Every Mario Kart DS Course Ranked 

Lets be honest. We just wanna see who ends up behind waluigi pinball

That Patrick comment.. wow. He would've loved it. Like it takes a lot for you to continue this channel and it's inspiring as fuck.

When I was a kid, I used to play DS’s special cup repeatedly and pretended like it was a movie. I imagined the tracks as the acts of an action film. In my mind: Wario Stadium was the prologue and main character’s introduction. Peach Gardens was the middle where the main character meets his significant other. Bowser’s Castle was the climax and intense action scene where the main character saves his girl. Rainbow Road was the ending where the two characters get married. Good times!

Finally. I'm glad to see someone giving my favorite track, Boston Building, some much deserved love.

patrick was right, figure 8 circuit is a fascinating under appreciated masterpiece

Hope you’re holding up well Shaf, I’m glad you’re continuing this series : ) I’m sure Patrick is happy you’re finishing his work

i feel like schaff is hyperfixated on mariokart rn and is just making videos gushing about all of the tracks. and im loving it

"The hills are-" "in a desert!" Absolutely sent me. Well played.

One of the most horrifying moments of my life was looking through old DS games and finding a cartridge for Mario Kart DS... even though I never owned it growing up. I have no idea where it came from or when I got it, but I just had it, apparently. Great job, Nintnedo, this game was so well sold that even people who owned it never knew they owned it

I love how Schaff's intrusive thoughts exist as YTP edits

9:14 I’m so used to you using still images of Tamatoa that when you show an animated clip with original audio from the movie I get major whiplash

So many good tracks in Mario Kart DS. Airship Fortress, Luigi's Mansion, Bowser's Castle, Tick Tock Clock, Delfino Square, Peach Gardens, and Waluigi Pinball are such classics. I feel like DS really got the short end of the stick in the Booster Course Pass with so many amazing tracks not making the cut.

that section with Patrick in figure 8 circuit was really sweet

11:34 James straight up ignoring the fact that Mario Kart 8 made a new Yoshi track just so his statements aren’t outdated is the most hilarious shit I’ve ever seen. XD

My theory with DK Pass is that it actually takes place on Gorilla Glacier from Donkey Kong Country. It’s a snowy region in the mountains of DK Island so the snowy aesthetic makes sense

For some reason, Schaff’s obsession with Tony Soprano being a playable Mario Kart racer is, like, the funniest thing to me

As a defender of Yoshi Falls, I just enjoy cutting through waterfalls and love the music. It’s so chill and jungle-like that it sounds like Donkey Kong

2:24 32.) SNES Sewage Island 2 4:32 31.) SNES Koopa Beach 2 5:22 30.) Figure-8 Circuit 8:12 29.) SNES Mari-oh it's over 9:15 28.) SNES Donut Plains 1 10:18 27.) Yoshi Falls 12:31 26.) *NOT* GCN Baby Park 13:51 25.) GBA Orange Circuit 15:04 24.) N64 Frappe Snowland 15:41 23.) N64 Moo Moo Farm 16:17 22.) Desert Hills 17:13 21.) Not GCN Luigi Circuit 17:59 20.) Not GCN Yoshi Circuit 18:37 19.) DK Pass 19:36 18.) Mario Circuit 20:21 17.) N64 Banshee Boardwalk 25:51 16.) GBA Luigi Circuit 26:34 15.) GBA Bowser Castle 2 27:25 14.) Cheep Cheep Beach (6th Worst Nitro Course) 28:05 13.) GCN Mushroom Bridge (3rd Best Retro Course) 29:04 12.) N64 Choco Mountain (2nd Best Retro Course) 29:47 11.) Shroom Ridge 30:39 10.) Wario Stadium 31:51 9.) Luigi's Mansion/Boston Building 33:32 8.) GBA Sky Garden 34:34 7.) Delfino Square 35:21 6.) Peach Gardens 36:51 5.) Rainbow Road 37:53 4.) Bowser Castle 39:18 3.) Airship Fortress 40:23 2.) TiK-ToK Clock - Ke$ha 42:13 1.) Waluigi Pinball Average Nitro Course Ranking: 11.75 Average Retro Course Ranking: 21.25 (Lower is better)

15:42 I’ve been cracking up at this for like 15 minutes help

As someone who grew up with this game and only recently got three stars in each cup on each CC, I’m glad to see Choco Island 2 at number 32.

