DS Desert Hills
- This article is about the course from Mario Kart DS and retro course in Mario Kart Wii. For the world from Super Mario Bros. 3 also known as "Desert Hills", see Desert Land.
| Desert Hills | |||||||||||||||
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 Mario Kart DS  Mario Kart Wii | |||||||||||||||
| Information | |||||||||||||||
| Appears in | Mario Kart DS (2005) Mario Kart Wii (2008) | ||||||||||||||
| Cup(s) | Flower Cup (DS) Leaf Cup (Wii) | ||||||||||||||
| Based on | Desert Land | ||||||||||||||
| Online play | No longer available (DS, Wii) | ||||||||||||||
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Desert Hills is the first race course of the Flower Cup in Mario Kart DS. It returns in Mario Kart Wii as a classic course, and is the first course of the Leaf Cup. Elements of the track are based on Desert Land from Super Mario Bros. 3. Pokeys roam around the desert and the Angry Sun will drop Fire Snakes on the track. Both of these elements act as obstacles on the course. The course also has sharper turns and more intense slopes than previous tracks in the game, bringing up the difficulty for the Flower Cup.
Twp missions take place on Desert Hills in Mario Kart DS: Mission 2-6, which involves Wario destroying five Pokeys with Bob-ombs within 55 seconds, and Mission 4-4, which involves Wario driving through 7 gates within 45 seconds.
Layout
Mario Kart DS
The track starts near an oasis with a small lake where one can sink in the water. The first Pokey can be seen in front of the starting line here as well. To the right of the first turn, the track partially surrounds a pyramid made out of Brick Blocks. One of the other Pokeys is on this turn. There is then a field of dunes, with many more Pokeys roaming within it. The course has a few sharp turns at the end of each lap before approaching the finish line. The dark sand portion of the track is an out-of-bounds area, so if the player touches it, Lakitu will bring them back to the track. The skybox rotates clockwise, unlike other courses.
There are two shortcuts. 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.
The following sponsors appear in Desert Hills, all of which are trackside banners:
Mario Kart Wii
Aside from a graphical update, Desert Hills received a few other updates. The starting banner was recolored to blue and now displays the classic Mario Kart logo. Few other changes have been made in the this version of this track aside from the visual improvements; Karts now spin out instead of flipping when making contact with Pokeys and the course map has been rotated 180° in contrast to its predecessor. If players use mushrooms, they can go over many of this course's walls, skipping sections entirely.
December 2009's first tournament required players to take out 10 Pokeys on Desert Hills. The whole track has more Pokeys than before, and players can make use of Item Boxes that either contain a Star or contain Triple Green Shells.
Profiles
Mario Kart DS
- Instruction booklet description:
- English (American):
This racetrack built in the middle of the desert tends to be quite bumpy.[page number needed]
- English (American):
- Website description:
- English (American):
This racetrack built in the middle of the desert tends to be quite bumpy. Watch out for fireballs and stray Pokeys! - English (British):
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 saddle sores. Watch out for the Pokeys too - walking cacti that can stop a speeding kart in its tracks and cost you precious seconds.
- English (American):
Mario Kart Wii
- Website description:
- English (British):
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.
- English (British):
- Trading Card bio: "Desert Hills is not a very difficult course to get around, but it provides a perfect canvas for you to paint a racing masterpiece upon. Spend time on this track dialing your cornering techniques. Be sure to use Mushrooms (if you've got them) to blast over the tall dunes before the start/finish line."
Gallery
Mario Kart DS
Course select icon
The pyramid shortcut
Luigi racing on Desert Hills
Mario Kart Wii
The course banner
A preview of the course
The first turn on the track
A trick can be performed on one of the jumps.
Corkscrew
After a set amount of time (usually after the start of the second lap), the Angry Sun releases Fire Snakes onto the track.
Additional names
Internal names
| Game | File | Name | Meaning
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Kart DS | desert_course | Desert course | |
| Mario Kart Wii | old_desert_ds | Old Desert DS |
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | サンサンさばく[?] Sansan Sabaku |
Sun Sun Desert | |
| French | Désert du Soleil[?] | Sun's Desert | |
| German | Glühheiße Wüste[?] | Glowing Hot Desert | |
| Italian | Deserto Picchiasol[?] | Sun Beaten Desert | |
| Korean | 썬썬 사막[?] Sseon-sseon Samak |
Sun Sun Desert | |
| Spanish | Desierto Sol-Sol[?] | Sun-Sun Desert |
