Mario Kart DS

Mario Kart DS is a 2005 handheld kart racing game developed by Nintendo EAD for the Nintendo DS. Familiar Mushroom Kingdom characters race across colorful themed tracks, hurling items like shells and bananas and drifting through corners to gain the edge.

The game introduced a generous selection of remastered retro tracks drawn from earlier entries alongside all-new courses, letting it span the series' history, and refined power-slide "snaking" mechanics that skilled players exploited to build mini-turbo speed boosts. A single-player mission mode added structured objective-based challenges, and the game's dual screens displayed the track map and item status. Crucially, it was among the first Nintendo games to offer robust online multiplayer over Wi-Fi, letting players compete over long distances.

Mario Kart DS is remembered as a landmark portable entry that helped establish the series' online competitive scene and download-play local multiplayer. It remains available through digital re-release services and stands as a beloved highlight of the DS library.