The Mount Rushmore of hailed DS tracks are Waluigi Pinball, Airship Fortress, Luigi's Mansion and Delfino Square.

Schaff I need you to know that the transition edit at 15:41 absolutely sends me into space every time and it has now become a verbal stim for me😭

Glad to see Schaffirillas is back on his grind. Slowed down, then literally just unstoppable.

It's nice to see James is coping by remembering the good times and sharing them with his fans. It's nice to see that :)).

Figure 8 circuit went crazy on mulitplayer because it was a test of whose thumbs could last the longest while snaking and it was INSANE

Oh man, I loved Delfino Plaza so much, those shortcuts were so much fun! Thank you for all the nostalgia, Schaff!

Bowsers Castle with the music and the grates sounding like a drum solo every time is perfect

Speaking as someone who grew up with this game and has a lot of fond memories tied to it, to say this ranking has been a long time coming would be an understatement.

If they ever bring back Figure 8 Circuit, I had the idea of adding stage hazards. Like having the Fake Item Boxes return, traveling along the course. Then on lap 2, the track turns stormy and the Thunder Cloud item returns, moving around before stopping to strike lightning down similar to the Thwomps in N64 Bowser’s Castle. Then on lap 3, the Fake Item Boxes get replaced with the Bob-Omb cars. All the while there boost panels on the path of these hazards, making players decide if they want to risk it or they want to play safe I had this idea of it being part of a hypothetical Poison Cup which takes bad courses and makes them more tolerable. Other courses would include * Vanilla Lake 2 - Reduces the amount of ice blocks while introducing Ice Ramps which break upon tricking off them. Halfway into the race, the course goes underwater. Same layout except you dodge penguins and Torpedo teds. * N64 Wario Stadium - Is now a stadium themed around Wario’s Castle from Super Mario Land 2 complete with all of the hazards there making an appearance as to give players something to do other than drive. Comes with a dark reprise of Mario Kart 64’s Raceway theme that incorporates motifs from Wario’s Castle and boss fight * GBA Cheese Land - While a loved course, the unpopular change to a desert is replaced with the original’s space theming. Alternatively a mix of both aesthetics is done. * Cheese Land is now a planetoid in a cheese themed galaxy. * The other idea would be to make it an artificial environment in a colony on the moon, complete with seeing the surface of the moon along with space while racing. Other than that I headcannon that DK Pass and DK Summit take place in Gorilla Glacier from DKC

I cannot get over the "IT'S NOTHING" part for Figure-8 Circuit. It's peak comedy 🤣 6:24

One of my favorite things to do on DS Rainbow Road is place an item on the first loop and if you do so successfully, the target could get pulled up into the center and be sent back

Yes! Shroom Ridge finally gets the respect it deserves! I usually see people say it's one of the most forgettable tracks in all of Mario Kart, but I've always found it incredibly pleasant to race on, and I also get a lot of enjoyment snaking on this track. Racing through it and dodging all the traffic while snaking non-stop is a lot of fun

Honestly, I remember playing this as a kid and still now. Waluigi's pinball has always have a place in my heart.

7:33 I came here for Mario Kart DS nostalgia, ended up nearly crying over this little homage to Patrick. :'(

I’ve been watching this channel for a few years and it’ll always be my favorite. I love his sense of humor and that a whole channel could be dedicated to so many of the weird niche interests and communities I’m involved with. The dedication to keep at it throughout this year is really inspiring honestly, I have a lot of respect for Schaff.

When he said “good luck with that asshole” I thought he was referring to Patrick instead of the fans and I literally grabbed my heart and gasped in shock for like thirty seconds. Ok yes the fans are assholes. Patrick was not. The whole section hit me right in the feels. RIP Patrick. You are remembered fondly and still loved.

Looking forward to the addition of Boston Building in the final wave of the Booster Course Pass.

12:50 The unexpected Arin Hanson “what is this bs” caught me so off guard I almost spit out the food I was eating lmao

DS Rainbow road has been slept on for so long! Always been special to me, even after 7's. That looptyloop went so hard as a kindergartener.

