Mario Kart DS
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Genre: Racing
Series: Mario Kart
Released: November 14 2005 (US), November 25 2005 (UK) and December 8 2005 (Japan)
Certificate: 3+
Console: DS
The second portable offering from the series, and the fifth overall, Mario Kart DS avoided gimmicks as seen in Mario Kart: Double Dash, improved upon the graphics on the handheld Mario Kart: Super Circuit, offered more diverse tracks than Mario Kart 64 and generally focused on the racing a la the original Super Mario Kart. The upshot is a Mario Kart title which is regarded by many to this day as one of the very best.
Description
For those who are unaware, Mario Kart is a racing videogame series based around the wacky and wonderful world of Mario and friends. This means that while the core racing mechanics form the basis for each title, there is room for manoeuvre when it comes to crazy courses, bizarre weapons and increasingly-daft obstacles ranging from cliff edges to super-sized pinballs. But it’s handled in such a positive, fun and upbeat manner that all MK games, even those which were not as well-received (e.g. Mario Kart Wii), are still a joy to play, and a great way to both challenge yourself singularly and to have a right laugh with friends. Over the past 28 years, eight MK titles – five for home consoles and three for portable devices – have been officially released, and while graphics, features and the depth of the gameplay might have evolved, the intention remains to triumph against various colourful characters in exciting, and at times hilarious, racing competitions.
Mario Kart DS follows the same formula, and offers what is arguably the most straight-forward MK experience since the inaugural release. Unlike Double Dash, where it was essentially a continuous team battle with two people in each kart, here it’s back to normal with an eight-person race of solo drivers attempting to reach the finish line first. The nature of the DS console means that we have two screens: the top screen provides the typical camera view of the action, while the bottom screen acts as an overhead map of sorts. The latter can actually be easier to follow sometimes, as it allows you to look ahead for incoming boulders, shells or banana skins.
The control scheme is also kept very simple, with A allowing you to accelerate, B acting as the reverse button, the D-pad providing directional changes, X shooting weapons either in front of or behind you, and the shoulder buttons opening the door for rushes of energy and slightly skilful driving techniques. Although it is on a handheld console, this acts as a great introduction for anyone wanting to sample Mario Kart, because it is easy to get to grips with, and also fairly easy to master. That being said, there are still several difficulty levels designed to test the most experienced players, and there are ratings on your performances, with three stars being topnotch should you pull off an essentially flawless trek around the tracks.
On that note, let’s get to the courses themselves. As is normal, we have four Cups: the Mushroom Cup, the Flower Cup, the Star Cup and the Special Cup. The Mushroom Cup again offers the more basic arenas in the form of Figure-8 Circuit, Yoshi Falls, Cheep Cheep Beach and Luigi’s Mansion, which admittedly is a very intriguing and spooky track based on the original GameCube, erm, game. Desert Hills, Delfino Square, Waluigi Pinball (a brilliantly chaotic course that is considered one of the best in the entire series) and Shroom Ridge (the “dodge cars and lorries” pathway) comprise the Flower Cup. Meanwhile, the Star Cup gives us the winter-themed DK Pass, the fresh Tick Tock Clock (one of the game’s highlights), Mario Circuit (which is a bit meh to be honest), and Airship Fortress, which is far better. Rounding things off, the Special Cup provides us with Wario Stadium, Peach Gardens, Bowser Castle and, last but not least, the next version of Rainbow Road. There are lots of fun tracks to be found, but they are not alone.
That’s because Mario Kart DS began the trend of having a Retro Grand Prix in addition to the main Nitro one. Four courses apiece have been chosen from the first four MK games, and while there are some alternative tracks that I would have picked, it’s still a lot of fun to go down memory lane with these areas. The Shell Cup has Mario Circuit 1 from SNES, Moo Moo Farm from N64, Peach Circuit from GBA and Luigi Circuit from GameCube; the Banana Cup has Donut Plains 1 from SNES, Frappe Snowland (a personal favourite of mine) from N64, Bowser Castle 2 from GBA and Baby Park from GameCube; the Leaf Cup has Koopa Beach 2 from SNES, Choco Mountain from N64, Luigi Circuit from GBA and Mushroom Bridge from GameCube; and finally the Lightning Cup has Choco Island 2 from SNES, Banshee Boardwalk from N64, Sky Garden from GBA and Yoshi Circuit from GameCube.
