List of Mario Kart DS pre-release and unused content

This is a list of pre-release and unused content for the game Mario Kart DS.

Items
Demo version guides released for stores by Nintendo depicted the Chain Chomp (which could not actually be retrieved in the demo version itself) as an item; it is presumed that this Chomp item would function similarly to that of the Chain Chomps in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. The Chain Chomp can be seen in the item roulette in demo versions of the game. It is likely that the Chain Chomps were removed in favor of Bullet Bills. When the item images are extracted from the demo game, what appears to be a Bowser Shell from the aforementioned game also appears there along with the Chain Chomp, though it does not appear in the item roulette. Like Bowser's Shell, an image of a purple Koopa Shell exists, though data for such an item does not.
 * Chain Chomp
 * Bowser's Shell
 * Purple Shell

Menu/HUD
The kiosk demo version contains some files of a very early menu. It was going to be a menu similar to the one of Mario Kart: Double Dash!! with the blue star background. The extracted car images (not models) from a different file in the demo game appear to resemble those of said game, too. In some screenshots of a very early Mario Kart DS, a speedometer resembling that of Mario Kart: Double Dash!! appears. This may be proof that Mario Kart DS was going to be based on Mario Kart: Double Dash!!.

The HUD was going to be very different from the final game. Aside from the aforementioned Mario Kart: Double Dash!!-styled speedometer, a different status bar of the rank rows was shown on the touch screen, the lap counter was originally placed on the touch screen, the item panel was in the middle of the top screen instead of the top-left corner, and the 2nd place logo was gold.

Karts
Various early versions of karts have been found in the game data, such as:
 * Slightly differently textured versions of all Standard karts, featuring a different engine texture, as well as numbered emblems for each driver.
 * A version of Yoshi's Egg 1 kart with pink dots instead of green dots.
 * A completely different version of Wario's Brute kart, blue with a mouth and a yellow mark shaped like Wario's mustache.
 * A version of Princess Peach's Light Tripper kart featuring a different front.
 * A version of Toad's 4-Wheel Cradle karts without the silver frame connecting the tires.
 * A version of Bowser's Tyrant with smaller claws.
 * A slightly more detailed version of Donkey Kong's Wildlife kart.
 * A dark gray version of Dry Bones' Standard DB.
 * A white version of R.O.B.'s Standard RB.
 * A version of Waluigi's Zipper with four wheels instead of three.

The Poltergust 4000 was originally going to have Professor E. Gadd's emblem on it (the same way the Poltergust 3000 and Super Poltergust 3001 do), but this was cut from the game along with E. Gadd himself for unknown reasons.

Characters
Professor E. Gadd was originally going to be a playable character, since his name appears in a file, and there is a folder called "oyama" which is the Japanese name for him. Also, as mentioned previously, his emblem was going to appear on the Poltergust 4000. However, his model is that of Toad and he is unplayable. In the final he was replaced with Dry Bones. The models of Daisy as Peach, Waluigi as Luigi, and HVC-012 (later called R.O.B. outside Japan) as Mario were also seen in early versions of the game.

The kiosk demo of Mario Kart DS features Wario wearing his original long-sleeved shirt and Donkey Kong using his voice clips from Donkey Kong 64 unlike in the final game.

Courses
The clock handle at the end was blue instead of red. The course has different textures and the slot machine near the end of the level was part of the course for players to drive over. There are no pinballs on the course, unlike the final version. It is assumed the changes in this course are largely due to programming errors. The slot reel at the end may have been cut out due to the changes to PEGI's rating system. There also includes an early version with the large Dash Panel at the beginning replaced with a steep ramp with several Dash Panels scattered (and clearly unfinished textures). The course has slightly different textures and missing fireballs. The real Wario Stadium is called stadium_course. Almost the same but it takes place in a sunset sky instead of space. Also, the top screen showed the Nintendo DS logo instead of the Mario Kart DS title screen, and the touch screen showed a green sky with some clouds. It can only be accessed with ROM-hacking because this stage is in the demo version. Exactly the same but the sky is orange instead of being blue like in the GameCube version. It can only be accessed with ROM-hacking. The Portrait ghosts were originally going to pop out and go back in, similar to the Boo paintings in its retro appearances in Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart Tour.
 * Tick-Tock Clock
 * Waluigi Pinball
 * Wario Stadium (wario_course)
 * Nintendo DS
 * Pipe Plaza
 * Luigi's Mansion

Music

 * There is a file in the demo game called SEQ_CIRCUIT2.sseq, which is unused in the game. Also, there is an early version of Figure-8 Circuit's music which is heard by default when playing the demo version on the aforementioned track.
 * The music for Waluigi Pinball, Airship Fortress, GCN Luigi Circuit, SNES Donut Plains, and SNES Choco Island sounded slightly different compared to the final version.

