Mario Kart DSwas the fifth installment of theMario Kartseries to hit the market. The title was a great success, becoming one of the best-selling games for Nintendo’s handheld. At that time, the online experiences were not so developed for that console. In addition to including several new features compared to previous installments of the series, such as new characters and individual karts for each character,Mario Kart DSwas also among the firstNintendo DS gamesto use the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.
It was 2005 and, at that time, many gamers preferred to play alone or at most locally with friends. Then, however, along cameMario Kart DSwith its online multiplayer mode, and it was time to try this experience out. The racing game allowed up to 4-player matches, which was rather small, but Nintendo was taking its first steps into online gameplay. In many ways, it was a turning point for theMario Kartsaga, although there was one aspect that tarnished everything, and it had to do with a very common online practice that vastly changed the play experience.
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Snaking Technique Ruined Mario Kart DS Online
One of the most outstanding aspects ofMario Kart DSwas how refined the drifting technique was, rewarding players with mini-turbos after performing the maneuver. Drifting has been around since the first game, theSNES’sSuper Mario Kart, but it had never been as important as it was in this handheld title. Of course, it is something that did not go unnoticed by users hooked on online racing. There were people who manipulated the mechanics to such an extent that they were able to take advantage of it even on the straights. Fans developed a technique called snaking, where they would weave back and forth on a part of the track, using mini-boosts to move far more quickly than the competition.
The result was that the rest of the players usually saw an ultra-fast player who was making strange movements on the track. When this happened, anyone who didn’t know how to use snaking could write off the race as lost, because it was certain that they would finish second at best.
However, it must be recognized that snaking could become a real art at the controls. It required great dexterity so that the technique did not turn against those who used it. In addition, there were models of karts that, due to their characteristics, worked better when taking advantage of this mechanic, as they had better acceleration and handling. It was also necessary to consider that it did not work in the same way on all tracks, being ideal those with fewer obstacles, as it is the case ofPeach’s Circuit.
There is no doubt that snaking was a rewarding but imbalanced technique, and it showed how difficult it is to develop games without exploits. Nintendo took good note and did its best to prevent snaking from appearing in futureMario Kartreleases. If it were to crop up inMario Kart 8 Deluxe, with more than 50 million copies sold, it could dramatically change the balance of online play and force Nintendo to devote precious time and resources to an update that removes the strategy.
Fortunately,Nintendotends to polish its titles quite a bit. Nintendo’s games don’t tend to be dominated by gameplay loopholes anymore, but the studio still has to remain vigilant if it wants players to stick to the intended gameplay loop. There will always be players willing to exploit even the smallest mistake.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxeis available now for Nintendo Switch.
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