Mario Kart DS

Mario Kart DS is a video game that consists of 4 releases

Edit Article

EDIT BLURB SUBSCRIBE

The first game in the Mario Kart franchise to go online, Mario Kart DS includes 32 tracks (16 of them from past games), and a new mission mode, along with new weapons and power ups.

Overview

Mario Kart DS is the fifth game in the seminal kart racing series from Nintendo. The game is an arcade style racer that emphasises the use of ridiculous weapons to get ahead of your opponents. Tactics such as using shortcuts, power sliding and boosting can be used to gain an advantage over your opponents. The player can race against up to seven other well known characters in the Mario universe such as the great plumber himself or his perpetual arch enemy Bowser, in environments taken directly from the platform games. This DS iteration introduces several new game play features such as an adventure mode where players undertake missions to collect coins or defeat enemies; drafting; new weapons such as Bullet Bill and a refined power slide system. Most notably this is the first Mario Kart to be playable against other players online via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

Game Modes

You can't get more average than Mario's default kart!

Grand Prix

Grand Prix mode mirrors the Grand Prix mode seen in all previous games in the series. Players first choose from 3 classes they wish to race in – 50cc, 100cc or 150cc. Class determines the speed and aggressiveness of the enemy karts. The player can choose from 8 characters with 5 unlockable characters becoming available as the game progresses. Each of the eight different cups consists of 4 races giving 32 tracks in total – 16 brand new ones and 16 that have been taken from each of the four previous games. Depending on where a player finishes in a cup they will be given a rating of E, D, C, B, A or 1, 2, or 3 stars, with E being the worst and 3 stars the best. The action takes place on the top screen of the DS, whilst the bottom screen shows a map of the circuit and where each of the racers are. Touching the screen toggles between a map of the track and a close up of the player which also shows item boxes, course hazards and incoming weapon attacks. Players start the first race of the cup at the back of the grid, but can launch themselves in to first place immediately by pressing the acceleration button at the right time for an instant burst of speed. The player will want to pick up a power up pretty quickly by driving into a multi coloured item box which will give the driver a randomly selected item. When a player is in front these items are usually less powerful such as a banana skin that can be dropped behind you for other cars to skid on or a green shell which is a projectile weapon which requires manual targeting. At the back of the pack players get more exciting weapons like an invincibility star which increases the speed of your kart or a red shell which is a projectile weapon that will home in on the car in front of you causing them to spin out. Racers at the back will also get to use the dreaded Blue Shell which seeks out the first position driver and takes them out. Players can corner more effectively by power sliding around corners. Pressing one of the shoulder buttons when going around corners will put the kart to a skid and blue sparks will spit out the sides of the wheels. A player can then push left/right repeatedly on the d-pad which will make the sparks turn orange and the player will then get a small speed boost when they release the shoulder button. There are multicoloured strips scattered around each course that provide a further burst of speed when driven over. A new way a player can get a burst of speed is by drafting behind another player, after a few seconds blue lines will appear around the player which indicates a burst of speed and the player can power past the person in front – maybe barging them out the way as well if you are one of the stronger characters like Bowser or Donkey Kong.

Mario Circuit 1 makes a welcome return.

Time Trial

Players can race on any of the 32 tracks and post their best lap times. Some tracks will give the player a certain amount of mushroom power ups that give a burst of speed when used. On the bottom screen there is the map which shows the racing line that a player takes through the course which allows the player to see how he took a corner of a previous lap. You can save up to 32 ghost characters of your fastest times (one for each track) and you can also download ghost laps from friends. If you go fast enough on a track you will unlock and compete against a staff ghost which is a ghost time of a member of Nintendo staff.

"Vs."

Players can select from any of the 32 courses and choose options such as class, computer difficulty, whether to race as part of a team and whether they want to race a certain amount of races or just race until you get a certain amount of wins. During the race carts will have a tag attached to them showing an emblem.

Modes

This is the first Mario Kart that has a one player battle mode. There are two different modes:

Balloon attack

In Balloon attack, players square off against up to 7 other computer controlled players in one of six arenas. Players try to burst opponents 3 balloons that are attached to their karts by collecting power ups and firing them into them or by ramming them when getting a burst of speed from a mushroom power up. Players start with only one balloon but can blow up 4 more balloons by blowing into the microphone on the DS or by holding down the select button if you want to be more discrete. The last man standing wins. This mode is also available in local ad hoc mode against up to 7 other players using just one cartridge.

Shine runners

In Shine runners players compete against up to 7 other computer controlled players in one of six arenas. Players try to collect the most shine sprites scattered throughout the level. You can steel sprites from your opponents by hitting them with power up items or by bashing into them. Players with the least amount of shines are slowly eliminated after set periods of time until the last man is left standing. This mode is also available in local ad hoc mode against up to 7 other players using just one cartridge.

