Mario Kart DS

Mario Kart DS is a game for the Nintendo DS developed and published by Nintendo. It is the seventh title created for the Mario Kart series, featuring for first time an online multiplayer mode employing the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service, as well as including a mission mode. It also features a map that displays the objects and characters present throughout the courses, making use of the DS' bottom screen.

Mario Kart DS has been generally well received, specially by including innovations like the online mode, new tracks, characters and other elements such as the items and graphics. As such, Mario Kart DS has earned various awards and acknowledgements.

Characters
A total of twelve characters (thirteen including the Shy Guy) take part in the fifth installment of the fifteen-year series. Eight can be chosen at the beginning, but the player must win gold trophies in Grand Prix mode to unlock four bonus characters:

Download Play Only
Exception, see Download Play below

Grand Prix, Time Trials, Versus Modes
As per the N64 and Double Dash!! versions of the series, sixteen new courses were added into the game (in the usual Mushroom, Flower, Star, and Special Cups). However, sixteen old courses, four from each of the SNES, N64, GBA and GCN versions reappeared in four new cups, totaling thirty-two courses in eight cups. In addition, six battle courses appeared, two being reused from previous games.

The non-battle courses appear in three modes:
 * In Grand Prix mode (single-player only), a player competes in each cup in 50cc, 100cc, 150cc, and Mirror 150cc engine classes, with ascending speed and difficulty.Which consist of 4 courses that differ for each cup. The game takes the point system of Double Dash!! by awarding 10/8/6/4/3/2/1/0 points for 1st-8th place. Also, a rating of how well a player performed is shown after the trophy presentation: ***, **, *, A, B, C, D and E. An overall "game ranking" of *, **, or *** is shown in the Records area if the player has earned the designated ratings in all cups, all classes.
 * In Time Trial mode (single-player only), a player goes for the fastest time on a course. The item rating of a kart determines how many mushrooms a player has to boost with (3.3 = 1, 6.7 = 2, 10.0 = 3). Players can choose to race against their best time as a ghost, the staff ghost (raced by a Japanese Nintendo staff player with a * game ranking), or no ghost. But if you downloaded a friends ghost, you can also race them.
 * In Versus mode (single/multiplayer), player(s) choose their karts and head out on the race track. The player can also choose what course they race on (if they unlocked it.) Up to 8 players can play locally via wireless play – simple mode only uses one game card but is limited. The full experience is created when everyone has a game card. In single-player mode, the player can choose a) engine class, b) how hard the CPU will be, c) whether the courses will be chosen, in order, or random, whether the rules are d) free (never-ending), # of wins (1st place only counts), or # of races raced (going up to 32 creates the "All-Cup" of Mario Kart DS), and e) activating teams.
 * It is possible to have up to 8 players play using just 1 Mario Kart DS game card – using DS Download play locally. Here, the tracks are limited, the disabilities for the Wi-Fi connection apply, and everyone must be a random color of Shy Guy (this is where he comes in). If everyone has a game card, all tracks are available and there are no disabilities – the true experience. Battle mode is also available.

Courses Table
__HIDER__ The following is a table that shows all courses featured in Mario Kart DS, organized by cup. A * signifies that the course is playable via Wi-Fi. It also shows the Time Trial staff ghost time and the Time Trial staff ghost character and kart combo (see below for kart stats). A ** represents a course that reappeared in Mario Kart Wii.

Battle Mode
In Battle mode (single/multiplayer [same setup as versus, for both]), players play a different aspect of kart racing that was born from Super Mario Kart on one of six courses, two of them from past games. The courses are:
 * Nintendo DS
 * Twilight House***
 * Palm Shore
 * Tart Top
 * Block Fort N64
 * Pipe Plaza GCN

A *** represents a course that reappeared in Mario Kart Wii.