Miscellaneous

 * The sound effects of Item Box and the item roulette have a slightly different pitch.
 * The Red Shell has a similar sound effect to the Mario Kart: Double Dash!! version.
 * When charging a Mini-Turbo, the blue sparks didn't appear when the player alternates the turn for the first time.
 * The starting fanfares for Mission and Time Trials were the same as the one on Grand Prix.
 * The tire noises made by drifting are higher-pitched.
 * The results theme is different.
 * Lakitu originally started the races. Additionally, floating signal lights (without Lakitu) are used to start races.
 * The letters and numbers that appeared on the screen were colored in red and beige instead of orange and yellow.

Unreleased courses
These courses can only be accessed with an Action Replay DS or by ROM-hacking. If Action Replay is used, the courses can only be played untextured, but if the ROM is hacked to play the textures then the textures appear. Some people also created Action Replay codes to play the unused courses with textures. This was going to be from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, which was almost complete but was taken out before the game's release. The track was going to use three textures present in the files of the final game, these being "BeachTree1", "kuribo", and "mario_tree". There were no Goombas present toward the end of the track. It is still in the game's data however, and can be accessed by Action Replay (no textures) or ROM-hacking (with textures). This course has a similar route to the early Waluigi Pinball (pinball_course) and different textures (yellow with brown spots on the ground) and shares objects with said course, but is highly incomplete and it is unlikely that Nintendo ever wanted to complete it. It cannot be accessed by Action Replay because the flippers and bounds do not load. However, it can be accessed by ROM-hacking. It starts by going straight then up and round, then comes to a tunnel, then turns right then left over a metal floor. Then it comes to another tunnel which curves then comes back to the start line. Textures can be seen only by ROM-hacking. A course with a similar concept and reusing most of the layout of this course, named Piranha Plant Pipeline, appears in Mario Kart Tour. This course was most likely used for debugging. It is only playable by fixing some files. The course model does not fit with the collision file, instead it is from an early version of Rainbow Road, not seen in the actual Rainbow Road in the Kiosk Demo or final game. The collision is an open area, with various ramps, loops, corkscrews and a depressed area. Objects such as the bridge from Delfino Square, the gears from Tick-Tock Clock, and the round bridge in Bowser Castle appear here, along with "test_brock", a checkered cube. This course can not be accessed by Action Replay, only by ROM-hacking. This course has since been fixed in ROM hacks, and modified in two different ways: Creating a new model that matches the collision, and creating new collision that matches the early Rainbow Road model. In the final version, this course is the early version of Waluigi Pinball, but in the demo, this course has almost the same route as DK Pass (snow_course) and many mistake it for said course with texture hacks, but it is not the same. The grass is checkered, and the road is brown. If the players touch the grass in the final version, they go through or the game crashes (unless one fixes the collision file, but that is a complicated matter). It cannot be accessed with Action Replay because in the final it is the early Waluigi Pinball, which cannot be accessed without ROM-hacking, which is the only way to play this course. See below. Possibly a new Koopa Troopa Beach-like course, as nokonoko is the Japanese term for Koopa Troopa. However, it does not seem to resemble its assumed predecessor in any way, suggesting it may have been an entirely new Koopa Troopa course. Again, textures can be seen by ROM-hacking only. This was a debugging stage not intended to be playable in the release version. However it can still be accessed with textures by ROM-hacking or without textures by Action Replay. It is very similar to Baby Park with the same number of laps. This course was going to be the Block City battle arena from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! but was never completed with the blocks for unknown reasons and was replaced by Pipe Plaza or Block Fort. It can be accessed with Action Replay without textures, or with textures with ROM-hacking.
 * old_mario_gc
 * luigi_course
 * dokan_course
 * test1_course
 * donkey_course
 * wario_course
 * nokonoko_course
 * test_circle
 * mini_block_course

Main courses

 * Figure-8 Circuit = cross_course, and the one for download play is cross_courseD
 * Yoshi Falls = bank_course
 * Cheep Cheep Beach = beach_course, and the one for download play is beach_courseD
 * Luigi's Mansion = mansion_course
 * Desert Hills = desert_course
 * Delfino Square = town_course, and in the demo version town_course is different.
 * Waluigi Pinball = pinball_course
 * Shroom Ridge = ridge_course
 * DK Pass = snow_course
 * Tick-Tock Clock = clock_course
 * Mario Circuit = mario_course
 * Airship Fortress = airship_course
 * Wario Stadium = stadium_course
 * Peach Gardens = garden_course
 * Bowser Castle = koopa_course
 * Rainbow Road = rainbow_course
 * SNES Mario Circuit 1 = old_mario_sfc
 * N64 Moo Moo Farm = old_momo_64
 * GBA Peach Circuit = old_peach_agb
 * GCN Luigi Circuit = old_luigi_gc
 * SNES Donut Plains 1 = old_donut_sfc
 * N64 Frappe Snowland = old_frappe_64
 * GBA Bowser Castle 2 = old_koopa_agb
 * GCN Baby Park = old_baby_gc
 * SNES Koopa Beach 2 = old_noko_sfc
 * N64 Choco Mountain = old_choco_64
 * GBA Luigi Circuit = old_luigi_agb
 * GCN Mushroom Bridge = old_kinoko_gc
 * SNES Choco Island 2 = old_choco_sfc
 * N64 Banshee Boardwalk = old_hyudoro_64
 * GBA Sky Garden = old_sky_agb
 * GCN Yoshi Circuit = old_yoshi_gc
 * Nintendo DS = mini_stage1
 * Twilight House = mini_stage2
 * Palm Shore = mini_stage3
 * Tart Top = mini_stage4
 * N64 Block Fort = mini_block_64
 * GCN Pipe Plaza = mini_dokan_gc

