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Mario Kart DS
PAL region cover art
Developer(s)	Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Composer(s)	Shinobu Tanaka
Series	Mario Kart
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS
Release date(s)	NA November 14, 2005 AUS November 17, 2005 EU November 25, 2005 JP December 8, 2005
Genre(s)	Kart racing
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer, online multiplayer
Rating(s)	CERO: A ESRB: E OFLC: G PEGI: 3+
Media	Nintendo DS Game Card
Input methods	D-pad, buttons, touchscreen, built-in microphone

Mario Kart DS (マリオカートDS^?) is a racing game developed and published by Nintendo. It was released for the Nintendo DS handheld game console in North America, Australia, and Europe in November 2005, and in Japan in December 2005. The game is the fifth installment in the Mario Kart series of video games, and the first to be playable via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection online service. Like other games in the series, Mario Kart DS features characters from the Mario series, and pits them against each other as they race in karts on tracks based on locations in the Mario series.

The game was well received, receiving an aggregated score of 91% from Metacritic. Praise focused on the game's graphics and gameplay, while criticism targeted its repetitive single-player mode. Mario Kart DS received several awards, including Editors' Choice Awards from GameSpot and IGN, G-Phoria's Best Handheld Game award, and IGN's Best Racing/Driving Game and Game of the Year awards for 2005. In the United States, Mario Kart DS was the best-selling handheld game in its first month of release, and also held that position the following month. Overall, Mario Kart DS is the sixth best-selling game for the Nintendo DS as of January 2009.

Gameplay

Mario racing on the Figure-8 Circuit track. Item boxes are in front of him, and the bottom screen shows a bird's-eye view of the immediate vicinity.

Mario Kart DS is a racing game, in which the player races in a kart against other racers as one of 13 characters, each with three karts to choose from. While racing, the Nintendo DS's top screen offers a third-person perspective of the player's kart, while the bottom touchscreen shows the race's current standings, items carried by each racer, and a map of the course. The bottom screen can be toggled to show either an overview of the entire course, or a bird's-eye view of the player's kart and the immediate vicinity, including nearby racers, course hazards, item boxes, and incoming attacks. Each course features item boxes that the player can drive through to receive a randomly selected item, which the player can use to gain an advantage over other racers. Some items allow the player to attack other racers to slow them down, while other items can be used to speed up the player's own kart to pass other racers more easily.^[1]

The game features five game modes—Grand Prix, Time Trial, Vs, Battle, and Mission. The Grand Prix and Vs modes require that the player choose an engine class from among 50 cc, 100 cc, and 150 cc. The classes serve as difficulty levels—the higher the engine class, the faster all karts go. In addition, a 150 cc Mirror mode can be unlocked, in which karts use 150 cc engines and tracks are flipped horizontally. In Grand Prix mode, the player competes against seven computer-controlled racers in a series of predetermined courses. In the Time Trial mode, the player must finish a course as quickly as possible. The fastest time is then saved as a ghost, a carbon copy of the player's performance, which the player can race against later. In Vs mode, the player races on a track of their choosing against computer-controlled opponents. The mode can be played either individually or in teams, which separates racers into a blue team and a red team. Battle mode features two scenarios, Balloon Battle and Shine Runners, both which also allow the player to play either individually or in teams. In Balloon Battle, the player must pop the opposing players' balloons by attacking them, or they must steal balloons by colliding into other karts. In the second scenario, Shine Runners, the player must collect Shine Sprites. The player can attack other racers to take away a Shine Sprite from them, and racers with the fewest Shine Sprites are eliminated from the game over time.^[1]

In Mission Mode, the player must complete missions, each with objectives that range from collecting coins to attacking enemies. In each mission, the player controls a prespecified character. There are seven levels with eight missions in each. After completing each mission, the player's performance is given a grade of stars (three, two, or one) or letters (A, B, C, D, or E). After all eight missions in a level are complete, the player must complete a boss mission to advance to the next level. The game also features a multiplayer mode, in which eight players race each other using the DS Download Play feature or a multi-card wireless LAN connection. Mario Kart DS also supports online play via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, in which up to four players can play together. When playing online, participants can only race against each other; Battle mode is not available when playing via an online connection.^[1]

