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.
 * Chain Chomp

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.
 * Bowser's Shell

Menu/HUD
The kiosk demo version contain 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. Also, 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. All of this might 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. As well was 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 unused karts have been found in the game data, such as an Egg 1 kart with pink dots instead of green dots, which could possibly be a Birdo Egg. The other one is a completely different Wario kart, blue with a mouth and a yellow mark shaped like Wario's mustache. . There is also an unused kart for Peach, too. Toad has an unused kart which resembles the Four Wheel Cradle, except the tires are not connected by a white pipe.

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 did), 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.

Birdo may have been intended as a playable character as well, because as mentioned before an alternative pink Egg 1 kart was found in the data. Also, Wario is depicted wearing his original long-sleeved shirt before being finalized with his current short-sleeved one.

Courses
The clock handle at the end was blue instead of red.
 * Tick-Tock Clock

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.
 * Waluigi Pinball

Slightly darker textures and missing fireballs. The real Wario Stadium is called stadium_course.
 * Wario Stadium (wario_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.
 * Nintendo DS

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.
 * Pipe Plaza

The Portrait ghosts were originally going to pop out and go back in, similar to its retro appearance in Mario Kart 7.
 * 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 a early version of Figure-8 Circuit which is heard by default when playing the demo version on the aforementioned track.

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 GCN Mario Circuit from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, which was almost complete but was likely replaced by GCN Mushroom Bridge, as it was seen in the Leaf Cup. 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).
 * old_mario_gc

This course has a similar route to Waluigi Pinball early (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.
 * luigi_course

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.
 * dokan_course

This course was most likely used for debugging. It has been discovered that it is only playable by fixing some files, and that the model shown in the course does not fit with the collision file. Instead it is almost a circle but with extra paths leading to nowhere. Objects such as the bridge from Delfino Square, the gears from Tick-Tock Clock, and the round bridge seen 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. Looking in the collision data reveals more than what the course shows, showing a map filled with loops and corkscrews, most likely from Rainbow Road.
 * test1_course

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.
 * donkey_course

See below.
 * wario_course

Possibly a new Koopa Troopa Beach course, as nokonoko is the Japanese term for Koopa Troopa. It does not seem to resemble its predecessor in any way, and could have been an entirely new Koopa Troopa course. Again, textures can be seen by ROM Hacking only.
 * nokonoko_course

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.
 * test_circle

This course was going to be the Block City battle arena from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! but was never completed with the blocks for unknowns 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.
 * 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 = GCN Mario Circuit
 * luigi_course = Earliest Waluigi Pinball possible
 * 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 or Waluigi Pinball.
 * wario_course = Wario Stadium.
 * nokonoko_course = A beach course, fandubbed "Split-up Beach" or "Koopa Troopa Beach".
 * test_circle = Self-explanatory.
 * mini_block_course = GCN Block City. If played through race mode the CPUs go randomly and don't blow their balloons.
 * MR_stage1 = Mission Run Boss Stage 1.
 * MR_stage2 = Mission Run Boss Stage 2.
 * MR_stage3 = Mission Run Boss Stage 3.
 * MR_stage4 = Mission Run Boss Stage 4.
 * 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.

Debug Menu (Demo Version)
While using 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.