Mario Kart DS Advanced Strategies and Shortcuts

[cheat-master30]

Advanced Strategies and Shortcuts

Since there are so many people asking about 'snaking' and other things like drafting and PRB, I have decided to write a mini-guide for anyone who wants to know what these techniques, tricks and glitches are and how to use them (and how they work).

'Snaking' AKA a form of Straight Stretch Mini-Turbo

SSMT means any mini-turbo (power-slide boost) on a straightway as it has for the last couple of Mario Kart games. 'Snaking' is a slang term used to describe mini-turbo repeatedly on a straight way in an alternating pattern, like a snake.

This is simply power-slides and boosts. And to do a mini-turbo, you just hold R while cornering (or on a straight in this case) then push the control pad from left to right (or vice versa) for blue sparks, then again for red sparks. When you get to red sparks, let go of the R button.

Prolonged Rocket Boosting

This is an advanced for of 'snaking' where you constantly keep the boost from either the start boost or a zipper to cut across off-road surfaces without slowing down. To do this, you have to constantly mini-turbo and this works best with the top 'snaking' karts.

Drafting

This is where you get a boost by staying behind someone. To do this, just go behind someone and stay in the slip stream. Now, after a couple of second, a set of lines will be around the kart and you are as fast as using a star for a couple of seconds.

Now, do not get confused. Shortcuts are not where people zig-zag across the track and teleport, and that is usually lag. But these are shortcuts:

Yoshi Falls

You can cross the first and third waterfall, but do you know you can cross the second without an item? To do this, just repeatedly keep hopping while facing the bridge.

Luigi's Mansion

At the back of the mansion, cut across the grass after the tunnel, by the tree. There are glitches here, including the freeze the game glitch, but they are relevant.

Desert Hills

You can cut across the sand behind the Pyramid with two mushrooms, and also bounce across the hills at the end with mushrooms.

Delfino Square

After the first alleyways, boost across the dirt to the left and you can cross to the pier. You can also cut through a muddy alleyway with boost that is after the stone bridge.

DK Pass

After the snowballs first fall, there is a hill. Cut across it with a mushroom and you can save time. The box at the top contains either a shroom, a star or red shell, regardless of what place you're in!

Tick Tock Clock

Near the pendulum, boost off to the right and aim at the road ahead for Lakitu to place you just before the spinning cogs. Later, before the gears at the end, jump at the side of the gears to be placed afterwards.

Bowser Castle

Before the finish, there is a gap. Boost across and at the finish line, and you can cross it in thin air. There is also the passageway behind the spinning room with the moving Thwomp.

Rainbow Road

Ignoring the first one, you can jump off the road near the red pipe afterwards (it's tough to explain) and be placed before the corkscrew. You can also do this and be placed before the hairpin bend. At the hairpin bend though, jump with a mushroom and you can cut the bend and keep on driving!

Proof: http://cheat-master30.tripod.com/100_0615.MOV (http://cheat-master30.tripod.com/100_0615.MOV)

Frappe Snowland trick

At the second bend, you can cut the dark snow if you jump after using a mushroom.

Sky Garden shortcuts (actual shortcuts only, non-intended)

At the area with two ramps, you can boost and jump to the road opposite with a mushroom. After that, you can also boost and jump to the green bridge. If you then go across the cloud, this cuts a lot of time off. At the part before that final vine bridge, boost and jump at the speed ramp in the distance near the finish line and Lakitu will place you there! And for a final trick, boost off at the final vine bridge, and with the right angle, you will be placed just before it, the other side of the bend by lakitu!


Dodge a blue shell-If you get hid by another obstacle, just as it is about to hit, the effect of the blue shell will be cancelled out.

Dodge a blue shell in another way- Boost and jump as it is about to come down and you could just about escape the blast.

Dodge a red shell- In certain places, like the shortcut alleyway in Delfino Square and behind the coffin in Banshee Boardwalk, you are immune to red shells. Same if you are riding a wall.

Confuse Lakitu (doesn't help, but's cool)- In Sky Garden, there is an area with a fence near a vine bridge and the cloud hopping shortcut. Here, go into the area so you are between two diagonals of the fence. Face backwards into the fence, and Lakitu should appear telling you to turn around! Now, turn around and go forward to the vine bridge. As you are going forward, Lakitu should suddenly appear saying that you are going the wrong way!

Item saving is a good new tip, and here are some new ones:

To dodge a blue shell 3- Go into the cannon at Airship Fortress or Waluigi Pinball as the blue shell is about to hit and the blue shell should miss. Also, if lightning is used as you are being launched in that scenario, you are not affected.

Ride walls- in Bowser Castle 2, use the jump pad accurately and you can land on the wall. You are then immune to ground based shells and items. In Delfino Square, you can use the small ramp to the left of the stone bridge to launch up and land on the wall with the same benefits.

Faster on loop- Hop at the start and end of the loop in Rainbow Road to go faster through it.

Battle Mode trick- How to pull it off:
Play battle mode
Choose the Nintendo DS course.
Inflate all three balloons.
Now, don't go hitting people like a madman! Don't even attack them! Go to the top screen and the corners nearest the bottom one...
Now drive off near the very corner. If you do it wrong, you will slip on something and fall into oblivion. If done right, you will be under art of the top screen! You are practically invisible to your opponents. Now there are two ways to use the glitch:
1- Be on the flat part under part of the top screen. You are generally invisible to most opposition and can stay there for a long time. One flaw, red shells can hit you and others can sometimes hit you if they go close with a trio of spinning shells...
Or
2- Be on the edge diagonally under the touch screen! You are immune to 99.9999999% of attacks and cannot attack back. This is a perfect position..
Now, go off for a cup of tea, dinner, day out, to a friend, play another game etc. Do this for a decent time. Chances are, your character will still be alive when you return and not pummelled!
Uses:

For an easy win, or good way to narrow down number of computer players if you are Isn't as good on Battle mode!
Against professionals who think they're all good at this mode!
And for trying to survive 9 or more minutes in Battle Mode!

Shortcut tricks on Rainbow Road- On the loop, hit the side about a third of the way through and you can land on a part of the road after the loop (the sloping part) and save some time. You can also go on the corkscrew and fall off part way through (tough though) and land on the loop!

Wheelie in Bowser Castle- Go into the spinning room, and stand at the very edge of the room, the rim and preferably touching the wall. Your kart will either end up on it's end or be bouncing up and down quite fast.

Fly over the wall- At the stairs, boost and jump at the tip and you will shoot over the wall. You often fall in the lava, but for something cool, aim at the road and you can be placed before the start line!

Tips for Grand Prix Mode-

Use a heavy character in a light kart, and you can go fast by 'snaking' and not be scared of being shoved off the track by the computer.

Try to lay bananas at the end of ramps and in narrow passages. Lay item boxes on the loop to knock rivals off.

There are always rival characters, which come the same positions and loser characters which come last or second to last. Concentrate attacks on them to have the best chance at victory.

Don't always 'snake'. Yoshi falls for example has many areas where boosting in one direction helps more.

If a red shell is after you, go into the alleyway in Delfino Square and you should automatically avoid it. As soon as you are after the cannon in a course, red shells aimed from the other side will not hit.

Okay, banana strategies coming right up, now:

The first trick with a banana is to place it on the end of a ramp so they fall off, with good examples being the first ramp in Cheep Cheep Beach, Delfino Square Drawbridge, at the start of the jump on Rainbow Road and so many other places.

On the last bump at the end of Choco Mountain stops the super jump combo.

Place them as you land from a jump. This is especialy lethal after the laucnher in Waluigi Pinball and the Cannon at Airship Fortress, where's there's not time to dodge.

Place the banana in a narrow passageway where they can't dodge, like parts of Banshee Boardwalk, the narrow corridors of Bowser Castle and the alleyways in Delfino Square.

Group items together to make the effects more devastating. Also good is a lot of traps in an area with no walls.

Place in a straight line across the track to block it off if you have the time.

Place straight after a zipper and you can cancel the boost they get from it.

Place before the ramps in Bowser Castle 2 or Sky Garden to send them into either the void or the lava!

The auto-shortcut trick- In an area with a shortcut, get a bullet bill. Now go onto the ramp where you would use a mushroom and use a shortcut and the bullet bill will automatically do the shortcut for you!

Safety- In Shroom Ridge, there is a block and a barrier. Go behind the barrier or on top of the block round the finish line and you are immune to red shells!

Sniping- In some battle mode courses, there are hiding places to shoot from. For example, you can go partially into the pipe in Pipe Plaza, or into the deep sea on the beach courses to hide and shoot. Computer players normally ignore you there.

Go through gaps- In Donut Plains 1 and Choco Island 2, go through the gap in the wall with a mushroom or power-slide boost to save valuable seconds.

The right car for the right job- on courses like Sky Garden and Choco Island, the Dry Bomber is best because the acceleration makes it good off road, while tarmac courses are best for the ROB BLS. The egg1 is best for mixed courses.

Jump just before you go onto an off-road surface and you can keep your speed for a bit longer. Similarly, jump at the end of a ramp to go further, and hopping on speed pads may help.

Gun fire effects- On Airship Fortress, boost and then brake to hear a 'Boom' sound like a cannon being fired.

Videos of tricks:

Rainbow Road shortcut (my new one)- http://cheat-master30.tripod.com/100_0615.MOV (http://cheat-master30.tripod.com/100_0615.MOV)

Luigi's Mansion glitch- http://cheat-master30.tripod.com/100_0624.MOV (http://cheat-master30.tripod.com/100_0624.MOV)

Learn to take evasive Action- Dodge anything thrown at you!

Green shell- Just drive out of the way. Not too hard is it?

Red shell- Either ride a wall, go so close to a wall that the shell hits that instead of you or be right next to the person who fired it. And for a neat trick, when someone is near you and a shell is approaching, go the other side of the them to the shell. The shell should hit them instad of you!

Blue shell- Either cancel the effect by hitting something at the same time, fall off before it hits, use the blue shell dodge, go into a cannon before it hits or drop a bob-omb behind you to blow it up!

Lightning- Be off the course (about to be put back when it's fired) or go into a cannon at the right time. There's no manual dodge.

Blooper- Go over a zipper or use a mushroom/boo/bullet bill/star to clear away the ink.

Banana- Avoid it. Unless it's in a narrow passage, then you have a bit of a problem. If that occurs, fire an item at the banana to destroy it.

Star- Drive as far away from the person using it as possible. Be warned that they are faster than you.

Bullet Bill- It also follows the centre of the track, so stay away from the middle of the track.

Bob-omb- er, dodge by driving away, or to be mean, throw a weapon at the person dragging the bob-omb. Result=KABOOM!

Boo- Use your item as the boo comes onto your screen. Watch it go away empty handed!

Any item- Throw a blue shell/lightning/bob-omb/use a bullet bill near them/use a boo when the opponent is displayed holding it on the bottom screen (when it appears next to their name). Those attacks make them drop the item, and often destroy it.

Small Tricks

Go through a bullet bill- On Airship Fortress, mushroom boost into the back of the bullet bill and as long as you don't go too far into the missile, you can drive inside it!

Go over a fence- In DK Pass, hit the last snowman from the side facing the fence and you fly over the red fence.

Block red shells another way- Go to the part near a pendulum and go past it just when it swings back past your kart and the swinging pendulum will block the red shell.

Bounce up high- Boost before the hills at the end of Choco Mountain and you bounce along the tops of the hills, sometimes over the finish line or side of the course.

Banshee Boardwalk- Go to the left in the house and jump the gap to save seconds off your lap time.

Mini-turbo tricks- You can do any intentional shortcut with just a mini-turbo with a light kart.

Checkpoint Guide

The number of checkpoints in a level varies immensely. In Yoshi Falls, there are seven checkpoints in that level. However, on Rainbow Road, a much longer course, there are fifteen checkpoints in the level, 4 of which are on the spiral near the start of the level! This also explains why the illegal shortcut on Rainbow Road invalidates the lap, because you skip exactly two checkpoints, which causes the game to declare your lap invalid. This also explains why there aren't as many jump shortcuts on that course as there were in Rainbow Road courses in the past.


I know however, that two checkpoints in when the game invalidates the lap because of 4 examples. These are:

Rainbow Road shortcut 1

Sky Garden shortcut 1

Sky Garden shortcut 2

and Rainbow Road shortcut 3

The Sky Garden first shortcut and Rainbow Road third shortcut do not invalidate the lap. This is because they skip only 1 checkpoint in the level, which is as the edge of the curve. However, the first Rainbow Road shortcut and second Sky Garden one do invalidate the lap, because the distance skipped has two checkpoints. Falling off the loop on Rainbow Road after the first shortcut fixes this possibly because it causes the game to recalculate the players position on the level.

The checkpoints are easy to work out because they are each place Lakitu puts you after you fall off in the area. In fact, my theory is that Lakitu exploits work with this, being as you fall as you hit another checkpoint further in the lap, which causes the game to recalculate your position, and in thinking you fell off in that area, get Lakitu to place you there. Example of these include Tick Tock Clock exploits, Rainbow Road shortcuts 2, 6, 7 and possibly 8, Sky Garden shortcuts 3-5 and possibly another one in Delfino Square.

Checkpoints I think, were probably only used in Mario Kart games since Double Dash. My experiment was to try and trick the game in Super Circuit, just as I had in Mario Kart DS. This is how it worked:

Hypothesis- Sky Garden shortcut 3 and the Lakitu malfunction do not work in the Mario Kart Super Circuit version.