Development

Nintendo's headquarters in Kyoto, Japan, where the game was developed

Nintendo first announced on May 11, 2004 that they planned to release a Mario Kart game for the Nintendo DS, releasing some gameplay video footage at the same time.^[2] The company offered the game for the public to play for the first time at the 2005 Game Developers Conference, where the game's wireless feature was also showcased.^[3] Mario Kart DS was produced by Hideki Konno, who also worked on 2005's Nintendogs.^[4] The game runs at a consistent 60 frames per second and uses fully 3D characters and environments.^[3]

Mario Kart DS is the first Mario Kart iteration to support online play. Konno remarked that although both Mario Kart DS and the Halo series of games feature online play, he noted that most of the people who use the feature in Halo games were "hardcore gamers". With Mario Kart DS, Konno wants "everyone to go online, and the technology and time is right for that to happen". Continuing with the tradition of introducing a new gameplay mechanic in each Mario Kart game, Mario Kart DS is the first in the series to support up to eight players at the same time with only one game cartridge. New to the series, the game also includes a single-player Battle Mode, which does not require that there be at least two human participants. As the first Mario Kart game for the Nintendo DS, the developers tested several features that took advantage of the device's bottom touchscreen. They considered letting players place items anywhere on the track instead of just behind their kart. However, the developers found it too confusing because the game already had too many distractions, making it difficult to control where to place items while racing.^[4]

In Mario Kart DS, a kart is able to draft behind another kart to gain a speed boost momentarily, a feature that was also previously used in the 1996 video game Mario Kart 64. Mario Kart DS places a stronger focus on the feature and once again provides a visual cue when a kart is drafting. In an interview, Konno notes that they included tracks from previous Mario Kart games into Mario Kart DS so that players who played the original Super Mario Kart on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System would feel more familiar with the DS iteration of the series.^[5]

Reception

Mario Kart DS was released by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS in North America on November 14, 2005, in Australia on November 17, 2005, in Europe on November 25, 2005, in Japan on December 8, 2005, and in Korea on April 5, 2007.^[20] Nintendo later revealed that Mario Kart DS would also be sold bundled with a new red-colored Nintendo DS starting on November 28, 2005, along with "a checkered-flag wrist strap, and racing-inspired decals to customize new red handheld".^[21] The game was considered to receive "universal acclaim" by Metacritic, where it received an aggregated score of 91%.^[6] Praise focused on the game's graphics and gameplay, while criticism targeted its repetitive single-player mode. Mario Kart DS received Editors' Choice awards from GameSpot and IGN.^[12][16] The game was nominated by GameSpot for several Best of 2005 awards, including Best Multiplayer Game,^[22] Best Driving Game,^[23] and Best DS Game, winning the last one.^[24] The game received G-Phoria's Best Handheld Game award.^[25] IGN gave the game the awards for Best Racing/Driving Game^[26] and Game of the Year for 2005.^[27]

Several reviews praised the game for living up to the standards set by its predecessors. Finding the game's online shortcomings annoying, GameSpy still believed that the single-player mode and local wireless gameplay more than made up for them.^[13] Nintendo World Report noticed that "the best features of past Mario Kart games are back" and work well with the new features in Mario Kart DS, calling the end result "the most impressive game to ever hit the Nintendo DS and also the best game in the Mario Kart series".^[17] X-Play shared this sentiment, and remarked that the game shattered all of its expectations, making it the "best kart racing game ever released—handheld or otherwise".^[18] GameZone also believed that Mario Kart DS "lives up to its legacy" with its inventive courses, "stellar" multiplayer, and "more replay value than any other racer in its class".^[15] Alejandro K. Brown of CBS News appreciated the game's unique use of Nintendo DS features, such as its microphone and wireless connectivity.^[28]

