List of Mario Kart DS glitches

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This is a list of glitches in Mario Kart DS. Unless otherwise noted, all names are conjectural.

Glitches

Cheep Cheep Beach out-of-bounds

On Cheep Cheep Beach, at the double-stone arch, the player must touch the stone arch while holding right on the until they drop. If done correctly, the player will be driving out of bounds but will not be picked up by Lakitu. The glitch will end if the player presses or , or if they stop touching the wall, after which Lakitu will return them back to the track as normal.

CPUs item use disabling

If a CPU is deploying an item, and a player or item hits their deployed item, then the CPU picks up an Item Box, the roulette will not stop fast, and if they get a deployable item, they will not do anything with it until they get hit by an item or obstacle. If they get an item like a Mushroom or triple shells, they will use the item, however. This is most noticeable in Battle mode with the CPUs set to hard.

Delfino Square boardwalk glitch

When the player goes up to the boardwalk that has the one Item Box, they must press when they are on the wall. If timed correctly, the player can float on the side of the road. This works in any mode.

Goomboss jumping glitch

This glitch is difficult to perform and sporadically occurs. When playing mission 3-Boss, if the player can manage to hop into Goomboss as he is right near the edge of the median, Goomboss will jump over it as he does on the final lap. The player must do this while Goomboss is close to one of the turns though. This glitch can either help or hinder the player depending on where it occurs.

Invisible barrier bypass

In GCN Luigi Circuit, the player needs to turn around when the race starts and use a Mushroom on the corner of the bump and hop. If done correctly, the player will go past the invisible barrier and fall through the hills. The character will not make a sound, the screen will fade to black and Lakitu will bring the player back to the track.

This can also be done in Bowser Castle. By going past the room with the Thwomps, the player should see two slopes with a spike fence ahead. The player needs to go to the first slope, then use a Mushroom and hop. The player will fly over the fence and fall into the lava. These glitches are best done with light karts such as the Egg 1.

Luigi's Mansion freeze

To perform this glitch, the player must go to Luigi's Mansion and park their character on the stairs at the entrance of the mansion. After that, they should hold down both and to drift in place. If the player tries to turn, the game will freeze. The reason why this happens is because there is no sound file associated with the material assigned to the stairs, meaning it tries to play a non-existent sound and crashes. This glitch does not occur on the Wii U Virtual Console release of the game. The glitch is also possible in multiplayer mode: If one player does the glitch and if the other player is not at the scene, they will be granted with a communication error. If the other player is present while the glitch occurs, both players' games will freeze.

Pipe Plaza pipe glitch

If the player goes into a pipe at the same time as someone else, the player may end up far away from the arena, falling in the background.

Prolonged rocket boost

This glitch can only be done using vehicles with a high Mini-Turbo stat, such as the Egg 1, ROB-BLS or Dry Bomber. After the player gets a perfect Rocket Start, or if they go on a Dash Panel, they should start snaking. If done correctly, the player will drive like they are using a Mushroom for as long as they are snaking, so they will be able to go off-road without losing speed. The glitch ends once the player's Mini-Turbo boost runs out.

Rainbow Road flying

In Rainbow Road, while on either the loop or the corkscrew, the player should hit the barrier and push while holding down on the . After a little while, the player will start to fly away. Lakitu will eventually pick the player up and put them on the beginning of the loop/corkscrew. This glitch works best on the corkscrew.

Rainbow Road shortcuts

• To do the first shortcut, the player has to start heading around the spiral road. When the player goes past the part of the spiral road that is just underneath the road heading toward the loop, they must turn around, sharply drift, and jump extremely close to the edge of the road in a corner that allows them to jump high enough onto the section of the track right before the loop. This shortcut is very difficult and sometimes when the player jumps correctly, the lap may not count for unknown reasons.
• To do the second shortcut, the player should continue on until they reach the straight road after the loop. They should go through all five rings before the right curve, turn around, and then use a Mushroom to jump off the edge, aiming to the left of the rainbow pipe that can be seen by the curvy section of the track, while holding . If done correctly, Lakitu should drop the player just before the corkscrew, and the lap will count.

Spiny Shell glitch

In Waluigi Pinball, if someone uses a Spiny Shell in the area with the bumpers and pinballs, it may fly around the edges for a few seconds for unknown reasons before chasing after the leader.

Star music glitch

When the player quits or restarts any level or course, they will have a second of control before the screen fades to black. Usually, the music does not play while this happens. However, if the player uses a Star during this short period, or picks up a dropped Star on the course, then the Star music will play, even though there should be no music. The Star music will cut out once the game is bought back to a menu, or the level has restarted.

Star steal glitch

In any Balloon Battle match, if a CPU gets hit by a Star and a Mushroom at the same time, the CPU will not lose a balloon on the next hit. However, if a CPU has only two balloons left and no reserves, hitting them one more time will freeze the CPU. The CPU can still be bumped around and remains in the game with one balloon; if hit once again, the CPU will be defeated. This happens because the Mushroom's effect on the CPU is prioritized over the Star's hit.

Voiceless Waluigi

During an 8-player race or battle with Bowser, Wario, Luigi, Yoshi, DK, Daisy, Mario and Waluigi, Waluigi will be silent during the match. This is because the sound heap is not large enough to fit Waluigi's voice samples, and hence the game leaves him silent during the race.

Wario Stadium wall glitch

This glitch is very hard to perform and occurs rarely. On the first set of multiple bumps near the end, the player needs to boost over the bumps and head to the right (left in mirror mode). If done correctly, the player will bounce off of the final bump and fly over the wall ahead, going out-of-bounds, before being picked up by Lakitu back to the track.

Wrong starting place

Starting in “7th” place

This glitch is most noticeable in Versus mode. If the player chooses Bowser Castle as the first course, or if the player finishes 8th in the race prior to Bowser Castle, the upper screen will show during the start of the race that the player's character is in 7th place, although clearly the character is behind the racer in 7th place. This was not fixed in the Wii U Virtual Console release.

Yoshi Circuit lap skip

Any character can be used to perform this glitch. On GCN Yoshi Circuit, the player must go to the end of the first fence at the start of the course, then hit the end of the fence diagonally, and fall into the water. If performed correctly, the player will be respawned a few paces behind the finish line, and when they drive the wrong way around the track, Lakitu will not be present and the place counter should still be the same as when the player fell into the water. After the Yoshi nose section, the player can turn around and when they cross the finish line it will count as a lap.