And the two types of battle are: "Burst your opponents' balloons with items! If all your inflated balloons burst, you lose! Blow into the mic to inflate your balloons!" "Collect more Shines than anyone else! Steal opponents' Shines to add to your total. Those with less Shines get booted over time." In single player mode, CPU bots are available for the player to "practice" his or her skills for the real game against friends locally. However, Battle Mode is unavailable on the wireless connection.
 * Balloon Battle: The classic battle mode from Super Mario Kart, this aspect gets a new twist in DS. In Super Mario Kart, each player chooses a character and got three matching balloons. Players used items to "pop" balloons by hitting them with shells, bananas, even stars. When a player reached 0 balloons, he or she was out of the game. In DS each player starts with one balloon, but they can "blow up" their balloons using the microphone feature on the DS (or holding the SELECT button). Each player has 4 balloons in stock (5 balloons in total), but can only have up to three at a time. The less balloons a player has, the better items he or she gets from Item boxes (Spiny Shells and Bullet Bills are removed from this mode). The following is what the game describes this mode as:
 * Shine Runners: Adopted from the GCN version, 9 Shine Sprites are scattered onto the course at the beginning. Players try to capture Shine Sprites, but being hit causes a player to lose one sprite – it moves to a random spot for someone else to grab. In the meantime, a clock ticks down to 0. Anyone with or tied with the lowest Shine total when the clock hits 0 is eliminated. The clock resets itself to a lower time and the battle continues until one is left (there are 9 sprites to avoid a tie, but it is possible to a) have two players with 4 sprites trying to get that last 1 on the course when time expires, and b) have three players with 3 sprites each. In this case, no one is eliminated and the clock resets as usual.) The less sprites a player has, the better an item (Spiny Shells and Bullet Bills remain out). Description from the game:

Mission Mode
Mission mode (single-player only) is a new mode for Mario Kart DS. It involves seven levels, each containing eight "missions" and a boss battle. Each mission and boss battle earns the same ranking as a Grand Prix, almost always depending on how much time is left or taken. There are varying mission types: There are some one-time isolated missions as well that are self-explanatory. Each mission takes place on a course, often blocked off in some areas (sometimes even a battle course) and players are given a character in their own standard kart (CPU players are also in standard karts). Sometimes mushrooms are lain across the track to help the player complete the mission.
 * Driving through gates – driving in between literally half of a tire, and they are almost always numbered and must be entered in order.
 * Collecting coins – as said.
 * Destroying item boxes – most of the time these item boxes will contain Mushrooms to boost you to a high ranking. Sometimes the Item Boxes will move, and the player will have to catch up with it. Additionally, in later missions fake item boxes will try to slow the player down.
 * Using stars, Bob-ombs, or shells to destroy enemies – a Wario-exclusive mission, with one Luigi and one Yoshi.
 * Driving backwards – players must use the B button to move and directions on the D-pad are reversed. It is sometimes combined with other types.
 * Performing power boosts within a certain lap – as said. More power boosts are often required to finish faster, meaning a higher ranking.
 * Racing a CPU player for one lap – item boxes contain mushrooms and stars that the CPU can't use – the key to victory. CPU players will get turbo starts.

When at least a * ranking is achieved on all missions and bosses in the first six levels, Level 7 is unlocked.

Boss battles are unique. They have their own battlefields and different strategies are used to beat them. All of the bosses come from Super Mario 64 DS.

Mission Table
__HIDER__ The following includes: a) mission #, b) In-game mission description, c) time limit for the mission (0:00 signifies it's a race, thus no limit), d) course, and e) character the player plays as.


 * * Conjectural title based on surroundings.
 * ** Denotes that the player drives through the course in the opposite direction.
 * 1GCN version
 * 2GBA version
 * 1Using Green Shells (solo or triple) and Bob-ombs
 * 2The gates don't necessarily have be driven through in order.
 * 3Players can use any means – normal or powersliding – to finish.

Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Mode
Mario Kart DS also boasts the fact that it is the first game to go online – now, it is possible for up to four players around the world to race each other in Nintendo WFC mode (single-player to connect). Yet, there are some limits to prevent lag – that is, to keep the flow of the race active and not use a player's position, then have him pop up suddenly somewhere else later – that disappointed many, but it still wins on a key note – it's a fun experience, win or lose.

