Mario Kart DS

About Mario Kart DS
Mario Kart DS is the first game in the series for the Nintendo DS portable platform. It is also Nintendo's very first attempt at including total, online multi-player gameplay. While online play via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection is not considered as fleshed out as it could have been, the game itself was well recieved by critics.

Publisher: Nintendo

Platform: Nintendo DS

Release Date (North America): November 14, 2005

ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)

Characters
Mario Kart DS includes a wide variety of characters from the Mario universe. Here is a quick look at all of them:

- Mario -

The hero of mushroom kingdom, he has participated in numerous genres from tennis to golf. Mario is a balanced racer.

- Luigi -

The not so famous brother of Mario. He usually tags along with Mario as more of a sidekick then an equal. Like Mario, Luigi is a balanced racer.

- Donkey Kong (DK) -

He's the monkey. Donkey Kong is a big ape who was once rivals with Mario at the start but is now stars in more of his own games seperate from mario. He's a heavy racer who can knock you off the track if given the chance.

- Bowser -

He's the villain. Bowser is the classic villain of the Mario games who constantly plots to kidnap Princess Peach. Unfortunately, his plans are always foiled by Mario and Luigi. He's a heavy racer who can knock you off the track if given half a chance.

- Yoshi -

Yoshi is everyone's favorite green dinosaur. In the past, Yoshi has been a mount for Mario, but lately he has become more of an individual. Yoshi is a light racer with great acceleration and handling.

- Wario -

Bio soon!

- Peach -

The resident damsel in distress of the Mushroom kingdom. Countless Mario games focus on Bowser kidnapping her and Mario rescuing her.

- Toad -

Toad is an assistant to Princess Peach. He tries to help peach but fails and then gives Mario helpful advice. Toad is a light character (seeing as how hes 3 feet tall) and has great acceleration.

- Shy Guy -

Shy Guy is a standard enemey from the Mario universe. In Mario Kart DS, he becomes playable to those who don't have their own Game Card and are using the single-card, DS Download Play feature.

- Waluigi -

Bio soon!

Note: Waluigi must be unlocked before you can choose him.

- Dry Bones -

Bio soon!

Note: Dry Bones must be unlocked before you can choose it.

- Daisy -

Bio soon!

Note: Daisy must be unlocked before you can choose her.

- R.O.B. -

R.O.B. stands for 'Robotic Operating Buddy'. He was once an actual piece of hardware that Nintendo created to compliment the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). R.O.B. is a fairly heavy racer.

Note: R.O.B. must be unlocked before you can choose it.

Unlockables
Mario Kart DS can be enjoyed without learning the advanced manuvers. You'll find lots of secret unlockables within the game.

- Unlockable Characters and Karts -

50cc Retro getting a gold trophy (first place overall) unlocks Daisy

50cc Nitro getting a gold trophy (first place overall) unlocks Dry Bones

100cc Retro getting a gold trophy (first place overall) unlocks Waluigi

100cc Retro getting a gold trophy (first place overall) unlocks a new 3rd kart for eash character

150cc Retro getting a gold trophy (first place overall) unlocks 4 new karts for each character. The karts aren't new but borrowed from other races (i.g. Yoshi can now drive one of luigi's karts.

150cc Nitro getting a gold trophy (first place overall) unlocks 150cc mirror mode

150cc Mirror Retro getting a gold trophy (first place overall) unlocks R.O.B.

150cc Nitro Mirror getting a gold trophy (first place overall) unlocks all karts for all characters

- Unlockable Title Screen -

You can unlock a new title screen by finshing all classes with gold trophies on all cups.

- Unlockable Ending Screen -

You can unlock a new ending screen (the 'thank you' screen) by earning gold trophies on all cups and classes.

- Unlockable Mission Tier 7 -

You can unlock a 7th set of missions in 'Mission' mode by earning at least 1 star on every other mission available.

Advanced Powersliding
- Introduction -

Also known as snaking, this technique is exploiting the powerslide boost function in Mario Kart DS and using it to its fullest advantage.

The simpliest form of powersliding is performing it at corners... Advanced Powersliding is performing it as much as possible without being hindered by the course.

- Performing -

Performing Powerboosts is done by pressing R to hop, then holding down the D-Pad in the direction you want your cart to drift, after your Kart starts to drift, immediately begin to press Left & Right quickly and rhythmically.

This will take much practice, both mentally, and physically.

- Straightaway Snaking -

Straightaway snaking seems like a disadvantage at first, but if performed quickly enough, you can gain a signifigant speed boost over the competition.

A good example of straightaway snaking:



And a bad example:



- One-sided boosts -

This is Powerslide boosting from just one side repeatedly. It can be used on smaller straightaways where going in an actual snake-like pattern will only get you into the grass.

To perform, Powerslide boost, making sure you can squeeze enough room to not slide onto the grass. After the boost, perform a hop or two to realign yourself, then boost from that side again.

- Best Karts and Characters -

The best Karts to use for Advanced Powersliding would be very light characters that have a low drift and high accelleration. The downside is that this limits a large amount of characters that can be useful.

Famous combinations are Yoshi and his Egg One, Dry Bones and his Dry Bomber, and Yoshi and the Poltergust 4000.

Links and Resources

 * Official Mario Kart Website (North America)
 * Mario Kart DS Decal Maker