In other notes, there are eight core characters and a few bonuses, which I won’t spoil here as there are some nice surprises to be had with the roster. There are two new weapons which remain to this day: Blooper, which essentially squirts ink over the screen should you be the recipient, and Bullet Bill, which super-charges a driver from the back of the line to the front or thereabouts. Battle Mode returns with six different locations to smash into your family and friends (this sounds awful but bear with me), and the game introduces Missions mode, a cool feature that focuses on what you drive through, over and around, as well as collecting and striking various things. It’s a lot of fun, so I don’t know why it hasn’t been seen again in later MK titles. As is the norm, Time Trials allow for increased single-player activity as you strive to achieve the quickest possible times on each of the 32 courses in the game. And Mario Kart DS, when released, offered online play via the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection; it wasn’t without its hiccups, but this was huge at the time, and added to the lifespan of this release significantly.
Analysis
Although this game offers new options, Mission mode and the first real showcase of classic courses, to me Mario Kart DS shines the most on what it delivers in situations that fans have come to expect, know and love. This doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel (no pun intended), nor does it lack a strong feature-set. Mario Kart DS is a straight-up racing game for the DS, and Nintendo worked very hard to make sure that this box was ticked, because none of the characters, courses, weapons, modes and options would have mattered if the racing itself was substandard. Admittedly, Mario Kart has rarely disappointed in this regard, but the core racing mechanics in MK DS are amongst the best of any game. Turns are handled simply, weapons connect when required, skills are performed easily – in a nutshell, Mario Kart DS does everything that you would want and need to do on the track with minimal fuss, making this a game to easily fall in love with.
As noted, the game feels pretty packed. With over a dozen characters, 32 courses with accompanying Time Trial tasks, 6 Battle Mode locations, cool shortcuts, hidden Easter Eggs and other bells and whistles, this has got a lot to offer which means that you can play this game over and over and over and still discover new things. That’s the secret to the success of a Mario Kart game: one could complete the Cups in a couple of hours, but there is so much to keep you entertained and to suddenly stumble upon along the way that it’s easy to justify devoting days, if not weeks, of your time to this game, and keep coming back for more.
Perhaps the game’s greatest achievement concerns the platform on which it exists. All of the above would be impressive enough for the GameCube or the Wii, the main Nintendo consoles during the DS’ lifespan. But this entire package comes in a handheld format, and in 2005 no less, long before the innovative Nintendo Switch hybrid console arrived. Fans would have been satisfied with simply having a fun replication of Mario Kart in handheld form, so the fact that it manages to cram in so much content that it measures up to home consoles heavyweights from the series is truly impressive. I haven’t really mentioned the graphics, but they are much clearer than those of Super Circuit, and are actually smoother than those of Mario Kart 64. The game has a strong legacy, what with the retro courses being used from that point onwards, and many of the tracks which debuted in MK DS have popped up in Mario Kart Wii, Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart 8.
Summary
Because I have such a fondness for the likes of Mario Kart 64 and Mario Kart: Double Dash, I can’t honestly say that this is my favourite MK game ever, but it very well could become yours. Mario Kart DS is an absolute joy and a near-flawless portable racing game. I’ve given it the highest rating possible because it does everything so right and barely does anything wrong, while coming equipped with loads of features, and all on a minimalistic platform. Even if you don’t plan to purchase every vintage Mario Kart title, I would strongly encourage you to buy Mario Kart DS and to experience all of this fun for yourself.
Notes
Target Audience: Children Aged 3+
Content: No Content Likely To Offend
Recommendation?: Yes
Overall Rating: 10/10 – Perfect
