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