The following changes from the main game are enforced:
 * Only up to four players.
 * Thus, a different point system. See chart below.
 * 100cc engines
 * No triple bananas or shells
 * No spilled items onto course to be used or tripped on – items are just lost
 * No items held behind racer
 * Item roulette cannot be stopped early
 * 12 of 32 courses are omitted

The process is simple: players connect using a wireless connection or a Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector, preferably high-speed. Then, racers choose to search for other players in "Friends" (see below), "Rivals" (players with a similar record), "Regional" (players in same country), and "Worldwide" (most likely to lag). Other racers searching in the same category are randomly grouped. The game tries to get four players, but will eventually settle for three or two if necessary. Characters choose their characters, karts, then choose the course they want for the first of four races.

In addition to the 20 courses listed in order of when it is encountered, there is also a random button. After everyone's selection is placed, a course is chosen based on the responses. (If 3 players each pick a different course, the game randomly picks one. If 4 players choose 2 courses, 2 each, the game randomly picks from those two. If 4 players choose 2 courses, 3 for one course and 1 for another, or 2 of 3 players pick one course, majority always rules.) It goes like so for 4 races, then the points are tallied up, and after the match a player's wins and losses are totaled. (Each player receives one "win" for finishing ahead of a player and one "loss" for finishing behind of a player. For example, a player winning a 3-player match receives 2 wins and 0 losses. A player coming 2nd in a 4-player match receives 2 wins and 1 loss. A player tied for third in a 4-player match gets only 2 losses, as compared to 3. A player tied in a 2-player match is simply called a tie and does not affect either player's record.) Players can continue after the match to play the same racers again or quit to restart the process to find other players.

Issues
Problem: Having trouble with friend codes
 * A) Friend Code System. Each copy of the game comes with a 12-digit code known as a "friend code". Players can enter other codes into your "friend roster" to create a friend list, where Wi-Fi records between the player is stored. When a friend is online at the same time, a symbol will appear above the Wi-Fi strength symbol, whether trying to find racers or during racing. Yet, both (or more) players must have each (or all) of their friend codes registered and be looking in the friends section at the same time to hook up. If the player were to find a racer to compete against elsewhere online, there's no communication for a friend code swap; the only way to race again is to do it right away by selecting continue after a match.

Problem: Disconnecting racers change the outcome of the match; it is later reflected in the match records.


 * B) Disconnecting. Take this scenario into consideration:
 * Bob started in a four-player match, but two people have disconnected since, and he is now in a two-player match against a three-star player, and has come 2nd and 3rd in the first 2 races. It is 20-11. Bob wins the next match, bringing the totals to 25-21. But, in the fourth race, the three-star player is a full half-lap ahead with one lap to go. Bob realizes that he might not win this race; however, Bob has researched about Wi-Fi connections and has learned a trick. He leaves his DS untouched, bringing his kart to a stop, then finds his wireless router, and disconnects it. According record-book, Bob has won the match from which he has disconnected.

Causes:
 * The two players who disconnected earlier are experiencing certain effects. When a player is disconnected from Wi-Fi via turning of his or her DS, the player is charged with the same number of losses as there are other players. Players can disconnect at any time, but if they cancel before the first course is chosen, there is no effect on the win-loss record. Other players finishing the whole match gain one win per disconnected player.
 * Refer to the point spread chart for WFC. Mid-match, due to disconnected players, the point spread can change. For example, when it goes down from 4 to 3 players, the point conversion is not affected for the top three. Yet, from three to two, it is. In the first two races, Bob lost 3 and 6 points to the three-star player, under the 10-7-4(-1) point spread. But, if he had won the last two races, under the 10-5 point spread, he would have recovered 10 points – and would have won, 31-30, even though he came in 3rd once and only won two out of four races.
 * Players occasionally disconnect when losing. A glitch in the game effects the final results, and this is exactly what Bob does in the scenario. Instead of turning off the DS, he disconnects his actual connection. For each player from the start of the match, including disconnected players, Bob's loss total is reduced, in this case by 3. And the three-star player would have gained 3 wins, but when everyone disconnects, it takes no effect on the remaining player's record.
 * To restate and make clear: if Bob would have played it out and lost the 4th race, the result would have been 35-26, in favor of the three-star player. Instead, Bob used the glitch to go 0 - –3, and the three-star player went 0-0 – Bob wins in the end.

Items
Mario Kart DS includes the main element preserved in every Mario Kart created, and it is the use of the items; power-ups that allow the racer to take certain advantage over their opponents, obtainable by running through an Item Box. While most of the power-ups are the same since Super Mario Kart, the game have included as well some other new to increase the challenge.

