Mario Kart DS

From The Cutting Room Floor

Mario Kart DS
Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo Platform: Nintendo DS Released in JP: December 8, 2005 Released in US: November 14, 2005 Released in EU: November 25, 2005 Released in AU: November 17, 2005 This game has unused areas. This game has unused graphics. This game has regional differences. This game has a prototype article

The DS entry in the Mario-themed racing series, it introduced the concept of remaking older tracks in 3D. Tracks from Super Mario Kart were, however, available in Mario Kart: Super Circuit.

Unused Tracks

There are a total of nine unused tracks in the game, all of which have missing textures because they are located in the wrong file. However, they can be brought back with some hex editing.

GCN Mario Circuit

A remake of the Double Dash course that didn't make the final cut, although it was later featured in Mario Kart Wii. It can be easily navigated if you've ever played Double Dash.

AR Code:
023cdcd8 00000002
020484a0 d0002a00
020484a4 e0052321

Nokonoko Course

An unused beach-type track with a shortcut. Judging by its title (Noko Noko being the Japanese name for Koopa), it was probably some sort of Koopa Beach track.

There is also a flashing 2D Goomba enemy on the track, with sprites straight from Mario Party Advance; hitting it is like hitting a banana. It shows up on the lower screen as a 2, and is missing a frame of its animation.

The game crashes if you drive off the course into what should be water. By following the AI racers, you should be able to avoid any lockups.

AR Code:
023cdcd8 00000008
020484a0 d0002a00
020484a4 e0052321

Dokan Course

(see here for the prototype video)

A large floating track with loopy pipes where falling off crashes the game. Chances are it was scrapped because it can get a little funky when looping around in the pipes.

AR Code:
020484a0 d0002a00
020484a4 e0052321
023cdcd8 00000004

Test Circle

(see here for the prototype video)

An extremely small untextured course, used for testing. It only has one lap, and a lone item box.

AR Code:
023cdcd8 00000015
020484a0 d0002a00
020484a4 e0052321

Mini Block Course (Block City)

A remake of Block City battle course from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! that was never finished. Only the main model is present, objects such as blocks all over the map are missing. It was likely replaced by Pipe Plaza.

Strangely, there's a Mission Mode script where the player must fight against Big Bully on this map.

Luigi Course

A very early version of Waluigi Pinball. It looks more like a testing track and was probably never going to be finished. It has no item boxes and the cannon is only a slope with boost pads. Near the end, where all the bounds and flippers are located, there's a passage where the player can go under the pinball machine.

Test1 Course

A course that doesn't load because of a missing object file. When fixed, it appears to be a debug track to test animated objects such as the moving bridge in Delfino Square and the rotating gears in Tick Tock Clock. It could have also been used to test collision stuff. However, the original 3D model is missing and was replaced with a prototype version of the Rainbow Road model.

The track layout is like a circle with some imperfections and the player needs to follow the AI to complete the race.

Donkey Course (Waluigi Pinball)

A very early version of Waluigi Pinball. The name of the file, donkey_course, is probably a mistake since in the kiosk version of the game "donkey_course" is an early version of DK Pass, which makes sense. The slot machine near the end is a part of the course where the player can drive over and get a speed boost. Also, the jump where the ball falls off the road is replaced by a normal road with some boost pads.

Wario Course

A replica of Wario Stadium, taking place during a rain shower. The rain is like that on GBA Luigi Circuit, and was most likely removed because it looks really odd in some places. Besides that, the only other differences are the lack of fireballs and the differently placed item boxes.

Unused Karts

Two unused karts can be found in the game. The first is a Wario-themed kart with a mouth. The second is a pink Yoshi egg, which could have been intended for Birdo. Both of these karts are found in KartModelMain.carc. The Wario kart is kart_WR_b.nsbmd, and the Yoshi kart can be found as both kart_HH_b.nsbmd and kart_YS_b.nsbmd.

Unused Graphics

To do: Add debug font graphic, which is also in the boot folder

Shy Guy character icon

A character selection icon for the Shy Guy exists in the game, but since the Shy Guy is exclusive to DS Download play, it goes unused.

However, you can see this icon by getting a grand prix record, or getting a time trial record, by using the Action Replay code 023CDD40 0000000C to force Player 1 to be the Shy Guy.

No icon for the "Standard SG" kart exists, however.

Prototype Emblems

The prototype karts' texture files contain some early designs for emblems. Most of them are numbers. They were shown in some early screenshots of the game. It's unknown if these emblems are just placeholders or if they were going to be in the final version.

Build Date

There is a file named BUILDDATE in the "//data/boot/" folder, which contains the date and time the game was compiled:

Build: 2005 10/8(Sat) 23:05:54

Build: 2005 10/8(Sat) 23:09:34

Build: 2005 10/17(Mon) 20:12:19

Regional Differences

Main Menu

In the Japanese version, Wi-Fi mode is labeled as "Wi-Fi". In the American version, it is labeled as "Nintendo WFC"

Japan	North America

R.O.B.

The most blatant regional differences involve the character R.O.B. In the Japanese version, R.O.B. is white and red (the colors of the Famicom), while in the American version, he is colored dark grey. Additionally, he is called HVC-012 in Japan.

Japan	North America

The ROB-LGS kart was also recolored for the American release.

Japan	North America

As were his icons.

Japan	North America

The final title screen was also changed.

Japan	North America

Course names

Courses have different names depending on the region.