Mario Kart DS

 DS
User Score
8.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 878 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 767 out of 878
  2. Mixed: 78 out of 878
  3. Negative: 33 out of 878
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  1. lesiuML
    Jan 27, 2023
    8
    This mario kart have really addictive gameplay! The IA can be very challenging and the courses are versatile with many shortcuts. Visually and content wise of course it us not the best game of all mario kart but handling of the vehicles and fast gameplay is really made this game special. I was surprised how much fun I actually had with this game. Must play for Mario kart fans!
  2. Teaman
    Jun 23, 2020
    8
    A usual mario kart game. It's most fun if ypu play with the other people. Recommended for casual racing game fans.
  3. gamermaker
    Jul 23, 2020
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. este juego me gusta pero no al 100%. lo unico que no me gusta son las batallas de globos que con la maquina son injustas antes de que tubiera wi-fi en mi casa todo era jugamos a tal juego de nintendo ds y wii. mario kart ds es un buen juego. un saludo.… Expand
  4. bruno497
    Jul 29, 2020
    10
    um jogo super divertido com muitos personagens e carros com certeza quem gosta do mario ira gostar desse jogo
  5. eeveegms
    Aug 7, 2020
    8
    It is an incredibly fun mario kart game to play with your friends, it has many characters, and many amazing traks.
  6. truth10010pc
    Sep 3, 2020
    10
    The Best Mario kart game ever to come out of Nintendo minds. Even on a limited system, it is still stellar. Only about £15/€15/$15 in a second hand game store.
  7. Cowboysrule1235
    Sep 4, 2020
    9
    Very fun game, I love every single map! The only issue I have with the game is that it is too easy and the character selection is very limited. But other than that it is a fantastic game!
  8. ItsDaDoc
    Nov 14, 2020
    10
    Mario Kart DS is the absolute best of all Mario Kart games. The controls are tight, and the tracks are fantastic. And the Mission mode really defines this game as something better than any Mario Kart out there. I'll probably never change my mind on my opinion that DS truly is the best.
  9. hector_bcn98
    Nov 7, 2022
    8
    Diversión, amigos, sencillez. Valores que otorgan a este videojuego un puesto históricos dentro de las consolas portátiles.
  10. BellamySacir
    Nov 8, 2020
    7
    Definitely not the best Mario Kart but I can't remember any other game on the DS that I had this much fun with.
  11. assassinader200
    Nov 17, 2020
    9
    "Mario Kart Ds" es sin duda el juego más divertido que he jugado hasta la fecha. Poco más puedo decir de este fabuloso juego de Nintendo lanzado en 2005, que a pesar de tantos años sigue luciendo fresco (a pesar que el Mario Kart 8 luzca mucho mejor) y sigue divirtiendo como nunca. Esta cuarentena y verano pasados me aburría tanto que agarre la Nintendo y me puse a rememorar momentos de mi"Mario Kart Ds" es sin duda el juego más divertido que he jugado hasta la fecha. Poco más puedo decir de este fabuloso juego de Nintendo lanzado en 2005, que a pesar de tantos años sigue luciendo fresco (a pesar que el Mario Kart 8 luzca mucho mejor) y sigue divirtiendo como nunca. Esta cuarentena y verano pasados me aburría tanto que agarre la Nintendo y me puse a rememorar momentos de mi infancia.
    El modo multijugador, si bien es cierto que no es el más estable ofrece la posibilidad de conectarse hasta 8 personas y jugar unas "carreritas" como digo yo y picarse entre todos, sin duda super divertido. Además se puede jugar el modo Gran Prix, con hasta 4 velocidades (50cc-muy lento para mi gusto-,100cc, 150cc y el raro modo espejo- que invierte los circuitos) y de esta forma desbloquear diversos personajes. En el modo Versus, existe la posibilidad de jugar otros dos modos de juego (para mi menos divertidos).
    Se trata sin duda del juego perfecto (claro está que hace unos 15 años) para pasar un rato muy entretenido y picarte con tus amigos o familia.    … Expand
  12. deycd
    Aug 13, 2021
    8
    Este juego está a la par que Mario Kart 7, puede que tenga peor calidad y menos opcines de juego. Incluso, circuitos un poco peores. Pero lo compensa con los personajes, que son mucho mejores, y con los modos de juego individuales.
  13. jakkebak
    Dec 9, 2020
    9
    In my oppinion the best Mario Kart game of all time, it doesn't have too much powerups and extra's and it has enough gamemodes and powerups to keep the customer satisfied. This is as perfect as a Mario Kart game can get.
  14. BeeSting1
    Jan 1, 2021
    9
    The first portable Mario Kart in true 3D.

