When I went on a long bus trip to London, a bunch of buds brought their DS with them and we all had a blast playing this through download play. Itâs one of the best gaming memories I have and it was tons of fun!
Besides the splendid memories, the game itself is also just quite impressive on the DS, and that mission mode is still unique to this entry! A great time.
Besides the splendid memories, the game itself is also just quite impressive on the DS, and that mission mode is still unique to this entry! A great time.
Along with Double Dash, this is one of the best Mario Kart games out there, with a wealth of modes, characters, tracks - and most importantly, an excellent driving/handing and physics engine.
The biggest innovation here is the detailed bottom-screen map, which shows which items all racers are holding, any items currently on the track, and all track features and obstacles. If you're crazy enough, you can play just looking at this screen since all necessary information is shown on it.
This is also the last Mario Kart game with a true elimination-style balloon battle mode, and it is a highlight. Six excellent maps, including the best ones from Double Dash and 64. Oddly, you start with one balloon and must hold select (or blow into the microphone) to set up your other two, with an additional two available in reserve. This makes matches a bit more tense than usual since they all basically start in a sudden-death style situation. You can even play it single-player against CPUs, a first for the series.
The Mission Mode is frequently mentioned when discussing this game, and it's alright. It's one of those things that you just play through once and forget about soon after. It's nice to have, but it's not the game's strongest feature.
What makes this game great is the core driving and track design. This is the last Mario Kart to feature the snaking mechanic, and it feels great just like Double Dash. It's a lot easier to pull off in this game, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, it just gives DS a different snake-heavy flavor to it. The new tracks are still some of the best in the series, like Waluigi Pinball, Tick Tock Clock, and Airship Fortress, while the retro tracks are sadly a bit too reliant on normal circuit courses. Still a good selection, but there aren't any showstoppers here in contrast to the new DS courses.
The biggest innovation here is the detailed bottom-screen map, which shows which items all racers are holding, any items currently on the track, and all track features and obstacles. If you're crazy enough, you can play just looking at this screen since all necessary information is shown on it.
This is also the last Mario Kart game with a true elimination-style balloon battle mode, and it is a highlight. Six excellent maps, including the best ones from Double Dash and 64. Oddly, you start with one balloon and must hold select (or blow into the microphone) to set up your other two, with an additional two available in reserve. This makes matches a bit more tense than usual since they all basically start in a sudden-death style situation. You can even play it single-player against CPUs, a first for the series.
The Mission Mode is frequently mentioned when discussing this game, and it's alright. It's one of those things that you just play through once and forget about soon after. It's nice to have, but it's not the game's strongest feature.
What makes this game great is the core driving and track design. This is the last Mario Kart to feature the snaking mechanic, and it feels great just like Double Dash. It's a lot easier to pull off in this game, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, it just gives DS a different snake-heavy flavor to it. The new tracks are still some of the best in the series, like Waluigi Pinball, Tick Tock Clock, and Airship Fortress, while the retro tracks are sadly a bit too reliant on normal circuit courses. Still a good selection, but there aren't any showstoppers here in contrast to the new DS courses.
Quanta raiva se pode passar quando um casco azul bem na Ășltima curva arruĂna uma corrida quase perfeita?
Essa pode ser a sĂntese de minha experiĂȘncia com Mario Kart DS. Apesar de o jogo ser Ăłtimo em quase todos os aspectos, gostaria aqui de ressaltar o que eu menos gostei: a dificuldade desbalanceada. Por exemplo, nos 50cc vocĂȘ vence as copas sem praticamente nenhum perrengue, em 100cc jĂĄ Ă© perceptĂvel a mudança e a necessidade de um foco maior, mas em 150cc (incluindo a versĂŁo Mirror), Ă© quase impossĂvel vencer todas as corridas de uma Ășnica copa.
Mas, no geral, é um jogo muito bom e até hoje é meu MK predileto.
Essa pode ser a sĂntese de minha experiĂȘncia com Mario Kart DS. Apesar de o jogo ser Ăłtimo em quase todos os aspectos, gostaria aqui de ressaltar o que eu menos gostei: a dificuldade desbalanceada. Por exemplo, nos 50cc vocĂȘ vence as copas sem praticamente nenhum perrengue, em 100cc jĂĄ Ă© perceptĂvel a mudança e a necessidade de um foco maior, mas em 150cc (incluindo a versĂŁo Mirror), Ă© quase impossĂvel vencer todas as corridas de uma Ășnica copa.
Mas, no geral, é um jogo muito bom e até hoje é meu MK predileto.
This was my first Mario Kart game. It's a banger. Everything I hate about the previously releases were fixed with this title. The driving feels smooth and fun to control, especially the drifting which is now thankfully color coded to let the player know when to release. Not to mention, the maps get a huge improvement! Also the battle mode in arena was simply sublime. This is the standard by which I judge every Mario Kart game 2. I must say nothing has surpassed this Mario Kart by any means.
The game that I'm most bummed about when I think about not having a DS in middle/high school. It's hard to overstate just how big of a phenomenon MKDS was for taking the series online. As far as older entries go, MKDS holds up great my top spot for best entry pre-MK8 is a tie between this one and MK7.
Mario Kart DS brings the frantic energy of the series to handheld, delivering a solid kart racing experience on the go. Featuring a mix of classic and new tracks, a good character roster, and the debut of online play for the series, it's a must-have for Mario Kart fans. While its visuals might feel dated, the core gameplay remains addictive, and features like Mission Mode add unique single-player challenges.
Mario Kart works so well on the DS, and this is coming from someone who never set up his DS for online play. The series works so well for short pick-up-and-play, which is exactly what a handheld allows. The mission mode adds a ton of variety and depth (even if some of the missions can be a pain to play) and the tracks are just as enjoyable as you expect from the series.