Review: Mario Kart DS

It would be an understatement to say that Nintendo's signature character, the shell-stomping princess-saving Mario, needs no introduction. He's a world-wide phenomenon and has appeared in enough game spin-offs to spawn a genre of his own. The title that just keeps coming back, though, is Mario Kart. The irreverent and addictive combat racing gameplay is just as enjoyable today on Nintendo's Dual-Screen wonderkind as it was on the SNES. Read on for my impressions of another powerhouse title featuring the mustachioed multitalented plumber.

• Title: Mario Kart DS
• Developer: Nintendo
• Publisher: Nintendo
• System: Nintendo DS
• Reviewer: Zonk
• Score: 10/10

Mario Kart's pedigree is long and on the whole entirely successful. The game has been on the SNES, the N64, the GBA, the Gamecube, and now the DS. While the fundamental gameplay hasn't substantially changed, the purity of the design, the simplicity of the controls, and the personable nature of the game's graphical presentation combine to make Mario Kart one of the most enjoyable racing titles videogaming has to offer.

Playing the game is almost unchanged from the experience in Gamecube's Mario Kart Double Dash!!. While you aren't able to ride with a gunner, as you could on that system's Kart offering, Kart DS still offers up the opportunity to bring the blue sparks. Skidding around corners allows you to maintain your momentum, and quickly twitching the D-pad back and forth generates sparks which can give you a much needed boost. As you fly around the tracks, you'll gain access to a bevy of items for use against your opponents. Ranging from a simple banana peel that can slip up foes behind you to a leader-seeking flying blue shell, the items keep the game extremely balanced and the ending always tight. The further back in the pack you find yourself, the more powerful the items you find on the track. Players relegated to the far end of the course may even find themselves transformed into a Bullet Bill, which can rocket down the racetrack at high speed and blast foes out of the way. Even if you're lagging far behind you're never more than an item away from rejoining the pack. The gameplay is designed to be simple to learn, with plenty of depth to unlock through repeated play. Unfrustrating and good-natured fun is the result, a title that can be picked up by novice and expert alike and played with equal enjoyment. In addition to Prix mode there are also 54 missions to try out, each of them more challenging than the last. The trials are designed to improve your racing skills, and range from simple 'go through the numbered posts' slalom-style events to some truly unique boss fights. Each boss requires a different strategy to defeat, and some trials are extremely tough to power through. These battles are well worth it though, and add just that much more replayablity to the title.

The field of battle in Mario Kart DS is the racetrack, and there are 32 tracks to compete in over the course of the single-player mode. There are three racing speeds, from 50cc engines for newcomers to 150cc engines for the more experienced player. Each speed rating has eight cup races, with each cup being made up of four racetracks. Tracks from every previous Kart title are offered here, going all the way back to the SNES version. There are also a number of original tracks available, and the simplicity of the older tracks is almost refreshing compared to the complexity of some of the newer environments. While older tracks are just ovals to navigate, newer tracks offer criss-crossing paths and stupendous leaps. Some of the racetracks have a higher fun factor than others, but the sheer variety of tracks means there is something to offer for every player. There's also something to offer for every Nintendo fan, in the form of over a dozen selectable characters. While you initially start with eight, you unlock new Mario buddies and new carts for the characters as you complete cups. Each character has a definite racing style, and it's refreshing that playing Toad is fundamentally different than driving as Bowser. Who you play is more than just an aesthetic statement: it affects your strategy as well.

Aesthetics are a fine topic for this game, though, because Mario Kart looks just great on the DS. All of the characters are identifiable, and have a lot of personality to their models. Karts are imaginatively designed, and game items have the same quirky looks as their non-racing counterparts. The entire game runs smoothly as silk, with no graphical hiccups or even slowdowns that I could tell. The tracks themselves, besides their enjoyable design, bring the world of Mario to life as you whizz past. Some of the older tracks look a little blocky in comparison to the Gamecube or brand-new offerings, but overall the game is a slick and pleasant world to drive through.

As much fun and challenge as the single-player prix mode offers, the true joy of Kart racing is multiplayer mode. Mario Kart DS makes playing with your fellow gamers brilliantly simple. Locally, multiple DS units can be networked together to run races or engage in one of the entertaining mini-games. Fellow players don't all need the cartridge, either, with one console running the game acting as a hub for up to seven other players. Hopping into this feature is intuitive and only requires a few button presses. Mario Kart DS has also launched as one of the premier titles utilizing Nintendo's WiFi Connection. If you have access to a compatible WAP, or live near a McDonald's, you can compete with fellow Kart players across the country and around the world. My WAP required no tweaking whatsoever to allow the DS to start looking for other players. Up to four players can race together competitively on a series of tracks. The full set of 32 are not available, but there are more than enough options to keep strangers enjoying each other's company. The family-friendly side of Nintendo means that DS multiplayer is as pleasant to play as it is easy to set up. There's no way to interact with other players besides racing, so comments about your mom won't be drifting from your DS speakers. The network appears to be solid as well. Despite disparate geography and connection setups, I've never had even the slightest bit of lag while playing with other Kart racers. Some players do inevitably drop out of the race because of signal strength or petty annoyance, but the race moves forward without interruption. There are also vs. modes, which bring back the balloon-popping fighter and introduces shine runner, a challenge to collect the Mario series ever-present star-shaped rewards.