Normally, leader racers receive less powerful items than stragglers in the rear. The variety of items to receive is also determined by the Items stats ratio granted to a kart. While a kart has a higher Items ratio, the player has more possibility to obtain rare items to use.

On the other hand, some items are not available in battle mode. Just as in racing mode, leaders who have the most balloons or shines, they will receive less powerful items accordingly.

Returning Items

 * Banana – Commonly received in the leader's spot. It can be simply dropped behind the player, thrown ahead using &uarr; on the D-pad and L, or even dragged behind while holding L (but not in Wi-Fi). Once a racer hits a banana, they spin out, losing speed.
 * Triple Banana – A bunch of three Bananas that the player keeps them behind his or her vehicle upon pressing the L button once. Pressing the button again, a Banana can be dropped back or thrown forwards. This item does not appear on Wi-Fi mode.
 * Green Shell – Another item commonly obtainable when first or lower, the green shell is a staple that the racer can shoot in any direction. The Green Shell slides in straight lines, bouncing around the walls until disappear by knocking a vehicle, item, or bouncing off several times. The kart will flip when touches a Green Shell.
 * Triple Green Shells – Three shells circle the player's kart, providing a protective shield. This item is commonly reserved for 2nd to 4th place. It is not available on Wi-Fi mode,
 * Red Shell – Unlike a Green Shell, this red one will pursue the opponent before the driver to flip him or her when crash (In battle mode, it will hit the nearest player). The shell can be stopped using a Banana as shield or by any other obstacle on the track, but it's generally a reliable item. It can be shot backwards, but it acts like a Green Shell.
 * Triple Red Shells – Same as Triple Green Shells, except with homing capabilities when fired.
 * Spiny Shell – This blue winged, and spiked shell flies ahead to the leader to explode, popping the driver into the air while the victim loses the items on hand. Very deadly and rarely missing, It can be found from 4th to 7th place. This is one of the few items not present in Battle mode.
 * Fake Item Box – A tricky item. Instead of an upside-down ? mark as the difference between it and a real item box, the trap simply has no marking on it. It appears red on the bottom screen, while real item boxes are blue. Fake Item Boxes can be dropped behind, thrown or held, ranging from the leader to the fourth of the pack.
 * Mushroom – This speed booster increases velocity momentarily, effective to make certain shortcuts while going into loose ground. In Ballon Battle, players boosting and hit an opponent will steal one of their balloons. It can be obtained from 2nd to 5th place.
 * Triple Mushrooms – A bunch of three toadstools, providing more chances to use. Commonly in 4th to 8th place.
 * Golden Mushroom – This regal Mushroom provides unlimited boosts until wearing off once used. Ranges from 6th to 8th place.
 * Boo – Returning after an absence in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Boo makes the player invisible (the driver disappears from the map screen) and immune, able to steal an item from another player if possible. It can be found from 4th to 6th place.
 * Bob-omb – Now available to every player, the Bob-omb is a dangerous explosive that can be dropped backwards, thrown forward or dragged behind the kart. After being placed, the Bob-omb will either wait for a few seconds to explode or sense any driver coming in the vicinity and blow up. Players will fly to the air or spin around, losing their items held. Ranges from 2nd to 5th place; Header racers who have this item in stock can block a Spiny Shell with ample timing, or simply drop it behind them to prevent the path from the other racers.
 * Star – A powerful Star that turns any driver invincible for some seconds. The Star will grant the player great speed, immunity against every item and power to bowl over other vehicles when hit. Range from 6th to 8th place.
 * Thunderbolts – Any driver that uses the rare and so powerful Thunderbolt, will cause their opponents to spin out of control, shrink to microscopic size, as well as reducting their speed and lose all of their items. A feature added from Mario Kart DS is the Lightning's effect time. While a player is in a lower place, the time under the item's effect will be shorter. It Can only be picked up in 8th place and even then can only be picked up when the player is far behind 7th place. The sound when characters are tiny is a "Pitch bend" effect on the course's music. It appears in Battle mode. In Shine Runners causes all players to lose one Shine (if they have one) in addition to the effects said. In Balloon Battle, players just remain shrunk.

