Overall 8.7 Graphics 8.4 Sound 9 Addictive 9.6 Story 7 Depth 8.2 Difficulty 7.2
9
Mario Kart DS! Uzar
Plumbers, Princesses, Fungi, start your engines!!! Mario Kart DS has earned the right to be called a classic. It's pure unrivaled fun! Mario Kart DS was the second ever portable Mario Kart game. It's a huge leap from the GBA with it's 3D Models, more karts, more characters, and most importantly, more tracks!
Sure, no game is without it's flaws. But Mario Kart DS's are nothing too major. But, this game being the first time I ever played as Waluigi, it holds a special place in my collection. :P So, with a paragraph or two done already, let's....**Beep, beep, BEEP!* GO!
Graphics: 8/10These graphics aren't the worst, but they're not the best either. Most of the characters look great! Although the fact Mario and Luigi's mustaches look painted on takes a few points off my rating. (Those beautiful things deserve to SHINE!).
One more thing I complain about is that all the items are sprites, while everything else is a 3D model. Every item but the Fake Item Block was a sprite. It makes them stick out a bit too much from everything else. The shells don't even spin, it's like in an art application where you can drag a picture around. That's how they move. Granted they go just as fast as their animated cousins, and the lack of animation does NOT make them any less dangerous.
Besides that, the characters look great, and have little layers of extra detail to them! The karts all look very nice also. You can tell the wheels are spinning FAST, which I like to see.
But what blows it all away is the tracks. They look amazing! I'll admit they haven't aged too well. But when I was little Bowser's Castle, Waluigi Pinball, and all the rest blew my mind! Even now I still think they're some of the coolest looking tracks you can find. They are made with lots of creativity, and lots of little things that will catch your eye while you race.
These are amazing graphics for the DS, especially a 3D DS game. The graphics haven't aged too well, but 5 years ago this was top notch. :P
Sound: 9/10The sound is great! There are quite a few songs you'll remember long after playing. (Waluigi Pinball anyone?) All the music fits their courses almost perfectly. Some of the music is EXTREMELY catchy. Only one or two tracks I'd call forgettable. But this game has one of the better soundtracks you're going to find on the DS.
The sound effects are amazing too! As the Mario Kart standard, most of the character's voice clips were made for this game. Mario and Luigi have a few recycled clips from Super Mario 64 DS, however. Most voice clips here aren't reused in any other Mario Kart games either, go figure. I really missed Bowser's "G'day!". (Australian Bowser was best Bowser...:'()
The sounds various items make are crisp and clear. This one has my favorite version of the shells. Once they hit a wall they go *Clunk!*, it's a good warning to get out of the way.
Addictiveness: 10/10It was almost impossible to get myself to stop playing! :D The Grand Prix mode is always lots of fun. This game had the most fun Battle mode out of them all in my opinion. Once you're out, you're out! No respawning gives it a "to the death" vibe. Which can sometimes be fun. You can also blow yourself some more balloons with the microphone.
This game has one more thing no others did. A challenge mode! This extends the life of the game quite a bit. I'll get into it later. But trust me, it's very addicting. I only wish more recent games were made with single player in mind...
Story: 0/10
...What? This is Mario Kart. Were you expecting some kind of story? Well...Mario and all his buddies are competing in a kart racing tournament. There you go. :P
Depth: 6/10This game is the one that, shockingly, set the par for future Mario Kart games in terms of depth. When you complete enough Grand Prix's not only will you unlock characters. You'll eventually unlock more Karts too! And what's this bottom row? Retro Cup? Sounds coo-Woah there's a ton of old levels in here! That's right. Mario Kart DS started the trend of remaking old courses! :D
So, with all that cool depth aside. There's one more thing that adds to the depth. The Challenge mode. It's a set of levels that drop you into a race, and you need to do something to complete it. Like: Do 10 mini-turbo boosts in 2 laps, don't hit any banana peels, etc.
