Super Mario Kart Small Challenge

[Princess Rescuer]

In Super Mario Kart, there is a little-known secret challenge the game has. you can hold the Y and A buttons at the same time to shrink your character on the character select screen. During races, your character (and only your character) will be permanently shrunken, even after being squished. The only way to un-shrink your character is to run into a Poison Mushroom, and even then, it only lasts until the end of that particular race. And be sure to make this happen as soon as possible- when you're small, other drivers can run you over and spit you out of their tailpipes. Make sure not to be bumped while growing after touching the mushroom as well. Worse yet, lightning doesn't grow you and shrink everyone else it hits- you still stay small unlike when you drive into the Poison Mushrooms.

There are benefits to being small however. For one, you're much lighter, so your air time with the feather is just that little bit greater. In Bowser Castle 2 (and 3) the jumps off of the Stop Dead End and the turn-boost are less risky if you have a Feather. That, and driving off-road tends to hurt less. There is one more benefit though- each driver has a Rival who will always come in 1st or 2nd, or at least the game intends it that way. You can slow down and fire a shell at them (preferably a red shell) towards the end of the final lap, and they will lose several positions. Not only that, the game will become confused about who the new Rival should be. You can perpetuate this by hitting the new Rival with a shell at the end of each race, causing them to come in 4th or even 5th while you consistently land 1st or 2nd. Remember, it's not about winning every race- it's about coming in first overall. Practice this technique well, and you can enter the final race leading by 8 points or more (meaning you are guaranteed victory at 4th place, since the game revolves around your character and doesn't proceed unless you finish in the upper half, also it's 8 since ties favor you) This technique can be done in the normal races, but slowing down is easier when you're small.

Finally, the reward for completing this challenge. There is none. You still get the same trophy as you would if you were to complete the Grand Prix cups normally. You can still feel better about yourself, and this challenge is EXCELLENT training weights for when you do it normally.