Other courses

 * old_mario_gc = Mario Circuit from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
 * luigi_course = First Waluigi Pinball implementation
 * dokan_course = A course used possibly to test the karts' collisions.
 * test1_course = A course used possibly to test the environment of some courses.
 * donkey_course = Earlier DK Pass/Waluigi Pinball.
 * wario_course = Wario Stadium (final course name is "stadium_course")
 * nokonoko_course = A beach course, fandubbed "Split-up Beach" or "Koopa Troopa Beach". "Nokonoko" is Koopa Troopa in Japanese.
 * test_circle = Self-explanatory.
 * mini_block_course = The battle course Block City from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! If played through race mode, the CPUs go randomly and don't blow their balloons.
 * MR_stage1 = Mission Run Boss Stage 1. The Water Arena.
 * MR_stage2 = Mission Run Boss Stage 2. The Sand Arena.
 * MR_stage3 = Mission Run Boss Stage 3. The Lava Arena.
 * MR_stage4 = Mission Run Boss Stage 4. A duplicate of GCN Mushroom Bridge. (Wiggler Mission Boss)
 * StaffRoll = The course seen during the Staff Credits.
 * StaffRollTrue = The course seen during the second roll of Staff Credits.
 * Award = A slightly different Figure-8 Circuit, used during the trophy award clip.

Unused missions
There are only ten missions in the beta version of Mario Kart DS, and unlike the final, not all drivers are in their respective Standard Kart. This mission lasts 25 seconds. The player can go either left or right of where Yoshi spawns. All item boxes contain Mushrooms. This mission is not used in the final. This mission lasts 30 seconds. All item boxes contain red shells and banana peels. This mission is 3-6 in the final, set on N64 Moo Moo Farm as Luigi. The player spawns completely out of bounds and cannot complete the mission. All item boxes contain Mushrooms. This mission is 4-3 in the final, set on Shroom Ridge as Mario. All item boxes contain Mushrooms. This mission is 5-1 in the final, set on Peach Gardens as Peach. This mission lasts 60 seconds. All item boxes contain Mushrooms. This mission is 4-Boss in the final, set on Lava Arena as Peach. This mission lasts 50 seconds. All item boxes contain Mushrooms. This mission is 6-7 in the final, set on Tick Tock Clock as Toad. This mission lasts 100 seconds. There are two more pendulums on the track than normal. There are no item boxes. This mission is 7-3 in the final, set on Tick Tock Clock as Donkey Kong. This mission is bugged and completes itself if the player runs into any Rocky Wrench, even if they haven't revealed themselves. All item boxes contain stars. This mission is 6-2 in the final, set on Airship Fortress as Wario. This mission crashes the game as it loads a broken course. All item boxes contain Mushrooms. This mission is 1-Boss in the final, set on Water Arena as Yoshi. Since Big Bully was not created yet, this mission cannot be completed. Block City is also unused in the final. All item boxes contain Mushrooms. This mission is 1-Boss in the final, set on Water Arena as Yoshi.
 * Mission 1: Drive between the pipes within the time limit. (GCN Yoshi Circuit | Yoshi, Standard YS)
 * Mission 2: Defeat 6 Goombas. (N64 Moo Moo Farm | Mario, Standard MR)
 * Mission 3: Reach the finish before the red car. (Shroom Ridge | Wario, Standard WR)
 * Mission 4: Reach the finish before the stray Chain Chomp. (Peach Gardens | Toad, Standard TD)
 * Mission 5: Collect all 50 coins. (SNES Mario Circuit 1 | Luigi, Poltergust 4000)
 * Mission 6: Collect all 40 coins. (N64 Moo Moo Farm | Bowser, Standard BW)
 * Mission 7: Complete two laps within the time limit. (Tick Tock Clock | DK, Standard DK)
 * Mission 8: Get stars and run over 15 Rocky Wrenches. (Airship Fortress | Peach, Standard PC)
 * Mission 9: Use Mushrooms to crash into the Big Bully and knock him off the stage. (mr_stage1 | Yoshi, Standard YS)
 * Mission 10: Use Mushrooms to crash into the Big Bully and knock him off the stage. (Block City | Luigi, Standard LG)

Debug menu (demo version)
While using the debug menu in the demo version, SNES Choco Island 2 is before SNES Koopa Beach 2, and all of the retro tracks are in order from each cup they appear in (N64 Moo Moo Farm, then N64 Frappe Snowland, etc.). SNES Choco Island 2 may have originally appeared in Leaf Cup with SNES Koopa Beach 2 appearing in Lightning Cup.