New Items

 * Blooper – When used, all players in front of the wielding player are sprayed by Blooper ink that blocks their view for a while. Racers can wear off the ink going at high speed like running over a Dash Panel or being propeled by a Mushroom or any other booster. Though the Blooper just spits ink to a player, causing no real damage to them, CPU racers slow down and wobble left and right when affected. It can be given when running in 3rd to 6th place.
 * Bullet Bill – Inspired by the Chain Chomp special item in Double Dash!!, this item turns the character into a Bullet Bill and automatically drives for the player for a limited period of time. Once used, the Bullet Bill is unstoppable and invincible, that the player hardly can maneuver, while the bullet wipes any racer on its path out. Additionally, the effect's durability may vary depending the current place the driver is. The Bullet Bill can be given in a place lower than 5th. It is not available in battle mode.

Drifting & Powersliding
In the entire kart series, players drift by holding the R button on a turn. Gray wisps come out of their kart as they turn around corners, possibly tighter or better than normal turning.

The next step up is powersliding. While drifting, players can move the D-pad to the right, left, and vice versa with their left thumb. In Mario Kart DS, for the first right and left (or it can be left and right), blue sparks come out of the kart's back. One more time, and it's orange sparks. Upon releasing the R button, the kart receives a mini-boost – a powerslide turbo-boost.

Snaking
Snaking is the act of powersliding multiple times on a turn by releasing R, then immediately reholding it and starting another powerslide, or powersliding on straight-aways by powersliding to the left, then to the right, to the left again, and so on. This requires a kart with low drift, high handling, and preferably high acceleration, because powerslides last longer with better acceleration (See chart below). By snaking, which the CPU players cannot do, players can easily gain a ranking of three stars on Grand Prix tournaments and complete Time Trials much faster.

The use of snaking in online games has been a controversial subject. There are many who believe that snaking in online games is unfair, cheating, or simply annoying, while others view it as a valid technique. Nintendo has no official stance on the issue, nonetheless it is worth noting that in subsequent games it has been removed.

Drafting
Back from Mario Kart 64, drafting is simply moving just behind another player. If the racer can stay behind the player for about 4 seconds, he or she will get a 3-second turbo boost that is strong enough to pass the other player. However, this runs risk to being caught easily by a Banana, Green Shell, Bob-omb, and the like.

Multi Card Play
Eight people or less can play via the wireless connection of the Nintendo DS.

Download Play
Download Play can allow up to eight people play with one (or more) game card(s). The player can only choose tracks from the Mushroom and Shell cup. Also instead of six battle tracks the player can play three tracks (randomly chosen by the computer.) Only the persons with the game can pick the character, while the other people use Shy Guy. Shy Guy is not playable in other circumstances, unless the game is hacked. Super Smash Bros. Brawl makes a reference to this, as Shy Guys on Go Karts drive through a Mario Kart-themed level. When the players that went to Download play begin to race, each one will be a different color.

Karts
In Mario Kart DS, there are 36 different karts in total (excluding Shy Guy), 12 being Standard Karts similar to Super Mario Kart. Originally, only three karts are available for each character, two of them related to him or her in some way, and the Standard Kart. As the player wins Grand Prix tournaments, there will be 7 usable karts for each character. After winning every Grand Prix in 50cc, 100cc, 150cc, and Mirror, each character can be paired in any of the 36 karts, making 432 combinations (excluding Shy Guy). Every Kart shows six ratings:


 * Speed: How high the top speed of the kart is; how fast the kart can go.
 * Acceleration: The time the kart's top speed is achieved.
 * Weight: While a vehicle is heavy, the driver can knock a lighter kart aside.
 * Handling: How tight the kart can normally turn without drifting.
 * Drift: How tight the kart turns while drifting or powersliding.
 * Items: The variety of items to use when touching an Item Box (a high Items rating signifies a higher chance of getting a Banana Bunch in first place, Triple Mushrooms in 3rd, 4th, etc).

The following ratings are from 0 to 10 in one-tenth intervals. The Items rating will be either 3.3, 6.7, or 10. For the three karts related to each character, each one will have one and just one of all three ratings, the standard kart always being 6.7. In addition, not only does the kart's size affect weight, but the character's size does, as well (Bowser will make one of Peach's native karts much heavier), so weight is omitted.