Finding it hard to imagine how Nintendo could make a Mario Kart game better than Mario Kart DS, IGN lauded Mario Kart DS's gameplay and depth in its design.^[16] GameSpot called the game a "significant step forward" for the Mario Kart series, partly because it is the first in the series to feature online play.^[12] Game Revolution remarked that the game "goes the distance" with its single-player and multiplayer modes.^[11] 1UP.com complimented the "surprisingly compelling package", describing it as a "portable racing game on par with anything ever to appear on a console".^[7] Video game magazine GamePro was pleased with the variety of racers, courses, modes, and multiplayer options offered, toting the game as a "must play" for any Nintendo fan and a requisite for any Nintendo DS owner to purchase.^[10] Computer and Video Games described Mario Kart DS as the "most complete" Mario Kart game, despite a few graphical shortcomings.^[8] Eurogamer enjoyed the game's multiplayer mode, calling it "genuinely practical to play with other people".^[9] British publication GamesTM criticized the game for being simply a "polishing of the Mario Kart concept and little else",^[14] and video game website Nintendophiles was disappointed with the "fairly repetitive" single-player mode and the "cheap computer players".^[19]

The game was the first for the Nintendo DS to take advantage of the console's Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection feature. By the end of its debut week in the United States, 112,000 people purchased the game, of which 52,000 of them had logged onto Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to play against other people over the Internet.^[29] Mario Kart DS was the best-selling handheld game in its debut month of November 2005 in the United States.^[30] It reached first place again in December 2005 among handhelds, and sixth across all platforms.^[31] It dropped to third place in February 2007 among handhelds.^[32] Across all platforms, the game went down to 17th place in April 2008^[33] and then back up to 14th in May 2008.^[34] It descended to 16th in November 2008.^[35] It rose to 10th place in December 2008 in the region, selling more than 540,000 copies that month. It was the 10th best-selling game of 2008, and the best-selling Nintendo DS game of that year.^[36] In Japan, the game sold 224,411 copies in its first week.^[37] In the week of February 18–24, 2008, it dropped to 27th place.^[38] The game went back up on the charts and became the 16th best-selling game of April 7–13, 2008, 14th place from April 14–20, 2008,^[39] and 15th place from May 12–18, 2008.^[40] Mario Kart DS sold 3,112,363 units as of July 2008,^[41] and 3,224,996 copies as of January 2009, making it the sixth best-selling game for the Nintendo DS since the console's release.^[42] The game was Japan's 16th best-selling game in 2008.^[43]

References

External links

• Official Mario Kart DS website (North America)
• Official Mario Kart DS website (Europe)
• Official Mario Kart DS website (Australia)
• Mario Kart DS at the Open Directory Project

From StrategyWiki, the free strategy guide and walkthrough wiki

Mario Kart DS
Developer(s)	Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Release date(s)	November 14, 2005  November 15, 2005  November 17, 2005  November 25, 2005  December 8, 2005
Genre(s)	Racing
System(s)	Nintendo DS
Players	1-8
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer, Online multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: Everyone CERO: All ages PEGI: Ages 3+ OFLC: General
Media	256-Megabit flash card
Website	http://nintendo-europe.com/
Input	D-Pad, buttons, touch screen, built-in microphone
Preceded by	Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
Followed by	Mario Kart Wii
Series	Mario Kart

Mario Kart DS is the first online game in the series for the Nintendo DS portable platform. It is also Nintendo's very first attempt at including total online multiplayer 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-received by critics.

Racing in Mario Kart DS involves various characters from other various Mario games racing each other in go-karts on tracks themed from locations in the series. Less realistic physics, and the use of various weapons and or items to achieve victory differentiates kart racing games like MKDS from racing simulators like Gran Turismo. Mario Kart DS multiplayer supports up to eight players via wireless linkup, and up to four players via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

Table of Contents

External links

Wikipedia has an article about:

Mario Kart DS

• Official Mario Kart Website (North America)
• Mario Kart DS Decal Maker
• Mario Kart DS - Wi-Fi Connection Help

From Wikia Gaming, your source for walkthroughs, games, guides, and more!

Portal: Sports and Racing		Mario Kart DS at Mario Kart Racing Wiki

Mario Kart DS
Developer(s)	Nintendo
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Release date	November 14, 2005 (NA)
Genre	Racing, Kart racer
Mode(s)	1-8 players (4 Online), Versus, Battle, Online
Age rating(s)	ESRB: E
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS
Input	touch screen microphone
Credits | Soundtrack | Codes | Walkthrough

Mario Kart DS is the fifth game in the Mario Kart series. It was released on November 14, 2005 in North America. Mario Kart DS was one of the first games announced for the Nintendo DS and was pushed back from its originally estimated release of quarter 1, 2005. Unlike Mario Kart 64, which features sprite-based characters against a 3D background, Mario Kart DS features a fully 3D world.

