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Mario Kart DS

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Mario Kart DS is a video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS portable gaming system. Mario Kart DS was one of Nintendo's most anticipated games at the time, as it is the first to use Nintendo's free online service, Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Mario Kart DS is the latest installment in the hit series Mario Kart in which Mario, Luigi, and other characters from the Mario universe race in go-kart style vehicles while fighting for the top position through the use of weapons (such as Koopa Troopa shells) from the Mario Bros. series. The player's character races on tracks themed after various locations in the Mario universe. To this day, Mario Kart DS still remains the most critically acclaimed game on the DS.[link]

Gameplay

Mario Kart DS is a racing game in which characters from the Mario universe race each other around also Mario-themed tracks. Power-up items, such as homing projectiles, speed boosts, and explosives can be found on each track in Item Boxes. Both skill in driving and use of items is important in Mario Kart DS. While racing, the top screen of the Nintendo DS displays a third-person perspective behind and slightly above the player's vehicle. The bottom screen lists the current race standings, items carried by each player, and a map of the course. The map can be toggled to show an overall view of the entire course, or a close-up view of the racer's immediate vicinity. The close-up view is very detailed, showing nearby racer positions, course hazards, item boxes, and even incoming attacks. As the closeup rotates in orientation to the racer, it is possible to complete an entire race focusing only on the bottom screen.

Mini-Turbos

A feature first introduced in Mario Kart 64, Mini-Turbos are momentary speed boosts that can be obtained while drifting, by alternately pressing Left and Right on the D-Pad buttons during a power-slide, until orange sparks appear around their kart. At that point, when the player stops drifting, their kart will receive a short speed boost.

Snaking

The execution of several consecutive mini-turbos during races has caused minor controversy in Wi-Fi play in the form of snaking -- players who drift their karts back and forth across a straight stretch to generate repeated mini-Turbos (a movement likened to actual snakes, hence the term, "snaking"). Because this gives the user a distinct speed advantage over other, "non-snaking" opponents, players regard snaking as anything from legitimate and advanced racing strategy, to an unfair tactic, or even outright cheating. Some players have attempted to form leagues (or "Friends" groups) composed of avowed non-snakers, but the distinction between a "snaker" and "non-snaker" is vague, largely depending on whether the player uses Mini-Turbos on straight areas of the track or on curves.

Nintendo Power magazine once responded to a reader mail in its Pulse section, describing snaking as "kind of lame" and that it goes against the original intentions of the game's developers. Others have similarly argued that snaking is an exploitation of game's Mini-Turbo mechanics; on the other hand, some Nintendo officials have described snaking as an intentional part of the game's design[link], considering that the snaking technique could also be performed in Mario Kart 64 and Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (which featured similar Mini-Turbo mechanics). Most, if not all, of the quickest Time Trial records in Mario Kart DS were accomplished using the snaking technique.

Snaking can be compared to a similar snaking technique in F-Zero GX, the "wavedashing" technique in Super Smash Bros. Melee, as well as other phenomena such as bunny hopping in first-person shooter games.

Drafting

Featured in Mario Kart DS is the ability to draft behind an opponent's kart. If the player is close enough, blue streaks will start flying by their kart, and their speed will begin to increase. If the player maintains this position (without hitting the opponent, an obstacle, or otherwise losing speed) long enough, they will receive a noticeable speed boost, allowing them to easily overtake and pass the opponent.

Emblems

The Emblem Maker allows players to draw a decal for their karts.
Enlarge
The Emblem Maker allows players to draw a decal for their karts.

New to this game are 'emblems', or player icons. Using a simple drawing program interface, a player can select from (and modify) a variety of pre-made shapes, or create a customized emblem from scratch. During the race, each player's emblem appears as a decal on their kart, and in multi-player matches, opponents can see the player's name and emblem prominently overlaid above their kart's position on the opponent's screen (as a way to identify and discern one opponent from another). The player's emblem is also, on Wi-Fi play, shown to their opponents once the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection has found opponents and initiated a match.

Items

As in previous Mario Kart games, each course features numerous item boxes that players can drive through to receive a randomly-selected item. Whichever item the player receives is generally dependent upon their current position in the race (and, to a lesser extent, their kart's Items stat); players near the front will tend to receive rear-attack items (such as Bananas or Green Shells), while players trailing in the back of the race will tend to receive more powerful and forward-attack items like the Spiny Shell or Thunderbolt. As in previous Mario Kart games, most but not all attack items (e.g., spiny shells) can be targeted forwards or backwards by holding the appropriate direction on the D-pad when using the item against other players.

Several of the items can be "trailed" behind a player's kart by holding down the Item button, allowing the user to hold on to the item while being able to collect a second item from an Item Box at the same time. Trailed items can be used to block an incoming attack, but if the player is hit while trailing an item, the item will drop onto the track.

Players cannot, however, trail items in this fashion during Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection matches; similarly, Triple Shells and Triple Bananas (which orbit around or trail behind the player's kart automatically) also do not appear during Wi-Fi play.

Karts

Each playable character starts out with two karts: one special kart unique to that character, and a standard kart resembling a real go-kart. These karts have slightly different stats, although their general strengths are the same. As a player progresses through the game, he or she can unlock a third special kart for each character, also with slightly different stats. Later, the player can also unlock the ability to choose a few karts not normally available to the particular character, and ultimately, the ability to use any character in any of the 36 total karts.

When a player is selecting their kart for a race, the game openly lists all of the kart's racing stats. This is in contrast to previous Mario Kart games, which openly rated only a kart's Speed, Weight, and/or Acceleration.

The stats are:

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