Timestamps Courses 2:24 #32 SNES Choco Island 2 4:32 #31 SNES Koopa Beach 2 5:22 #30 Figure-8 Circuit 8:12 #29 SNES Mario Circuit 1 9:15 #28 SNES Donut Plains 1 10:18 #27 Yoshi Falls 12:31 #26 GCN Baby Park 13:51 #25 GBA Peach Circuit 15:04 #24 N64 Frappe Snowland 15:41 #23 N64 Moo Moo Farm 16:17 #22 Desert Hills 17:13 #21 GCN Luigi Circuit 17:59 #20 GCN Yoshi Circuit 18:37 #19 DK Pass 19:36 #18 Mario Circuit 20:21 #17 N64 Banshee Boardwalk 25:51 #16 GBA Luigi Circuit 26:34 #15 GBA Bowser Castle 2 27:25 #14 Cheep Cheep Beach 28:05 #13 GCN Mushroom Bridge 29:04 #12 N64 Choco Mountain 29:47 #11 Shroom Ridge 30:40 #10 Wario Stadium 31:51 #9 Luigi’s Mansion/Boston Building 33:32 #8 GBA Sky Garden 34:35 #7 Delfino Square 35:21 #6 Peach Gardens 36:51 #5 Rainbow Road 37:53 #4 Bowser’s Castle 39:18 #3 Airship Fortess 40:23 #2 Tick-Tock Clock 42:13 #1 WALLELUJAH Battle Mode 21:07 Balloon Battle 21:41 Shine Runners 22:14 #6 Palm Shore 22:22 #5 Tart Top 22:43 #4 Nintendo DS 22:57 #3 Twlight House 23:21 #2 Pipe Plaza 23:35 #1 BLOCK FORT SPONSOR 24:35 Surfshark VPN

16:50 the clip ending right before the red shell hits honestly got a good laugh out of me.

33:05 I should open up my ds again just to play boston building again. I love that course

Fun Fact: When they brought back the battle course version of Luigi’s Mansion for 8DX, they made a new version of the song from this game’s Luigi’s Mansion for the battle course. 😁

I’d like to thank this game for inspiring so many Lego videos on early RU-vid, they were my introduction to the entire site. Heck, I made one too! I’ve still got the Lego Banshee and Dry Bones with me… somewhere! Those videos are why I picked up the game for OG DS in the first place, and it was such a lovely experience. 3-Stars on every mission, immense nostalgia for every single cup. I remember playing Shroom Ridge inside a flea market sweater rack when I was 10 or so and it will never leave my brain.

2:02 I love the fact that after this game, all the handheld Mariokart games were red, and all the console ones were blue, and 8 deluxe is both cause it’s on the switch! It’s a really nice touch.

I think these are the best ranking videos out there, there just so casual and chill! Thanks for continuing to make these :D

The secret item box on dk pass can give stars and red shells as well as mushrooms, all regardless of placement. Stars in 1st are great

I’ve been OBSESSED with this game lately and I’ve been anticipating this video for a month or two now. You’ve done well, Crab Man.

I just want to say that I really love how much thought and effort your put into these course ranking videos. You inject so much humor and life into them and they're just overall really good vids. where pikmin 4 tho

10:18 "As once I fell... So falls the last Yoshi..."

My cousins and I grew up playing this together. This is by far the most nostalgic of the Mario Karts for me

This was my first Mario Kart game, and the Bowser Castle course still remains as one of my favourite levels of all time!

This I can confidently say is MY Mario kart game. It was probably my favourite game on the DS I remember as a toddler playing it for hours while my family watched tv. I didn’t even care about winning races all that mattered was driving through the gorgeous level design as whatever wacky characters I loved the most (I was a bowser main) And seeing you discuss your thoughts on each track as I look at it again after so many years just gave me a huge nostalgia blast

lets be honest: funky kong racing at waluigi pinball in mk8 deluxe is something we will all do when wave 6 happens

Genuinely I love figure 8 circuit. By no means is it creative or interesting, but I remember some incredibly tough races and super close endings on that course, both with friends and CPUs. I think it's because the track is a good width and well lit enough to aim items while giving you space to avoid them, especially after the final turn with the finish line right in view, where I've made and been hit by several clutch snipes

Boston Building almost moved me to tears with laughter. Genuinely have not laughed like that from a video ever, incredible work subconscious Schaff. I can’t wait until the Mario Kart 7 video where I can pretend to not know what Boston Building is to farm Zoo-Wee-Mamas

I remember being the only kid in my classroom with a DS (and one of the only ones with a portable console) and all my classmates literally begged for me to let them play atleast a single course. MKDS literally boosted my social ranking during middle/high school since I was a pretty shy kid/teen.

iirc, yoshi falls is so well loved because it was one of the only 8 tracks you could play on local multi-player. for many who only got to play through the multi-player, it was well remembered

I remember my uncle gave me his copy of this game when I was a kid. As I was playing through the grand prixs, I got to Waluigi Pinball and was absolutely amazed by it. I'd play versus mode so I could play the track over and over again, and to this day, Waluigi Pinball still remains my favorite course in all of mario kart.