There are a few minor quibbles I have with the setup. In order to play with specific individuals, you'll need to trade Friend Codes. Friend Codes are unique identifiers pairing the DS and a cartridge, and are the only way you can seek out any one person online. You can't trade Friend Codes online; they have to be traded via some other information channel. There's no way, then, to block racers who constantly drop out if they're in last place or befriend a good sport you bested on the Luigi's Mansion track. Likewise, it can sometimes take a while to find opponents when you're out searching on the Regional or Worldwide screens. If the game can't find four players to put together it will often drop two or three players together into a race just to get them racing, and there are no options governing your preferences here.

Idiosyncrasies with the online setup aside, Mario Kart DS is a drop-dead gorgeous racer with a nearly limitless pot of fun on to boil. The gameplay is addictively fun. There are several options for single-player play, ensuring you'll never get tired of playing by yourself. And, if you do, it's a matter of minutes to be online and racing someone from anywhere in the world. It's not often that I pause to reflect on the real changes that modern developments have made to gaming, but the ease and fluidity with which you can be racing other gamers from the comfort of your cozy WAP is enough to make even the most jaded technology aficionado pause. If you own a DS, there are very few reasons not to consider at least renting this game. It's the latest and greatest in one of Nintendo's most venerable franchises, packing graphical prowess and technical savvy into one impossible-to-put-down package. I highly recommend this game to anyone who likes having fun.

Sir! With the keyboard!

[katana (122232)]

Sir, I need you to put down the thesaurus, and slowly back away. Keep your hands where I can see them!

I love nintendo

[msh104 (620136)]

the game is really cool. I myself like the nature of nintendo games, some people may call them childish, but they are really enjoyable and funny and keep you playing for many hours. :)

Re:I love nintendo

[lowrydr310 (830514)]

Those 'childish' games are the only ones I like. I don't like the idea of sitting down at a console and devoting 24+ hours to playing a single game.

I still play classic 8-bit Nintendo games (and often wonder why I paid $20 or $30 for some of them when they were first released). My favorite is Contra. Despite beating it thoursands of times, I still play it when my brother visits me and says "hey, let's go beat Contra again." The scary thing is that I'm finally able to beat the game without doing the cheat

Re:I love nintendo

[DrEldarion (114072)]

You'll probably like this [ukresistance.co.uk] then.

Just Waiting

[3CRanch (804861)]

No thanks, I've had enough of the cartoon racing...

I'll just wait for Mario to snap and enter "Grand Theft Auto: Mario's Revenge"

Re:Just Waiting

[garcia (6573)]

I'll just wait for Mario to snap and enter "Grand Theft Auto: Mario's Revenge"

For some reason I just don't think that tossing turtle shells will suffice in GTA ;) The Princess, naked and not cartoonish, would be a nice addition in one of the expansion packs though ;)

Re:Just Waiting

[by Anonymous Coward]

Not to mention the hidden "Peach Tea" mod. ;)

Re:Just Waiting

[dividedsky319 (907852)]

No thanks, I've had enough of the cartoon racing...

Hmm, these sound like the words of a PS or Xbox fanboy.

Who really cares if it's "cartoon racing"? Does the fact that it looks like a cartoon make it any less fun? Since when does a game have to look real to be enjoyable?

HOLY MOTHER OF GOD!

[by Anonymous Coward]

A 10/10 review! I'm buying this RIGHT NOW.

"...Mario, needs no introduction."

[dextromulous (627459)]

He's a world-wide phenomenon and has appeared in enough game spin-offs to spawn a genre of his own.

Well, I guess that sentence was unnecessary then.

Sends the wrong message?

[Sheetrock (152993)]

Like most people, I find video games to be a worthwhile form of entertainment. Even portable games, which although they are used by many as a sort of digital mental cacoon to avoid participating in the world around them can be a great deal of fun.

However I am not the only one who feels that games should carry a positive message as well as offering the opportunity for education. And unfortunately this is not one of them. Although I quite enjoy racing games I noticed this particular title can actually create a bit of tension. It encourages poor sportsmanship by letting players use what are effectively glorified weapons to cheat their way to first place by knocking their competition off the road, and does not adequately represent the sort of technique and caution actual race car drivers use when operating their vehicles (Gran Turismo 3, while not a portable title, does much better in this regard.)

While you could certainly do worse when picking out a game for your child, you would do better to choose a title like Max Trax or Speed Math.

How young to enjoy

[mattnuzum (839319)]

How old do you think a kid has to be to have the dexterity and coordination to play this game?

Younger one's don't care

[OS24Ever (245667)]

My daughter is four. I bought the DS for her because she hates dogs in real life but loved the Nintendogs.

At least that is what I tell my wife, I bought it so I could play Metroid and what not.

