be accessed in Time Trial by pressing Start on Controller 2 on the driver selection screen, which will display a "CPU" cursor that you can use to select a ghost driver. However, the CPU ghosts can interact with blocks like the ice blocks in Vanilla Dome.
If you do a race where the CPU destroys the blocks and you drive through the remains, then save and race against your own ghost, it will disappear when it touches the blocks and your tire will start flashing even in the idle state. This only works if you and your ghost use the same driver.