Figure 8 circuit fans rise up✊

I played Mario Kart DS all the time with my older brother. I’d be a Shy Guy cause I wasn’t the cartridge holder. But for some reason my brother only ever wanted to play the Luigi’s Mansion course (idk if that’s cause of personal preference or forced restrictions since I didn’t have the game) so other than the battle modes I don’t recognize most of the courses bedsides two or three more. Bonus story, there was some weird incident where my brother left his DS with Mario kart in the car, and when he came back his save data was wiped. He had went through the effort of unlocking ROB so he was pretty upset. I happened to be sitting beside him in the car that day so he immediately accused me of deleting his save. And istg, no one had touched his DS during then so to this day I have no fucking clue how that managed to happen. But anyways, he already convinced himself I was the culprit, so he decided to take revenge on me by deleting my save files in Pokémon Pearl and New Super Mario Bros. Which, wasn’t that great. Opened the games up one day and all my progress was gone. I have no idea if he even recalls any of this cause it was like over a decade ago. I just happen to remember cause of how bizarre and unfair it felt.

32:54 I had a dream like that too where they announced Fighters Pass Vol. 3 for smash ultimate and hat kid from a hat in time was added. Wish it was real

Mario Kart DS ranking F tier 2:24 SNES Choco Island 2 D tier 4:32 SNES Koopa Beach 2 5:22 Figure-8 Circuit 8:12 SNES Mario Circuit 1 9:15 SNES Donut Plains 1 10:18 Yoshi Falls C tier 12:31 GCN Baby Park 13:51 GBA Peach Circuit 15:05 N64 Frappe Snowland 15:41 N64 Moo Moo Farm 16:17 Desert Hills 17:13 GCN Luigi Circuit

Been waiting for the next installment in this series. Schaffrillas always delivers.

33:23 good soliders follow orders.

Schaff should use “mine, mine, mine” for Wario’s gold mine so Pocahontas has a reason to exist.

29:25 absolutely lethal snipe

2:24 - #32 SNES Choco Island 2 4:33 - #31 SNES Koopa Beach 2 5:23 - #30 Figure 8-Circuit 8:13 - #29 SNES Mario Circuit 1 9:16 - #28 SNES Donut Plains 1 10:19 - #27 Yoshi Falls 12:32 -#26 GCN Baby Park 13:53- #25 GBA Peach Circuit 15:06 - #24 N64 Frappe Snowland 15:42 - #23 N64 Moo Moo Farm 16:17 - #22 Desert Hills 17:14 - #21 GCN Luigi Circuit 18:00 -#20 GCN Yoshi Circuit 18:38 -#19 DK Pass 19:36 -#18 Mario Circuit (The DS one) 20:21 - #17 N64 Banshee Boardwalk 21:07- The Part Where Schaffrillas Ranks All the Battle Courses! (Wow thats a long and oddly specific title!) 24:37 - #?? Sponsor 25:51 - #16 GBA Luigi Circuit 26:35 - #15 GBA Bowser Castle 2 27:25 - #14 Cheep Cheep Beach 28:05 - #13 GCN Mushroom Bridge 29:05 - #12 N64 Choco Mountain 29:48 - #11 'Shroom Ridge 30:42 - #10 Wario Stadium 31:52 - #9 BOSTON BUILDING 33:33 - #8 GBA Sky Garden 34:37 - #7 Delfino Square 35:23 - #6 Peach Gardens 36:51 - #5 Rainbow Road 37:54 - #4 Bowser Castle 39:18 - #3 Airship Fortress 40:32- #2 Tick-Tock Clock 42:14 - #1 I wonder which one is?

