Mario Kart DS

Mario Kart DS is the DS entry in the Mario-themed racing series, introducing the concept of remaking older tracks in 3D. (Tracks from Super Mario Kart were 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
I36ceOBH0l0 A remake of the Mario Kart: 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!!, though.

To access it, use Action Replay code.

Nokonoko Course
h-Z_ud4LXEI 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.

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.

To access it, use Action Replay code.

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.

To access it, use Action Replay.

Test Circle
(see here for the prototype video)

An extremely small untextured course used for testing, with only one lap and a single item box. To access it, use Action Replay code.

Mini Block Course (Block City)
A remake of the Block City battle course from Double Dash!! that was never finished. Only the main model is present, while 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)
Another very early version of Waluigi Pinball. The name of the file, donkey_course, is probably a mistake since in the kiosk version "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.

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



However, you can see this icon by using Action Replay code to force Player 1 to be Shy Guy and getting a Grand Prix or Time Trial record.

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

Debug Font


Most likely used for debugging purposes and such while the game was still in development.

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:

Unused Menu Music


There is an unused song for a main menu stored in the game, called SSEQ_0005. It is one track away from the records screen, so it was probably intended there. It has a resemblance to the Wi-Fi menu theme too.

To hear this song on the title screen, use Action Replay code (US).

Hidden Graphics


The Paratroopa shaped building in Baby Park cannot normally be seen on the touch screen map because it is too far out of bounds.

Memory Filler
Mario Kart DS seems to pad certain parts of memory with repeated instances of cute ASCII art of Mario from Super Mario Bros. 0036bf90 00 00 44 44 44 44 00 00  00 00 44 44 44 44 00 00  |  DDDD    DDDD  | 0036bfa0 4e 4b 44 47 72 24 05 25  01 00 19 e6 4e 00 69 00  |NKDGr$ %    N i | 0036bfb0 6e 00 74 00 65 00 6e 00  05 26 72 30 87 30 46 30  |n t e n  &r0 0F0| 0036bfc0 00 28 33 00 29 0b 00 29  66 00 29 42 00 27 9a 00  | (3 )  )f )B '  | 0036bfd0 00 00 00 00 00 55 55 55  55 55 00 00 00 00 00 00  |     UUUUU      | 0036bfe0 00 00 00 00 00 55 55 55  55 55 00 00 00 00 00 00  |     UUUUU      | 0036bff0 00 00 00 00 55 55 55 55  55 55 55 55 55 00 00 00  |    UUUUUUUUU   | 0036c000 00 00 00 00 55 55 55 55  55 55 55 55 55 00 00 00  |    UUUUUUUUU   | 0036c010 00 00 00 00 44 44 44 88  88 44 88 00 00 00 00 00  |    DDD..D.     | 0036c020 00 00 00 00 44 44 44 88  88 44 88 00 00 00 00 00  |    DDD..D.     | 0036c030 00 00 00 44 88 44 88 88  88 44 88 88 88 00 00 00  |   D.D...D... | 0036c040 00 00 00 44 88 44 88 88  88 44 88 88 88 00 00 00  |   D.D...D... | 0036c050 00 00 00 44 88 44 44 88  88 88 44 88 88 88 00 00  |   D.DD...D... | 0036c060 00 00 00 44 88 44 44 88  88 88 44 88 88 88 00 00  |   D DD...D... | 0036c070 00 00 00 44 44 88 88 88  88 44 44 44 44 00 00 00  |   DD....DDDD   | 0036c080 00 00 00 44 44 88 88 88  88 44 44 44 44 00 00 00  |   DD....DDDD   | 0036c090 00 00 00 00 00 88 88 88  88 88 88 88 00 00 00 00  |     ....... | 0036c0a0 00 00 00 00 00 88 88 88  88 88 88 88 00 00 00 00  |     ....... | 0036c0b0 00 00 00 00 44 44 55 44  44 44 00 00 00 00 00 00  |    DDUDDD      | 0036c0c0 00 00 00 00 44 44 55 44  44 44 00 00 00 00 00 00  |    DDUDDD      | 0036c0d0 00 00 00 44 44 44 55 44  44 55 44 44 44 00 00 00  |   DDDUDDUDDD   | 0036c0e0 00 00 00 44 44 44 55 44  44 55 44 44 44 00 00 00  |   DDDUDDUDDD   | 0036c0f0 00 00 44 44 44 44 55 55  55 55 44 44 44 44 00 00  |  DDDDUUUUDDDD  | 0036c100 00 00 44 44 44 44 55 55  55 55 44 44 44 44 00 00  |  DDDDUUUUDDDD  | 0036c110 00 00 88 88 44 55 88 55  55 88 55 44 88 88 00 00  |  ..DU.UU.UD.. | 0036c120 00 00 88 88 44 55 88 55  55 88 55 44 88 88 00 00  |  ..DU.UU.UD.. | 0036c130 00 00 88 88 88 55 55 55  55 55 55 88 88 88 00 00  |  ...UUUUUU... | 0036c140 00 00 88 88 88 55 55 55  55 55 55 88 88 88 00 00  |  ...UUUUUU... | 0036c150 00 00 88 88 55 55 55 55  55 55 55 55 88 88 00 00  |  ..UUUUUUUU.. | 0036c160 00 00 88 88 55 55 55 55  55 55 55 55 88 88 00 00  |  ..UUUUUUUU.. | 0036c170 00 00 00 00 55 55 55 00  00 55 55 55 00 00 00 00  |    UUU  UUU    | 0036c180 00 00 00 00 55 55 55 00  00 55 55 55 00 00 00 00  |    UUU  UUU    | 0036c190 00 00 00 44 44 44 00 00  00 00 44 44 44 00 00 00  |   DDD    DDD   | 0036c1a0 00 00 00 44 44 44 00 00  00 00 44 44 44 00 00 00  |   DDD    DDD   | 0036c1b0 00 00 44 44 44 44 00 00  00 00 44 44 44 44 00 00  |  DDDD    DDDD  |

Main Menu
Wi-Fi mode is labeled as "Wi-Fi" in the Japanese version and "Nintendo WFC" in the US one.

R.O.B.
The most blatant regional differences involve R.O.B.

In the Japanese version, R.O.B. is white and red (the colors of the Famicom), while in the US version he is colored dark grey (the general color of the NES). Additionally, he is called HVC-012 in the Japanese version.

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

...As were his icons.

The final title screen was also changed.

Course Names
Some courses have different names depending on the region.