Mario Kart DS: Difference between revisions

In VS mode (single or multiplayer), player(s) choose their [[Kart]]s and head out on the race track. They earn an extra 10 points every time they win. The player can also choose what course they race on (provided they've unlocked it). Up to eight players can play locally via wireless - simple mode only uses one game card but is limited. The essential requirement is that everyone has a game card. In single-player mode, the player can choose the engine class, the [[MarioWiki:Glossary#C|CPU]]'s difficulty level, the way the courses will be chosen - by the player, in order or random; the rules to win races (either free - never-ending races; number of wins, which only the first racer earns points, or the number of races raced (going up to thirty-two functions similarly to the [[All-Cup Tour]] from ''Mario Kart: Double Dash!''); and team race mode.

It is possible to have up to eight players play using just one ''Mario Kart DS'' game card - using the DS Download Play locally. Here, the tracks are limited, the disabilities for the [[#Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection mode|Wi-Fi connection]] apply, and everyone must play as a random color of Shy Guy, in which he becomes playable then. If everyone has a game card, all tracks are available and there are no disabilities. [[#Battle|Battle Mode]] is also available. It is the same as the battle modes in ''[[Mario Kart: Double Dash!!]]'', but Shine Thief is changed into Shine Runners. The rules are different for this mode, in which players gather the most [[Shine Sprite]]s on a course.

MKDS-CourseIcon-TwilightHouse.png|[[Twilight House]]

MKDS-CourseIcon-PalmShore.png|[[Palm Shore]]

MKDS-CourseIcon-N64-BlockFort.png|[[Block Fort|<small>N64</small> Block Fort]]

In single player mode, the user faces CPU controlled racers, whose difficulty can be set in the battle's setup menu. All racers drive their respective standard Kart only within this mode (note that all the standard karts have the same stats in battle mode and only the weight will differ, depending on the weight of the character chosen). Additionally, other players can join a battle locally. However, Battle Mode is unavailable on the [[#Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection mode|wireless connection]]. Like in versus, battles can also be played in teams.

Adopted from the ''[[Mario Kart: Double Dash!!]]'' [[Battle Mode#Shine Thief|version]], nine [[Shine Sprite]]s are scattered onto the course at the beginning. Players need to capture the Shine Sprites, and to avoid being hit, as it causes a player to lose one sprite. The sprite then moves to a random spot for someone else to grab. In the meantime, a clock ticks down to zero. Anyone with or tied with the lowest Shine total when the clock hits zero is eliminated. The clock resets itself to a lower time and the battle continues until at least one is left (there are nine sprites to avoid a tie, but it is possible to have two players with four sprites trying to get that last one on the course when time expires or have three players with three 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 is obtained (Spiny Shells and Bullet Bills remain out). Shine Runners is almost the same as Coin Runners in ''[[Mario Kart Wii]]'' and ''[[Mario Kart 7]]'', but instead of [[Shine Sprite]]s, they use [[coin]]s.

| colspan=9 style="text-align:justify;font-size:smaller;" | <span style="background:#096">Grove-green bg signifies victory results (great clapping, character(s) cheering), best after-race music</span><br><span style="background:#CF0">Lime-green bg signifies moderate results (mild clapping, moderate character reaction), same music in Wi-Fi as winner but different in Grand Prix</span><br>Normal bg signifies losing results, losing music, (kart engine stops if not in Grand Prix mode). In ''[[Super Mario Kart]]'' and ''[[Mario Kart: Super Circuit]]'', the race will be restarted (0 pts) if the racer comes in 5th-8th. If this happens more than three times, the [[Grand Prix]] must be started over.<br>- means not available  

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 system randomly picks one. If four players choose two courses, two each, the game randomly picks from those two. On the other hand, the most voted course by a group of four or three users is selected to race. It goes like so for four 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.

*''Mario Kart DS'' is one of the few games on the DS to have a "Language Block". Depending on the language of the DS, the language of the game will change; however, it will not change into Japanese.