Anyway, This was one of the titles I was waiting for. However she loves it as well. She doesn't care about racing per se, she just has fun driving around in circles. Every once in a while I'll get tired of hearing the 'wrong way' noise from the little dude on the cloud and turn her around but she'll run around for 30 min the wrong way and be laughing and having a blast.

When she gets older, I'm sure she'll figure it out. But for now she loves the game.

The real fun...

[DragonPup (302885)]

...is the in person wireless play. Yesterday at work was rather quiet so me and 2 other people in the office spent a few hours just playing Mario Kart. The trashtalking with your opponents is what makes this game the pure gold it is. I highly recommend this game for people with friends with gbaDS's. Best thing is you only need 1 copy of the game thanks to Download Play, but you dont get all the tracks this way(including some of the really nice looking ones!).

Easiest way to find people to play!

[GweeDo (127172)]

WiTendoFi.com [witendofi.com] provides a fast easy to find "Friends" to play (since Nintendo won't allow friend code sharing on their forums).

If you want to play me Bring it [witendofi.com] :)

CSI: Mario Cart

[JBHarris (890771)]

Will CSI have a show now about a couple plumbers driving around throwing turtles at princesses & humanoid fungi?. For Flying Spaghetti Monster's sake, will someone think of the children?

Decal / Emblem Maker

[pnice (753704)]

If you want to have a sweet emblem like me (TIMMY!) or some of the other more detailed ones you can go to this guys page and use his emblem maker. http://www.zsivanys.nl/mkdecal/ [zsivanys.nl] It works great but you'll need to try it out with a few different images first. Here is an example image http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/4381/marionds9j k.jpg [imageshack.us]

SVN diff for Slashcode:

[CharAznable (702598)]

--- reviews/game_score.pl (revision 1752)
+++ reviews/game_score.pl (working copy)

use constant REVIEW_SCORE => 8;
+use constant MARIO_KART_SCORE => 10;
+if ($the_game=="Mario Kart") {$current_score=MARIO_KART_SCORE}
+ else {$current_score==REVIEW_SCORE}

Minor correction...

[tktk (540564)]

You can't trade Friend Codes online; they have to be traded via some other information channel.

The author meant you can't trade Friend Codes online via Mario Kart DS. But there are a number of gaming site/threads where people do trade their Friend Codes online. But...this practice is prohibited on the Nintendo company forums and they specifically tell you never to post codes online.

For the their first online effort, I think MKDS is pretty good. The online component is a more restrictive that I would like and I think Nintendo has a bit of work do to in balancing between online communication and online restriction (to protect the kids).

one minor nit with the wireless

[OS24Ever (245667)]

My entire network is WPA. Except the DS doesn't support WPA, so to enjoy the wireless feature I'll need to go back to WEP.

not that anyone near me knows enough about computers to crack my network, it's just frustrating that the latest 'secure' stuff isn't supported.

Friend Code Exchange

[Zonk (12082)]

Someone asked me for my friend code below, and I responded there, but the only way to actually play against each other is to exchange codes.

If you're interested in getting a little Slashdot Kart action in, a code exchange would probably be the best way to go.

My code is 000059522506.

What is yours?

Re:Wish there was internet battle mode

[confu2000 (245635)]

He means battle mode which is one of the alternate forms of versus play. The only thing available from WFC is racing.

On local LAN, there is also battle mode and shine runners. In battle mode, you get 5 lives and getting hit with shells, banana peels and other objects takes away a life. In shine runners, you're competing to pick up shines (from Mario Sunshine). You can knock shines loose from other players with shells, etc. Every 20 seconds or so, whoever has the fewest shines gets dropped off until one person is left.

Unfortunately, neither of those modes are available online.

Re:The RIAA envies Nintendo

[greenplasticyarn (878011)]

The DS can play Gameboy Advance games. There was a good Mario Kart GBA game, so if people wanted to they could still play that. This game is simply better.

Re:The RIAA envies Nintendo

[poot_rootbeer (188613)]

Mario Kart is mostly unchanged from system to system. Yet people will shell-out (pun intended!) money for the same game for each new console they get.

Have you played the games in the series? The true 3-D Kart games (Kart 64, Double Dash, and now DS) are a HUGELY different experience than the lower-tech 2-D + perspective titles (the original SNES Super Mario Kart, and Super Circuit on the Gameboy Advance).

But people should boycott the XBOX 360 until it supports all the XBOX games in their collection.

No. People should buy the 360 if they feel it has value, and refuse to buy it if they think it does not.

Re:YEAH!

[blork101 (889544)]

Mode7? Wrong. Mode7 was a way of stretching and scaling 2D sprites to create the illusion of 3D http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mode_7 [wikipedia.org] used on the SNES and GBA because the hardware was unable to support 3D (without a special chip, like Starfox/Starwing). This new DS game uses *proper* 3D polygons, and is only the 2nd game in the series to have fully modelled characters (this and MK:DD). So it has definatly changed since 1991...plus, now you race on one screen, map on the other - I could never cope with the original's half-screen.