Along with Animal Crossing: Wild World, Mario Kart DS was one of the first titles able to be playable online through Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Using friend codes, players could race each other on most of the tracks, and even show off custom decals on their kart.

Gameplay

The action takes place on the top screen while a map is visible on the bottom. Unlike previous games, you can both hop and power slide. The game has also taken a step away from the dual-kart mechanism present in the last installation, Mario Kart: Double Dash!!.

The racing itself, however, has not changed much from previous iterations of the franchise. They focus on simple, arcade-style controls instead of realism. Players use different weapons from the Mario series, like the famous Koopa shells and Super Stars against each other, while racing along crazy twisting tracks. The tracks range from original creations to throwbacks from every previous installment of the game. Four tracks from each of the previous games in the series are present, recreated (in some cases for the first time) in full 3D.

In addition to traditional races, there is a revamped battle mode and a new mission mode. The former features open maps and player-vs-player combat; each player begins with one balloon representing their life. In a new twist, players can inflate additional balloons by blowing into the DS' microphone. Alternatively, holding down the Select button accomplishes the same result.

A new mission mode is also available, which gives you a limited amount of time to meet a given objective. Example quests include completing 5 power slides, or collecting a number of coins as fast as possible. Each stage also has a "boss" fight, such as shoving a Big Bully into the water with Mushroom Dash power-ups, or beating a giant Goomba to the end of the race while avoiding everything he throws at you.

Tracks

There are a total of 32 tracks: 16 from previous iterations of Mario Kart, with the remainder being new tracks built for the DS. Overall, 20 of the tracks are playable online.

The hardest part about Yoshi Falls is going through the waterfall, without a Star or Mushroom, and not falling off the ledge.

Nitro Grand Prix (new tracks)

Mushroom Cup

• Figure 8 Circuit
• Yoshi Falls
• Cheep Cheep Beach
• Luigi's Mansion

Flower Cup

• Desert Hills
• Delfino Square
• Waluigi Pinball
• Shroom Ridge

Star Cup

• DK Pass
• Tick-Tock Clock
• Mario Circuit
• Airship Fortress

Special Cup

• Wario Stadium
• Peach Gardens
• Bowser's Castle
• Rainbow Road

Retro Grand Prix (recreated tracks)

Shell Cup

• Mario Circuit 1 - Super Mario Kart, SNES
• Moo Moo Farm - Mario Kart 64, N64
• Peach Circuit - Mario Kart: Super Circuit, GBA
• Luigi Circuit - Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, GCN

Banana Cup

• Donut Plains 1 - SNES
• Frappe Snowland - N64
• Bowser's Castle 2 - GBA
• Baby Park - GCN

Leaf Cup

• Koopa Beach 2 - SNES
• Choco Mountain - N64
• Luigi Circuit - GBA
• Mushroom Bridge - GCN

Lightning Cup

• Choco Island 2 - SNES
• Banshee Boardwalk - N64
• Sky Garden - GBA
• Yoshi Circuit - GCN

Battle Mode

There are six Battle Maps, two of which are from previous iterations of Mario Kart.

• Nintendo DS - Modeled after the surface of a Nintendo DS. A similar map is found in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!; in that case, players go head-to-head on the surface of a GameCube.

• Twilight House - A nine-room three-by-three configuration of a house, the center being filled in as a wall. Players can go outside of the house, but doing so could get you pushed off the edge of the course by another kart!

• Palm Shore - A beach with a central island and some stretches of dry land all around it. These stretches are separated by a sand-filled sort of basin that the tide fills occasionally, causing karts in the water to move very slowly.

• Tart Top - A large cake, with all the item boxes floating directly over the cherry-topped center. Frosting and strawberries are dotted around the outer and inner parts of the cake, and bumping into one sprays a bit of frosting onto the top screen, making sight a bit difficult for a few seconds.

• Block Fort - Originally found in Mario Kart 64, this fan favorite features three layers and four massive color coded blocks, making it one of the most intense "search and destroy" maps.

• Pipe Plaza - Hails from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!.