The first test was the shortcut where Lakitu puts you right by the finish after jumping at the jump in the distance. This worked in DS, but would it work in Super Circuit?

No. The game just knew I fell off by the bend, and put me where you should be put in DS, if the shortcut fails.

Would the Lakitu malfunction work in Super Circuit? For all that do not know, a Lakitu malfunction is an exploit where you trick Lakitu into thinking you are elsewhere in the level, and he tells you that you're going the wrong way when you are not. It works in DS. But when it was attempted in Super Circuit, nothing happened. Lakitu did not get confused and the game acted as you would expect.

Conclusion- Checkpoints were not in games before Double Dash in the series.

Lakitu malfunctions, are as above. The reason I estimate they work is because the fence or wall used is on a checkpoint line. If part of the wall is one side and part is the other, the game will act funny if you are on that line. A diagonal fence is normally required, or a corner, and the game is tricked into thinking you are the other side of that wall. This effect lasts until you exit the checkpoint you are supposed to be in, and the game goes back to normal when you enter a new checkpoint area.

Thank you, and I hope that answers all questions about checkpoints, shortcuts and exploits.

Say thanks to my site for that short, essay thing about checkpoints

Semi-Isn't as good tricks

Waluigi Pinball Glitch- If you get hit by a pinball and then the flipper at about the same time, you get laucnhed high into the air leading to multiple outcomes:

1- you fly outside and fall for a long time until Lakitu places you back.

2- You fall through the launcher and Lakitu places you there.

3- You hit the top of a bumper and bounce off the top of it.

4- You land on invisible ground just outside the wall

5- You land inside the flipper!

Jump the fence- in Luigi's Mansion, boost and jump at the slope next to the path and you fly over the garden fence!

Backwards jump trick which helps in Mission Mode- In DK pass, at the part near the special item box, boost and jump off the cliff to land at the other side.

Hop the fence- Boost and jump at a slope near the red fence which is near where the snowball first falls down, and you fly over the red fence, landing on an earlier part of the track.

Odd Rainbow Road trick- Boost and jump off the spiral at the road before it (where it slightly overlaps) and you get placed on an earlier piece of the road by Lakitu!

Big Jump- After the spiral, boost and jump at the part where the fence ends and sometimes, with the right angle, you fly down the road and land practically on the loop!

Bad positioning- Boost and jump off at the loop from the other side to be placed before it.

Odd Luigi Circuit trick- On luigi Circuit GCN, race up to the second step. Now you can turn around, go back up the path and round to the finish line and the lap will still count!

Donut Plains 1 Island- Boost and jump with the ROB BLS at the lake, while facing the island and you land on the supposedly inaccessible island!

Automatic boost- Go really slowly at the bumps in Choco Island 2, and you automatically boost forward!

Invisible wall- In Sky Garden, boost off the edge so you would go under the beanstalk. You hit an invisible wall and die!

Bonus Info for making jumps:

Use the ROB BLS and Hurricane for large gaps, as they are great for leaping vertically.

Use the Egg1 or Dry Bomber with a jump to go high vertically.

How about this:

Fire the bob-omb forward, then fire the green shell at it when a rival approaches. Or, drop the bob-omb backwards, then fire the green shell backwards to blow up your rivals earlier!

These can be fun in the bob-omb in question is on the loop/corkscrew at Rainbow Road, or on the rolling log in Bowser Castle. The first one will knock them out of the race for quite a bit, while the second one will knock them off the log (this always happens) and mess their race up bad!

Boss Strategies and Tips

Here are how to beat the bosses in Mario Kart Ds mission mode plus some extra information and unintended strategies.

Big Bully- Boost, then go around and get the item box. Use the three mushrooms to knock him off the edge. You can do this in around 5-10 seconds.

Eyerok- Fire a gree shell at one of the hands, then repeat. Now go in between them when he charges and face him. Now get a shell and you have a clear shot at the eyes.

Goomboss- You just have to outrace him. it;s possible to stay in front of him for the whole race by boosting constantly, but it's very difficult.

King Boo- Gain the coins one circle at a time. Then hit him so he faces you and drive into him to get the coins back. Repeat. For a tip, you can fall in the lav as he is about to charge to reset his position and it will not hurt your rank.

Big Bob-omb- Throw two bombs at him while avoiding his bombs. Now throw another at him when he comes down.

*Super tip*- Fire one bomb at him. Get another and hold it. Now gain another. Throw the one you are dragging first, then the one in your inventory. This allows you to hit him twice and skip the third stage of the battle.

Chief Chilly- Ram him with shrooms twice, then hit him normally. Ram him again to knock him off. Another trick when he is at low health is to watch his movements and learn the timing of how to tell when he will move. Charge at that time and he can't jump your attack! Repeat!

Wiggler- Outrace him. Get every star you can to go faster and get mushrooms from trucks. If you are good at 'snaking' it is possible to actually beat him without a star if you've gained a decent lead early on with star power but it makes your hands very sore.

Replay Guide

Ok, I must be seriously running out of mini-guides to write this, but here's a brief guide to replay videos in Mario Kart DS.

How do you see a replay video?

After finishing Time Trial mode with a top time (well I can only view one after getting a record time), press replay. alternately, you can do this after a Grand Prix race.

How do you make the arrows on the touch screen disappear?

Just press select. To make them reappear, press select again.

What else can you do?

Supposedly, you can move around the map by holding a specific series of buttons, and it's true, but I never did know the button combination.

What is good about these videos?

They make an easy way to get proof for your Time Trial records, seeing as you can just record the replay. I did this, but I cannot show any examples because of file size limits.

Do any errors occur with these videos?

No. I have never had errors. It records your run so perfectly, that the replay even shows you cuttin g large sections of track with tricks and glitches like you were racing! I even had no problems when using Lakitu exploits, which were also mimicked perfectly.

DS Lite and Mario Kart DS FAQ

How come there's a different sound when starting Mario Kart DS in a DS Lite?

That's just a minor Easter egg for those people who decided to go out and buy the console so they feel proud of their purchase.

How come Luigi's Mansion is so bright?

Because the DS Lite has an enhanced backlit screen, the levels are really lit up. The effect of this is that day can be made to seem like light because of the brightness. A good set of courses to show this are:

Banshee Boardwalk
Airship Fortress
Luigi's Mansion
Luigi Circuit GBA

What levels look best on a DS Lite?

Try Rainbow Road and Waluigi Pinball! The colours are so vibrant, your eyes might feel like burning after a short time!

Anything else different?

It is kind of easier to use mini-turbos with the smaller control pad, the only flaw is that balloon battle is harder because of the moved select button and pausing can be annoying at first.

Nothing else much though.

Track Questions

How do you select tracks in Star Cup, Special Cup, Leaf Cup and Lightning Cup?

You unlock them like this:

Star Cup- Get gold on mushroom and flower cups

Special Cup- Get gold on star cup as well as those before

Leaf Cup- Gain gold on banana and shell cups

Lightning Cup- As well as those before, get gold on leaf cup as well.

How come I can't select tracks I've unlocked in 50cc while playing 150cc?

To get the tracks playable in that setting, unlock the tracks in that cc class in Grand Prix Mode.

Is there a track editor in this game?

No, and I'm pretty certain there won't be one either, seeing as Nintendo aren't offering downloadable content, or announcing an expansion pack for this game.

How do people make a track?

In that topic here and at many other forums, the track ideas aren't playable in the game, they're just drawn by those people and shown to others. To do so, just draw your track idea in a program on your computer (or at ArtPad) and then upload it (unless you use Artpad). Then, just link to your picture in a 'Create a Track Topic'.

Hacking FAQ (General questions)

What hacks are avaliable for Mario kart DS?

The hacks that are known to exist are the ability to select all tracks (include mission mode arenas, battle arenas and beta levels) plus the 150cc hack which changes the karts engine class online. Note that you can't play Beta tracks online, only offline. It is rumoured also that there is an item hack, and supposedly, there is a way to use Shy Guy with hacking.

Warnings for playing Battle mode arenas and Boss arena tracks:

Do not fall off
Do not enter pipes or anything similar like launchers
Do not use a blue shell, bullet bill or lightning

All these will freeze the game. Possibly because:

The game was programmed to allow people to use pipes in Pipe Plaza online.

There is no set track for blue shells or bullet bills to follow as one wasn't programmed in Battle or mission mode seeing as such items do not exist in those modes. This problem stems back to at least Mario Kart Double Dash.

Course to be wary of online:

Nintendo DS
Twilight House
Pipe Plaza
Tart Top (no one has hacked this yet, maybe it's too boring?)
Block Fort
Eyerok/King Bob-omb level
Big Bully/Chief Chilly level
King Boo Level

Someone went mega fast! Did they use the 150cc hack?

Probably not. This is because it's unlikely that Parasyte actually gave away the information when it was discovered, possibly because of how it could be exploited. It's more likely the use of SSMTs constantly or PRB.

Any problems with playing courses like Airship Fortress or Waluigi Pinball online?

Small problems have been found while on the ship part of Airship Fortress, like invisible banana peels. Generally, the lag is about the same as normal courses.

Beta Courses?

These are tracks 'removed' from the game which may have meant to be included. Such examples have included Mario Circuit (GCN), Test Circle, Donakan Course, Beta Waluigi Pinball, Beta DK pass and I think that's it. The reason I can't give the reason they cannot be used on wifi should remain secret though.

Word and Abbrieviation Guide

How to know the terminology of Mario Kart DS

50cc- the slowest mode, where the top speed is much lower thn normal
100cc- Average speed, also average difficulty of Grand Prix Mode where the karts are slower than 150cc ones but faster than those for 50cc
150cc- The fastest mode. Mushroom speed is exactly 70 mph.

Af- Airship Fortress
AF- Average Finish (on world record site, positions for each time are added up and divided by 64)

BC- Bowser Castle
BB- Banshee Boardwalk
BB (another possible meaning)- balloon Battle
BB (another one)- Bullet Bill
BC2- Bowser Castle 2
BSD- Blue Shell Dodge
BP- Baby Park

CCB- Cheep Cheep Beach
CM- Choco Mountain
CI2- Choco Island 2
Checkpoint- An area at a track where the game registers you location.

DH- Desert Hills
DS- Delfino Square
DP1- Donut Plains 1
DP- DK pass

FS- Frappe Snowland
F8C- Figure Eight Circuit

Glitch- Any unintentional trick in a videogame. This means all glitch shortcuts, going through walls and enemies, tricking Lakitu etc.
GP- Grand Prix Mode

Item Box hogging- Staying on an item box to stop others getting it.

KB2- Koopa Beach 2

Lag- When the signal from the other DS doesn't reach yours instantly and causes strange illusions where the game tries to guess the path of a player, often causing teleporting, reappearing from falls instantly and some item glitch effects.
Lakitu Malfunction- Using an exploit to make Lakitu confused to which way down the track is forward and which way is backwards.
Lakitu Tricking- Using lakitu to skip a shortcut by falling off halfway through it so you just fall over the checkpoint line.
LC- Luigi Circuit GCN (Gamecube version)
LC2- Luigi Circuit GBA (Gameboy Advance version)
LM- Luigi's Mansion
Launcher- The tube which shoots you along at hyper speed at the start of Waluigi Pinball.

MC- Mario Circuit
MB- Mushroom Bridge
MMF- Moo Moo Farm
MT- Mini-Turbo, the boost from a power-slide

Out of Bounds- Going so far off course, you get put back on the main course by Lakitu.

PRB- Prolonged Rocket Boosting, where you mini-turbo constantly to indefinetly extend the starting boost or that from a zipper allowing you to cut across off-road surfaces without slowing down.
PG- Peach Gardens
PC- Peach Circuit
Purgatory Portal- Any glitch that means you go off the map on the bottom screen.

RMC1- Mario Circuit 1
RMMF- Moo Moo Farm
RPC- Peach Circuit
RLC- Luigi Circuit
RDP1- Donut Plains 1
RFS- Frappe Snowland
RBC2- Bowser Castle 2
RBP- Baby Park
RKB2- Koopa Beach 2
RCM- Choco Mountain
RLC2- Luigi Circuit GBA
RMB- Mushroom Bridge
RCI2- Choco Island 2
RBB- Banshee Boardwalk
RSG- Sky Garden
RYC- Yoshi Circuit
RR- Rainbow Road

G- Sky Garden
SR- Shroom Ridge
Shroom- A mushroom
Shroomslide- Power-sliding while also using a mushroom
SSMT- Straight Stretch mini-Turbo. This is any use of mini-turboing on a straight road, existed since Mario Kart 64. It is also the correct terminology.
'Snaking'- A slang term for mini-turboing constantly on a straight. Technically speaking, this doesn't exist and is a depracated term.
Sandbagging- Staying behind to get powerful items then getting in front and using them when you next get overtaken, or in some courses, getting mushrooms in last and using them to take massive shortcuts.
Shortcut- While it is wrongly believed to be any trick which saves time, Mario Kart Time Trial defintion is that a shortcut is any glitch that:
Allows you to jump a wall or barrier
Any use of Lakitu to get placed further along the track
Any trick which allows you to skip lage portions of track in an unintended way. Also, they count tricks that confuse Lakitu in any way while you are skipping parts of the track as shortcuts.

Tricking- Getting a mysterious boost while hitting a wall at the right angle with a power-slide or mushroom (possible existance, existed in Super Circuit)
TTC- Tick Tock Clock
TT- Time Trials

WP- Waluigi Pinball
WR- World record
WS- Wario Stadium

YF- Yoshi Falls
YC- Yoshi circuit

Zipper- A speed boosting pad found on Bowser Castle 2, Yoshi Falls and other such courses.

