Mario Kart DS

Mario Kart DS is a Jeu of race left on November 25th 2005 to Europe on Nintendo DS and developed by Nintendo. It is the fifth opus of the series Mario Kart .

Modes of play

There exist five modes of play: Grand Prix, Against-the-watch, Vs, Battle and Missions. Only the modes Vs and Bataille are available as a multijouor.

Grand Prix : The Grand Prix mode consists in contributing in the various cuts of the play, of good performances making it possible to free circuits, karts or characters. Four categories of cubic capacities are available, corresponding at the speed of the karts and the difficulty of the play: 50 DC (slow), 100 DC (fast), 150 DC (very fast) and 150 DC mirror (idem to 150 DC except that circuits, when one can are made with back). At the end of a circuit, points are allotted to the competitors according to the order of arrival. At the end of a cut, a classification is allotted to the player according to the number of accumulated points and its total time. This classification goes from *** (3 stars) for the best to the letter E for the least good. The class (of E with ***), depends of course on general classification but also on control, not of fall, exit of ground and the number of turbo skids carried out. Once the three stars reached on a Grand Prix in 150cc mode and the same one in Mirror mode, you can consider that you have a perfect command of the four circuits in the two directions.
Against-the-watch : This mode makes it possible to establish records of time on circuits chosen, without other competitors. The player with the possibility of activating a phantom, which is a translucent appearance of the kart having carried out best time hitherto. The phantom data can be received since another Nintendo DS. If one makes less particular time, a phantom developer will appear. Your phantom will not be removed if you beat the phantom developers.
VS : In mode VS, the player makes races with characters directed by the computer or against of other players as a multijouor mode (to 8 players). The player having created the part with the possibility of defining the selection of the circuits (manual or random), the number of victories necessary to gain the part or of dividing the whole of the competitors into two teams.
Battle : The goal is to remain alone in string on closed circuits. There are two under-modes in the mode battles. The first is the " battle of ballons" , or the player must make burst the balloons of the adversaries thanks to the objects. Into blowing in the microphone of the console, the player reinflates a balloon resulting from his reserve. Second is " pilots soleil" , where it is a question of collecting suns disseminated in the arena. It is possible to steal the suns to the others pilot. With regular intervals, the pilots having less suns lose the part, until it remains only gaining it. Here the six arenas available in mode battles: Nintendo DS (a giant console!), House of the paddle, Breaks into leaf of palm tree, sweetened Tarte, Strong Bloc (resulting from Mario Kart 64 ), Square Pipe (resulting from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! ).
Missions : In this mode, the player must achieve eight missions in each level, such as collecting parts, destroying a certain number of objects or enemies or to carry out turbo skids. A classification is allotted to the player according to his performance of time. Once the missions carried out, to advance at the following level, the player must carry out a mission boss . There are six levels, and seventh is freed if the player manages to finish all the levels with a classification of at least a star.

Circuits

Taking again a characteristic of the posting of Super Mario Kart , the screen top of Nintendo DS makes it possible to post the sight of the character (in Vision cinema) and the screen of bottom; a chart of the circuit (in air sight) more or less brought closer.

The thirty-two circuits available are divided into two categories. The " Nitro" Grand Prix; contains original circuits developed specifically for version DS of the play. The " Retro" Grand Prix; a compilation of circuits contains belonging to previous versions of Mario Kart , graphically worked again for this version of the play. Each Grand Prix comprises 16 circuits. The two last cuts of each Grand Prix must be freed.

List circuits (32 on the whole):

GP NITRO

Cut Mushroom : Circuit in eight/Yoshi Cascades/Beach Cheep Cheep/Manor of Luigi
Cut Fleur : Desert of the sun/District Delfino/Flipper Waluigi/Cornice Mushroom
Cut Star : The Alps DK/Clock Tick-tock/Mario Circuit/Flying Boat
Cut Special : Wario stage/Peach Garden/Castle of Bowser/Road Rainbow

GP RETRO

Cut Carapace : SNES Circuit Mario 1/N64 Closes Meuh Meuh/GBA Circuit Peach/NGC Circuit Luigi
Coupe Banana : SNES Plain Donut 1/NR 64 Route Glagla/GBA Castle of Bowser 2/NGC Parc Baby
Coupe Breaks into leaf : SNES Beach Koopa 2/N64 Choco Mountain/GBA Luigi Circuit/NGC Bridge Mushroom
Cut Flash : SNES Island Choco 2/Lugubrious N64 Pontoon/GBA Flying Garden/NGC Circuit Yoshi

To note that the two last cuts of each Grand Prix must be freed.

