![]() ![]() The problem doesn't really have much to do with the game's age or graphics. Unfortunately, the Wii U Virtual Console release of the game only calls attention to just how deficient MKDS has become in comparison to more recent releases. After the series lost its way a bit with Mario Kart Wii, both the 3DS and Wii U entries have proven to be top-notch, building on MKDS's strengths and adding plenty of new appeal. It's still a fun little racer, but it's been almost completely eclipsed by its sequels. but for that precious first year or so, MKDS was spectacular.įortunately the super-ugly phat DS emulator shell isn't mandatory. Eventually, sometime after launch, people figured out how to hack the game to the point that it was largely unplayable online due to cheating and exploits. That's a testament both to the ease of matchmaking and of how addictive the game was everyone who had a copy of MKDS was practically chained to it, day and night. During the pre-launch review period for the game, when only a handful of journalists and Nintendo folks had access to MKDS, I could easily jump into an online game in session at pretty much any time of day. ![]() MKDS's online multiplayer wasn't perfect, but it was practically seamless, pleasantly stable, and the occasional lag and synching errors it suffered rarely seemed to affect the actual gameplay - an especially impressive feat at 150cc.Įven gamers for whom online multiplayer was the furthest thing from novel found MKDS a revelation. Yes, Nintendo was years behind, but their first attempt at going online was a home run. But that device basically became the price of entry to play Phantasy Star Online, and Nintendo's own first-party efforts had continued to regard the Internet with the same bemused confusion they'd been demonstrating since they produced the Famicom Modem back in 1988 and promptly did nothing of significance with it.īut Mario Kart DS showed the value in taking the slow approach. Even Nintendo had demonstrated some brute awareness that online play would eventually be important the GameCube included an expansion slot that a broadband adapter could fit into. Both Sony and Microsoft had made online important elements of their then-current consoles (and poor Dreamcast shipped with a modem!). That was a big deal online play had been a PC gaming commodity for a decade by the time MKDS rolled out. This was where DS's global domination truly began.Ī big part of what made MKDS feel so momentous, and one of the best features of the game itself, had to do with the fact that it marked Nintendo's first foray into online multiplayer gaming. It looked great on the diminutive screens and, along with games like Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow and Animal Crossing: Wild World, helped announce to the world that this kooky dual-screen handheld Nintendo had rushed to market was a serious contender. Not only did it stand as the finest Mario Kart to date, it also proved that Nintendo was serious about the DS as a platform: Here was a console-quality experience, and the fact that the graphics were on par with a racer for the original PlayStation didn't matter one bit. Gone were the flat and uninspired tracks of the sprite-based games, the rubber-band AI of Mario Kart 64, and the loopy complications of Double Dash!! It offered great tracks, great balance, a wealth of customization options, and tons of unlockables. Peach has got it, but you already knew that. The fifth entry in the series, MKDS brought together the best elements of its predecessors and discarded their baggage. It walked back the entertaining but frankly weird additions Mario Kart: Double Dash!! for GameCube had made to the series, while nevertheless feeling far more robust than the previous handheld Mario Kart, Super Circuit for GBA. For starters, it felt like a truly great, truly uncompromised version of Mario Kart despite being on a portable system. See, when Nintendo launched the game in the fall of 2005, it represented a watershed moment on several levels. It took the series a few steps forward into greatness and managed to transcend the mundanity of merely driving in circles (with all due respect to our resident racing game fanatic Jaz). Some content, such as this article, has been migrated to VG247 for posterity after USgamer's closure - but it has not been edited or further vetted by the VG247 team.ĭespite having little interest in racing, I couldn't stop playing Mario Kart DS back when it was new. This article first appeared on USgamer, a partner publication of VG247. ![]()
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