Character Information

Mario- Mario is the Italian American hero of all the Mario games who is the main star. His last name is also Mario, and he is the default Mario Kart character. This means he is at the top left of the character select list and most of his karts are just average. He has no effect to the weight of any kart.

Luigi- Luigi is Mario's brother and he is the second Mario Kart character. His karts are quite good, and generally better than Mario's karts. He also has no effect on kart weight whatsoever.

Princess Peach- In Mario kart games, she used to be a good character to use in the olden days, but now is just rather average, seeing as some of her karts have just terrible stats and handle pretty badly. She subtracts weight from each kart.

Yoshi- Yoshi is the dinosaur steed of Mario and Luigi and has been one of the best characters in most Mario Kart games since the beginning. This hasn't changed, with his first two karts being some of the best in the game especially the Egg1. He subtracts wieght from each kart as well.

Toad- Toad has always been a good character for Mario Kart beginners to use, with relatively good karts with good stats. This hasn't changed much, but his karts just aren't as good as the Egg1 and Dry Bomber. He also reduces kart weight.

DK- Donkey Kong is from the first Mario game ever created. However, in the games, he is always been a pretty awful character to use, not least because of the diabolical stats of the karts he uses.

Wario- Wario is Mario's nemesis, first seen in Super Mario 2, six Golden Coins. He has never been a good character, and his karts aren't that good. He adds quite a bit of weight to each kart.

Bowser- Bowser is Mario's main enemy from all the Mario platform games, dating back to Super Mario Bros. He isn't that good in his default karts, but can be helpful when used in the Dry Bomber on Mirror Mode as he adds a huge 17 to any karts weight stats!

Secret Characters:

Dry Bones- Dry Bones is a skeleton koopa first seen in Super Mario Bros 3. But in Mario Kart DS,he is a super light character who actually decreases the weight by 20! And his karts are some of the best in the game, especially the Dry Bomber. To unlock him, beat 50cc Nitro GP.

Daisy- She is the princess who first appeared in Super Mario Land. In Mario Kart DS though, she isn't a very good character to use, as not only can the character be annoying as hell, but the karts aren't very good either. She decreases the kart weight by a small amount. To unlock her, beat 50cc Retro GP.

Waluigi- Often known as a filler character by true Mario fans, he is a Luigi clone kind of character meant to be a partner for Wario in Mario Tennis. His karts are extremely strange, with a crane (Gold Mantis) and motorcycle (zipper) as some odd forms of transport. To unlock him, beat 100cc mode.

ROB- ROB is not technically a Mario character at all, but an accessory for the NES console called the same. He is a robot characgter, who has some very good karts (most tarmac only courses are best completed with the ROB BLS, his first kart). He also increases kart weight by 17, the same as Bowser. To unlock him, beat 150cc Mirror Mode Nitro Grand Prix,

Notes: Character either add to or decrease the weight of any kart they drive, unless you are playing as Mario or Luigi. I do not how a character can decrease kart weight though, as it is physically impossible in reality. Oh well, this is a Mario Kart game!

Clan FAQ

What is a clan?

A clan is basically an organisation which plays an onine game for fun and organises clan activities and tournaments for advanced competition.

How many clans are there?

Tons. For every online game, there are generally a select number of hugely succesful, mega popular clans and an enormous amount of smaller clans and failed attempts.

What are the general types of clan?

The main type of clan is the normal kind. These are often based at their own site or forums dedicated to the clan, have a decent amount of members when established and hold sign ups externally from larger gaming websites.

There are also clans which are dedicated to a specific part of the game, like using one character, or one kart, or racing on one course. They are usually smaller, but can have a loyal fan base.

Another type is a message board based clan. These are different in that they have no external website or forum, but base around a topic on a large gaming site's forums. These are generally very short lived and close after a few days.

How do I join a clan?

First, check the requirements for the clan to see if you qualify (most are free to anyone who doesn't cheat or quit while losing) then go to the clan's base, either a topic or site and place your online details such as nickname and friend code.

Are clans allowed here?

Clans are allowed here, not like the Nsider forums where groups/clans/alliances/guilds are banned. However, constant topics would be advertising and clan activities are supposed to take place on the online boards, as most are wifi based.

Should I start a clan?

Depends. Only if you are:

A- Hugely popular on the boards/online

B- Can make a neat clan site

C- Know how to run a clan. This is because many clans are set up by newbies who do not know how to run such an organisation and just leave it to die. Remember, a clan requires at least some work to be successful.

How do I make a clan?

If it's forum based, just make a topic about your clan on the online boards for clan sign ups. If it's externally based, use an online service such as http://invisionfree.com (http://invisionfree.com/) to make a message board. Also, think about making a proper website for the clan, as it makes the clan look and feel more professional.

http://hometown.aol.co.uk/Cheatmaster30X/SSMTdiagram.PNG

Battle Mode Tips

Nintendo DS- Here, there are only two ways to win. One is the fair way, and one is most definetly the cheating way! The fair way is to keep moving and shooting your rivals with shells and other items while the 'cheating' way is to use a glitch!

If you mess around just right, you can land underneath the top screen or even on a horizontal part of the DS down the side of the top screen!

Pipe Plaza

You can drive around and fire randomly if you want to be broing. But another way is to block the pipes with items to screw up computer opponents and stay part way into the pipe to hit rivals from a pretty safe place. You can also grind the wall like this (someone from here told me about this!)

http://cheat-master30.tripod.com/100_0649.MOV (http://cheat-master30.tripod.com/100_0649.MOV)

Palm Shore

Try to go after people when they are in the water as they are much slower. You can also wait undetected at where the deep water (which is out of bounds) begins for players to get eliminated.

Block Fort

Hold a fort if you can and block up the paths to ruin opponents. For another way to get out the action, use many bananas and shield yourself in a corner, no computers with bother you and the bananas protect you from items. You can also hit rivals which are on the ledge below if you are right at the edge of the ledge or the bridge.

Twilight House

Always put an item on the item boxes, especially those at the corners. players will often then hit them and fall to the doom. Knock rivals off the corners and if you have a star or triple items, ram people off the road for a double hit!

Tart Top

Here, there are no real tips ecept changing the height of your launch to dodge items and moving constantly. Also, be wary that if you hit the bits of icing, icing blocks part of the screen like a blooper would.

Yep, falling off the track does make the blue shell miss most of the time. However, it sometimes just does another lap and then hits you again.

Corner Cutters in Courses

In Luigi's Mansion, cut across the grass after the exit tunnel or between the gravestones after that to save time.

Desert Hills- After the part with the pyramid, cut across the sand to the straight. There's a gate mission that asks you to do this, so it is a corner cutter.

Waluigi Pinball- At the large part with the bumpers, go to either the left or right to find an enclosed tunnel where shells often won't hit you.

Shroom Ridge- There's a part with a hill. Cut across the grass to save some time.

Mario Circuit- Cut across the large piece of sand near the piranha plants and the piece by the finish to save some time.

Peach Gardens- Go through the first flower bed, then use the narrower paths down the side of the later ones to cut some time.

Wario Stadium- se a mushroom to cut the dirt near the two flame wheels.

Mario Circuit 1- Cut across the final large piece of sand with mini-turbos or a mushroom.

Peach Circuit- Cut the grass banks at the edges of the various bends.

Mushroom Bridge- After the first tunnel, use a mushroom to cut across the stonje path near the mushroom house.

Yoshi Circuit- Cut across the pit of water soon after the start with either a mushroom or power-slide.

At the very end of the track, there are piranha plants, so cut across the grass behind them with a mushroom to cut a few seconds off.

Glitch/Shortcut video link for anyone who wants a few (not tons, because I don't have a Youtube account or anything like that to host a 100MB plus file:

http://hometown.aol.com/Beasleyracing/Shortcuts.MPG (http://hometown.aol.com/Beasleyracing/Shortcuts.MPG)

Oh, and for reference, the glitches on it are:

Rainbow Road shortcut 3- you jump the hairpin bend after the drop to cut about 3 seconds off your time. (why has no one ever mentioned this outside of the Players Page?)

Through a bullet bill- You can go through the back of a bullet bill (Damn, it's annoying how I found this ages ago yet tons of others always get credit)

Hopping on loop (go faster at start and end)

Through a Thwomp- I went right through the horizontally moving Thwomp in Bowser Castle

Bowser Castle jump- jumped over the wall by the first set of stairs in Bowser Castle

Tick Tock Clock shortcut- Jump off near the pendulum and be placed somewhere on the track further up.

Luigi's Mansion glitch (freeze the game)

Bowser Castle trick- You go at the edge of the spinning room and the kart stands on end (cousin found this before anyone else to be honest, even before me)

Tick Tock Clock gear riding (ride gears under the track)

Quick reference to glitch videos:

http://hometown.aol.com/Beasleyracing/Malfunction.MOV- (http://hometown.aol.com/Beasleyracing/Malfunction.MOV-) Lakitu is confused

http://hometown.aol.com/Beasleyracing/Train.MOV- (http://hometown.aol.com/Beasleyracing/Train.MOV-) Bullet bill train crash thing

http://hometown.aol.com/Beasleyracing/WP.MOV- (http://hometown.aol.com/Beasleyracing/WP.MOV-) Part of Waluigi Pinball glitch

http://cheat-master30.tripod.com/100_0626.MOV- (http://cheat-master30.tripod.com/100_0626.MOV-) Banshee Boardwalk glitch

http://cheat-master30.tripod.com/100_0620.MOV- (http://cheat-master30.tripod.com/100_0620.MOV-) Bowser castle trick 2

http://cheat-master30.tripod.com/video.mov- (http://cheat-master30.tripod.com/video.mov-) First Bowser Castle trick

Rumour Killing:

Baby Mario- The story is that if you use Mario and get three stars on all cups you unlock Baby Mario.

Truth- He is not in the game and the pictures I saw were very bad edits of normal game photos. oh, and if you've beaten Mirror Mode, explain why it says all karts can be used? Because the karts you've unlocked are all the karts in the game.

Baby Luigi

See above

Rainbow Cup- The story is that you unlock a cup consisting of all four Rainbow Roads if you beat all the Staff Ghosts. Some rumours say you have to beat them by a certain amount of seconds.

Truth- False because I've beaten the Staff Ghosts and got nothing. False also because some of the times needed would be impossible and beat world record times.

Roy, Marth or Sonic The Hedgehog in Mario Kart DS- Stoy is these non-Mario characters are able to be used.

Truth- False for verious reasons and impossibility. And bad photshop edits.

You can Fight Dark Samus in Mission mode- The story is something like if you get three star in all missions, you can fight Dark Samus as a boss and unlock Samus in Mario Kart DS.

Truth- Fake as I have done the requirements. Oh, and the photoshop was such a bad edit of the Eyerok battle, with one hand just blanked out on the bottom screen in black ink which may have been done in Paint, the two hands visible on the top screen and one hand visible on the map screen.

There's a Debug Menu- You can supposedly use it to get any item and do many other things.

Truth- Unconfirmed. I've heard somewhere that Parasite said one existed, but it didn't do any functions and was more like the one in the Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time than Super Smash Bros Melee. Also, the ideas of using it without hacking are impossible and too cryptic.

Staff Ghost Strategies

Figure Eight Circuit- Here, the best tip is to use the ROB BLS kart and use SSMTs like hell. Also, stick close to the inside of the bend and use the mushroom to cut grass on one lap.

Yoshi Falls- Mini-turbo every bend and the final straight. Take the first and third waterfall, and ignore the second, as even with the trick, it will slow you down. Use Egg1 for beating the Staff Ghost, then ROB BLS for a better time.

Cheep Cheep Beach

Mini-turbo every corner and SSMT through the shallow water. Use a mushroom on the second lap going through the ocean. PRB off the second ramp can be helpful.

Luigi's Mansion

First, SSMT on the path. Mini-turbo each corner and cut across the grass outside the tunnel with mini-turbos. Mini-turbo constantly in the mud section. Mushroom best used in the mud section or across the grass outside the tunnel.

Desert Hills

SSMT and Mini-turbo like mad, and cut the last corner with a mushroom. Use the egg1 or perhaps the Yoshi Standard kart.

Delfino Square

Always mini-turbo each corner, and SSMT the first straight. Use either the dock or mud shortcut, and PRB after the drawbridge on laps 1 or 3.

Waluigi Pinball

Other than Mini-turboing the pinball section, boosting on ever corner and getting the best boost, there are no real tips.

Shroom Ridge

Mini-turbo each corner many times and SSMT like crazy. I have found that boosting over the grass doesn't seem to help much though.

DK Pass

Ignore the special item box shortcut, and go around. Mini-turbo like crazy, and use the mushroom on the path to the zipper.

Tick Tock Clock

Avoid all glitches and shortcuts, and boost ever corner. SSMT on the straights, and go over the gears at the end to cut some seconds off your time.

Mario Circuit

Use the normal tactics, and SSMT over the sand near the piranha plants. Use the mushroom over the sand on lap 3.

Airship Fortress

SSMT the first straight, mini-turbo each corner and hop, not drift at the tower part (real recommendation for Players page pros, do not argue with this). Use the mushroom while going past the flame jets on lap 3.

Wario Stadium

Boost ever corner, and avoid going over many of the jumps, as the less time in the air, the better it is for you.

Peach Gardens

Mini-turbo like usual, but SSMT through the flowerbed after the start. Also, snake through the maze to save quite some time.

Bowser Castle

Use the usual, and take the same shortcut the ghost does. SSMT on the rolling log, and use the mushroom on the moving platforms. At the end, hold a power-slide and jump at the gap in the fence to cross the finish line in mid-air and cut some seconds.

Rainbow Road

Use mini-turbos on the spiral. SSMT twice on each straight and hop at the start and end of both the loop and corkscrew. Use a shortcut if you dare, but don't worry if you can't do the tricks.

Staff Ghost strategies Part two

Mario Circuit 1- You must remember that the ghost only boost on corners and uses the mushroom while going across the sand. Just mini-turbo each corner and boost more times than the ghost does.

Moo Moo Farm- Use the ROB BLS and mini-turbo many times on each corner. Use your mushroom on the last straight, to the very right to save time.

Peach Circuit- Mini-turbo each corner, and use SSMTs and your mushroom to cut various banks of grass.

Luigi Circuit GCN- Mini-turbo many times on each corner, SSMT a lot on the straight. Use PRB if necessay, by holding the mini-turbo over the zipper.

Donut Plains 1- Don't use the fence shortcut and mini-turbo a lot around it. Mini-turbo over the mud patches, and I'm not sure where the best place to use the mushroom is.

Frappe Snowland- Mini-turbo a lot like normal, but boost and jump to cut the second bend for a shortcut. After the snowmen, cut the left bank to save some time.

Bowser Castle 2- Try to jump the jump ramps, and hit every zipper. Mini-turbo a lot around corners and on some straight ways, like the last one.

Baby Park- Mini-turbo the bends, and twice on each straight. Repeat four times.

Koopa Beach 2- Use the ROB BLS, and mini-turbo each corner. Take the left path at the islands with the deep water. Cut across the grass at the end with a mushroom.

Choco Mountain- Mini-turbo each corner. At the end, mini-turbo at the first hill and bounce over the rest to save time.

Luigi Circuit GBA- Cut each corner really closely, and use your mushroom over a grassy bank. Do not hit the puddles.

Mushroom Bridge- SSMT on the bridge, and mini-turbo each corner. Do not take the shortcut over the hill, as it can slow you down.

Choco Island 2- PRB through the gap on lap 1, then SSMT through the mud pool near the end. Avoid the ramps, and use your mushroom through the gap in the fence on the last lap.

Banshee Boardwalk- Mini-turbo each corner, and do one mini-turbo on each straight. Mini-turbo more on the final stretch.

Sky Garden- Mini-turbo each bend, and take the uber shorcut. Cut across the clouds at the end.

Yoshi Circuit- mini-turbo each corner, take the first shortcut with a mini-turbo on all lap and cut the grass near the final piranha plant.

Mini-Emblem FAQ

What is an emblem?

An emblem, also known as a decal, is a small picture used to represent your game on wifi or normal vs/battle modes. The picture can be of anything that fits in the canvas.

How do you make or edit your emblem?

You either:

Use the option when starting the game new.

Or go to options, edit then emblem

How do people get stars near their name?

You beat GP modes with 1 star rankings to get 1 star, and the same with two and three star rankings for those next to your name.

How do you get good emblems?

There are people who make emblems for others, like Turpinator on Gamefaqs, or you can use a decal maker. The one at DS Meet is members only now, so if you haven't got an account, try these:

http://www.mkdsc.com/decalmaker.php (http://www.mkdsc.com/decalmaker.php)

General Name FAQ

How does that person have weird symbols like Japanese letters in their name?

There's an option on the edit nickname to change the character set to Japanese or other kinds of symbols.

What does Ninten [star] mean?

Nintendo of Japan. It's like saying NOA for Nintendo of America staff.

Is that person a real Nintendo of America/Japan/Europe?

Possibly, possibly not. While many people say that the staff are too good or honourable to disconnect, or lose or whatever, they aren't. I know this after looking very carefully at the Time trial and wifi records in the images inside the manual. They're not great records in any way.

They are probably fake if they use - instead of _. And likelier to be if they have a simple emblem.

My Lakitu Guide

Why have you wrote a Lakitu guide?

I have written this guide because there are many queries to how the game works and this guide should solve the mysteries and explain the unexplained phenomena in the game. This guide also gives you tips about faling off the edge and ways to use Lakitu exploits to dodge items.

Section 1, Lakitu Exploits

There are three main types of Lakitu exploits. The first are glitches, which are any use of Lakitu to cut a large portion of track as unintended shortcuts like in Sky Garden and Tick Tock Clock. These will be covered in the guide as well as videos. The second are malfunctions, where you can go the wrong way and get away with it, and go the right way and be told to turn around. The final type are Lakitu tricking exploits, where you half-complete shortcuts to be put down after it, or jump at a bend to cut the bend.

Lakitu glitches

Here are the known Lakitu GLITCHES:

Sky Garden shortcut 3
Sky Garden shortcut 4
Rainbow Road shortcut 2
Rainbow Road shortcut 6
Rainbow Road shortcut 7
Tick Tock Clock shortcut 1
Tick Tock Clock shortcut 2

These can be done as follows:
Sky Garden shortcut 3- Go to the bend in Sky Garden before the final vine bridge. Now aim towards the gap with the ramp in the distance, and boost, jumping at the last minute. You should be placed before the finish line. This does not work in Mario Kart Super Circuit.
Sky Garden shortcut 4- Jump off the edge near the final vine bridge to be put down before the bridge.
Rainbow Road shortcut 2- Jump off the edge near the slope after the jump and you should fly really far. If your aim was right, you will be placed by the corkscrew.
Rainbow Road shortcut 6- Jump off like the last trick and you may be placed after the gap in the track.
Rainbow Road shortcut 7- Jump like in the last two and you may be placed before the hairpin, perfect position to do the third shortcut.
Tick Tock Clock shortcut 1- Jump off the track at the gears to be placed after the gears.
Tick Tock Clock shortcut 2- Jump off the track near the pendulum to be placed on the next straightway.

How these work: You trick the checkpoint system in the game into making it think you fell off at the target area, then the game will place you there. As it has recorrected it's location of you, the lap does not become invalidated.

Lakitu Malfunctions

These are glitches where you trick the game into thinking you are going the wrong way, or force it to allow you to go backwards slightly. This is because you trick the positioning systems in the game to think you are somewhere else in the level.

These levels can be made to malfunction:
Sky Garden
Choco Island 2
Donut Plains 1
Luigi Circuit GBA
Koopa Beach 2

How the positioning system likely works:

Each part of the track is in one zone in the checkpoint system. If you cross an invisible line, the game knows you are in that area. Now in a place with sharp bends and close walls, sometimes the walls can cross that line. The game thinks you are the other side of the bend and will react accordingly.

Strange exception

In Sky Garden, the wall after the final bridge is really strange. If you are to the left of it, the game will either say:

You are going backwards if you face upwards
Or you are going forwards if you face downwards!

This is strange because if you obey Lakitu, you commit suicide as the edge is where the game says you should be going!

Lakitu tricking

This is a technique where you half-complete a shortcut, and the game acts as if you are successful! It works on all ramp tricks!

The reasoning behind this may be as follows:
When you start the shortcut, you are in the normal checkpoint.
But the checkpoint change doesn't happen at the end. It happens directly in the middle of each intentional shortcut, and once you cross a line, the game has calculated that you've made it, and acts accordingly!

Why does this happen?

This happens with checkpoints because of how the game would react without it. The game has been proven to work on a system on invisible checkpoints, which track your position on the map. This was implemented as a glitch counter measure, and an possible attempt to stop people cheating with game alteration devices. If these weren't in place, you could jump half the track and the lap would count, causing anarchy!

Why is there a checkpoint in each intentional shortcut?

Because without it, the game would no recalculate your position, and the lap would get invalidated by the game and it would act like you've done a glitch in the game!

Sand Bagging or Item Farming- This is when you stay behind someone to get better items than them, and there are many strategies revolving around this.

1- Stay back on courses like Rainbow Road, Sky Garden, Desert Hills, Delfino Square and Tick Tock Clock (hacking only) and get at least one mushroom. Use it for a shortcut in the course (yes there is one at Tick Tock Clock)

2- Stay back and get a blue shell, and use before the finish line. Unleash and pass them at the final stretch"

3- Hold a boo, then when you are in front and they get lightning or a blue shell, steal it. When they go past, use their own item against them!

Yes. I've heard people going near opponents and using it, then they dodge the shell to blast the opponents like with a bob-omb.

There's also kamikaze attack method (i.e. bit like being a bob-omb when you lost in battle mode in old games

When your rival has triple items, get a blue shell. Go up to them, and fire the blue shell, and as it is about to hit, hit the person's spinning item shield. You will have the effect of the blue shell cancelled, while they will blow up and lose their items as well!

Sorry for the double post, but there is another advantage. I've read that someone fell off the cloud shortcut in Skly Garden, got hit by a blue shell and flew upwards, landing on the cloud above which they fell from!

I've also read something about hitting multiple shells and going higher into the air.

Random other Mario Kart DS knowledge- Worst case scenario- Dodge a blue shell by falling off using a Lakitu shortcut, then further on the course, get hit by the blue shell which missed you!

True Definition of a shortcut in Mario Kart- A shortcut is a trick that involves jumping the wall, using Lakitu to be put further on the track from where you fell and skipping large portions of track in an unintended way. That's the Players Page definition.

Mission Mode
The Perfect Guide

Welcome to my awesome guide to the missions! Unlike before, I will tell you strats and tips on how to beat each individual mission, and my boss guide has been added as an extra chapter!

Level 1

Mission 1

Drive through all 5 numbered gates in order.

Here, you just have to drive through the gates in Figure Eight Circuit. Do not try snaking though, as your kart isn't good for it.

Mission 2, collect all 15 coins

Collecting coins on Peach Circuit is easy, just power-slide each bend and drive each straight normally. Do not attempt to snake as your kart has very high drift!

Mission 3, destroy all 10 item boxes

The locations of the item boxes you need to destroy are:

Straight ahead from the start
On the first bridge
On the lower part after the bridge
On the second bridge
Before the first boost pad
On the final bridge
On the boost pad after the final bridge
Next two on final straight

Mission 4, Hit five cheep cheeps!

Here, get the star and hit as many fish as possible. Remember, it may take a few tries, and you have to be quick.

Mission 5, drive through all five numbered gates

For this mission, go straight through gate one. Now go to the rear of the top screen and along through gate two. Then you turn and go down the screen's edge through gate three. Go straight down more through gate four, then go horizontally along the bottom of the lower screen through gate five. Then, go round the corner and upwards along the right side of the DS for gate six.

Mission 6, Drive out of the mansion backwards!

This is so simple. Just remember than right is left and left is right when controlling your kart, and you'll make it easily.

Mission 7, collect all 20 coins

This is relatively easy, as long as you follow the coin trail exact along Moo Moo Farm. Remember, DK's handling is absymal.

Mission 8, Perform 4 power-slide turbo boosts in one lap!

As you are on Mario Circuit, just mini-turbo on each corner. If you snake, this should be even easier!

Boss Battle, The Big Bully

To knock him off, boost into him with boost at start. Then, grab item box and boost at him to smash him off the side.

That's it for level one! Now on to level 2!

Level 2

Mission 1, destroy 10 wooden crates

Now, for this mission, hit the crates on their side as not to lose much time. Here are the locations:

Right in front of you at start
To the left of the first corner
To the right of the first corner
On the nearest end of the pier
To the right of the pier
At the end of the pier
7, 8 and 9 are in a line along the path
10 is by the trees. Go out through the hole in the fence at it will be in front of you.

Mission 2, collect all 10 coins

Just collect the coins at Figure Eight Circuit. Remember, reverse at the start to get the coin behind the star line!

Mission 3, drive through 5 numbered gates in order

You are on Donut Plains. The gates are:

In front of the bridge
In the hole in the fence
After the mud patch
Near the lake, after a mushroom
Near the final mud patch

Mision 4, destroy 5 item boxes

You must chase 5 item boxes through Luigi's Mansion. Remember to use the mushroom from each one to get the other, and don't accidentally do the freeze glitch!

Mission 5, collect all 20 coins

Collect the coins on Cheep Cheep Beach. Do not miss the coin on the ramp!

Mission 6, destroy 5 pokeys with bombs!

Remember, here you must have good aim. Get near the catus enemies and fire away the bob-ombs!

P.S. Don't worry about blowing yourself up! You can still get 3 stars!

Mission 7, drive through all 10 numbered gates in order

Follow the road, but go through the gate on the left at the first part with double gates in a row.

Mission 8- Perform 6 mini-turbos in three laps!

Just power-slide each corner on each lap of Baby Park! Did you know the star power can be made to last three laps?

Boss Battle, Eyerok

Fire the green shells at the eyeballs. When he charges, go round to front (between the fists) and fire one last green shell.

Level 3

Mission 1, destroy all five item boxes

The boxes are going around Waluigi Pinball. Just keep trying, as I can offer no advice here.

Mission 2, drive through all the numbered gates backwards

As you are Bowser driving reverse around Delfino Square, follow this path:

Go straight
Turn right then left afterwards
Keep turning left
Go straight down the steps
Turn right
Turn right and keep turning right through the final gate. follow this, and you should have gone through all five gates!

Mission 3, Collect all fifteen coins while avoiding the chain chomp

Just do what the mission asks, but don't power-slide at all. If you do, you'll fly around a lot and screw up.

Mission 4, reach the finish before Yoshi!

You have to beat Yoshi. Do not snake, as the high drift of your kart will cause havoc. You have to go through the first two waterfalls and across the final bridge.

Mission 5, drive through all 8 numbered gates in order

To win, do this:

Go straight through gate 1
Go through the pipe and get shot out through gate two.
Turn and go through gate three.
Turn again util you are facing the pipe and go through gate four.
Be propelled out the pipe through gate five.
Go through gate six
Go up the ramp through gate seven
Dro down through gate eight.

Mission 6, hit five Monty Moles with shells

This is about luck, or aiming. To aim well, stand still and fire a shell when the mole is about to fall back down into the ground.

Mission 7, perform 10 power-slide turbo boosts in one lap!

This is quite hard, doing mini-turbos with DK on Shroom Ridge. But it's easy to mini-turbo a lot on each bend, use that to your advantage. Or it could just be easy for me to do so as I have 1:50:00 on Shroom Ridge!

Mission 8, collect all 20 coins

Okay, the nightmare level for beginners and noobs worldwide. The coins are:

Straight ahead of you
In the next room
Through the doorway after the narrow path.
Go behind the barricades
The next narrow passage way
Turn after the banana and follow the road for the next two coins
Turn out the left door and go along for the next coin
After the banana
In a room with barricades after the banana are the next two coins
Go left of the banana row
Go right of the next banana row
Turn and go into the final doorway for a coin.
Turn left and in the next room are the rest of the coins

Boss Battle, Goomboss

Beat him to the finish. Collect mushrooms to go faster.

Level 4

Mission 1, reach the finish before Donkey Kong

To beat this, you must learn a bit about the level. You are racing on reverse DK Pass, and to beat the mission you must beat your rival to the finish. Race like normal until you get to the special item box. Now get three mushrooms and boost off the cliff, jumping at the edge. You should skip the bend and get really far ahead!

Mission 2, blast 20 crabs

The easiest way here is to get triple green shells and run into the crabs, then get another item. You can also lay bombs to blast a large group at once.

Mission 3, reach the finish before the red car

Okay, the first time you race a enemy monster, you are racing a red car through Shroom Ridge. Just get the mushrooms from the first box, and power-slide much of the rest, smashing the red cars timing.

Mission 4, drive through all 7 numbered gates in order

To go through the gates, remember where they are. The locations are below:

straightn in front of you
To the left of the pyramid
On the sand to your right
On the straight
At the bend after the straight way
Before a jumpable patch of sand
By the finish line

Get the coins without being squished by a Thwomp

Just powerstart through the first row. Wait for the Thwomps to fall and boost through the next row as they are raising. If you get squashed, you actually fail the mission.

Break the 10 real item boxes

Look on the map during this and go through the boxes that appear rainbow on the map. Avoid the ones that are red on the map.

Drive through all 10 gates

Just drive through the 10 gats in Waluigi Pinball. They are in no order, so choose any route to take.

Perform 9 power-slide turbo boosts in one lap

As you are on Luigi Circuit GBA , this should be easy. Power-slide on each corner. And for a higher rank, cut across the grass at the corners.

Boss Battle, avoid King Boo while collecting 50 coins

Collect 10 coins in one circle, then when he hits you, go round the back of him and hit him. Charge through the front for your money back. Repeat the process

Level 5

Mission 1, beat the stray Chain Chomp

This is quite easy. Just race like normal until you get the triple mushrooms and boost ahead of the monster. You will then never be passed again unless you totally screw up.

Mission 2, drive backwards and collect 15 coins.

Quite easy, just take your time and eventually you will get round collecting all the money!

Mission 3, destroy all five item boxes

Just race ahead of the group of boxes and wait in their path. You will hit every one of them easily and quickly!

Mission 4, go through the gates in order

The gate locations are:

Ahead of the start
After the first bost pad
Before the first Thwomp
After the second boost jump
In the middle section, after the first pit
Before the final boost jump in that section
On the final lava straight
After the final left boost jump
On the final corner
After the final thwomps

Complete 1 lap in the opposite direction in the time limit

Just race on switched around race on Mushroom Bridge. Use the shortcut, there are also mushrooms on the ground there to help you.

Mission 6, collect all 18 coins

Collect the coins on Tart Top. If you go off the coin trail, restart.

Drive through 8 numbered gates in order

Just follow the path going through the gates on a reversed DK Pass level. Do not hit the snowballs.

Reach the finish before Mario

You have to beat Mario as Luigi. Just race normally, using the stars and mushrooms from item boxes to take shortcuts and smash Mario. Remember that the enemy number has been increased tenfold.

Boss, Big Bob-omb

Either fire three bombs

Or fire one, then get the next one and drag it. Collect a second bomb. Fire the first then the second immediately after

Level 6

Drive backward across the spinning bridge

Okay... I have no real advice except left is right and go in the reverse of the way it is spinning. Do not fall or else!

Get stars and run over 15 rocky wrenches

Killing fifteen is really tough, and you have to know how to use a star. My best tip is to go where they haven't appeared and smash them as they pop up. Do not go out of your way to kill one either.

Collect all 30 coins

Just follow the money trail again, this time on Choco Island and encouraging you to use the intentional shortcut, the hole in the fence. Retry if you miss a coin.

Destroy all 10 item boxes

I can't help much, I hate this mission. Just go around Block Fort and collect item boxes. Get the one on the ground floor first, it's easier to get at the start of the mission.

Drive through all 8 numbered gates in order

You are now on Sky Garden. This is your route:

Go straight through gate 1, then over the ramp to gate 2. Then through gate three and over the ramp. Go through a few more gates and across the lone cloud through another gate. The rest is easy.

Perform 14 mini-turbos in one lap

As this is Yoshi Circuit, it is an easy mission. jUst power-slide on every corner, and add an extra MT by mini-turboing the shortcut near the start.

Collect all 40 coins

I have no tips on the Tick Tock Clock coin collecting other than luck, getting as many coins in one go and retrying if necessary.

Reach the finish before peach

First, you must get a power start. Now, knock Peach off the road onto the grass and get the item box for three mushrooms or a star. If a star, save until the end to cut the last flowerbed. If three mushrooms, use them over the flowerbeds.

Boss Battle, Chief Chilly

Knock him off normally twice, then hit him without a boost first for the third time. For easy win, watch his movements and charge when it looks like he's about to attack.

Level 7

This is the final, secret level! The final strats are here, so use them to win the final round.

Mission 1, perform 6 power-slide turbo boosts in one lap

Now, you are on Rainbow Road, as Peach. Remember I have one tip. Power-slide multiple times on the first and last bend, and drift carefuly, as you are using a high drift kart.

Mission 2, reach the finish before Bowser

First go ahead. Now turn right and go round the barriers, get an item and use it to pass Bowser. Use the intentional spinning room shortcut (you're forced to) then go up the tower. Fall off the log and race to the end. But at the end, boost off near the finish line to end the lap earlier and get a quicker time!

Mission 3, complete two laps in the time limit.

As DK, get three mushrooms, then boost twice til you get to the pendulum. Use another through the middle and get another item. Boost down the straight and across the cogs. Race to the finish normally. Repeat.

Mission 4, kill 30 goombas within the time limit

Just get triple shells and run into the goombas.

Mission 5, collect 20 coins

On Wario Stadium, collect the money. Do not miss any and if you do, start again.

Mission 6, drive through the numbered gates

Just start one drift earlier and drift through all the gates.

Mission 7, drive backwards and collect the coins

As this is hard, aim carefully and don't hit a box. Watch your timing when you pass the flameguns.

Mission 8, break the real item boxes

Just watch the map and only hit the boxes that aren't red. Use the shortcut in the house to get the box on the left side of the hole.

Boss Battle, Wiggler

Race to finish and collect all item boxes for stars. Do not hit anything.

Computer AI guide

Okay, this miniture guide is to cover the rival intelligence in Mario kart DS and covers how bosses seem to be programmed, why certain characters always come first or last, the matter of the AI cheating and general tips to exploit it.

Why does a certain character always come in first or last in Grand Prix mode/vs?

This is because, the game is programmed to generally have set characters coming in certain places. This is kind of random, but here is how the game wil generally work. This bit assumes you are fourth:

The first and second racers will always be of a similar skill level, and will come in first or second if you are third or below randomly, or second an third if you are first.

The third player, will generally be slightly less skilled than the top two, and will almost always come in third if you are fourth. If you are third, he will come fourth. If you are second or above, he will come in third as usual.

The fifth and sixth players are even less skilled. These rivals will always come in this kind of position.

Finally, the seventh and eighth players will always 'lose' as such.

Note that even with patterns, the players in each set which come in a said position will alternate.

If you knock out a rival, depending on what item is used, the positions may change temporarily. This depends on what item is used. If it's small like a shell, there will be minimal time before the attacked player returns to a set position. If you knock them off a cliff, it could take half a lap.

How are the enemies programmed?

Enemies in tracks go along a set route which never changes. For example, Thwomps go up, along, down, up, back along and down again while cars and other traffic go around the courses in a circular course.

Is it true you can exploit this against bosses?

Yes, Chief Chilly will move slightly as he is about to attack. Boost then, and he will not jump to dodge your attack allowing you to smash him off the arena easier.

What happens when a race is over?

I've seen these things:

All cars just stop except your own. This is randomly occurring.

All karts continue moving but at a slower speed.

All karts but your own vanish

How does a Bullet Bill work?

This follows a set course along the middle of the track. It also takes the default route which computer rivals take, with no shortcuts normally.

Lag FAQ and Guide

What is lag?

Lag is when the signal from the other person's Nintendo DS cannot reach your DS quickly enough so instead of the game moving the opponents kart in time with their button presses, the game predicts their path.

What things are classified as lag and what isn't?

Teleporting
Going through walls in most courses (excluding Banshee Boardwalk parts and Luigi's Mansion.
Falling off the track and reappearing instantly
Crossing the line first then getting second/third/fourth place.

What things are not lag?
People going really fast side to side (SSMTs)
People cutting across off-road surfaces with no loss in speed (PRB)
Dodging blue shells (BSD)
Getting Lakitu to move them along the track (Lakitu exploits/tricking/malfunctions)
Constant top speed (possibly 150cc hack)
Freezing game in Luigi's Mansion (freeze game glitch at stairs)
Getting star in first place at DK pass (special item box)

How can someone fall off and reappear instantly without Lakitu?

It's an effect caused by lag. This is when the connection doesn't reach your DS quickly enough and the game predicts their path, which if near a turn, means off a cliff. So you see them fall off. Then, it gets the correct location and puts them where they should be. You see this part as teleportation.

Why does it occur more in Sky Garden and rainbow Road?

Because these courses have many areas that if the person's 'falls' by lag, and reappear, can look like shortcuts. This is made worse by the fact there are 5 glitch shortcuts in Sky garden and 7 glitch ones in rainbow Road, not considering that you can literally 'fly' with a glitch in Rainbow Road and be placed back by 1/2 a lap.

How come going through an enemy isn't lag?

Well, this is a tough problem. This could be lag, could be hacking or could be the simple fact that enemies are not fully solid and can be passed through with the correct glitch knowledge.

How can I identify if someone uses a glitch or if it's just lag?

Simple. If the incident happens near a glitch shortcut filled area, assume the worst. If it happens anywhere else, assume lag. If it happens by the final vine bridge in Sky Garden, you can never be sure as:

Lag is very possible
If someone hacked a moon jump type thing it would be easy to cheat
There is an intended shortcut involving a cloud
Two Lakitu malfunctions occur in the area.
There are three glitch shortcuts

Anonymous and Miscellaneous Information FAQ

Can I change the starting screen back to what it once was?

No, once you get the new start screen, you can never change it back to the original unless either:

you delete your game

The mysterious DS game deletion glitch does it for you.

What's so cool about the movie which plays when you leave the game at the start screen?

The kart which the camera is focused on is actually like you! And if you look carefully, even has your emblem on it!

What's a Staff Ghost?

It's the best time of one of the people in Japan who made the game. Well I'm starting to think it's not their best, as they would never make such kart choices.

What's the secret password for?

The password which appears when you press certain buttons on the records screen was originally a proof method used for a Japanese Mario kart time trial tournament. There is a similar one in Mario Kart Double Dash and while people do know how to crack the code, it's being kept secret.

Edit: It has now been cracked, and you work out what the code means by going to the following link and entering the code:

http://ds.caitsith2.net/mkds/TTVerify/

What techniques are not in the manual?

Straight Stretch Mini-Turbo usage (but's it's just mini-turbos), Prolonged Rocket boosting and drafting.

Why is the sound different when I start up the game?

The sound is different if 1 of two things has occurred:

1- You are playing the game for the very first time

2- You are playing the game on a DS Lite.

Online/Wifi FAQ

Why can't I choose all the courses online?

This is partially because Nintendo thought that some of the courses not put online would cause huge amounts of lag, and mainly because Nintendo only decided to make the game wifi enabled at the last minute.

How come someone can choose Mario in the Egg1?

This is because after you get gold on all cups in all GP modes, you can use any character in any kart.

How come this guy chose Waluigi Pinball online?

If anyone chooses a course online not in the usual list, they have hacked the game to use that course.

How come I'm playing Block Fort online?

If you are playing online in any arena from battle mode or a mission mode boss arena, do not use lightning, a blue shell or a bullet bill or the game will freeze. Do not fall off or the game will freeze. Don't go through a pipe of the game will freeze. Oh, and you're playing that course because you're against a hacker.

What cc is online mode?

100cc

Why can't I get triple items?

On wifi, you cannot get triple items other than mushrooms to prevent lag. You also cannot hold an item behind you.

How come the obstacle didn't break?

Online, you cannot break boxes or snowballs in DK pass.

The Official Glitch Video Creating Tutorial

Welcome to my useful guide which will show you how to make videos of various videogames while you are playing them (or not), edit the video and upload the video to the internet.

Step 1:

You need a good digital Camera, video camera or camcorder to record movies with. You can buy these from good stores specialising in electronic goods, but my personal camera, which works well is an Olympus FE 120.

Step 2

Turn on the videogame you wish to record a video of. This is of course the second most important stage, the most being to actually have a camera.

Step 3

Get to the right point and pause.

Step 4

Now, here comes the creative part. You need a good platform for the camera to stand on while you play videogames. For a TV console game, use a large pile of books or a specialised tripod to line up the camera with the TV.

For handheld games, you could playing the game through the camera lens or balancing the camera so it faces down off a higher platform at the screen.

Step 5

If you can, turn off all flash settings for the camera, and if possible, darken the room.

End of Part 1

Step 6

Complete the trick you want to show people. it is preferable here you do not screw up badly, and more recommended that if you fail, delete the video and try again.

Step 7

Once you have the video, find the cord to attach the camera to a computer. Now plug that in, and connect the device using the appropiate program required,

Step 8

Use a good editing program to add music, titles, sub titles and more. Basically, if you have an AVI video, try Windows Movie Maker, but for a full package, which I recommend with plenty of options, try using Magix Movie Edit Pro 10.

This is my choice, seeing as in this program, you can add 3D effects, titles easily, end credits, change video formats, separate sound and video, add sound or other clips, add photographs and more.

Step 9

Log onto the internet. You need now to find a good site to upload your videos.

End of Part 2

Step 10

You now need to find a good video hosting site. If you are using your own webspace, or perhaps want a video website, skip to stage 11, but if you want your videos just online, try these hosts:

Youtube- http://youtube.com/ (http://youtube.com/)

Google Video- http://video.google.com/ (http://video.google.com/)

Putfile- http://www.putfile.com/ (http://www.putfile.com/)

You can also try the Magix website according to the manual, but I haven't tried this idea yet.

Step 11 (optional)

Say you want more than a gallery of videos, and you want your own video hosting site, or want to add things like guides and cheats as well. Well avoid making some common mistakes, by finding a good web host. No, Gecities, Angelfire or Freewebs won't cut it nowadays, so here are some good hosts.

http://sitesled.com- (http://sitesled.com-/) Good site, no advertisements, and allows up to 100Mb of any legal file. It's recommended, and account activation is instant.

http://awardspace-com (http://awardspace-com/) Another good site, offers great hosting according to reviews and all the trimmings (CGI, PHP, MYSQL, No adverts). Only problem is a limited size for each file.

http://funpic.org- (http://funpic.org-/) Another good site for those in the USA or Germany. It offers everything offered by those above, as well as 1 Gigabyte of good webspace!

http://hostultra.com- (http://hostultra.com-/) Great site, offers unlimited bandwidth and webspace and anything you want, from scripts to any kind of content on Earth (check the categories..). The only con is the irritating and kind of malicious pop-up ads.

There are some others, but these come to mind first. If you want an example of a sitesled site, see mine at http://dsultimate.sitesled.com (http://dsultimate.sitesled.com/).

Step 12

Add your videos in forums, and also ask top pros if they want to link to your videos. You are now a video making expert!

More SSMT information

Thanks to kubby01, an awesome player

Make sure to practice, practice PRACTICE! Try 'snaking' on luigi circuit gcn, and half 'snaking' on fig 8, but you can 'snake' there too, but do lugcrct because it huge in the middle

If that wasn’t enough, here’s a movie of one 'snaking' and half 'snaking' on figure 8 circuit by Darkenedjib.

http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?acti...DDF43666633C9F5 (http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=4DDF43666633C9F5)


ANOTHER PROBLEM:

You are pressing too fast. If you go left and then right before a certain amount of time, it won’t go to red, because it was in the middle of a sprite action, and it won’t change until the action is over. So there is some kind of pattern if you think about it

Clan List and Useful Links:

Clans:

Blue Diamond Clan- http://z13.invisionfree.com/Blue_Diamond_Clan/ (http://z13.invisionfree.com/Blue_Diamond_Clan/)

Snipers Clan- http://z9.invisionfree.com/the_snipers_clan/ (http://z9.invisionfree.com/the_snipers_clan/)

Time Trial Pwnage Clan- http://www.yy2.com/Time%20Trial%20Pwnage%2...20Forum/YaBB.pl (http://www.yy2.com/Time%20Trial%20Pwnage%20Clan%20Forum/YaBB.pl)

Infinite Blue Clan- http://z7.invisionfree.com/Infinite_Blue_Clan/index.php (http://z7.invisionfree.com/Infinite_Blue_Clan/index.php)?

Clan Firebird- http://z14.invisionfree.com/Clan_Firebird/ (http://z14.invisionfree.com/Clan_Firebird/)

Clan Plexus- http://z6.invisionfree.com/Clan_Plexus/ (http://z6.invisionfree.com/Clan_Plexus/)

Gamers Armegeddon- http://z6.invisionfree.com/GamersArmageddon/index.php (http://z6.invisionfree.com/GamersArmageddon/index.php)?

This is just a small sample of clans there are if you want to join a clan and cannot be bothered to set up your own one.

Useful Other Information:

Mario Kart DS FAQs- http://www.gamefaqs.com/portable/ds/game/920788.html (http://www.gamefaqs.com/portable/ds/game/920788.html)

Mario Kart DS Information- http://dsultimate.sitesled.com/Mkds.htm (http://dsultimate.sitesled.com/Mkds.htm)

Well, this is probably the final informational update for this topic, the rest will be bumping it to see whether it will be stickied, or if I have to make the entire thing again in another topic. If I have to re-make it, DO NOT post until about 40 posts of information have occured otherwise you have screwed up my FAQ like guide.

Well, the final ever questions, probably from the bottom of the barrel...

What is the game ending for Mario Kart DS?

The game ending for a cup is your character, in the kart you used, speeding around Figure Eight Circuit with the second and third best players.

The game ending is your character driving by the opponents as the credits scroll, then they overtake him (all the other characters).

How to go back to main screen (found by Astr0 of Players Page forums and my own forums):

L, R, Start and Select

Hold those buttons to go back to the main screen from any point in the game.

Can I use your guide for myself?

I've got a copyright notice on everything I write (actually, everyone has), so no. And remember, while the cheats and tips aren't copyrighted, how I wrote them is, as is the guide presentation and any videos/photo media.

Ok, I want a final rating soon. Oh, and here are some videos of Beta Levels in Mario Kart DS:

Waluigi Pinball Beta- http://youtube.com/watch?v=otCCRe1n_CA (http://youtube.com/watch?v=otCCRe1n_CA)

Gamecube Block City level- http://youtube.com/watch?v=xIIv8-aqXVU (http://youtube.com/watch?v=xIIv8-aqXVU)

Donkan Course and Test Circle- http://youtube.com/watch?v=FEZNRovXHWo (http://youtube.com/watch?v=FEZNRovXHWo)

DK Pass Beta- http://youtube.com/watch?v=1iDeo7W-Whw (http://youtube.com/watch?v=1iDeo7W-Whw)

Gamecube Mario Circuit- http://youtube.com/watch?v=Qu2N5iSdVB8 (http://youtube.com/watch?v=Qu2N5iSdVB8)

Note I did not make this videos, nor host them and these links may change at any time, as may the content. However, they show you beta courses in Mario Kart DS.

Difference between Action Replay Max and Action Replay for DS-

Action Replay Max- Allows you to download Nintendo DS save game files and back up your data, plus use codes for Gamebiy Advance games.

Action Replay DS- Allows codes to be used in Nintendo DS games such as Mario Kart DS and Super Mario 64 DS that help you win and unlock beta levels.

User Submitted Guides (by Flint and Bones0):

want to be a competitive MK racer but dont know what karts to try out. Which character and kart are the fastest?

Dry Bones is technically the best character for wifi and TTs. He is the lightest and the lighter you are, the more you get bumped and the faster you are offroad. Lucky for the lighties, there is no bumping online and no opponents to bump them in TTs. Toad is also very light so there is hardly any difference.

There are 3 fastest karts, imo. These are in no particular order. Poltergust is also good. It is just Egg1 with a lower acceleration and higher top speed. Kinda like a modified version.

Egg1: Easy to snake with and a higher top speed than the Dry Bomber makes it faster than the Dry Bomber on open roads. Great for snakers who want to do just that, snake. You can snake well anywhere but just be warned against a Dry Bomber match up on an offroad course. I tend to pick standard courses on-road until I know what kart they are using. It may not seem to make a difference in the race but it can shave off several seconds giving them an offroad advantage.

Dry Bomber: Although it snakes slower, it is lighter which has a pretty big effect on the offroad speed. It is only faster if you plan to pick offroad type courses. (Choco Island 2, Luigi's Mansion, Mario Circuit 1 etc.) Also, the acceleration is higher making the MT longer than the Egg1's. This can allow you to go farther if you can only fit one more MT in. The more important thing is probably that it will let you PRB better because you have a longer time interval in which to MT again and keep up the boost.

R.O.B.-BLS: I dont see anyone using this online, for good reasons, but it is a best friend of TTers. The highest top speed in the game (iirc, havent looked at it recently) along with a decent acceleration stat makes it perfect for open road and round track snaking. The MT is decently shorter than the Egg1's and Dry Bomber's but the top speed can make up for it. On plain roads, (Fig 8, Baby Park, Rainbow Road, yes RR is plain) if you can keep up a constant MT speed you will go much faster than any other kart. However, the weight and need for perfection of its acceleration label this kart solely as a TT kart. Online it would go slow through shortcuts, would not have the ability to knock others around, and would recover speed slower after being hit by an item. However, on TTs, you can pick a course all on-road and there are no opponents to deal with making for good times.

Sry if I wrote too much, I coulda wrote an entire FAQ but stopped there cause I didnt want to bore you. Rate it out of 10 if you want.

Response by Bones0

Information by Flint247 (and aliases):

Item saving

Never use your items right away unless you see an opening. For example, Like when someone is about to use a shortcut (like YC shortcut without a mushroom), wait for them until they are about to jump and use a item, like the red or blue shell or a lightning to make them fall into the shortcut water. Mushrooms play a role too. Never use them until you see the moment.

Lightning shock

When you get the lightning, try to go as far up in the lead as possible. Then when you are fall enough, use it.

Rumour Killing (from http://dsultimate.sitesled.com/Rumours.htm (http://dsultimate.sitesled.com/Rumours.htm) )

Rainbow Cup in Mario Kart DS

Okay, the rumours about the secret cup with four Rainbow Road courses were quickly spread when Mario Kart DS was released. The rumour was, by beating all 32 staff ghosts, the secret Rainbow Cup would become useable. This was then proven wrong by people who beat the ghosts.

Sometimes, it is taken even further and people even talk about things like a Hyrule Cup and all. This is also fake.

Rainbow Kart

After the Rainbow Cup, the rumours seemed to die down. Then came this. A Rainbow Kart rumour. The rumour of cause is fake, but it shows that this game has way too much fake information about it passed around.

Baby Mario

Another rumour for Mario Kart DS. You were supposed to unlock this character by beating all the cups as Mario. However, the rumour is proven fake as there are only 36 karts, and all karts would have meant being able to use his karts if they existing. Plus, the pictures were fake, including one of him in Double Dash pasted onto a picture of Mario Circuit, one of his head on Warios and another of him on the character select screen.

Fight Dark Samus

This rumour, was that by getting all 3 star ranks, you could somehow fight Dark Samus in mission mode. However, the picture was easily proven fake, with one hand of Eyerok being visible on the map screen.

Worming

Since the Mario Kart boards were dying, two Mario Kart Players Page veterans had a mean joke to play on Gamefaqs. They started a rumour that worming was possible in Mario Kart DS, and was faster than SSMT and PRB. However, I proved this wrong with this link that clearly shows Stelzig admitting worming was a fake rumour set up to annoy Gamefaqs board users.


Admitting it's a lie

You can unlock Goomba in Mario Kart DS

A guy called 0ne Wing said he unlocked Goomba. However, he never raced anyone from the board, nor has proof, so it is known to be false. It is even known if the guy really had the Mario Kart DS game.


Roy, Marth or Sonic The Hedgehog in Mario Kart DS

Story is these non-Mario characters are able to be used.

Truth- False for verious reasons and impossibility. And bad photshop edits.

There's a Debug Menu

You can supposedly use it to get any item and do many other things.

Truth- Unconfirmed. I've heard somewhere that Parasite said one existed, but it didn't do any functions and was more like the one in the Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time than Super Smash Bros Melee. Also, the ideas of using it without hacking are impossible and too cryptic.

Thanks to List:

Gamefaqs for the awesome message board.

Kubby01 for the SSMT guide.

Flint for adding information

Bones0 for adding information

All who bumped the original topic for not letting the best Mario Kart DS information on the internet (barring my site) purge.

Copyright for Guide:

All material on the Advanced Strategies and Shortcuts topic and from the Nintendo DS Ultimate website, journal, forums and magazine is under full copright protection and is ©2006 cheat-master30 of DS Ultimate Administration Team

[200]- PRB Extras, Battle mode tips extra

Yoshi Falls- Keep mini-turboing non-stop after the zipper and use the speed to cut through the waterfalls easier.

