Mario Kart DS throws you into the driver's seat for a chaotic, fun-filled racing experience across 16 unique tracks, plus intense battle modes. Master basic controls and advanced drifting techniques like snaking to outmaneuver your opponents. With a variety of characters and karts, and the iconic item boxes, every race is a fresh challenge, whether you're playing on the DS or Wii U.
This guide is your key to becoming the ultimate champion. We'll help you conquer every cup, unlock every secret, and master advanced techniques. Whether you're aiming for Gold Medals, tackling tricky boss races, or just want to dominate the competition, this guide provides comprehensive walkthroughs and strategies to help you achieve victory.
Drafting
Learn the drafting mechanic in Mario Kart DS: get a boost by driving behind opponents for a few seconds.
Drafting is a technique available in Mario Kart DS due to an improved physics engine. When you drive a short distance directly behind another racer, you will notice air moving to the sides of you. If you maintain this position for a few seconds, a shield-like effect will appear in front of your character, granting you a boost equivalent to a Star for a few seconds, as long as the shield is active.
- Drafting is particularly useful in higher difficulties where opponents are grouped closely together and you need to overtake them.
- Maintain a consistent position directly behind an opponent to activate the drafting shield.
Drifting
Learn the art of drifting in Mario Kart DS! Discover techniques, tips, and tricks to master tight turns and gain a competitive edge on every track. Improve your racing skills now!
Drifting is a crucial technique in Mario Kart DS that allows players to maintain speed through turns and gain a competitive advantage. Mastering drifts can significantly improve your lap times and overall performance.
- 1Initiate Drift: As you approach a turn, press and hold the drift button (usually the R button).
- 2Steer into the Turn: While holding the drift button, steer your kart towards the inside of the turn.
- 3Adjust Drift: You can adjust the angle of your drift by slightly tilting the control stick left or right.
- 4Mini-Turbo Boost: By holding the drift and wiggling the control stick back and forth, you can charge up a Mini-Turbo boost. A successful charge will result in sparks around your tires, followed by a speed burst when you release the drift button. The longer you hold the drift, the stronger the Mini-Turbo.
- 5Release Drift: Release the drift button to exit the drift and regain control of your kart.
- Practice drifting on different turns to get a feel for the timing and angle.
- Experiment with different karts, as some have better drifting capabilities than others.
- Use the Mini-Turbo boost strategically, especially when exiting turns or on straightaways.
- Be aware of your surroundings; avoid drifting into walls or other racers, which can disrupt your boost.
- Mastering the drift is key to achieving faster lap times and winning races in Mario Kart DS.
Power Sliding
Master the power slide technique in Mario Kart DS to drift around corners and get a speed boost. Learn how to perform it here.
To perform a power slide in Mario Kart DS, press and hold the R button to hop while holding either Left or Right on the control stick. When you land, your kart will drift in the direction you were holding. By alternating Left and Right inputs quickly, you will see blue sparks, and then red sparks, emanating from your kart. When the sparks turn red, release the R button to receive a speed boost, which is the result of a successful power slide.
It may take a little bit of practice to pull off consistently, but the power slide is invaluable for navigating sharp hairpin turns or shaving seconds off your lap times, especially in Time Trial mode.
- Practice alternating Left and Right inputs quickly to achieve red sparks and the maximum boost.
- Use power sliding to maintain speed through sharp turns where you would otherwise slow down significantly.
- Experiment with power sliding in Time Trial mode to see how much time you can save.
Snaking
Learn the snaking technique in Mario Kart DS, a method of power sliding on straightaways for faster times in Time Trial mode.
Snaking is essentially another term for power sliding, but instead of being used around turns, you perform it on a long straightaway. To execute snaking, start in the middle of the track, then move slightly to the left. Quickly power slide towards the right before you go off the track, then move to the right side and repeat the process by going back to the left. This is snaking.
While it may not be very helpful in a crowded situation on 150cc (a difficulty setting), snaking can come in handy when facing off against other players online, or trying to achieve fast times in Time Trial mode (a mode where you race against the clock).
It also takes some practice to do it right. Make sure the portion of track you attempt this on is wide enough so you don't run off into the rough terrain and lose speed, but overall, it could be worth your while.
- Practice snaking on wide straightaways to avoid falling off the track.
- Snaking is most effective in Mario Kart DS Time Trial mode and online races.
- Be aware that snaking may be less effective in crowded races on 150cc.
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