Mario Kart DS: Difference between revisions

*<small>''[[Mario Kart 64|N64]]''</small> [[Block Fort]]

*<small>''[[Mario Kart: Double Dash!!|GCN]]''</small> [[Pipe Plaza]]

The classic battle mode seen in all ''Mario Kart'' mainstream, gets a new twist in ''Mario Kart DS''. From previous games, racers begin a match with three balloons. In this game, however, all players begin with a single balloon, though they can get more by blowing up their balloons using the [[Nintendo DS Microphone|microphone]] feature on the DS, or just holding the {{button|gba|select}} button. Each player has four balloons in stock (five in total) and racers can hold up to three balloons in battle. On the other hand, the less balloons a player has, the more powerful items will obtain from the Item Boxes. Racers may also take possession of a balloon from their opponents if the thief has used a [[mushroom]] and made contact to the opponent's kart. If the player loses all their balloons they are eliminated.

Adopted from the ''[[Mario Kart: Double Dash!!]]'' [[Mario Kart (series)#Shine Thief|version]], nine [[Shine Sprite]]s are scattered onto the course at the beginning. Players need to capture the Shine Sprites, and avoid to be hit, as it causes a player to lose one sprite. The sprite then moves to a random spot for someone else to grab. In the meantime, a clock ticks down to 0. Anyone with or tied with the lowest Shine total when the clock hits 0 is eliminated. The clock resets itself to a lower time and the battle continues until at least one is left (there are 9 sprites to avoid a tie, but it is possible to have two players with 4 sprites trying to get that last 1 on the course when time expires or have three players with 3 sprites each. In this case, no one is eliminated and the clock resets as usual. The less sprites a player has, the better an item is obtained (Spiny Shells and Bullet Bills remain out). Shine Runners is almost the same as Coin Runners in ''[[Mario Kart Wii]]'' and ''[[Mario Kart 7]]'', but instead of [[Shine Sprites]], they use [[Coins]].