Characters

Several characters of the universe Mario (whose certain news) more or less take part in various cuts on board models of karts mild nutters. With the difference of Mario Kart: Double Dash!! , the competitors are again alone on their vehicle.

There are on the whole thirteen playable characters in Mario Kart DS . Eights are initially playable, four are to be freed, and a character appears only as local a multijouor mode via the Téléchargement DS. To each character a category of weight corresponds (light, average, heavy) which influences acceleration, top speed and the handiness.

Light: Peach, Yoshi, Toad, Skelerex (to be freed), Princess Daisy (to be freed), Maskass (available only for the players joining a part as a simple multijoueurs mode and only with its standard kart, Maskass is the only playable character to have only one kart)
Moyens: Mario, Luigi, Waluigi (to be freed)
Heavy: Donkey Kong, Wario, Bowser, R.O.B (to be freed)

Karts

Initially there are two karts available for each character. One is a kart known as special, which includes/understands an elaborate design as well as characteristics marked in term of performances. The other is a standard kart, with the traditional design and the rather neutral characteristics. Progressively of advance in the play, it is possible to resolve a third alternative of special kart. Then to choose among seven karts for each character, four of them belonging to other characters. Lastly, it is possible to thereafter choose any of the thirty-six karts of the play.

The karts have six characteristics which influence their behavior. The performance of each kart on a particular characteristic is indicated by gauges, it is established so that each kart corresponds to a style of play. A very powerful kart of speed could for example be poor in skids.

Speed : the maximum speed which the kart can reach.
Acceleration : the speed to which the kart reaches its top speed. Also influence the speed to which the kart will evolve/move apart from the circuit (in mud, water or on the sides).
Weight : the total weight takes into account the category of the character. In the event of fixing, a heavy kart takes the advantage on lighter, on the other hand it is strongly slowed down out of the circuit.
Handiness : number of revolutions of the kart in a turn.
Skids : capacity to carry out tighter turns in skid and to slip longer. However, the karts which are not powerful in skid can carry out turbo skids in a very repeated way, technical also known under the name of Snaking .
Objects: chance to obtain powerful objects, also influences over the effective duration of certain objects.

List various karts of the play

Intrepid, MR. Standard and Shooting star for Mario.
Ectoblast 4000, LG Standard and Racing car for Luigi.
Royal, Standard and Elegant PC for Peach.
Egg 1, YS Standard and Vegetable for Yoshi.
Champmignon, TD Standard and 4x4 for Toad.
Mobile Rambi, Standard and Exploring DK for Donkey Kong.
Rough, WR Standard and Dragonito for Wario.
Tyrant, BW Standard and Hurricane for Bowser.
In addition to Waterspout, SK Standard and Tank for Skelerex.
Hippy, DS Standard and Discomobile for Princess Daisy.
Mante Excavator, WL Standard and Chopper for Waluigi.
R.O.B. Mobile, Standard RB and Matched R.O.B for R.O.B.
MK Standard for Maskass.

Objects

As in all the versions of Mario Kart , of the boxes containing of the objects are disseminated at certain places on the circuits. The objects have a very important role in the Gameplay of the play, and often make it possible to take the advantage in a race or to cause inversions of situations. The contact with a box starts an animation in top on the left of the screen which stops on an object. Certain objects can be put at the back of the kart by maintaining the button L, which makes it possible to take a second object, to slacken the button will use the first object then. An object put at the back can also be used as shield against the projectiles launched with the back or make make a head with tail with an adversary if it returns in collision with the object. The competitors at the head of race receive rather passive objects, while the players in end of race receive powerful objects intended to reverse the situation.