Cheep Cheep beach- Go to the left of the ramp and skim the edge of the zipper to PRB through the water without losing speed.

Wario Stadium- Hold a mini-turbo over the final zipper at the mud patch and then constantly mini-turbo to the left of the ramps.

Luigi Circuit GCN- Hold the mini-turbo over the zipper and release when you land after the drop. Keep mini-turboing over the patch of grass with the chain chomp.

Unlockables:

Dry Bones: Beat all 50cc Nitro GP Cups
Daisy: Beat all 50cc Retro GP Cups
Waluigi: Beat all 100cc Retro GP Cups
ROB: Beat all of either Nitro GP or Retro GP Cups in Mirror Mode

Third Kart: Beat all Nitro GP 100cc Cups
Seven karts availiable for each character: Beat 150cc Nitro GP Cups with gold
All Karts for everyone: Beat 150cc Mirror Mode Cups with gold in class you did not beat yet (after unlocking ROB)

Mirror Mode: Beat 150cc Retro GP Cups with Gold

Level 7: Beat all missions before with at least a one star rank

Secret Title Screen: Get gold in all cups, in all GPs, in all difficulty modes

Staff Ghost Times:
Figure Eight Circuit 1:36:481
Yoshi Falls 0:57:677
Cheep Cheep beach 1:43:654
Luigi's Mansion 1:59:357
Desert Hills 1:31:262
Delfino Square 1:54:601
Waluigi Pinball 2:23:288
Shroom Ridge 2:05:123
DK Pass 2:14:607
Tick Tock Clock 1:54:903
Mario Circuit 1:56:533
Airship Fortress 2:07:748
Wario Stadium 2:14:868
Peach Gardens 1:52:989
Bowser Castle 2:19:661
Rainbow Road 2:16:246
Mario Circuit 1 0:50:688
Moo Moo Farm 1:17:751
Peach Circuit 1:12:011
Luigi Circuit GCN 1:29:759
Donut Plains 1 1:08:027
Frappe Snowland 2:08:781
Bowser Castle 2 1:52:258
Baby Park 0:50:920
Koopa Beach 2 0:54:847
Choco Mountain 2:15:571
Luigi Circuit GBA 1:46:581
Mushroom Bridge 1:30:600
Choco Island 2 1:01:620
Banshee Boardwalk 2:14:403
Sky Garden 1:44:400
Yoshi Circuit 1:48:793

Resources:

Galleries:

Turpinator's Gallery:

http://photobucket.com/albums/f368/turpinator/ (http://photobucket.com/albums/f368/turpinator/)

Mario Kart DS.co.uk Gallery:

http://www.mariokartds.co.uk/Decals.htm (http://www.mariokartds.co.uk/Decals.htm)
Nintendo Wifi Official Selection:

http://www.nintendowifi.com/gaminghub/MarioKartGallery.jsp (http://www.nintendowifi.com/gaminghub/MarioKartGallery.jsp)

Emblem Makers:

DS Meet: http://extras.dsmeet.com/decalmaker/ (http://extras.dsmeet.com/decalmaker/)

DS Play: http://www.ds-play.com/decal_maker.asp (http://www.ds-play.com/decal_maker.asp)

Mario Kart DS Central:

http://www.mkdsc.com/decalmaker.php (http://www.mkdsc.com/decalmaker.php)

Mario Kart DS Profile Generator:

http://dsultimate.ds.funpic.org/Customform.php (http://dsultimate.ds.funpic.org/Customform.php)

Skill Calculators:

3.0:

http://forums.nintendo.com/nintendo/board/...scending&page=1 (http://forums.nintendo.com/nintendo/board/message?board.id=mario_kart_ds&message.id=308889&view=by_date_ascending&page=1)

5.0:

http://forums.nintendo.com/nintendo/board/...scending&page=1 (http://forums.nintendo.com/nintendo/board/message?board.id=mario_kart_ds&message.id=348823&view=by_date_ascending&page=1)

6.0:


http://forums.nintendo.com/nintendo/board/...scending&page=1 (http://forums.nintendo.com/nintendo/board/message?board.id=mario_kart_ds&message.id=362791&view=by_date_ascending&page=1)

7.0:

http://forums.nintendo.com/nintendo/board/...scending&page=1 (http://forums.nintendo.com/nintendo/board/message?board.id=mario_kart_ds&message.id=411551&view=by_date_ascending&page=1)

Normal Version: http://marthx.mmii.info/ (http://marthx.mmii.info/)

9.0:

10.0: http://www.freewebs.com/dyr_v10/index.htm (http://www.freewebs.com/dyr_v10/index.htm)

Skill Converter:

http://dsultimate.ds.funpic.org/converter.htm (http://dsultimate.ds.funpic.org/converter.htm)

Sadly, the above list of resources is not intensive, and only covers what I could find via Nsider, Google, this board and that was on my own site. I still need:

Link to 0nispawn's Skill Calculator (from Nsider)

Link to the Win/Loss Calculator online (until I build one with PHP)

Link to Older skill Calculator scripts, which the Nsiders who ran the threads edited out when the new versions were made.

Links to more emblem makers, including one made in Flash

Oh, and since I forgot the Win/Loss Spreadsheet I made:

http://dsultimate.ds.funpic.org/Calculation_spreadsheet.xls (http://dsultimate.ds.funpic.org/Calculation_spreadsheet.xls)

Other game Calculators (by myself):

New Super Mario Bros:

http://dsultimate.ds.funpic.org/Calculate.php (http://dsultimate.ds.funpic.org/Calculate.php)

Super Mario 64 DS (beta, ranks under construction):

http://dsultimate.ds.funpic.org/Mario6Calculator.php (http://dsultimate.ds.funpic.org/Mario6Calculator.php)

Supposed glitches

So I was playing 150cc Grand Prix, then I played Delphino Square/Plaza/whatever, and I was in 1st place on the last lap. I noticed that a blue shell was coming toward me, so I decided to hit a fake item box. So I hit the fake item box at the same time the blue shell hit me. I looked on the bottom screen AND I SAW A FAKE ITEM BOX MOVING SIDEWAYS!

By Conisonic5, DS Ultimate forums

Float in deep water, Koopa Beach 2

Isn't really big, but If you slowly drive over the the line that seperates the water from the deep water in Koopa Beach 2, you will drive in the deep water! You can't go out far, but It's fun just to see your character in the water, just with his/her head in the water!

Glitch found by Nintendan of DS Ultimate forums

Pictures:

http://www.photosled.com/data/1288/FloatingDryB.JPG (http://www.photosled.com/data/1288/FloatingDryB.JPG)

http://show.imagehosting.us/show/1700445/0..._-1_1700445.jpg (http://show.imagehosting.us/show/1700445/0/nouser_1700/T0_-1_1700445.jpg)

Airship Fortress Floating Video

http://youtube.com/watch?v=NnJhpf-WyOw (http://youtube.com/watch?v=NnJhpf-WyOw)

by Astr0 from DS ultimate forums who also found the glitch


Bowser Castle 2 Shortcut

I have no advice for this, but Cole Gilbert made a video of this right here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOpEUcfeeiQ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOpEUcfeeiQ) Found by Cole Gilb of DS Ultimate forums

The Latest Rainbow Road Shortcut

Do the shroom spot like Husky does in this vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIUl59uIAto (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIUl59uIAto) Instead of going in the middle head to the right. If done right you will land on the very edge of the loop, pretty much inside the rail. If you keep on the edge you will shoot out off the loop on the area after the loop. Glitch is by Husky from the Nsider forums and the video is by Husky from Nsider forums and the strategy from Cole Gilbert. Tested to be faster than normal driving in this part of the track.

The DH Lakitu Exploit Glitch

Video Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF-qfCCfJbk

Found by Linda of the Mario Kart Players Page.

It especially important that you use a fast kart for this glitch, the BLS is best.
Build up speed by constantly MT'ing around the first corner of the track, in the near distance you will see sign, underneath it will be two purple legs holding it up, aim for the furthest away from you. Shroom as you touch the sand and hop, hold up for maximum distance obtainable. Please note: The lap doesn't count due to the checkpoints.

The BC Lakitu Exploit Glitch(No video provided)

Originally an idea thought up by Astr0 of the DSUltimate forums. By flying over the second fence of the first set of stairs, you will go far enough to be but before the finish line. This idea was later proved right. Please note: The lap doesn't count due to the checkpoints.

Other glitch notes

I originally found the Bullet Bill going through glitch, but didn't publish it on all forums, and some others then found it independantly. Just saying as I never get credit for this nowadays.

My cousin Joe found the glitch where karts stand on their front, or back, or hop repeatedly in the Bowser Castle spinning room. It was NOT an Nsider, or a Gamefaqer, or myself.

Oh, and you see this paragraph? ^

I am getting extremely annoyed by people saying they found already known glitches, and those who then video them and don't give credit to the researchers, as glitches are the only cheats not intended by developers, and found by individual researchers rather than the game creators.

Oh, and I should have said about the glitches before, as the Rainbow Road glitch by Husky[some number here] from nsider has been all the latest news at my forum, Nsider and the Players Page, and the others have been news on my site for a decent time.

Brief Topic History

The first part of what is in this topic came from the glitches I found and posted at the Mario Kart DS Players Page, many months ago, and which were on my website glitch page and journal.

Then, a member from my forum posted a topic with copy and paste versions of the findings which became popular, about 2 pages or so before being purged forever under all the other topics.

Later, I joined this board. Not because of Mario Kart DS, but because I needed to tell the Mario 64 DS board about the Dark Room of Death type glitch I found, which led to many glitches being found in the area which I entered it from, such as beating Bowser as Luigi and Yoshi, and so on.

I soon enough came here, and eventually made version 1. It was a great version, lasting to about 450 posts of chat, strategies and various people thanking me! It was even reached through Google, as the search engine indexed the Gamespot side version (seriously, someone read it and joined my forum after seeing this in Google!)

Finally, I wanted to organise the strategies more, and have created version 2, this one. I then left the old version to purge (pity, could have reached 500 posts!), and here you are now, in version 2 of the Advanced Strategies and Shortcuts topic!

What will be in V3? Not sure, except an even longer FAQ before the replies, with all my links, guides, essays, videos and more! Feel free to also submit all professional guides and essays you have, and good luck to the future!

ext below from Item Guide by 50_First, used with full permission from original author.

RANGE OF ITEMS ASUMING YOU HAVE FULL ITEMS.

Bananas: 1-3
Fake item boxes: 1-4

Green: 1-5
*Red: 1-8 (2-6)
Green x 3: 3-7
Red x 3: 4-7
Blue: 3-7
*Star: 1-8 (5-8)
Bullet Bill: 5-8
*Mushroom: 1-8 (2-6)
*Mushroom x 3: 1-8 (2-8)
Lightning: 8
Blooper: 2-6
Bom-ombs: 2-5
Boo: 3-6


* = Including Item box on DK Pass, Usual chance in Parentheses.

Notes, Green refers to Green Shells, Red refers to Red Shells and Blue refers to Blue Shells. Known correct item ranges by knowledge of original author. Information untested by myself, but proven by author.

Best Karts for each character if only 3 karts for each unlocked:

Mario- Shooting Star

Luigi- Poltergust

Peach- Third kart (forgot name)

Yoshi- Egg1

Toad- Mushmellow

DK- Standard

Wario- Brute

Bowser- Hurricane

Dry Bones- Dry Bomber

Daisy- Third kart (forgot name)

Waluigi- Standard

ROB- ROB BLS

But generally it's the Egg1, Dry Bomber or ROB BLS depending on the course you are racing on

Removed features in each track (retro only):

Luigi Circuit GCN- Road that went behind the Chain Chomp and a second road near the finish line which was behind some pipes.

Baby Park- Much of the background off the track is gone. If you can note in the original, but not all here, there were rides called Bowser's Ship, Kamek's Magic Show, a giant Koopa thing and a giant model of Poochy from Yoshi's Island.

Mushroom Bridge- The pavement is now off limits, you cannot go on top of the railings on the bridge with the boosts (or on the small platforms off of it) and you cannot dodge a blue shell by going up there now. There are also no bomb cars, no Wiggler trucks and you cannot fall off, or get on top of the mushroom house with a glitch any more.

Yoshi Circuit- Piranha Plants are now tiny and passive compared to the Gamecube ones, there's no secret tunnel and possibly some other things.

64 Tracks missing shortcuts:

The Frappe Snowland mega shortcuts aren't usable any more, such as the lap skipping glitch that was in the original.

Choco Island- You cannot use large wall jumping shortcuts to save time.

Trivia Information (oh, and some spoilers)

Tracks:

Figure Eight Circuit has some blocks that I'm quite sure originate from the 2D Mario games, possibly Super Mario Bros 3.

Yoshi Falls has a giant egg in the canyon, which as well as being background decoration, may refer to a giant egg in Yoshi Valley for the Nintendo 64 Mario Kart 64 game.

Cheep Cheep Beach has a lighthouse, possibly from Super Mario Sunshine. The Crabs originated in Mario Bros, and the Cheep Cheeps in Super Mario Bros.

Luigi's Mansion is fully based on the game with the same name. The pictures inside show some of the many ghosts of the mansion, which are Boolossus, Madam Clairovoya, Bowser and Chauncy the Baby.

Desert Hills is based upon Super Mario Bros 3. This is evident as the second world is called Desert Hill, and is similar, also having the Angry Sun which floats in the sky around this track. The pokeys are originally from Super Mario World, but are based on their Super Mario Sunshine counterparts.

