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DS

New Mario Kart DS Details

by Steven Rodriguez - August 22, 2005, 11:20 am EDT
Total comments: 17 Source: Nintendo Europe

Nintendo of Europe got a chance to talk Hideo Konno about the game, and some new information was uncovered.

Konno is the Mario Kart expert around Nintendo, having been a major part of all the Kart games, producing the SNES and N64 games, and supervising the GBA game. With Mario Kart DS coming out in a few months, Nintendo of Europe decided to ask him a thing or two about the game.

Items in Mario Kart have always been a critical factor in how a race would be played out, and the new DS version will have new items, some specifically tailored to the dual-screen setup. For instance, Blooper the squid is a new item in the game, and when someone hits it, ink will cover the top screen and blind the player. However, they can still see where they are on the bottom screen's track map, so they can navigate that way until the ink goes away.

It's been confirmed for a while that the game will feature 16 of the best tracks from previous Mario Kart games, and 16 brand-new tracks for the DS version. The hardware allows for elevation changes in the track design (not unlike Mario Kart 64), so Konno says they'll create tracks that take advantage of that. One new track that he did hint at is set inside of a pinball table, where players need to avoid the bumpers, fippers and the giant pinball as they race around the course.

One last point made by Konno is that the mulitplayer modes will allow for just a single player to particpate in them. That is, someone could play Battle mode or Versus mode alone, with computer-controlled karts acting as opponents. That would mark a first for the Mario Kart series, since in every game before, human opponents were required to battle it out. Now players can practice their skills alone before meeting up with friends.

Mario Kart DS is shaping up to be the best Mario Kart game ever. We'll know for sure when the game is released sometime before the end of the year.

Robert Graves contributed to this report.

Talkback

steveyAugust 22, 2005

"that the game will feature 16 of the best tracks from previous Mario Kart games, and 16 brand-new tracks for the DS version. "

dose anyone know witch? I hope the n64 yoshi tracks not in there.

KirbySStarAugust 22, 2005

I like how there was no mention of Double Dash what-so-ever.

KnowsNothingAugust 22, 2005

Shut up Kirby, you know you love it >=U

Hostile CreationAugust 22, 2005

The pinball thing sorta reminds me of the casino-type levels you see so often in Sega game (namely Sonic).
Other details are great, too. I wasn't originally intending to get this, but I might now, since I have one and soon to be two friends with a DS who live far away. Online with them (and pietriots of course) would rock.

Bill AurionAugust 22, 2005

Quote

Originally posted by: KirbySStar
I like how there was no mention of Double Dash what-so-ever.

I like how Konno had nothing to do with Double Dash, and that's the reason why there was no mention of the game...

KnowsNothingAugust 22, 2005

Kirby's under the belief that Double Dash shouldn't be a Mario Kart game, which is why he took pleasure in knowing that Konno had nothing to do with it.

But deep down he loves it.

WindyManSteven Rodriguez, Staff AlumnusAugust 22, 2005

Quote

Originally posted by: stevey
"that the game will feature 16 of the best tracks from previous Mario Kart games, and 16 brand-new tracks for the DS version. "

dose anyone know witch? I hope the n64 yoshi tracks not in there.


The tracks that I've seen from video include Moo Moo Farm and Mario Circuit 1 for sure. Yoshi Circuit was in one of the early video clips, so it's not known if it's still in there.

Bill AurionAugust 22, 2005

Yoshi Circuit was in Double Dash, and I believe stevey was talking about the Yoshi Valley track from Mario Kart 64...

Ian SaneAugust 22, 2005

"I like how Konno had nothing to do with Double Dash, and that's the reason why there was no mention of the game"

So a major player on the Mario Kart team wasn't involved in Double Dash? That explains a lot. What does Konno specialize in?

I love how they're including bots for multiplayer. I always found Mario Kart kind of dull when you only have one friend over and can only do one-on-one races. Every racing game should have bots. I hope in this case you can have four human players plus a bunch of bots. Has there been any mention of how many human players you can have?

Spak-SpangAugust 22, 2005

Ian:

If I remember correctly you can have 4 players with internet play and 8 players with LAN play with Mario Kart.

The lack of players is because Mario Kart is filled with some much going on that any more players would cause slowdown.

I am betting that Battle Mode will probably be limited to 4 players multiplayer online with bots, and 8 players LAN with bots or humans. I don't expect Nintendo to make it 16 players 8 bots and 8 humans. I just have a feeling Nintendo will keep it simple.

I do like the idea of new powerups that actually do different things. I just hope they bring the Ghost and Feather back, as they were always fun to use.

KnowsNothingAugust 22, 2005

Nintendo's going simpler than that, Spang, Battle Mode is offline only face-icon-small-tongue.gif

Bill AurionAugust 22, 2005

Quote

So a major player on the Mario Kart team wasn't involved in Double Dash? That explains a lot. What does Konno specialize in?

Konno is the head guy of one of EAD's studios...He has directed Luigi's Mansion and Nintendogs (and overseeing Metroid Prime Hunters, I believe) in addition to his directing of Mario Kart DS...So if he specializes in something it's under "Fun Games." face-icon-small-smile.gif

Ian SaneAugust 22, 2005

"Nintendo's going simpler than that, Spang, Battle Mode is offline only"

It is? That's pretty lame. It's better than nothing but still.

Spak-SpangAugust 22, 2005

Thanks for updating me with new information. Its too bad Battle Mode can't be online, but that makes more sense why Bots are included in Battle Mode now. Although that mode will be missed. I would rather have a smooth experience than more online options that just don't work well.

foolish03August 22, 2005

i hope inclulding bots is not a replacement for online.

Bill AurionAugust 22, 2005

In Microsoft's world it's the other way around: "I hope including online is not a replacement for bots."

NephilimAugust 23, 2005

online bots suck, esp in fps...there either too easy (stand there with a pistol) or hard ( can headshot u with a sniper rifle while running and jumping in circles)

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