    Mario Kart's formula has proven to be an incredibly fun multiplayer experience. Mario Kart DS is that except its portable, in true 3D, and has wireless multiplayer. Carrying around that experience was refreshing back then. Even just playing the Grand Prix single player was awesome fun. If not then there are missions and time trials. The missions    The first portable Mario Kart in true 3D.

    Mario Kart's formula has proven to be an incredibly fun multiplayer experience. Mario Kart DS is that except its portable, in true 3D, and has wireless multiplayer. Carrying around that experience was refreshing back then. Even just playing the Grand Prix single player was awesome fun. If not then there are missions and time trials. The missions were really simple though, nothing deep. The turbo drift mechanic was done great. Inputs for it felt natural and just difficult enough that it felt satisfying to pull off. The AI and item usage programming was done well. Rarely did I feel completely left behind as 8th, as I still had a chance to catch up with good items. And I couldn't feel completely safe in 1st, as I might get hit by an item.

    The map on the bottom screen was well made. Was simple enough, and icons were big enough for me to glance at and locate opponent positions. SNES wasn't done well, because of the map angle, and the unnecessary large kart icons.

    The controls however, had issues. Holding L to keep a shell behind me was difficult, because the DS itself doesn't feel good to hold when pressing too many buttons. When drifting, holding a shell, and accelerating, I'm crunching my hands holding 3 buttons at the same time. My hands would cramp up quickly. I just end up not holding shells behind me, which was unfortunate, because I missed out on an important defensive mechanic. There were times when I could've protected myself with a shell, but couldn't because it was too painful to hold L. Though this was a hardware limitation. There wasn't any remapping I could think of that the devs could have set to fix the issue.