Delfino Square is based on Delfino Plaza in Super Mario Sunshine, as evident by the Piantas and decorations. Note that the dock, while in a different place, looks similar to a dock in Mario Sunshine.

Waluigi Pinball is all new, but changed massively as the game was being made.

Shroom Ridge seems to be based upon the driving styles in either Japan or the UK, according to something I read which said the cars drove on the side of the road evident in those countries.

Tick Tock Clock is based on the Super Mario 64 level, and both the hands and the pendulum were in that same game.

Mario Circuit has the castle from Super Mario 64 in the background as always, brings back the traditional goombas and small piranha plants and also a pipe you drive through as a tunnel. The piranha plants which breathe fire are known as Venus Fire Traps.

Airship Fortress is clearly based on a Super Mario Bros 3 airship level, with the bullet bills, jet engines (those flame throwers are seen in later worlds such as Ludwig's Airship) and Rocky Wrenches, which are actually koopas which appear out of manholes. You can also see a traditional castle or fortress in the background.

Peach Gardens is possibly based on Super Mario 64.

Bowser Castle is based on a variety of games. The Thwomps are from many games, sideways Thwomps from Super Mario Bros 3 and the rolling log is from Super Mario 64 Lethal Lava Land and Tall Tall Mountain.

You can see the Moo Moo Farm sign on the actual course.

Luigi Circuit has around it a Luigi Blimp brought back from many of the games and his A grade mansion in the background, which you can still see.

Donut Plains is based upon the second world in Super Mario World, and originally had Monty Moles which came out the ground in the Super Mario Kart version.

Frappe Snowland has ice sculptures of Mario and Luigi which you can see on the track.

Bowser Castle 2, as well as having the typical, has a Bowser statue in the far background of the level, possibly a forward facing version of the ones from Super Mario Bros 3 and World.

Baby Park scenery features many cameos, such as a ride based on Poochy from Yoshi's Island, Kamek's Magic Show (he was a villain in Yoshi's Island, and the Magikoopa you abducted Baby Luigi and tried to stop the stork. There is also a ride called Bowser's Ship, that may or may not be in the game, and from the Gamecube version it seems the Bowser shown is Baby Bowser from that game.

Choco Island 2 is based around the Choco Island world in Super Mario World, except the actual island area didn't actually have that much mud in most of the actual levels, just two or three of them.

The Banshee Boardwalk bats are Swoop enemies with the same character model as in Super Mario 64.

Sky Garden is known to be a happy place, but note the clouds. You can see skulls if you look carefully enough.

Karts:

The B Dasher was named after a song which was based on how you had to press and hold B to make Mario run (dash)

Luigi's kart is the Poltergust vacuum from Luigi's Mansion.

Wario's kart is based on his car from Wario Land 4.

DK's Rambi Rider is based on an animal he used in the Donkey Kong Country games, which obviously was a rhino called Rambi (very obvious).

Bowser's Hurricane kart is supposedly based on a real plane with the Koopa Clown Car face painted on. The Koopa Clown Car was his vechicle in Super Mario World, as has also appeared in other games, such as the RPGs.

Some say Waluigi's kart is based on a vechicle used by Foreman Spike in Wrecking Crew. Some even say Waluigi is actually that character.

ROB's first kart I'm sure was based on a game which you used him to play.

General Wifi Guide

(not same information as sticky topic, but better)

What's different about Wifi Mode:

1- You can only play 20 of the tracks without an Action Replay or hacking the game. These are generally the basic tracks, and many are typically pretty dull.
2- You cannot drag shells, bananas, bob-ombs or fake item boxes.
3- You cannot get triple items except mushrooms
4- It's generally majority rule when the track is chosen, or the track with most votes gets chosen. This can be hacked, but it's normally majority rule compared to first player rule for offline vs and battle mode.

What's different from other games online:

1-You cannot communicate in any way (unlike Animal Crossing with keyboard chat and Metroid Prime Hunters with voice chat).
2- The rivals mode is very different, and is of people of supposed similar skill rather than having a rivals roster like thing.

Disconnecting/Disconnectors

Disconnecting is the hated act of quiting wifi while in a race. It is often hated because people who use it are often thought to be cowards who are quitting because they are losing against their opponents, but it can also be due to many other factors, such as glitches and bad connections.

You should not disconnect as it is seen as an act of cowardice by many players, and will do nothing for your popularity.

Disconnecting in the middle of a race often causes you to get three losses (or possibly a loss for everyone you played). However, you sadly cannot detect who often disconnects, unlike in Metroid Prime Hunters.

Loss Deletion

I will not give away the glitch to lose losses, as I will end up extremely unpopular if that became common knowledge (all though more people I found voted me to tell people how). Instead, I will say that this is the exact reason that many players can have a high amount of wins and zero losses, as they quit against anyone who's actually good.

You can also use the Action Replay or hacking (so I've heard) to give yourself an incredibly high record. But this is simply a way to show that you only care about a high record.

Wifi Hub part of Nintendo website

The stats as far as I know only show who goes online the most, not the best player. Also, be warned that many players shown in videos there are not actually any good at Mario Kart DS. And as far as I know, the emblem selections are somewhat random.

When you gain losses:

Disconnecting in middle of race
Using Luigi's Mansion game freezing glitch
[other times in race for obvious reason]

When you don't:

Disconnecting before race starts
[other]

When you lose losses:

[censored because of moral consequences]

Friend Codes (some stuff same as in Rex Romani's Guide, but factual data):

Friend codes are Nintendo's system for allowing you to play against certain people over wifi, and are a certain type of code unique to the game (and the system the game goes online on). They are an unpopular choice, as many people have seen them as a filtering system to protect young children rather than enhance gameplay.

People can be added to your friends list by either adding their friend codes or playing you offline in either vs or battle, in which case the codes are added automatically. Note that you must both enter the friend codes of the other person to see each other while racing on friends mode. It is said that if you have someone on your friends list, you are also more likely to see each other in the other online racing modes.

You can add 32 friends to your friends list, and the information shown is the win and loss count for wifi, battle and vs as well as their emblem, nickname and possibly the amount of stars by their name.

You can share the codes on many online forums including Gamefaqs, but some official sites ban sharing of friend codes (but not the Official Nintendo Magazine UK forums).

Common Hacks Online:

Track hacking- This is playing courses not normally available to use, such as the other cup courses, boss arenas and battle arenas.

150cc Hacking- The hack that allows the hacker to race at 150cc while everyone else races at 100cc.

Parallel Hacking- This is where the hacker can choose one course for them to race (99.9% of time a much shorter course than what everyone else is racing on) while the others play the longer course. Courses used include Test Circle, which is a one lap, extremely short circular course which is over in a few seconds.

Mario Kart DS Notable Stuff

The articles, the arguments, the historical moments

Well, seeing as what I will include here is something that is quite difficult to explain and is like a brief set of history facts, links to important articles and notable players, I'm just calling this 'stuff'.

Known Players (good or bad)

Micheal Fried and other Time Trial Top Players

Some of the best players in the world are in the top 50 in AF for Mario Kart DS at the Players Page. And many also have Gamefaqs accounts. However, playing a pro player is unlikely, as many seem to stick to playing those on their friend's lists only.

Azen

As the sticky should say, Azen used to be a top player when it came to Mario Kart DS. The quality of his driving skills nowadays in comparison to the modern players of today is deplorable, as he has retired quite a time ago, probably from the R button breaking (I read that somewhere). He is a professional Super Smash Bros Melee player as well.


Inferno

I think that was his name. He had a huge record of over 1000 wins compared to low losses, and was one of the players who got Bullet Bill rank in the first editions of the Skill Calculator for the game. It is thought he went on to play Metroid Prime Hunters.

Snakeiller

Some 'anti-snaker' who thought it his duty to try and stop users of SSMT by sabotaging their races, and also, in some way, stop those with offensive emblems and the like. Hasn't played for a long, long time.

Mario Kart Players Page

The Mario Kart DS Players Page is seen as the site where the top records in the world are kept for Mario Kart DS. There were many decisions taken by this site which are kind of controversial, such as limiting the usage of PRB, banning two shortcuts and allowing various strategies.

NOE Online

Or similar. There was an announcement ages ago that a supposedly brilliant player by this name was on wifi who was meant to be excellent at the game. He was beaten a decent amount though, and I have heard there are videos of him racing at one of the official Nintendo websites.

Articles causing controversy

NOA Andy's Pro Snaking Article

In response to the arguments about whether the usage of SSMT was fair, this member of staff wrote an article about it being an intended technique, and also said some frankly Isn't as good tips for those against it to still have a chance (it's fair by the way, and the techniques against it were kind of redundant against true SSMT users). SSMT backers like myself will often refer to this, while 'anti-snakers' will come out with an argument like 'How does he know? He's not from Nintendo of Japan!' Or similar.

PRB Essay

My essay on PRB (see in this topic for the essay) was an essay which aimed to stop the arguments about PRB. For some people, it suceeded, but for others, as expected it simply caused more fury among the opponents. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to post during a huge argument on the Players Page forum?

SSMT Essay

Also causes arguments, and also written by myself. Yes, I personally ended up writing a full length essay about SSMT, and it, in most cases caused a very mixed reaction, as those who backed me pretty much said I won the argument and those against just argued against the points more and more.


The Official websites

Nintendo of Europe Website:

http://ms.nintendo-europe.com/mariokartds/enGB/ (http://ms.nintendo-europe.com/mariokartds/enGB/)

Nintendo of America Website:

http://www.mariokart.com/mkds/launch/index.html (http://www.mariokart.com/mkds/launch/index.html)

Nintendo of Japan Website:

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ds/amcj/ (http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ds/amcj/)

The Skulls in Sky Garden:

http://www.photosled.com/data/1288/medium/SkyGardenskull.jpg (http://www.photosled.com/data/1288/medium/SkyGardenskull.jpg)

Look carefully at the sky below. I had a theory once that this represented the Apocalypse, and Sky Garden some form of Heaven. Sounds crazy now though. Interesting thing though, I guess the area isn't as happy and pleasant as once thought?

Oh, and my photos for those who want to see more neat photos of videogames including Mario Kart DS and my emblem:

http://www.photosled.com/showgallery.php/ppuser/1680/cat/500 (http://www.photosled.com/showgallery.php/ppuser/1680/cat/500)

Oh, and here's something interesting as found by 4O14. Watch his neat video at the link below (although some credit needs to be given to those who found some of the glitches, namely me in a few cases):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lBMwvHMY4M (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lBMwvHMY4M)

There is a Delfino Square glitch where he boosts off the edge, falls through the course and gets put down somewhere in the streets. I tested the glitch after, it works and you should thank him for finding it.

Manual Information Guide

What is the manual?

This is the instruction book that comes free with Mario Kart DS and tells you the controls, main characters, items and other information. Those for early Nintendo games were a bit more detailed, but DS manuals seem to be pretty detailed now, and the Mario 64 DS, Mario and Luigi, Mario Kart DS, Metroid Prime Hunters and Warioware manuals have plenty of interesting and useful background information on the games.

What's the game story?

There is no real back story to any of the games, except that the Mario characters are competing to win the gold trophies for each cup and get the honour of being first overall.

Does it say where to do a mini turbo?

In the back of the manual, where it says about techniques, I am sure it says how to do a mini turbo and use the rocket start.

What techniques are not outlined there?

Drafting, degrees of boost start, boost after Lakitu drops you on the track, saving items until later, being able to steer a Bullet Bill, being able to dodge items, SSMT, PRB and a few others such as possibly wall tricking and Lakitu usage techniques.

Is it true you can see the times of some Nintendo employees?

Look in the images for some parts of the manual about Time Trial mode and sharing ghosts and you can see their records and what kart/character they used. Not too great records though.

Is it true what we do online may not be allowed?

Possibly. The terms state in the manual (the wifi one) not to upload harassing, illegal and obscene content, so technically people who have rude or disgusting emblems are breaking the rules, you aren't allowed to share personal information (so sharing phone numbers and the like in emblems could be against the rules), make available any content which breaks copyright (does that mean anything based on official sprites, copyrighted images and the like in emblems could be breaking rules) or disrupt the service for others (so maybe you can get disconnectors banned technically?)

Oh, well, that's about all the manual questions over.

he Wifi Contract of Conduct

I solemnly swear, on all counts that I shalt not disconnect in my online presense, nor disrupt the enjoyment of others via my cowardice and quitting, and that I shall be honest about thy record. With this agreement, I pledge not to disconnect, hack the game in any way that will ruin the enjoyment of others, to keep my record ashine with honesty and to accept my defeat, to not play online with an ancient dial up connection and not to use any exploit, glitch, hack or trick which forces quitting, freezes or crashes the game or allows me ability beyond what are fair and natural that Nintendo themselves have decided. If it is found I have used 150cc hack, parallel hacked to ride a course not the same as that driven by my rivals, removed my losses to falsify my skill or have dared show my cowardice via quitting to avoid giving others the wins they deserve, may I forever be avoided, an outcast in the wifi cyberspace, and may I suffer the gaming time of reckoning of which I truly deserve. I therefore sign this with my name

[TheUltimateKoopa]

Wow.... longest post EVAR!

[cheat-master30]

Is there any reason you copied and pasted the lot into one post from my first ever topic?

[TheUltimateKoopa]

Not really...... errm:

[Symerwizkid22]

I think I already told you how great it is, so yeah, great job!!!