After you beat all the levels, you fight a boss! Yup, boss levels in Mario Kart. They are most of the bosses from Super Mario 64 DS (Goomboss, Bob-Omb King, Big Bully, etc) It's extremely fun, addictive, and provides a nice challenge. :)
Difficulty: 7/10Mario Kart is a totally new degree of difficult. In 50cc there's no chance you'll lose if you're actually trying. 100cc gets a bit harder, a mild degree of challenge. But let's face it, 150cc and Mirror is where the game truly begins. :P The racers get smart, and ruthless! Banana peels rain from the skies, Donkey Kong will ram you off the road, there will be so many shells that PETK (People for Ethical Treatment of Koopas) will protest!
Okay, it may not be THAT bad, but there are a few races that will end up like that...It's a game of both skill, and luck. Of course your kart
selection will also be a deciding factor as each has it's ups and downs. The only real thing you can do is practice, and know the ins and outs of each track. Just like any other Mario Kart game. The game has times where skill is needed, and other times you're left at it's mercy. And let me tell you, it has none. :P
The challenges, again, contribute to this a lot. The bosses are pretty challenging, and "worlds" 4-8 are some of the hardest things I've played through in a DS game.
Overall, Mario Kart DS is a pretty solid game. It started a few trends that other games have followed ever since. Like Retro Tracks, a motorcycle, and online play (Shockingly yes, this did have online play). And then a few things that didn't stick around with the series. Mainly customizable decals, challenge mode, incredibly easy turbo boosts, and Bowser's Australian accent. It was a great game. One of the most fun games on the DS for sure.
If you're into Mario Kart, or are curious about it and happen to have a DS, I highly recommend this game. :)
Overall: 9/10
Graphics 8 Sound 9 Addictive 10 Depth 6 Difficulty 7
Review Rating: 5/5
Submitted: 04-14-15
Review Replies: 6
9.5
Mario Kart DS Review Barathemos
Mario Kart DS: A revolutionary Carting game released on a not so popular console
The Mario kart series started off great with the release of Mario Kart 64 for the Nintendo 64, followed by the spectacular Mario kart double dash released for the game cube, so why would you expect any less for the third installment of the Mario kart series, Mario Kart DS.
Overall: 9.5
Mario Kart DS is one of my favorite Kart racing games, and part of my, without a doubt, favorite Kart racing series. The game has amazing elements to it that I love all the way spanning from the single player, local player, and even online (RIP online multiplayer) multiplayer matches. (The online multiplayer option was taken down months ago when Nintendo cut off the wifi for systems such as the DS lite and DSi) The game has fantastic graphics, controls, and overall gameplay, even on my broken DS.
Graphics: 10
The graphics in this game overall are amazing. There are very smooth changes when going between the different screens in the game (such as home screen, character select, level select etc…) and doesn’t have any glitch moments. The in game graphics are just amazing. Turning doesn’t create any drag, and items show up perfectly and look amazing when used. Transitions between the turns and between the different screens move very smoothly and are just outright amazing. When you see the game compared to other Kart racing games on the DS (such as M&M’s Kart Racing) you’ll see a huge difference. Most people these days are used to playing games on the 3DS and systems like those, which just have amazing graphics overall, so they’ll say that the graphics in this game just aren’t that good. But, November 14, 2005 was the initial release date for the game. Think about that. That has already been 9 whole years since the game released. A ton of new games and systems have come out with a ton of really great improvements in the graphics and such. I grew up playing games like these, so this is what really amazing graphics was for me. When you think about this it really does amaze me. Play this game and then play M&M’s kart racing, you’ll see the extra work that the producers of Mario Kart Racing at Nintendo put into to make this game just so fantastic.
