Mario Kart DS gameplay videos up as well

This is great, the game looks polished as all AAA Nintendo titles, and not rushed at all. I can see my days fly by while playing against friends via WiFI.

It looks like an impeccable clone of 64 version sans normal go kart. Am I the only one who hated DD with its gimmicky dual carts, no hop and such shallow gameplay that it practically detest it ? On the other hand I still play the 64 bit version because the control is so perfect. I like standard carts like the recent arcade version. I have to say I am much more ecited about the revolution version than this handheld clone.

And its a step backwards to be using a D-Pad for control. Analogue are around 10 years now and still its D - Pad on the DS. Dat Sucks ! ;)

Nintendo games do have that little bit more polish that most others. Yes. They also have more skittles' colours in them than any other publisher. Colour = Good. Skittle = Better ;)

The Nintendo is alot more powerful then the N64. The Ng4 version of Mario Kart had sprite models of the character, and this version has actual polygon character models.

So I have no idea where this comment came from; "What’s most impressive, however, is squeezing visuals onto the handheld that look more like the N64 version of MK than the SNES one".

Don't ya think that was a bit uncalled for?

Looks slow, honestly.

My roommates and I are diehard Mario Kart DDers. The battle mode is terrible compared to the N64 (this looks to be equally bad), but we love the racing. It's a great game for anyone to pick up and get good at quickly.

We'd probably buy DS's if this game is as fun, just for new levels, but the levels looked a bit bland and the speed looked a bit slow.

I'll wait until I see it in action personally, though.

Nice-looking 3D character models is an impressive feat for a Nintendo portable, Nathan, but I was talking about the overall look of the game in action, and that includes backgrounds, objects on the road, animations, and other resolutions in general. For instance, I was not taken by the visuals of the SNES version of Mario Kart; the N64 version, however, is a "visual feast" in comparison. I like how the DS version is shaping up so far, which is why I made the statement I did.

Saw them yesterday on Gaming-Age Forums. It renewed my faith in this game. Damn it's gonna be fun. Can't wait!

I won't say where I work but we have a version of the game...and the game is pure crack. It is incredibly fun to play...ESPECIALLY with multiplayer. Yea it does look a little slow but that might be b/c the videos are in 50cc mode.

Jago, I was about to say that aswell - the speed of the game is really determined by the CC class you're racing with.

This is my must-have DS game!

OH...MY...GOD. thats ALL i HAVE to SAY...well, actually, if i did, you wouldnt know if i like it or not--I LOVE IT!!! =D

Mario Kart DS, can't wait!
I know this may be off topic, but I read a while back that Microsoft was hiring people to develop games for the DS! and yesterday I read in EGM an interview with J. Allard saying he really likes the DS, he says that it sparks his imagination and creativity. Well, actually they gave him an option on what he would choose, a DS or PSP, and he chose the DS.

Does anybody else in here know about this? Maybe Microsoft and Nintendo are planning something big against Sony......evil, very evil, but awesome!:)

I'm sure J.Allard does like the DS...but it also doesn't surprise me that he would say that either. MS just about goes the opposite direction of whatever Sony does.

This game will be great, it should sell like crazy. Allard is a smart guy, I don't think MS is going to team up with Nintendo, but they could beat them in their own game by developing games for the DS.

I have them all on my site (which has very fast speeds for DL I've been told.) if the RS goes slow for anyone. :)

From the roster of characters on the s/shot above it would appear there's no Koopa Troopa AGAIN!!

I say get rid of either Bowser (whose scaly behind wouldn't even fit in a kart) or Wario and BRING BACK KOOPA TROOPA AS A DEFAULT SELECTABLE CHARACTER.

/end of Mario Kart rant

So, get rid of two rather major characters in the series, for a generic baddy that has no real story or background?

Am I the only one that thinks that mario kart sucks. It was fun when I was 10. I use to have a DS but the graphics suck and none of the games were fun. Then I got a PSP and that sucked too. Now they're both sitting in my room collecting dust. Still waiting for something good.