Characters

There are a total of 13 characters, with 8 being available from the start and 5 unlockables through playing.

Base characters

• Mario
• Luigi
• Peach
• Yoshi
• Donkey Kong
• Wario
• Bowser
• Toad

Hidden characters

• Daisy
• Waluigi
• Shy Guy (appears only when using DS Download Play)
• Dry Bones
• R.O.B.

Items

All items are activated using the player's choice of the X or L buttons. Holding the button allows certain items to be dragged behind the player's kart.

• Mushroom: Performs a turbo boost forwards. Useful for passing, ramming, or crossing terrain such as sand or grass without being slowed down.
• Triple Mushrooms: Each button press uses one Mushroom boost, until all are gone.
• Golden Mushroom: After activation of the first boost, the player has 20 seconds during which as many Mushroom boosts as desired can be performed.
• Banana (draggable): Driving over it causes your kart to spin out. Can be set behind the kart, or thrown forwards. Hitting the dragged banana has the same effect as running over it.
• Triple Bananas: Activating the item causes three buttons to be strung behind your kart, where they follow until the button is pressed again to deploy each banana individually. Racers that hit the back of your kart will spin out as if they ran over a banana, which causes the banana that contacted the racer's kart to be used up. Once the bananas are dragging behind the kart, another item can be obtained.
• Green Shell (draggable): A throwing shell that travels in a straight line, bouncing off of walls three to six times before breaking. If it hits a kart, the kart rolls over. Hitting a dragged shell has the same effect as being hit.
• Triple Green Shells: Similar to Triple Bananas, activation leads to a rotation of three shells around the player's kart. Anyone driving too close could be hit by a rotating shell as it comes around the kart. Individual shells can be shot off like a single green shell by pressing the button again once the shells have been deployed. Another item can be obtained once the shells are rotating around the kart.
• Red shell (draggable): A homing version of the Green Shell. If racers are too close together, Red Shells don't always have time enough to lock on to the racer and will continue around to the next racer. Red Shells shot while the player is in first place will attempt to go all the way around the track and hit the player in last place.
• Triple Red Shells: A homing version of Triple Green Shells.
• Bob-omb (draggable): Thrown backward or forward. If a kart gets too close to the bomb, it will explode, throwing all karts in the blast radius into the air, with the caveat that the kart(s) that triggered it may be able to drive ahead of the explosion fast enough to avoid it. Karts that enter the explosion after the bomb goes off will spin out instead of being launched into the air. If no kart gets close enough to the bomb, it will explode anyway in three to six seconds, affecting karts the same as it was triggered. Karts that ram into a bomb being held behind will trigger an explosion.
• Fake Item Box (draggable): Looks like an Item box, but it doesn't spin and it's missing a question mark. Running into one causes the kart to flip over. Karts that hit a dragged Fake item box will also flip over.
• Spiny Shell: A large, spiked blue shell that zooms straight to the person in first and attacks them, creating a large explosion not unlike that created by the Bob-omb. Karts in the blast radius will be thrown up into the air; those that enter the explosion after detonation will spin out. Launching a Spiny shell while in first place will cause the Spiny shell to blow you up!
• Blooper: Sprays ink onto the top screen and karts of all other players. CPU players that have been hit by a Blooper will drive in erractic zigzag patterns. Human players may find it difficult to successfully navigate their karts if they aren't good at using the bottom screen to drive. If used while in first place, no enemy karts will be hit; Blooper will spray ink onto the player in first instead! Ink can be cleared by using a Mushroom or running over a boost pad. Miniboosts from drifting will not rid a player of Blooper ink.
• Boo: Makes players invisible and invincible, allowing them to drive through and over any terrain (with the exception of walls), items, and other karts. If an opponent has an item, Boo will steal one and give it to the user. Boo does not protect players from falling off of the course completely, and the effects will fade after a short period of time.
• Star: On activation, the player will be made invincible to all attacks, items, and terrain effects. Running into another kart while using a Star causes the opposing vehicle to flip over; running back and forth over somebody with a Star during a Wi-Fi race is a common practice that is seen as annoying by many players. The effects of a Star fade after a short period of time.
• Bullet Bill: Transforms the user into a Bullet Bill. Players will be automatically navigated through the main road of the course, knocking over any karts in the way. Bullet Bills will not take shortcuts, but they will finish going through a shortcut path if the player activates the Bullet Bill mid-shortcut. Players will turn back into their normal form after a short period of time.
• Lightning: All other karts will shrink and move slowly, as well as hear high-pitched and distorted music and voice until returned to their normal size. Karts in low places like 8th will take a shorter time to return to their normal size than those in higher places, like 1st; the farther ahead you are, the longer the period of time before returning to the normal size. The user of Lightning is not affected in any way.