Sound: 10
For this game, I would like to start by saying that the sound in the game is absolutely amazing. The music on the home screens and all of the selection screens actually aren’t annoying. (A lot of games I have are really terrible when it comes to this) The in game music is what is probably the best part. I like all of the music during the stages here. There really isn’t a single one I don’t like. I love rainbow road, eight track, just all of them are so amazing. The sounds when you hit someone with an item, and the selecting process of an item, aren’t annoying sounds and actually make the game sound so much better. Sounds such as character select, and the loading screens are still pretty great. There isn’t a single spot in this game that has very faulty sound, I completely love it.
Addictiveness: 10
Seriously, the game is Mario Kart. Mario Kart games are just always addicting. With the many tracks you get to race in, and all the different characters and karts that you can unlock, along with online multiplayer, the run really never ends. You can play at 32 different tracks in a ton of different modes. Not to mention the coin runners or balloon poppers modes in the game. There is just so much to do in Mario Kart DS that you really never get sick of it. I really recommend that the online play is one of the best there is, so you should get with some friends and play it. The game is just so addicting and amazing.
Depth: 10
If you don’t think that this game is absolutely huge, you are so wrong. You get to race at a total of 32 different tracks on four different difficulties with many of playable characters in all different karts. You also have the balloon battle game mode and the coin runner’s game mode with many other tracks and different ways to play. Then you also can play in the online game with up to 7 of your friends at every track (if you have two game cards). There is just so much that you are able to do in Mario Kart DS that it is just amazing. I was only able to complete the game due to use of an Action Replay. A ton to do just makes Mario Kart DS even better!
Story: 8
I don’t really call this a story, but I will just say that the process of collecting all of the gold cups in every race is a so called ‘story’. The story is pretty great with having to get Gold on 8 cups in 4 different levels, along with unlocking about 25 Karts. The story is pretty hard, but not too difficult. I really enjoy being able to start a game with it being pretty easy and then having it get harder as I go along. When a game starts out too hard (Such as the 150 CC or Mirror mode for this game) I really don’t find that I want to play the game after I lose over and over again. I like how it starts at a pretty easy difficulty then gets harder after you prove to the game (by getting Gold in an easy cup) that you are ready to move on to the next difficulty. This part of the game was well thought through and I think that it was a really amazing design of a story by Nintendo.
Difficulty: 9
This is probably the hardest section in the review. The game is actually varying in difficulty based on which section you play in. I will just give it a 9 difficulty as a game as a whole. As I have said, the game starts out very easy, probably as a 3, with the 50 CC cup. The game then gets harder moving from about a 5 (100 CC cup) to a 7 (150 CC cup) to a 9 (Mirror Mode). I wouldn’t say that the game is easy as someone who has played it all. I do think that it is a little too hard. I like how it makes the game harder, and hey, I don’t like a really easy game, it’s more fun when you have to put a lot of work into it and that just makes it all the better.
Overall, I greatly enjoy Mario Kart DS and would really recommend it for anyone who has a DS. (Yes, you can get the full value of the game if you play it on your new 2 or 3DS.)
If you have any questions, feel free to ask below and thank you for reading. :)
~Barathemos
Graphics 10 Sound 10 Addictive 10 Story 8 Depth 10 Difficulty 9
Review Rating: 5/5
Submitted: 12-07-14
Review Replies: 4
10
Mario Kart DS review! supercool22
Mario Kart DS Review- by supercool22
Release Date-2005
System- Nintendo DS
Developer- Nintendo
Publisher- Nintendo
Players- 2-8
Overall- 10
So i know almost everyone here has played mario kart ds. All..i got to say is that this mario kart game is the best. I dont care if Mario Kart Wii or Mario Kart 7 is better. Before i spend most of my time playing this game...everyday. So im pretty good in this game...on any difficulty. (maybe mirror mode is a little too difficult for me). I still have the game now....since i never stop playing it...and just getting better since i been playing this game for years. So overall great game.