Yeah the thing about DS is that that track roster is a list of extremes. Just over a quarter of the tracks are top tier and the rest either just exist or are super lame in the case of most of the retro courses. There's not much in the middle. Can't say it's my favorite selection because of that despite some of the highlights.

Great video as always Scaff! The section about Patrick and Figure 8 circuit was really sweet.

went into this vid knowing I had played some mariokart DS back in the day, but the way I remembered it, I picked it up maybe once or twice and then forgot about it. but when you hit the battle mode section....oh my god. an absolute flood of memories playing this battle mode. and then the rest of the courses, the nitro courses!! it all came back to me so viscerally. i didn't have my own copy of this game, but I borrowed a family member's whenever I had visitation weekends with my dad. i even sat down for this vid already thinking of those weekends because of a song I heard on my way home, and now this. and just by coincidence, it's my dad's birthday today :)

6:45 Surprised you didnt mention how the way they altered the course in Smash was barebones, yet it makes it infinitely cooler than the original track

Fun fact about ds battle mode. If you lose in multiplayer, you become a ghost that has the ability to drop item boxes. Useful if you want to rig a match in the direction you want or troll people by keeping it behind you to start a looney tunes moment.

God even the design of waluigi pinball is amazing. Very beautifully colored and the lights are so cool. And being able to see the pinballs coming up on the side of the track is so cool.

"you're at significant risk of slowing down sufficiency due to this *icky, mud-like goop* " I see what you did there

11:58 Im still praying that R.O.B. makes the roster, he's such an underrated driver

Like DK Pass, I think more courses should have one hard-to-reach item box that always gives you something good like a star or triple mushroom, regardless of your place in the race. I know exploration in a racing game sounds odd and hard to pull off, but things like this could make it interesting and worthwhile.

Not a bad ranking, personally I would put Delfino Square at #1 but I'm probably in the minority there. Either way, as someone who plays this game competitively I think I lot of criticisms would be changed if not completely removed once this game is played at a higher level. Some of the more simplistic tracks suddenly have much more depth, and the complex tracks can really thrive as you weave around them. Choco Island 2 is still terrible though, you were right on that one.

Loved the shoutout to Patrick, that was simultaneously really sweet and really petty😂 God bless❤

I think the only thing missing from this ranking is praise for the Waluigi Pinball theme. Both this game’s version, and the *phenomenal* Brawl remix. Like, holy shit, why is that remix such a banger?

33:14 For future reference, Zoo-Wee Mama

40:09 Just imagine if they add Airship Fortress to the Booster Course Pass after all despite the whole ID thing and they throw in that skeleton with the Super Saiyan sound!😂 That would be the moment of all time!

I’m glad my favorite course was up so high. Tick Tock Clock is an easy masterpiece. I’ve always loved it.

I don't know if it's just the rampant nastolgia but I love figure 8 circuit It has such a distinct vibe from other starter courses that I can't quite place

Technically, Crash Nitro Kart predates Mario Kart's first attempt at anti-gravity tracks by 2 years.

Shcafrillis, I beg, I need to see your take on over the garden wall immediately.

Schaffrillas is one of like three guys I'll watch every video for even if I have zero interest in the topic.

The editing in this one feels a bit more coked up than usual. I love it.

I'm on like my 5th rewatch of this video and still laughing my ass off. The comedic timing in both the voiceover/writing and editing is peak. Big props to everyone who worked on it :D

15:42 I like this transition a lot more than I probably should

27:46 *dont look at the item slot*

7:54 Patrick would have loved this if he was still around...

39:20 I just realized that Airship Fortress has bisexual lighting

Once again, Schaffrillas delivers his usual brand of charming humour to his ranking lists.

Mario Kart DS gives me so much nostalgia... and so much carpal tunnel...

Thank you for the nostalgia trip. I had forgotten some of these tracks and hearing you talk about them made me smile and go "oh yeah! how could i forget that one!" keep up the good work!

9:39 MUTUAL GASLIGHTNING! THE SYSTEM WORKS! 10:13 I love this clip 12:34 I like this course when items are allowed. it is the embodiment of chaos and luck 21:06 Battle mode ranks 30:32 TOP 10

31:09 ITS MOVING!!!!

Yoshi Falls is one I like because of how chill and pretty it is. A laid back course that I don’t need to think too hard about and can enjoy the graphics. Like a vacation, lol

This game’s courses are undoubtedly memorable