Caveats: Triple Bananas, Triple Green Shells, and Triple Red Shells do not appear in Wi-Fi due to potential lag problems. Dragging items behind one's kart in Wi-Fi is also disabled for the same reason.

Obstacles and Hazards

The Mario Kart series has had many obstacles in almost every course, and that also includes Mario Kart DS. Here is a list of all the obstacles that you will encounter.

• Boxes: You'll find wooden boxes throughout the game. Once you crash into a box, it will explode, making you stop, plus, sometimes an item will come out of one once you crash into it.

• Cheep-Cheep: Cheep-Cheeps are swimming around in the water, so its easy to dodge them since you usually don't have to go there.

• Crab: You will finds crabs on Cheep Cheep Beach, if you run into one, you will suddenly start to spin around for a couple of seconds. This could tragically put you in last place on the account that there near the end of the level.

• Monty Mole: You will find Monty Moles on multiple courses such as Peach's Courtyard. You will see small holes in the ground, sometimes, Monty Moles will pop out of the holes and try to spin you out.

• Piranha Plant: Piranha Plant's will appear in a couple of courses. They will pop out of there pipe, then try to spit out fire balls at you.

• Pokey: You'll find Pokies on the Dry Dry Desert stage. They will be swaying back and forth in one spot. If you crash into one, you'll fly in the air and come back down to the ground, putting off a few seconds of the racing time.

• Rocky Rench: You'll find Rocky Renches on the Airship stage. On this stage, the moles will pop out of the sewers on the ship. Though they don't throw wrenches at you like they do in Super Mario Bros 3, you can still be harmed if you run into them.

Emblems

This is the newest feature of the game. An emblem is a decal or picture that appears as a sort of symbol for someone on their kart. The emblem appears only on certain places on a kart, and depending on where its put, the emblem may be smaller, bigger and/or stretched out. The player also has the ability to choose from various patterns ranging from a Starman to Thunderbolt and also the shape of Mario's face. The player also can choose not to use a custom emblem and to use an original emblem already designed for the a character. The player might do this if he/she has an unfinished emblem that they don't want others to see.   Emblems are displayed during VS matches and in online matches on the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

Trivia

• In the Japanese version of the game, R.O.B is red & white and has the name HVC-012. HVC-012, or better know as Famicom Robot, is the original Japanese version of R.O.B. Additionally, HVC-012 is the true staff ghost on Desert Hills and Rainbow Road, 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.
• 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.
• When players play Mario Kart DS on any DS systems, Mario will say "Wahoo!" in Original DS, but "Here we go!" in DS Lite/DSi.
• 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.
• Mario Kart DS is one of the first games to be released that was compatible with the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, allowing players to go online and race against other users around the world.
• A player's overall game ranking (*, **, or *** stars, if achieved) will appear next to his or her name online while racing.
• Mario Kart: Super Circuit tie-in: When the Nintendo DS is turned on with "Mario Kart DS" in Slot 1 and "Mario Kart: Super Circuit" in Slot 2, "Super Circuit" is listed as an "Option Pack" and cannot be played. Users have yet to discover if and how this effects "Mario Kart DS".

Critic Reviews

• 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)

Scores received in the major gaming review sites:

• Gamerankings - 93%
• Gamespot - 9.2/10
• IGN - 9.5/10
• Joystiq - 9.0/10
• Nintendo Power - 9.0/10

Mario Kart series

Console games: Super Mario Kart | Mario Kart 64 | Mario Kart: Double Dash!! | Mario Kart Wii Handheld games: Mario Kart Super Circuit | Mario Kart DS Arcade games: Mario Kart Arcade GP Related games/series: Mario series | Donkey Kong series