Graphics- 7
Till this day...i say that the graphics are nice. I cant say that there great though. If you played mario kart ds yourself....you will see where im coming from. Well the graphics arent as great as they seem. Everything looks weird......since i played mario kart 7. So its not in 3D.....(well maybe it is). And the karts could be better but its nothing to complain about since its a great game...thats my opinion though. But anyway the graphics are nice.
Sounds- 8
Well...lets talk about the sound effect with this game. So the sounds are like the same from previously made mario kart games...but you could tell there is a slight different in sounds. But dont forget...there are different sounds from other mario kart games as well. The music is good.....i actually listen to the background music...without actually playing...which that seems weird to people...but not me. I enjoy it. Since some music from old courses are still great till now. So overall the sounds are good.
Addictiveness- 8
Before this game was addictive but now..i dont play it as much since i beat it many times. And i could beat it many times more again. So you could say its very addictive. Before i play this game for an hour or more. (im not going to waste my life playing this only game)....but it does get boring after awhile...since you do the same thing over and over again. But overall this game is addicive and its still a great game though.
Story- 6
I dont believe there is a story to this game.....but we cant assume that since everything has a story to it. So lets see...the main story to this game is that..you have to race and beat everyone to the finish. thats all i have to say since there isnt much of a story.
Depth- 8
This game has lots to offer...but you do notice that it seems like you do the same thing in every mario kart game. Well you race and tru to beat everyone to the finish line. Its like that in any racing game. But there are different tracks or courses.. Mario Kart DS has the different levels and the same levels from older mario kart games...which makes it great to race in old levels you use to race in years ago. So this game has good depth.
Difficulty- 7
The game only gets harder as you finish each course...and dont forget that you get to change the difficulty. in this game. So you know there are three difficulties in this game.... 50cc (easy) 100cc (medium) 150cc (hard) and mirror mode (hard with reverse courses).....and i mentioned before mirror mode is hard....and its not easy to get use to...(im not even good when it comes to racing in mirror mode since....its kinda hard to navigate throught the levels since its reverse....but the map helps though. So thats all for this category...and this game is a little hard.
So thats all i have to say about mario kart ds.....hope all of you have nice day.
Graphics 7 Sound 8 Addictive 8 Story 6 Depth 8 Difficulty 7
Review Rating: 4/5
Submitted: 11-04-13
Review Replies: 4
9.5
Be there or be Delfino Square Furret
After being burned out recently by quite a lot of games I regularly play, I landed on Mario Kart DS. It had been one of my favorite games as a child, and one I have fond memories of playing in the backseat of the car while we were on the way to visit family. Not to mention the countless times me and my friends played it while we were staying over at each other’s houses, or even the rare occasion we were allowed to play at school.
Now as my eyes landed on the game I had waves of nostalgia come over me at once. But does the game withstand the test of time? Is it still as fun to play at night in my bed as it was all those years ago? I decided to give it a try.
And I was pleasantly surprised!
Graphics - 8/10
Look, the game was made for the DS, a console that has long since been outclassed and forgotten about. The graphical limitations at the time were way below what we would now consider standard or acceptable. Still, for a game released back in 2005 it holds up fairly well. And I believe it’s because of some design choices that were made. Back then most games on handheld systems avoided a reliance on models as they took up a lot of space and generally looked choppy and glitchy. Mario Kart DS tries minimizing that issue by keeping as much of the game in 2D as possible. Every item in the game, with the exception of the fake item box and the blue shell, is a 2D image that they just move around in all three dimensions. If you pay close attention to the green and red shells this is very noticeable. During gameplay this looks smooth and doesn’t hinder the experience whatsoever. The character and vehicle models were good at the time and don’t look too jarring today either, albeit a bit pixelated.
The courses look fantastic! This was the first Mario Kart title to add 4 new cups with 4 retro tracks each. These tracks are taken from past Mario Kart titles and
updated to fit the look of the current game. The new tracks look nice as well, with a few highlights being Bowser’s Castle, Rainbow Road (
with a loop!), and Delfino Square.