    This game most definitely caused many detentions for students playing it during class under their desk..    … Expand
  15. arnuall06
    May 25, 2023
    9
    Uno de los mejores Mario kart incontables horas de diversión, pero no ha envejecido muy bien
  16. ND-Bringer
    Apr 13, 2021
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. While trying to get into the Crash Team Racing remake for the Nintendo Switch, I was struggling to get into the diverse control scheme, all it did was make miss Mario Kart. It was by knows means a bad game, I just wasn't ready to put the effort in to get better. And I wasn't just missing any old Mario Kart game..I was missing my first Mario Kart game. Another one of those lost gem games from the early 2000's. It's quite a wonderful experience to play through this adventure. After seeing the trailer for Mario Kart 7, I was hyped as hell to play it. But to my surprise, I actually had more fun playing the DS version. While 7 has better looks, DS is underrated brilliance. While returning to this lost treasure I had a new goal of unlocking all of the hidden characters. And this game has a very nice selection, we have Daisy and Waluigi from Double Dash, Dry Bones makes his debut, and this the only Mario Kart game where you can play as ROB. In order to unlock this lineup, you need to clear streams of cups while coming in first. And you won't just be obtaining new characters, you'll also be given new karts to use. See, it's not the characters weight that determines the stats for things like speed and weight, in this game it's just the kart. After clearing a majority of the cups, you can choose whatever kart you want for your character. This isn't a big deal today, but its more vital here. Peach can race in Bowser's car and Bowser can race in Peach's car, you can select your favorite characters with any kind of speed level. That's a pretty nice feature I must say, you can also confuse rookie players through download play and cruise down the road with Toad on Dry Bones' creepy Banisher kart. Their's tons of things you can do to stand out during co-op mode. Create your fun emblem with classic DS pixel art, play as the exclusive character Shy Guy, and play like a ninja assassin in Balloon Battle, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Seriously, everything is just so nice in this game, its like trying great sushi for the first time. You can race along classic and new courses with a Super Mario 64 DS theme. Heck we can even fight bosses from 64 DS in this game in mission mode! All of this great stuff gives the game a sense of identity. Its great stuff worth returning to, that's what makes a truly wonderful game. It's an interesting experience to return to this game with a New Nintendo 2DS control scheme. It isn't perfect, but I think its easier to play games like 64 DS and Kart DS with a circle pad. I'm used to my Wii U game pad control scheme from playing Mario Kart 8 with my sisters. And it just feels more comfortable. In fact returning to classic DS game is just a wonderful feeling. I'm old enough to understand my own generation of nostalgia and back in the day DS games shined with excellent remakes and excellent Pokemon sequels. This game in particular is giving everything its got to be awesome. With every mini turbo, is a sign of hope. Hope telling you that some day you can cross the finish line in first place. I still remember owning a DS with a broken right button and that dream was impossible for a while. But after seeing the collection of credits form clearing all of the cups and the true ending from clearing the mirror cups, its a reminder of how far I've come as a gamer. I also adore that you get a new title screen after clearing the mirror cups. With every loss frustration hits me, but I just kept going and the journey just made me feel alive. God that opening theme song is awesome! During my journey I started off with Bowser power in the 50CC cups. But I've move on to better control and acceleration with Daisy and Dry Bones as things got faster. And I'm really glad that my old favorite character from Mario Party 7 became my best character. With the freedom of performing multiple drifting speed boosts, I wasn't too far away from reaching crazy ultimate speed in the 150CC cup. Things get tricky in the 150CC Cup either I was a slipping up or the drivers are programmed to be faster than you, even though I still hadn't unlocked the fabled ROB...I just kept on trucking. Why? Because this is one of those brilliant tough but fair games. Let's not forget that even after you unlock everything you can challenge Game Designer Ghosts and complete all sorts of missions. And let's not forget earning perfect scores during racing challenges. It's a Mario Kart game, of course it's going to be awesome. What keeps this game from getting a higher score? Well...games like Mario Kart 7 and 8 are superior when it comes to control and graphics. But DS makes up for that with great variety. Someday, both new and old Mario Kart elements will combine and will get one whopper of a game. It's important that with every game purchase comes a box of memories to return too. Even after 100 percenting a game gamers will still return because games are just meant to be replayed, remastered, recreated. This game is a pedal to the metal dream… Expand
  17. TropicalNayr
    Mar 31, 2021
    3
    i would give this a 28%
    the graphics were terrible the previous Mario kart game had great graphic and then they give use this with horrible graphic the story is plain. The challenge mode is boring just a boring game in general
  18. Ardho
    Sep 14, 2021
    9
    Mario kart ds can be played anywhere and the game is also very good, the tracklist is all good, unique, beautiful soundtrack, the best nds game for me
  19. nahobino5_
    Jun 26, 2021
    8
    Easily in the top 3 Mario Karts. This is so much fun, especially with friends! The only big minus point are the controls.
  20. sosuke1121
    Dec 13, 2021
    9
    This game first introduced the drift controls that we have now, and it is good. There's new items like Blooper and Bullet Bill.
    However, I have to applaud Mario Kart DS for its numbers of content. It remade lots of old tracks, from GC to SNES. The game is birth to Waluigi Pinball, Delfino Square, and Wario Stadium. It has a good range of characters, and the kart selection is decent.
    The    This game first introduced the drift controls that we have now, and it is good. There's new items like Blooper and Bullet Bill.
    However, I have to applaud Mario Kart DS for its numbers of content. It remade lots of old tracks, from GC to SNES. The game is birth to Waluigi Pinball, Delfino Square, and Wario Stadium. It has a good range of characters, and the kart selection is decent.
    The Bosses and Challenges are fun, and for me I think this is the most interesting Mario Kart game.    … Expand
  21. funnymystical
    Aug 30, 2022
    7
    pretty good
    review:
    its mariokart nothing else has to be said except for the fact i have to stretch this out so i can upload this review.
  22. nintendofan721
    Apr 27, 2022
    9
    I used to feel that this game hadn’t aged very well, until I properly played through it again. There are some excellent tracks featured including Tick Tock Clock, Delfino Square, Luigi’s Mansion, Airship Fortress and the best of them all, Waluigi Pinball! This was the first Mario Kart to introduce retro tracks (not including Super Circuit) and while I wasn’t a fan of a lot of the choicesI used to feel that this game hadn’t aged very well, until I properly played through it again. There are some excellent tracks featured including Tick Tock Clock, Delfino Square, Luigi’s Mansion, Airship Fortress and the best of them all, Waluigi Pinball! This was the first Mario Kart to introduce retro tracks (not including Super Circuit) and while I wasn’t a fan of a lot of the choices and a few of them (the GCN ones) were downgrades, it was a huge step forward for the franchise. The character roster is a downgrade from the previous entry due to it being a handheld, but there were a couple unique additions being Dry Bones and the bizzare choice of R.O.B. The core gameplay is fun and it controls well. While some people hate snaking, you gotta admit it’s awesome to be able to control your drift! My favourite thing about this game is the missions with so many different tasks like collecting coins, driving through tires and boss fights! I hope this mode comes back one day. The graphics are a bit pixelated but the game looked good for the DS at the time. There are some memorable tunes from this game especially one in particular (Waluigi Pinball). It was the first game to introduce online even though the Wii’s was the first to gain popularity. There is a cool extra feature where you can customize your emblem on your car which is unique to this game. The new items are a mixed bag, with the blooper which is completely useless and I have no idea why they kept it around, and the bullet bill which was epic and the best item of all time! The battle mode is great and you can finally play it in single player mode against computers! There are some fun new stages and a couple of retro ones including Pipe Plaza. This might be one of the better Mario Kart games in the series, and it’s jam packed with fun!… Expand
  23. zemzem
    Apr 9, 2022
    9
    One of my favorite games. 150ccm is exactly the fitting difficulty for me. The items mix a little bit of unpredictability in the game, but it still seems fair. They are not entirely random, but based on your position and item stats. Sometimes it feels more like a shooter or fighting game when there are intense item battles. Please don't hate me for this, but I don't even hate the blueOne of my favorite games. 150ccm is exactly the fitting difficulty for me. The items mix a little bit of unpredictability in the game, but it still seems fair. They are not entirely random, but based on your position and item stats. Sometimes it feels more like a shooter or fighting game when there are intense item battles. Please don't hate me for this, but I don't even hate the blue shell. Of course it is frustrating for players who are excellent at racing and always get the top spot right away. However, if it is a suspenseful, balanced race, where you have to struggle to get to the first position, it can actually help you just as much.