Mode

This is a brand new mode for the Mario Kart series. The mode consists of 6 different levels with a secret 7 level unlockable on completion of the previous levels. Each level consists of 8 different missions and a 9 boss mission. Players will take control of a specified character and kart and complete objectives such as collecting a certain amount of coins, drive through numbered gates in order, destroy item boxes or perform a certain number of power slides in a given number of laps. Players are rated according to how quickly they complete the tasks and similarly to the Grand Prix mode, are given a rating of E, D, C, B, A or 1, 2, or 3 stars, with E being the worst and 3 stars the best. When all missions of a level are completed, you will face off against a boss character which generally involves defeating a boss by firing projectiles at them or ramming them with a speed boost.

Multiplayer

Donky Kong has a lot of catching up to do!

You can compete against up to 7 other players in local ad hoc mode in a series of races on all 32 tracks. You can also play either of the two battle modes. The game supports DS download play, so if only one of a group of DS owning friends has a copy of the game you can all still play against each other but with only a few of the circuits and characters available. If you all own a copy of the game, all of the tracks and karts are available to choose from.This is the first Mario Kart game that can be played against other people over the internet. The Nintendo friend code system is used so if you want to play against a friend online you will need to have each others friend codes. You can choose any of the karts and characters you have unlocked in the single player mode and 20 of the 32 tracks. You race against up to 3 other randomly selected players and track selection is made by a voting system. If each player chooses a different track to race on then the game makes a random selection from the four tracks voted for. You can choose to play against people from all over the world or people from just your own continent. You can also choose to play against rivals, who are people with a similar win/loss record as you.

Power ups.

Red Shell

A projectile weapon that seeks out the racer in front of them and makes them spin out and slow down. Can be held behind the kart to protect against incoming projectiles.

Red Shell x3

Like the Red shell but you get 3 at once that spin around your kart and can be fired individually. If an opponent barges into you while you have 3 shells they will spin out and slow down.

Green Shell

A projectile weapon that requires manual aiming and makes the target spin out and slow down. Can be held behind the kart to protect against incomingprojectiles. Can also be fired behind by holding down on the d-pad while firing.

Green Shell x3

Like the Green shell but you get 3 at once that spin around your kart and can be fired individually. If an opponent barges into you while you have 3 shells they will spin out and slow down.

Banana Skin

The Banana skin is dropped behind the player and lays on the track. If it is run over by another player it causes them to spin out and slow down. Can also be fired out in front of you by pressing up on the d-pad while firing.

Banana Skin x3

Like the Banana skin but you get 3 at once that spin around your kart and can be dropped or fired individually.

Mushroom

Gives a temporary burst of speed.

Mushroom x3

Like the Mushroom but you get 3 at once that can be used individually.

Bob-omb

A bomb that can be fired out in front of you and will explode on impact causing everyone in the impact zone to spin out. Can also be dropped behind you.

Blue Shell

Will seek out and destroy the person in first place. It will explode in a similar fashion to a bob-omb and cause the driver to spin out.

Fake item block

This item looks like an item block and anyone who drives into it will spin out and slow down.

Golden Mushroom

This will give the player unlimited speed boosts within a short period of time. The player can keep boosting until the time runs out.

Bullet Bill

Turns the player into a large bullet for a small amount of time and will also put you into autopilot. If you hit anyone when you are a bullet you will cause them to spin out and slow down.

Blooper

This will cover you opponents screen with a blotch of ink, making driving very difficult.

Lightning

This causes cars that are ahead of you to shrink and reduce their speed. Small karts can be made to spin out by barging into them.

Star

This makes the player invincible for a small amount of time. The players speed will increase and barging into other players will cause them to spin out and slow down.

Boo

Will cause the character to go invisible. This means that the player can drive through things on the road such as bananas and fake blocks. The ghost character ‘Boo’ will also steel items from other characters and give them to you.

Gameplay

There are grand prix competitions, many of which are unlocked later, and a variety of courses including street races in which you have to avoid traffic and even race around a giant pinball table. The races have three classes, 50cc,100cc and 150cc, and each affects the speed and AI of youropponents.

There is a new mission mode that gives you special tasks to complete within the time limit and there is also a fun online multi-player and local play, and with that taking MKDS to a whole new level. All the classic weapons are still available,in addition to three new ones. My personal favorite is the bullet bill that turns you into a bullet and speeds through everyone to first place.Now that's what I'm talking about!

The touch screen on the DS is used for a very helpful overhead view which really comes in handy, especially when the new squid weapon impairs your view. In fact, you can play the game looking at that screen alone. It's just that good.

General Information Edit

Game Name	Mario Kart DS
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Developer(s)	Nintendo
Genres	Add a new genre Driving/Racing Vehicular Combat
Themes	Add a new theme Fantasy
Original US Release	Nov. 14, 2005 need a fuzzy date?
Original US Release	know the real date?
Aliases	MK:DS
OFLC	OFLC: G
CERO	CERO: A
ESRB	ESRB: E
PEGI	PEGI: 3+