Hello people, this time I have a full game review instead of the review of just a track this time around!
Let’s get this out of the way, MKDS is my absolute favorite Mario Kart game, it was my childhood and the reason why I went through 7-8 DSI consoles. The game to me is absolutely amazing, and if I could I wouldn’t point out anything bad, but unfortunately even in the best things there’s something to be done better, so here’s to me taking off nostalgia glasses and any biases I could possibly have and give this game an honest lookover!
1st up on the list, let’s discuss the graphics of the game!
It’s probably the least important part of a game, but presentation is always nice to have, and MKDS does a really well job at presenting itself. The game, unlike Wii, knows what it wants to look like. Wii had several different setups and such across menus and such, making it look a tad bit like it didn’t know what it wanted to be. DS did the look consistent, and the look of the menus and such are absolutely perfect! The blue aesthetic, the squares, the title of the game in the background, the layout is simple, yet just so pleasing! Mk7 tried to recreate this aesthetic, but like many other parts of 7, it failed to live up to MKDS.
The in game artstyle however is where the DS limitations begin to show. Due to tiny screens, and piss poor resolution, the game is really, really basic looking on the track. Pixels are basically rampant on screen, but for an earlier DS title it still looks decent at the very least. Textures are actually not half bad, but a tad bit washed out on 3ds consoles. The games lighting isn’t that great either, and playing this game on a 3ds really shows that.
Overall, the models are what really make a games graphics, as without them there’s nothing to look at! Models in this game are beyond basic, and are quite ugly for more bigger characters such as Bowser and Wario. Other characters look pretty alright, like Yoshi, Mario, and Daisy, who are a lot more simple and easier to model.
Now, many don’t base a game on graphics, so why waste time pondering on those when the real beef is the game play/modes, so let’s dive straight in!
So, where to even start? This game packed the absolute most single player content in any Mario Kart game to date, surpassing even the amount of modes in mk8d! And to think, such a small, compressed and limits out the ass game had more to it than something that has next to no limits. Kinda hurts Nintendo, kinda hurts 
This game has loads of content to choose from, rather you are just there for the Grand Prixs, a multiplayer fool, and time trialer, or the best mode of all Mario Kart games…mission mode 
Many people praise mission mode, and I’m here to tell you it deserves ALL the praise it gets. Not only does it give MK an extra layer of depth, it also gave Mario Kart more of a sense of accomplishment when you finally unlocked mission 7! It’s the only game to date that had it, and it flat out confuses me as to why Nintendo hasn’t officially remade it yet in a current or past installment after DS. (note to commenters, please don’t mention “well Mario kart Wii has custom missions”, I’m talking completely official, no mods here bud)
I can also say battle mode was at it’s best here in MKDS, and the only game to come close to rivaling it is Wii, but DS takes the prize this time round. Battle mode in this game, minus shine runners, is just so fucking fun. You can have a ffa, or a team battle, spare balloons, arena selection, it was just pure fun, and if you were lucky enough to get 8 players linked together, then this mode was REALLY the stuff! The frenzy of items, being able to assist teammates after getting eliminated, it just added up and up further to pure epicness! This is honestly the only game I find balloon battle fun, because the sense of survive or die is just so much more invigorating than “oh, I lost some points and respawned”
You have your standard Mario kart modes here as well, in the form of Grand Prix, Time Trials, and Versus mode. Everyone knows these modes, so I won’t focus to hard on these. Now, let’s move on to some more interesting things that really made DS stand out!
The game play this game had to offer was some of the absolute best to date! This game was extremely fast paced, much faster than the newer installments, and if you were an expert snaker then it was always faster than Wii. This game felt fluid and it felt fast, and it all came together quite nicely. The only issue is that massive jumps, although not common in this game, are a tad bit floaty. Much like Wii, you loose speed in the air, which also makes air time a bit of a drag. Drifting in this game is much, much more satisfying than in other titles in this game as well. For me, rapidly turning left and right to drift was just intriguing and challenges the player to get good at it. With Wii and above, this feature was sadly removed to balance the game out, but really all games that had this were fun, with DS doing it the best. Sure, it resulted in snaking being overpowered, but that also leads me to my next praise, and that’s the difficulty level.
This game is one of the more difficult ones, and it’s replayability I infinite. The game has so many things to master, such as controls, snaking, the PRB glitch, taking tight turns while snaking, mastering the karts, it was all a challenge that wasn’t even actually posed in the game! Replaying this game, you immediately feel a fast frenzy of fun, whether against yourself, against the ai, or against your friends or family, and the fun just never seems to end!
Now, let’s discuss the music, and omg this game has some of the best, underrated music to date. This game used an interesting technique to get it’s music due to limitations, but honestly despite all odds they still sounded amazing. Many people complain “oh it’s compressed” but in actuality, the game isn’t even that compressed, and the compression that’s there isn’t even that bad unless you sit and purposely listen for it. Now, about how this game handles music. This game uses midi like methods, where there is a file and certain instruments are assigned to certain notes of that file! This allowed for Nintendo to make music that sounded great while also keeping a smaller file size!
Lastly, I want to talk about miscellaneous features! Mario kart DS has several features that haven’t been seen since it, such as emblem editor, records on gp times, and other such. The emblem editor allowed for you to have your own custom icon displayed by your name and on your kart! Also, this mode can be considered a gallery for the in game characters and karts since you have free reign to take control of the camera and rotate and cycle through karts and characters. The gp times record menu showed details such as character, kart, and times it took to beat the cups. This mode sounds useless, but for some it poses a second challenge, and that’s going against your past records there too! You could literally time trial yourself in Grand Prix mode all because of this menu!
So, after all of that, I truly think Mario Kart DS is a game that will surely not die in vein! It’s an absolutely golden title in the franchise, and while it’s primitive, it still stands tall as a great game! Do I say ikt stands higher than Mario Kart Wii? Of course I do, it’s simply more fun and packs more modes! My rating of the game as a whole is as follows:
9.4/10