Nintendo's 7th generation handheld, the Nintendo DS, turned 15 years old today in North America, and will be turning 15 in Japan on December 2, and in Europe on March 11, 2020. The handheld was on the market from 2004 to 2013.
The name for the Nintendo DS comes from its dual-screens. The handheld features two LCD screens in a clamshell design. There were three redesigns for the DS released during its lifespan: the Nintendo DS Lite, Nintendo DSi, and Nintendo DSi XL.
The Nintendo DS sold 154.02 million units worldwide, according to Nintendo. That makes it the best-selling handheld and the second-bestselling video game platform of all time behind Sony's PlayStation 2.
Mario Kart DS still plays a fine game of handheld Mario Kart more than 20 years after its initial release.
I really liked the Mission Mode. They had you doing crazy stuff like driving backwards, or collecting all the collectibles as quick as you can between a litter of enemies.
They should add it to Mario Kart 9 for sure, along w online leaderboards for the mission stuff. That's how they could expand on the already excellent Mario Kart 8, bc track quality it's hard to imagine them getting much better beyond slightly tighter graphics and 4k on the Switch 2. Maybe more Diddy Kong Racing-esque adventure layout w more emphasis on boats and planes.
It's hard to say that Mario Kart DS is the best "handheld Mario Kart" though, bc Mario Kart 8 is handheld. It's definitely got some uniqueness that I appreciated. The 2 merged together would be amazing.
I don't think Mario Kart 8 (and Deluxe) rank too highly for me, personally. There's just not as much life in them.
Mario Kart Double Dash, MKDS and Super Mario Kart are the only three that are actually fun to play. Sure MK8 is pretty but its just that. It lacks the soul of double dash. the DS one controls really really well and the orignial with the feather power up is cool.
Hard to disagree with that, really how can all the other games (especially after it) have less single player content?
DKR managed a better game on the 64 and Mario Kart gets away with literally the bare minimum all the time.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder delivers record-breaking sales after over 10 million players ride the inchworm. The plumber and the pipe make history.
The game where you got to look after and train virtual puppies has remained in people's hearts since its original almost 15 years ago.
One of the coolest features I liked about the DS was its ability to download demos from kiosks as well as the wii. Share play is also another good feature. My kids still use that when playing mario kart on trips.
The DS is one of the best consoles/handhelds ever. Some serious memories with that thing