Banana : A contact with a banana deposited on the circuit causes a slew-round. Can also be launched forwards or maintained with the back.
Triple banana : By activating this object, three bananas trail behind the kart. With each activation one of them is deposited. When they are behind the kart, they also act as shield against the carapaces.
green Carapace : Leaves in straight line. A contact with a carapace reverses the kart. Can also be launched behind or maintained with the back.
red Carapace : Carapace which continues the adversary immediately in front. Even effect that the green carapace. When it is launched behind, it is not any more guided and behaves like a green carapace. It can be maintained with the back
Triple carapace green : While activating this object, three green carapaces turn around the kart. To each activation one of them is launched. When they turn around the kart, are also used as shield.
Triple carapace reds : While activating this object, three red carapaces turn around the kart. To each activation one of them is launched. When they turn around the kart, are also used as shield.
Carapace with spines : Winged blue carapace which moves directly towards the player at the head of race at the time of launched, then explodes. Any kart taken in the explosion is reversed and loses its object. If a player undergoes already the effect of another object (slew-round or inversion) at the time of the explosion, the carapace with spines does not cause an additional effect. If a player uses a star or Boo during the explosion, it is not affected.
Distorts box object: Cause an inversion of kart. They are identical to the boxes with objects but without the question mark inside. It can be maintained with the back.
Mushroom : Activation gives turbo to the kart. If the player profiting from turbo comes into contact with another kart, it sends it towards the side. This turbo is also used to take short cuts apart from the circuit, with endoits where the karts are normally slowed down.
Triple mushroom : Give three mushrooms.
Mushroom gilded : Give an infinity of mushrooms during a time limited
Bob-omb : A bomb which can be launched ahead or behind. It explodes at the end of one short period or directly in contact with a kart. Any kart being in the explosion is reversed.
Bloups : Once launched it plugs all the competitors partially being in front of the player with ink. The touched karts appear in black, with the screen of the other players that results in a task of ink on the screen of play. Ink can be removed prematurely while passing on a zone of acceleration or by using a mushroom .
Bill-Ball : Transform the player into Bill-Ball, a ball of revolver which moves at very high speed and which moves all alone. A contact with a player transformed into Bill-Ball and the kart changes.
Boo : Makes the kart invisible and invulnerable a short moment. The fact of going on the sides does not make lose speed. If a competitor is in trimmings, Boo subtilizes its object to him and brings back it to the player.
Flash : All the other competitors are touched by a flash causing a slew-round and narrowing them. They lose their object and their top speed is decreased time that they return to their normal size.
Star : Makes invincible and increases top speed during a certain time. The fact of going on the sides does not make lose speed. All the touched adversaries are expelled.

Development team

general Realizer: Shigeru Miyamoto
WiFi Programming: Producing Yukihiko You
: Hideo Konno
Realizer: Makoto Wada
Rélisateur programming: Katsuhia Shiro
Design Director : Yoshiki Haruhanna
UI Design : Emi Tomita
Effects Design : Sayaka Yono
Progress Management : Keizo Kato
Debugging : Yuuki Tanikawa
Support graphic: Yo Onshini
NOA Localiation : Bill Trinen
NOAH Coordination : Andy Fey

Online

It is the first play of the console to being playable on line thanks to the free service Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection thus making it possible to face players of the whole world. To play on line limits however to a selection of 20 circuits against 32 as a local multijouor, only or against adversaries human and only 4 players can play simultaneously in the same race to avoid the risks of deceleration. It is possible to exchange its friendly code with another person for thus playing only against him/she.

At the end of December 2005, that is to say one month after its exit, Nintendo announces to have sold 800.000 specimens of Mario Kart DS . At February 19th, 2006, it had run out more than one million units only in Japan. Conscious of the potential of the play, Nintendo also marketed Bundle S including/understanding a Nintendo DS and a specimen of Mario Kart DS . In the United States, a version special Hot Rod Red (red top and silver plated below) was marketed with several accessories being used to personalize its console.

It is possible to play with the circuits at the base nonavailable in wifi as well as the circuits beta if one has the Action Replay DS. It is as important to announce as this Replay Action acts also as tool of cheating: people roll in 300cc whereas speed is of 100cc. The funny ones also have fun with infinite objects and thus obstruct the players. This is very frequent acutellement, and it is thus strongly advised to play as friends.

Against the Watch

Against the watch is a mode of play present in all Mario Kart and gives place to classifications by countries or even world. Mario Kart DS does not escape has this rule. The world champion is Suisse, and two classifications are available: world and a French-speaking person. The goal of Against the watch is very simple. The weather is enough to finish a circuit as quickly as possible, using champi-turbos, and to be thus best, to rise on the level of the largest players.

Criticisms of the press

Jeuxvideo.com 18/20

IGN 9.5/10

Very good Jeuxvideo.fr

Gamekult 9/10

See too

External bonds

the official mini-site

Random links: