Other Mario Kart DS Guides

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.

What techniques are not in the manual?

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

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.

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 wasn't 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.