On a side note, it's worth noting that a kart with a high items rating will usually have lower overall stats than the standard karts. Likewise, karts with a low items rating will usually have higher overall stats than the standard karts. Regarding the kart's weight, karts with a high items rating tend to be heavier than the karts with a low items rating.

Note: Margin of error &plusmn; .2 points Shy Guy's kart could be around speed 4 acc 5 turn 6 drift 5 weight items 5. Note: Margin of error &plusmn; 2 points The weight system is different from past Mario Kart games. The weight class of the character does not play an important role in Mario Kart DS, as the weight does not create kart use restrictions.

Options
The options menu lets the player make their own emblem and name for racing throughout the game. They also have an option to make the emblem show up on the kart they are currently driving. Additionally, this emblem will show up next to a player's name while driving in a multiplayer or Nintendo WFC race. Other options include audio options, and deleting data.

Critical Acclaim

 * Mario Kart DS still maintains a 9.2 average at Gamestats, #1 on the Nintendo DS (as of 15:40, 22 December 2006 (EST)).
 * Gamespy reviewer Bryn Williams admitted that online, Nintendo "trimmed it back a little too much for my liking", but was certain that "Even with a few online flaws, this is the best Mario Kart ever.." (5/5; Multiplayer: Great)
 * Gamespot reviewer Justin Calvert had similar quips with the online feature: "Whether these opponents were leaving voluntarily or because of network problems is anybody's guess, but it's equally irritating either way." Yet, he finished up similarly by saying "Mario Kart DS is without a doubt one of the best games to hit the Nintendo DS to date." (9.2/10; Gamespot Editor's Choice; DS Game of the Year)
 * IGN reviewer Craig Harris commented that "it's just hard to ignore just how limited the online presentation is." But again, his closing line was this: "The only way to finish this review is just to say it: this is the greatest Mario Kart game ever developed, and is without a doubt the best DS game of 2005." (9.5/10; IGN Editor's Choice Award; DS Game of the Year)

Demo
A demo of the game can be downloaded from the Nintendo Channel on the Wii. It is only possible to play Figure-8 Circuit and Mario Circuit 1. A multiplayer mode exists. The player has to play as Mario, and all enemies are Shy Guys. The demo is not localized.

Trivia

 * In the Japanese version of the game, R.O.B is red & white, the original Famicom Robot, HVC-012 (not truly ROB). Additionally, HVC-012 is the true staff ghost on the Desert Hills course, not R.O.B (thus the * in the table above). HVC-012 has the same karts as R.O.B, even down to the same coloration.
 * A player's overall game ranking (*, **, or *** stars, if achieved) will appear next to his or her name online while racing.
 * Mario Kart Slot Cars were created as a promotion for this game.
 * During the race when a character gets the item box, the item-roulette sound effect stop selection was "Blah". The item-roulette sound effect carries over to Mario Kart Wii.
 * The American version of Mario Kart DS is one of the few games on the DS to have a multiple language option (almost all European DS games have this function, though). Depending on the language of the DS, the language on the game will change; however, it will not change into Japanese.

References to Other Games

 * Super Mario 64 - The track Tick Tock Clock is based off the level of the same name in this game.
 * Super Mario Sunshine - The track Delfino Square is based off the main area of this game.
 * Super Mario Bros. 3 - The track Airship Fortress is based of the many airship based levels in this game.
 * Mobile Golf - The Golden Mantis is based off Foreman Spike's digger from artwork for this game.
 * Luigi's Mansion - The Poltergust 4000 is based off the Poltergust 3000 from this game. Also a track of the same name as this game is based on this game.
 * Donkey Kong Country - The Rambi Rider is based off Rambi from this game.
 * Wario Land 4 - The kart Brute is based off the Wario Car in this game.
 * Super Mario Kart - Some tracks from this game reappear here.
 * Mario Kart 64 - Some tracks from this game reappear here.
 * Mario Kart Super Circuit - Some tracks from this game reappear here.
 * Mario Kart: Double Dash!! - Some tracks from this game reappear here.
 * Super Mario 64 DS - All of the boss battles are taken from this game.