    The minimap on the DS is absolutely brilliant, one thing that Mario Kart 8 is missing. Also, the drifting feels very satisfying, better than in the sequels. You have to give your D-pad a little jerk to spark the boost, it actually feels like lighting a match or a lighter. The stages also strike the perfect balance between detailed and simple. A lot of the sequels have tracks that feel more like labyrinths, or have you racing upside down or other weird stuff. I enjoyed the linear design of this game far more, the few secret short cuts actually feel special because there's not five of them in every track.
    The crown jewel of the game is obviously the balloon mode. Fighting with the items is actually more fun than racing. Of course the graphics are very old and crappy, but the courses still look good enough, and the characters drive by so fast that you won't even pay much attention to their appearance. The gameplay is just so fast and so much fun that is doesn't matter.    … Expand
  24. ronkers
    Apr 10, 2022
    9
    extremely fun game, its my first and currently only mario kart game. pulling off a mini turbo always feels satisfying. it has amazing tracks but also some bland ones that i can excuse. i felt as if there wasn't enough variety in the missions which just seems like wasted potential to me. there's WAY too much blue shells up your ass at all time i like the idea of a blue shell but sometimesextremely fun game, its my first and currently only mario kart game. pulling off a mini turbo always feels satisfying. it has amazing tracks but also some bland ones that i can excuse. i felt as if there wasn't enough variety in the missions which just seems like wasted potential to me. there's WAY too much blue shells up your ass at all time i like the idea of a blue shell but sometimes I'm at the end of the match and i get blueshelled causing me to come 3rd or something. racing on rainbow road was very annoying cause it's a very pretty and iconic track but every time i bump into anyone i get sent flying behind into the void. tick tock clock makes me cream everytime i play on it. Overall love love love!… Expand
  25. RandowGuy
    May 16, 2022
    10
    Esse é o mario kart definitivo, se nunca jogou mario kart esse é o perfeito para começar, tanto conteudo e sem falar do singleplayer, meu mario kart favorito.
  26. GDsReviews
    May 27, 2022
    8
    Mario Kart DS is easily the best Mario Kart game along with Mario Kart Wii, with a great balance of new tracks, retro tracks, battle arenas, character roster, and unique to DS mission mode. It has an excellent soundtrack too, and still holds up well today.
  27. diesesphil
    Jun 8, 2022
    10
    The best Mario Kart besides Mk8 Deluxe.
    So much content and revolutionary ideas!
  28. Benny2028
    Jun 10, 2022
    9
    The best Mario Kart game, and quite possibly the best DS game of all time.

    Great tracks
    Has f*cking R.O.B. the robot
    Extremely boppin' soundtrack
    and crazy nostalgic
  29. RobertGrob1
    Jun 13, 2022
    9
    Great game with some incredibly hard and satisfying mechanics would reccomend
  30. Crocco
    Feb 21, 2023
    10
    If you need some evidence to prove if this game is one of the best on DS, I played it so much that I wore out the R trigger on my DS Lite and had to repair it
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Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best DS Game of 2005
1
#1 Most Discussed DS Game of 2005
1
#1 Most Shared DS Game of 2005

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
91

Universal acclaim - based on 64 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 63 out of 64
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 64
  3. Negative: 0 out of 64
  1. 1UP
    90
    Everything about MKDS comes together into a surprisingly compelling package, a portable racing game on par with anything ever to appear on a console.
    Read full review
  2. eToychest
    95
    Reason alone to own the DS platform. All of the fun that has been intrinsic to the series is intact, and the much-anticipated online component simply seals the deal. This is best game in the series by far, and perhaps the best kart-style racing game ever to come along.
    Read full review
  3. IGN
    95
    It's hard to imagine how Nintendo's going to improve on what they've done for this stunning portable rendition. There's so much gameplay and depth in this design, moreso than the series has ever had in the past.
    Read full review
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