"From the roster of characters on the s/shot above it would appear there's no Koopa Troopa AGAIN!!"

---Again? DD had TWO koopa troops, red and green. It also had Boo and Pirahna Pete as hidden characters. I wouldn't put it past this to have at least two hidden characters, more likely four.

Don't trash Bowser, I know a lot of players that love him. His giant shell in DD was hilarious to pop out on Baby Park. Never did like Wario though... Attitude, looks, or for gameplay. His specials sucked in DD, he's always huge and slow, has the boring levels.

Game looks good for a mario kart... Which is what, the fifth iteration(including GBA)? It SHOULD be polished by now. Really hope Nintendo keeps focus with the online services, hopefully adds voice support for some games eventually. Look forward to Animal Crossing.

WHAT THE F@CK ARE YOU ON ABOUT???????!!!!!!!!!

"get rid of either Bowser (whose scaly behind wouldn't even fit in a kart) or Wario and BRING BACK KOOPA TROOPA AS A DEFAULT SELECTABLE CHARACTER" - mo

LEARN TO F@CKING READ!!!!!!!!

Koopa Troopa was in the original (SNES) Super Mario Kart. KT was an essential paring with Toad as one of the other "lighter" drivers - just as Mario/Luigi were in the medium class and Bowser and DK/JR were in the heavy class. It brought an essential balance and symmetry to the game.

And, FYI, a quick perusal of the SMB games shows Koopa troopa was there from the start. He even featured an important role in Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door.

KT is, IMO, a much under-utilised and versatile character who could feature in a game just as comprehensive as Yoshi's Island if Nintendo got up from their backsides with all this Mario-this and Mario-that shite and crappy, shallow micro-games.

this is gonna be big

My Post #19 was directed a Black Yoshi #16

Might want to note that these are AVI files that only play under Windows so Mac and Linux users shouldn't waste their times downloading the files

Zac, what are you even talking about? They play fine on mine.

You can play these on Mac OS X with MPlayer OS X. They play great!

so the DS is selling like crazy cause of that Nintendogs thing and now the REAL games are just starting to come out? It's almost not fair for that poor PSP thing.

Oh well, it still wins the beauty contest.

people, i am almost posotive that if this game has hidden characters that the koopa brothers (red and green) will be two of them. Dont quote me on that though. ^_^ no need for squabbling with each other.

"so the DS is selling like crazy cause of that Nintendogs thing and now the REAL games are just starting to come out? It's almost not fair for that poor PSP thing.

Oh well, it still wins the beauty contest."

---It's all a matter of opinion. Burnout, Lumines, Medievil, Bleach 2, Taiko Drum Master, Star Solider, Mercury, and Virtua Tennis own the shit out of anything on the DS gameplay wise. Some are ports, some aren't. Regardless, they're a lot more fun to play than Nintendogs was the week I spent with BoomBoom, my huskie. Not to mention PSP has a SLEW of solid, very fun looking and enduring titles.

All a matter of opinion.

#22- What are you talking about? I'm on Linux and watch AVI files all the time with DivX.

I second you on everything you just said Christopher7 (i'd like to add Metal Gear Acid, I know its a strange game, but I still am trying to collect all the cards and play multi with a friend often)

Looks good for a N64 game. Oh wait, this is 2005.

I cant download the damn files. I hate rapidshare. Can someone with the file upload it on a different site please?

Christopher 7xii..

Advance Wars, Phonix Wright, Trama Center, Veutiful Joe, Mario Kart, Metroid Hunters, Meteos, Castlevania, Canvas Curse, Ash, FF3, Mana, Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan, Lost Magic, Legend of Stafi, ect. beat te hell out of the PSP in gameplay, imho, and are on a different level when it comes to innovative gameplay. Sure, some of these titles haven't been released yet, but they are looking more promising then anything I've seen on the PSP, not to mention a great lineup of RPG's and the soon to be launched Wi-Fi network. I find these things to be far more fun to play then a dumbed down version of Burnout 3 for the PSP.

But it's all a matter of opinion....

"---It's all a matter of opinion. Burnout, Lumines, Medievil, Bleach 2, Taiko Drum Master, Star Solider, Mercury, and Virtua Tennis own the shit out of anything on the DS gameplay wise. Some are ports, some aren't. Regardless, they're a lot more fun to play than Nintendogs was the week I spent with BoomBoom, my huskie. Not to mention PSP has a SLEW of solid, very fun looking and enduring titles.'

Burnout: a buggy port of the console versions (I own it btw)

Lumines: the only 100% original and "must have" title

Medievil: never played the original but it seems like Sony was just fishing for something to port instead of making an original game.

Taiko Drum Master: That's a PS2 game...so it doesn't count.

Bleach 2: Dunno much about it...doubt it will be a "must have"

Star Soldier: see above

Mercury: mediocre game...decent puzzle game but it is no where near the quality of Lumines or Meteos on the DS

Virtua Tennis: Not an original game but probably another "must have" for the system

I own a PSP...so I have every right to comment on those. Define "slew" of good looking titles b/c the only 2 I keep hearing about are "GTA: LCS" and "Infected."

Like I said before...the DS is seriously spanking the PSP.

"Looks good for a N64 game. Oh wait, this is 2005."

yes the graphics are N64 quality. idiot

It always comes down to a PSP vs DS battle.
Don't forget the good games are starting to get released on the PSP as well.

Ghost in the Shell
GTA
Sims 2
GT4 mobile (sometime)

Hey, I'm all for defending the DS, but let's not bring up Meteos ever again.

On that note, let's also not bring up Mercury when defending the PSP, either.

Not to mention the future titles to look forward to :

E.g. Resendent evil DS , Smash bros, a metal gear game ( maybe), Rare are on board so its all gold from hear on in.

Nintendo has hand a whealth of experience, especally hand held wise.

Game & Watch - Gameboy - Gameboy pocket - Gameboy light - Gameboy colour - Gameboy Advance - Gameboy SP - Nintendo DS

Considering that Nintendo DS is a ' stop' gap its doing well than Nintendo expected

200X - THE GAMEBOY ADVANCE 2 ( but not anytime soon)

Nintendo really arn't going anywhere SOON so haters, grim and bare it.

FULL DAM STOP!!!!!!!

LOL : )

...or in the words of Ratty (from G4's "X-Play"):

"Suck it!"

/back on topic

I hope people here will bear with me and indulge me a little.

I've just finished watching the MK:DS video's and fear the worst. Many of the course's seem to be a retread of the shallow, GC version. There's another course where you go-kart with other traffic vehicles (WHY? You're supposed to be on a go-karting course for God's sake, not dodging traffic) and an ice course with all manner of pointless obstacles (and what appears to be another giant statue) which just get in the way of the racing.

One of the sterling things about the original SNES Super Mario Kart was Director Shigeru Miyamoto marrying realistic go-kart handling on various surfaces with the characteristics of the signature Mario universe. Hence, you had:

Mario GP tracks - go-karting on a tarmac surface
Ghost tracks - go-karting on wooden slats surface
Bowser Castle tracks - go-karting on a stone surface
Choco Island tracks - go-karting on a mud surface
Donut Plains tracks - go-karting on a bake-dried clay/mud surface
Ice tracks - go-karting on an ice surface
Koopa beach tracks - go-karting on a surface made of sand

In NONE of the above courses in SNES Super Mario Kart did you have gimmicks like racing on an oversized pinball table or with other traffic vehicles. You had obstacles (like Moles and thwomps) on some of the tracks but these were used sparingly and never detracted from the racing experience.

I feel Nintendo should yank Shigeru Miyamoto from whatever pointless tasks they keep giving him and put him in charge of DIRECTING games again. IMO, his DIRECT influence and input in Nintendo's key games is sorely missed.

I don't want to put people off this game (I'm still pre-ordering and eagerly looking forward to it) but some of Nintendo's decisions just drive me up the wall. Nintendo's key titles just aren't reaching their potential - as compared with their titles of the past.

Don't forget the good games are starting to get released on the PSP as well.

Ghost in the Shell
GTA
Sims 2
GT4 mobile (sometime)

---

Uh do you know the boatload of Square Enix RPG's that are being done for DS. If you like RPG's get a DS, seriously.. FF games, Zelda Online, a new Secret of Mana game.. and Mistwalker is bringing out a very sexy game called ASH (pics available)

Combine that with the DS's Wifi services.. it's a no brainer.

BTW.. Sims 2 is coming to DS already.. graphics look great.

Did you know Res. Evil was coming to DS?

Don't forget the good games are starting to get released on the PSP as well.

Ghost in the Shell
GTA
Sims 2
GT4 mobile (sometime)

---

Uh do you know the boatload of Square Enix RPG's that are being done for DS. If you like RPG's get a DS, seriously.. FF games, Zelda Online, a new Secret of Mana game.. and Mistwalker is bringing out a very sexy game called ASH (pics available)

Combine that with the DS's Wifi services.. it's a no brainer.

BTW.. Sims 2 is coming to DS already.. graphics look great.

Did you know Res. Evil was coming to DS?

Yeah Mo, I'm not a retard, I know he was in the original Mario Kart. I don't mind if hes brought back again, but taking out Bowser, the King of Koopas, for a generic Koopa is pretty silly. You know why Koopa doesn't really have his own game? Because he's generally a bad guy, and very rarely do they have any sort of backstory (Koops and the paratroopa from the original Paper Mario are an exception of course.) So why not fly off the handle like that next time?
Oh and Christopher, Meteos has a higher ranking than Lumines, nothing is comparable to Castlevania or Advance Wars right now on the PSP, and Bleach is also on the DS, though import only right now. Medieval is ok, defintely not a great title. Burnout and Virtua Tennis are/will be pretty good though. But they hardly "kick the shit" out of the DS lineup.

Mo, you silly silly man. Yeah, they were totally aiming for a realistic racing experience when you could shoot shells in Super Mario Kart, right? Mario Kart isn't Gran fricking Turismo. Did you like Mario Kart 64? I mean,you dodged traffic in Toad Turnpike and such, and that "Statue" thing, that is Frappe Snowland from Mario Kart 64. The exact track. Frankly, Super Mario Kart nowadays is pretty bland. I have the original and also the tracks on Super Circuit, and they just aren't as fun as the original Super Circuit tracks or the Mario Kart 64 ones (I didn't care much for Double Dash.)

I don't care about scores. I care about fun. You can't say games for the DS have better gameplay if they don't exist. I hoped Wario Ware, Yoshi, and Nintendogs were going to be near as fun as the "hype" or how the scores rated them... But they didn't. Like I said, I don't care if games are ports are not. If they're fun, they're fun. Stop looking to hate. Give things a chance before you say they suck. Bleach on the DS is NOT the same thing at all for starters. It's a different genre of game. Again, I said this is all a matter of opinion. Bringing up sales or ratings as if it makes fun factor a fact is silly. Also I didn't list any "yet to be released" games like you did with the DS, because there's no guarantee they'll be fun. I could of listed FF7:CC, Legend of heroes, Popolocrois, GTA:LCS, Infected, LotR:Tactics, Ys, or Tales of Eternia as "awesome games!" - fact is though they aren't out and I have no clue. Sort of like saying Smash Brothers DS is awesome(even though it hasn't even been a confirmed game yet).

Also, Taiko Drum Master is a PSP game as well... Look into it. I have it.

Also, who said Square Enix was making RPGs for DS? Only thing I've heard is FF3 and Children of Mana. They're making FF7:CC for PSP. But PSP also has a ton of other RPGs(an absolute ton more in Japan than the DS's Japanese RPGs). If you want a collection ofRPGs than the PSP will work out.

Can someone please help me download this file.

Chris, you fanboying again? Dude, you didn't get the point when "BlackYoshi" talked about scores. Sure, you don't care, so? Nobody is talking about you, we're talking in general. That means that the scores DO matter, because in general people found those DS games more fun than the games on PSP. So FF7-cc for PSP? It looks more like an interactive anime, and is it even a typical FF in gameplay, or did they try to change the gameplay as they did with FFX-2? I think I would prefer FF3, since it was never released in america, and it is remade with 3d graphics, and the good classics FF4 and FF6. Also, there is Zelda, and no RPG on the PSP could ever topple a single Zelda. Sure, it's not out, so? There has never been a shitty Zelda game, as opposed to final fantasy, where there have already been two shitty iterations: FFX and its "sequel".


" I could of listed FF7:CC, Legend of heroes, Popolocrois, GTA:LCS, Infected, LotR:Tactics, Ys, or Tales of Eternia as "awesome games!" - fact is though they aren't out and I have no clue. Sort of like saying Smash Brothers DS is awesome(even though it hasn't even been a confirmed game yet)."

So why list them? lol. I mean, I "could of" (whatever that means) listed Mario Kart DS, Zelda DS, Resident Evil DS, Metroid DS, Smash Bros DS, Castlevania DS, New Mario, Tingle's adventure, Mario and Luigi 2, etc. And? lol.

and such, and that "Statue" thing, that is Frappe Snowland from Mario Kart 64. The exact track. Frankly, Super Mario Kart nowadays is pretty bland.

----

Uh.. I'm certain that was supposed to be clever. The DS version includes some 'retro' tracks deliberately, as WELL as a bunch of new tracks (obviously) and a mission mode and a battle mode (online baby)

As for Square.. yup, they are rereleasing old FF games, so you'll be able to play pretty much all FF games I-VI on the DS (DS plays GBA games) as well as doing some new FF tactics stuff..

Oh and of course a new crystal chronicles game..(this is not news)

and a new secret of mana game..children of mana

oh yeah.. new Earthbound (contact)

Well, I though you were refering to future titles when you said "Not to mention PSP has a SLEW of solid, very fun looking and enduring titles." My understanding was that "fun looking titles" meant games that had yet to be released, but looked like fun.

And square isn't just releasing old FF, but also CC, a Dragon Quest game, Mario Basketball, and Children of Mana.

There is also Mistwalker studios producing Ash and a yet unnamed project. This studio was founded by the origional creator of FF.

Rumors abound of Diablo or Starcraft, but it is known that Blizzard working on atleast one project.

And of course a little old title known a zelda, which will use the stylus as never before. And you all no how well nintendo can showcase their own hardware, right? And a new mario rpg, new Super Mario:) and On & on & on....

But it's all subjective and this isn't going to change anyones mind, so how about we say that the PSP is the best traditional handheld and leave it at that.

Zac, Mac users like myself can watch these type of files using MPlayer or the app VLC Media Player, available here:

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/14738

I think what it all comes down to, is opinion. Everyone has different ones, and people should respect that. The only reason holding me back from getting a PSP, is the games. GTA:LCS, Roco Loco, and whatever that new Katamari game is called are the only ones of real interest (in my opinion). I'm not gonna fork out $250+ for 3 games. I won't use the media functions, since I already have a 5GB Pocket Dell DJ, and I don't watch movies on the go. That's my opinion, and there's nothing you can do to change it.

The DS has been doing just fine for me, only game I was disappointed with was Yoshi Touch & Go. Bought then sold that one. And I'm REALLY hyped about the DS's future line-up - Mario Kart DS being one of them. I'm psyched about that, Animal Crossing: Wild World, Metroid Prime Hunters, Contact, Top Gun DS, Moonlight Fables (if it EVER comes out), Mario & Luigi 2: Partners in Time, New Super Mario Bros., Burnout Legends, and I can go on and on.

But hey, my opinion.