The bottom screen shows you a simplified map of the track around you with some extra details like items and player positions. Overall I’d say this game makes good use of the DS’s graphical capabilities.
Sound - 9/10
Background tracks are super important in games like these. They have the power to really immerse you into the game as if you were driving it in real time. Mario Kart DS takes care to make every background song fit the course that you are playing, ranging from relaxing music to stressful or eerie tunes. As you enter the final lap the music changes to a quicker arrangement to really hammer home the suspense near the end of the race.
There’s also some cute sound effects that often get overlooked. My favorite being the little taunt every character makes when they pass an opponent in front of them. Really adds to the experience when you shove Luigi onto the grass and then proceed to laugh at him.
Also a fun fact, as a kid I was (still am who am I kidding) a big iCarly fan. And in this game whenever Bowser passes an opponent he sounds like he’s saying ‘
Gibby’ in the exact way that the character Gibby would say his own name on iCarly. I giggle every time I hear it. I’ll put a link to it here; [url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u8SG3J3s44[/url]
Addictiveness - 10/10
I can’t not rate this game a 10 on this scale. As a kid I would be hooked for hours playing this in the car, in bed, with friends, even on the toilet (yes, I was weird). There is so much replayability here as no two races are the same. Every race is a unique experience with unique RNG and moments. Even when you didn’t feel like racing, you could still explore one of the game’s other game modes, but more on that in a bit.
The game gets even more fun when you make use of the DS’s wireless connection function to play with your friends. And you don’t even need to all own the game! As long as there is one copy you can join their lobby without owning it yourself. The only downside here is that you can’t play as any character when doing this, as the game automatically assigns you as a Shy Guy of a certain color. But, Shy Guy isn’t in the main game and is only playable through this method, so it’s still pretty fun. Being able to play with 7 of your friends is such a game changer. It makes every race a million times better, as you now have real people to race against rather than questionable NPCs. And nothing beats the satisfaction of unleashing a blue shell upon your friend and watching him rage in real time.
Story - N/A
Oh did you expect a 5000 word essay on the fabulous storytelling this game achieves? Come on, it’s a racing game. You could argue for some backstory here or there but generally the story plays no relevance to this game and your enjoyment of it.
Depth - 10/10
For a Mario Kart game this one really goes above and beyond when it comes to the amount of content available to you, for which I can only commend it. For the first time there are a total of 8 cups, 4 standard ones and 4 retro ones, each with 4 courses for you to drive through. Adding onto that, there are several settings you can choose from. 50cc is the slowest setting and is useful for getting the hang of the controls in this game, but also when you’re playing with someone who isn’t really skilled at video games. Sorry grandpa! 100cc goes a little quicker but is generally irrelevant as there exists 150cc, in which you go a lot quicker! Then, when you have mastered all the tracks, you can challenge yourself by choosing 150cc mirror mode, which essentially takes all the courses and puts them through a mirror. Muscle memory taught you that you have to turn left here? Good luck driving into a wall, as the turn is now on the right. The easiest way to keep the game from getting stale too quickly is to switch between 150cc and 150cc mirrored mode every once in a while. Getting certain times awards you with a rating after every grand prix. Try to gain 3 star ratings on every cup in every setting!
In fact, it isn’t just something you should do to challenge yourself. Doing well in cups allows you to unlock more content to the game! Certain characters, like newcomers Dry Bones (my main) and R.O.B. will join you after you complete certain cups with a good score. Other content that gets unlocked includes more vehicle options for every character! Each of these vehicles has unique stats that can help determine which one better suits your playstyle. Heavy characters like Bowser tend to have cars that exceed in speed and off-road, but are weaker in handling and acceleration. Lighter characters like Toad are the opposite. Try and find out which one you prefer!
Once you’ve perfected the tracks you can use the Time Trials mode to try and set personal records for each course. As a bonus you can even see the ghost of your best recorded time as you play, so you can easily tell if you’re ahead of your record or not. There are no other players here so your time depends entirely on your driving skills!
