Mario Kart tracks make the jump from DS to Wii, look awesome

by Chris Greenhough { Mar 11th 2008 at 5:00PM }

Delfino Square (Mario Kart DS)

It's common knowledge that half of Mario Kart Wii's 32 tracks are classic circuits from previous games in the series, but how kind has the transition been? IGN decided to find out, by comparing footage of tracks from Mario Kart DS with the updated versions that will appear in the Wii game.

At this point, we should probably state that we weren't initially thrilled to hear of Yoshi Falls being revived. With its wide corners and broad straights, Yoshi Falls in Mario Kart DS was far too easy and item-dependent. In Mario Kart Wii, however, the extra four karts in each race are just what's needed to make the same circuit look far more involving; it doesn't appear to be too big now. IGN also compared Delfino Square -- already a fine track on the DS -- and it looks predictably fantastic on the Wii. The visuals, as you'd expect, have made a significant leap forward.

Accelerate past the break to watch Delfino Square being played on the Wii, as well as footage of Yoshi Falls from both titles.

Delfino Square DS (Mario Kart Wii)

Yoshi Falls (Mario Kart DS)

Yoshi Falls DS (Mario Kart Wii)

Tags: mario-kart, nintendo-ds, racing

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

HPFFE @ Mar 11th 2008 5:12PM

This looks awesome, I can't wait :D

Mr Khan @ Mar 11th 2008 5:17PM

That guy got a bullet bill, why didn't he use it?

Nice to see the visual improvements, though. The game looks a lot more reassuring in motion than it does in stills (a trend with Wii titles, remember the furor over the aliased MP3 screens that came out once?)

Geoff Gibson @ Mar 11th 2008 5:20PM

Definitely an improvement although I wish the vids were in HD so I could see some of the finer detail.

I gotta say though, I was initially skeptical about Mario Kart Wii, but after seeing these videos I am liking it a lot more.

John Rios @ Mar 11th 2008 5:21PM

LOOOVING the boost you get after cornering! FUUUN!
-John

Max @ Mar 11th 2008 6:01PM

I swear, Waluigi Pinball BETTER be in there! Best track in Mario Kart DS!

RosuNamikaze @ Mar 11th 2008 6:44PM

i'm pretty sure i seen it confirmed for a return somewhere.

it's a brilliant track!

xeleion @ Mar 14th 2008 2:50PM

Yes! Waluigi Pinball is my favorite track. It beats all the Double Dash tracks combines. Speaking of which, this game better not control like Double Dash. It. Better. NOT.

At first I was skeptical that anyone would really care about MKWii since the last console iteration sucked and Brawl was coming out, but now I find myself slowly being sucked into the excitement. I already have mine preordered because the lady at Gamestop said I could preorder it and get a free shitty Prima Games Brawl Guide, so I bit. Here comes the anxiousness... Bring on the Kart!

Jon @ Mar 11th 2008 5:39PM

I pray that the cornering boost is handled better than it was on the DS... those online races turned into massive snake-fests... if you didn't snake down all the straights, you got left for dead.

B-Mo @ Mar 11th 2008 6:04PM

it looks like the cornering boost is time activated, notice that the player didn't turn the other way to cause a spark, and when you watch both the videos on the wii, they spark and change colors at the same time.

This is something they should've done before, but it's good to see nintendo fixing what's broken... Now if only they could stop protecting my 24 year old self from pedophiles so I could voice chat when I'm playing online....

mykie @ Mar 11th 2008 6:14PM

Good god, this game is really starting to look better than a night of greased-up wild nasty sex with Jessica Alba.

bean @ Mar 11th 2008 9:26PM

We'll have to see about that one.

terronthesnake @ Mar 12th 2008 12:30PM

Well I wouldn't exactly go that that far Mykie, but yes it does look great.

terronthesnake @ Mar 12th 2008 12:32PM

that that....lol

xeleion @ Mar 17th 2008 10:17PM

... you know she's pregnant, right?

George Arauz @ Mar 11th 2008 6:32PM

Now this should be fun

RosuNamikaze @ Mar 11th 2008 6:42PM

yeah, i wasn't sure about some of the adittions to MKWii, but at the same time had faith in Nintendo to pull it off like they usually do.
i'm quite happy i kept that faith, as the game's looking awesome.
i'm still confused at the sudden release and lack of delay!
really looking forward to it though.
another great WI-Fi game.
could be Wii picking itself up a bit :)

cheeky wee addition of a jump in Yoshi Falls :P
time to show of some skillssss!

Eddie @ Mar 11th 2008 7:10PM

Yahoo! Can't wait for this one.

I wanna play the Wario Stadium!!

Feigr @ Mar 11th 2008 8:45PM

I've played through all of Mario Kart DS (everything unlocked) yet I've never understood what snaking is. Can someone explain?

And yeah the tracks look really nice.

Co @ Mar 11th 2008 8:50PM

If you are being serious..... Have you ever gone online in Mario Kart DS?

Feigr @ Mar 11th 2008 8:56PM

No I've never tried playing online with my DS at all, I don't have any wifi connection.

And yes I'm serious, why wouldn't I be? :/

Jon @ Mar 12th 2008 6:13PM

You slide round a corner on the DS & you get a speed boost. But it doesn't have to be around a physical corner - if you slide the right way on a wide enough straight then you get the boost anyway. So online a lot of people would just zig-zag along the straights repeatedly sliding & boosting. I guess it's exploiting the game "features" but I think it's true to say that most people found it unfair, unsporting and not the way the game was intended to be played.