DS Desert Hills

Not to be confused with Desert Hill.

Desert Hills is a race course in Mario Kart DS. Pokeys roam around the desert, and the Angry Sun will drop Fire Snakes or Fireballs on the track in three different places. The first is in front of the starting line, and the other two are on twisting turns on the track. The course has many sharp turns before the finish line, possibly resulting in driving onto the sand, losing time. Missions 2-6 and 4-4 take place here, in both of which players take control of Wario.

File:Desert Hills.PNG

Panoramic of Desert Hills in Mario Kart Wii.

There are two shortcuts in this course. The first shortcut is taken by going straight across the hairpin turn, instead of going around. In 150cc, this shortcut requires only one mushroom, if the player jumps at the right time. The second is a dash-through behind the pyramid, right before the Pokeys start appearing. Two mushrooms will be required for this.

Desert Hills appears as a remade classic track in Mario Kart Wii, being the first racecourse of the Leaf Cup. No major changes had been made in the track after its first appearance, other than the Pokeys no longer being flat and karts no longer flip when making contact on them. Instead, they just spin around. Also, the course map has been rotated 180 degrees in contrast to its predecessor.

Course layout

The track starts near an oasis with a small lake where a racer can sink in the water, bringing Lakitu for the rescue. To the right of the first turn, the track partially surrounds a pyramid made out of Brick Blocks while racers leave the oasis to find then a field of dunes infested of Pokeys sliding to the sides of the course. Just before the finish line, a curly path of soft sand will cause karts (especially those with high drifting) to lose a bit of control, ending up on going to rough ground zone and lose speed. The Pipes, Angry Sun, and blocks are the same of Super Mario Bros. 3.

Missions

There are two missions involving this circuit: 2-6 and 4-4. In mission 2-6, the player must use the Bob-ombs to destroy 5 pokeys, and in mission 4-4, the player must pass the 7 gates in the order.

Official descriptions

Mario Kart DS

• Instruction booklet: "This racetrack built in the middle of the desert tends to be quite bumpy."
• Sites
  • "This racetrack built in the middle of the desert tends to be quite bumpy. Watch out for fireballs and stray Pokeys!"
  • "Bring plenty of sunscreen and seat cushions for this race because the baking desert heat and bumpy terrain can give unprepared drivers serious sunburn and and saddle sores. Watch out for the Pokeys too - walking cacti that can stop a speeding kart in its tracks and cost you precious seconds."

Mario Kart Wii

• European website: "If you can't stand the heat, then stay away from the desert hills! Fireballs falling from the sun make it even tougher to negotiate the high turns snaking through the dunes."

Tournaments

The DS Desert Hills tournament.

In Mario Kart Wii, a tournament took place on this track. Players had to defeat 10 Pokeys with Stars and Triple Green Shells as quickly as possible. It was the first tournament of December 2009.

Gallery

DS version

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  Luigi racing in Desert Hills.

Wii version

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  The first turn on the track.

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  A trick can be performed on one of the jumps.

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  Corkscrew.

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  After a set amount of time (usually after the start of the second lap), the Angry Sun releases Fire Snakes onto the track.

Trivia

• One part of the course is a corkscrew similar to that of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California.