Aside from grand prix racing and time trial mode there are also some other game modes. Balloon Battle makes a return and is better than ever! In this gamemode you play on completely unique tracks that don’t have lap counts. Instead, you each get 5 balloons at your disposal (though a max of 3 at a time) that you can now blow up using the mic function of the Nintendo DS! Or be lame and press like
select or something instead. Split into two teams, your goal is to collect items from item boxes spread throughout the map, and then hit your opponents with them. Every time a player gets hit, you lose a balloon. When you run out of balloons you are removed from the map. The team that completely eliminates their opponent’s balloons wins the round. Man, I used to play this for ages. I still remember all the good routes or camping spots.
Another gamemode is Shine Runners, which makes its debut here on the DS. It acts similarly to Balloon Battle, but instead of balloons you collect Shine Sprites throughout the map. After a certain time period, the player with the least amount of Shine Sprites gets removed from the map. Last team standing wins. This one was just as fun as Balloon Battle, and often got even more intense as you can get eliminated at any point if you are falling behind.
For those sick of playing all of the above, there is still the missions mode. That’s right, a Mario Kart game with missions! And they are actually quite fun. They range from simple things like collecting all the coins along the way, to racing unique characters in a 1v1, to full on boss fights! That’s right, boss fights in a racing game. It’s super difficult to get 3 stars in every mission, so be prepared to spend hours perfecting and optimizing each one to get the highest rating!
So yeah, this game has a lot to offer. It’s super shocking that all of this is on a DS game, released back in 2005. I like to think the wide variety in game modes is what kept it entertaining all those hours that I put into it. Easy 10/10.
Difficulty - 8/10
Mario Kart DS is not inherently a difficult game. The controls are quickly mastered and the tracks aren’t extremely punishing either (well, aside from Rainbow Road). The real difficulty comes from handling all the things that get thrown your way. Random lightning strikes and blue shells right before a cliff can often cause you to lose the lead you spent 2 laps building. You can’t always predict what others are going to do, especially when you play with friends. A good player isn’t necessarily the best driver, although that would certainly help, but the driver who can adapt to the ever changing circumstances on the track.
The game also comes with difficulty settings itself. The aforementioned 50cc, 100cc, 150cc, and 150cc mirrored modes can be seen as slight difficulty tweaks, with the latter being less forgiving due to the quicker pace they offer. The battle modes come with a wide range of RNG and randomness that you can’t prepare for, and the missions are genuinely hard to perfect and get a max rating on. I swear sometimes I feel like I drove perfectly, only to get 1 or 2 stars total.
It’s really as difficult as you allow it to be. Still, when you play with friends it doesn’t even need to be all that difficult. It just needs to be fun, which is what this game is.
Overall
Definitely recommend this game if you want to go back to the old days and replay a classic Mario racing game. The wide variety in game modes will keep you hooked for hours, which is the sign of a successful game in my eyes.
Thanks for reading.
.
.
.
.
GIBBY
Graphics 8 Sound 9 Addictive 10 Depth 10 Difficulty 8
Review Rating: 3/5
Submitted: 01-08-22
Review Replies: 0
9.1
Nostalgia Jackaboy7
Nostalgia strikes back!
I love this game, and it was my first video game ever! I remember playing it with my cousin all the time. But enough about me, more about the game. This game has an astounding 32 courses, 16 characters (8 are un lockable, one being R.O.B. Who is my favorite), 48 karts, and many items (my favorite of which being the bullet bill). The courses are creative, with turns, hills, and in Rainbow Road, the loop-de-loop.
I love this game to death and always will,
Jackaboy7
Graphics 9 Sound 9 Addictive 10 Depth 7 Difficulty 5
Review Rating: 1.5/5
Submitted: 11-28-15
Review Replies: 2
User Notice 
