Mario Kart DS

Mario Kart DS
Developer	Nintendo EAD
Publisher	Nintendo
System	Nintendo DS
Release Date	US November 14, 2005 AU November 17, 2005 EU November 25, 2005 JP December 8, 2005 KO April 5, 2007
Genre	Racing
Gallery	GH Gallery
Rating	ESRB: E

Mario Kart DS is the fifth Mario Kart game (not counting Mario Kart Arcade GP), which was released for the Nintendo DS.

Gameplay

The usual cast of characters (from Mario Kart 64 and [[Mario Kart: Super Circuit|Super Circuit]]) return with several unlockable characters. The game returns to the original style of kart-racing. The game has twice the amount of normal race tracks due to having two seperate cups - the Nitro Cup (which contains all the new tracks) and the Retro Cup (which contains cups from the previous four Mario Kart games, not counting the recently-released Mario Kart Arcade GP).

In addition, there is a challenge mode where players can perform a variety of tasks. The challenge mode includes boss races for the first time in the Mario Kart series. Battle mode again returns as well.

The game can be played with up to 8 players in a immediate group of players. It can be played online against three other players with a variety of options to play with. The game itself launched alongside the Nintendo DS WiFi system and was the first game to use it.

Tracks

Mushroom Cup	Flower Cup	Star Cup	Special Cup
Figure-8 Circuit	Desert Hills	DK Pass	Wario Stadium
Yoshi Falls	Delfino Square	Tick-Tock Clock	Peach Gardens
Cheep Cheep Beach	Waluigi Pinball	Mario Circuit	Bowser's Castle
Luigi's Mansion	Shroom Ridge	Airship Fortress	Rainbow Road

• Mario Kart Tracks

Legacy

Sequels

The next Mario Kart game to be released was Mario Kart Arcade GP 2. The next console game was Mario Kart Wii, while the next handheld game would be Mario Kart 7 for the 3DS.

Ports and Remakes

• Four of the tracks from Mario Kart DS appeared in Mario Kart Wii as Retro Courses.