Mario Kart DS

Mirror Mode: Get gold trophies on all races on 150cc Retro cups.Leaf Cup
Win a Gold trophy in the Shell Cup and Banana Cup to unlock the Leaf
Cup for that class.

Lightning Cup
Win a Gold trophy in the Leaf Cup to unlock the Lightning Cup for that
class.

Rainbow Cup
Beat all the Staff Ghost Data on the Retro tracks to unlock the Rainbow
Cup in the Retro Grand Prix.

Star Cup
Win a Gold trophy in the Mushroom Cup and Flower Cup to unlock the Star
Cup for that class.

Special Cup
Win a Gold trophy in the Star Cup to unlock the Special Cup for that
class.

Mission Mode mission 7
Get a 1 Star or greater rank on each level of missions 1 through 6 to
unlock mission 7.

Bonus karts
Win a Gold trophy in all cups in the Nitro Grand Prix in the 100cc
class to unlock a third kart for all characters. Win a Gold trophy in all
cups in the Nitro Grand Prix in the 150cc class to unlock a total of
seven karts for all characters. Win a Gold trophy in all cups in Nitro
Mirror mode in the 150cc class to unlock all karts for all characters.

Play as Daisy
Win a Gold trophy in all cups in the Nitro Grand Prix in the 50cc class
to unlock Daisy.

Play as Dry Bones
Win a Gold trophy in all cups in the Retro Grand Prix in the 50cc class
to unlock Dry Bones.

Play as R.O.B.
Win a Gold trophy in all cups in Retro Mirror mode in the 150cc class
to unlock R.O.B.

Play as Shy Guy
Play a Download Play game against another player to have the option to
play as Shy Guy. Note: Shy Guy can only be used Download Play mode.

Play as Waluigi
Win a Gold trophy in all cups in the Retro Grand Prix in the 100cc
class to unlock Waluigi.

Alternate ending sequence
Win all Gold trophies in all cups and classes to change the ending
sequence.

Star next to name
Win all cups in all classes with a 1 Star or greater rank for a star to
appear next to your name in Multiplayer mode and on the "Records"
screen.

Easy Staff Ghost wins
Learn to Snake it will improve your time if done well
enough, but it is difficult to master.

Development team ghost times
Successfully complete the indicated circuit with a time less than the
target to unlock its development team ghost racer, with the
corresponding best time:

Nitro Cup: Airship Fortress: 2:10:000
Nitro Cup: Bowser Castle: 2:20:000
Nitro Cup: Cheep Cheep Beach: 1:45:000
Nitro Cup: Delfino Plaza: 1:55:000
Nitro Cup: Desert Hills: 1:35:000
Nitro Cup: DK Pass: 2:15:000
Nitro Cup: Figure-8 Circuit: 1:38:000 (1:36:481 best time)
Nitro Cup: Luigi's Mansion: 2:00:000
Nitro Cup: Mario Circuit: 1:57:000
Nitro Cup: Peach Gardens: 1:53:000
Nitro Cup: Rainbow Road: 2:17:000
Nitro Cup: Shroom Ridge: 2:06:000
Nitro Cup: Tick-Tock Clock: 1:55:000
Nitro Cup: Walugi Pinabll: 2:24:000
Nitro Cup: Wario Stadium: 2:15:000
Nitro Cup: Yoshi Falls: 0:58:000
Retro Cup: Baby Park: 0:55:000 (0:50:920 best time)
Retro Cup: Banshee Boardwalk: 2:15:000
Retro Cup: Bowser Castle 2: 1:53:000
Retro Cup: Choco Island 2: 1:02:000
Retro Cup: Choco Mountain: 2:16:000
Retro Cup: Donut Plains 1: 1:09:000
Retro Cup: Frappe Snowland: 2:09:000
Retro Cup: Koopa Beach 2: 0:55:000
Retro Cup: Luigi Circuit: 1:37:000 (1:29:759 best time)
Retro Cup: Mario Circuit 1: 0:51:000
Retro Cup: Moo Moo Farm: 1:18:000
Retro Cup: Mushroom Bridge: 1:31:000
Retro Cup: Peach Circuit: 1:13:000
Retro Cup: Sky Garden: 1:45:000
Retro Cup: Yoshi Circuit: 1:49:000

Skip credits
Press Select + Start to skip the credits to the screen that says congradulations
Quick start
During the initial countdown, hold down the gas (A) about a half of a
second to a second after the number "2" appears to get a large boost
when the race starts. You may have to practice to get the correct timing.

Drafting
If you are in second place or worse, follow the opponent ahead of you
very closely. You will see lines on the sides of your kart. Follow close
for long enough, and a large air wave will appear in front of you. This
will increase your car's top speed momentarily and allow you to push
aside other karts, even if you are light. When the wave disappears, your
speed will return to normal.

Snaking
Snaking is getting boosts on straightaways by turbo sliding.
First, get to one side of the track. Then, turbo slide to the other
side of the track. Before you reach the other side of the track, begin
holding the opposite direction. For example, if you were turbo sliding to
the right, hold Left. Once you are turbo sliding roughly in a straight
line, begin tapping Left and Right until gold sparks begin shooting
from your tires. Then, stop turbo sliding. If done correctly, you will get
a quick boost. You must be able to do all of this very quickly, or you
will reach the end of the straightaway before you get the boost. Also,
make sure you stop turbo sliding when the gold sparks shoot from your
tires, and not blue ones.

Inflate balloons faster
In battle mode,instead of holding Select, blow into the microphone. If you stop or go very slow in balloon battle, you can blow up your kart's balloons;
however there is a limit on the top right. If you hold Select it will fill
your balloon, but if you blow into the mic it works better. If you
whistle into the mic it works even better.

When playing in Balloon Battle mode, on the top screen you may see four
yellow balloons in the top right corner. Everyone starts out with one
balloon on their Mario Kart. After the "3, 2, 1, Start!" countdown ends,
instead of going towards the mystery boxes, stay in place and hold
Select to fill up a balloon. Note: You may only have up to three balloons
at a time on your kart.

Stealing balloons
When playing in Balloon Battle mode, you can steal balloons from
another kart by getting a Speed-Up Mushroom from a ? box and ramming
another player. Note: You may only have up to three balloons at a time on
your kart.

Throw Forward
While throwing a banana peel, or turtle shell press Up, and use it.

Holding items behind you
While having a throwable item in your inventory, hold L or X to hold
any throwable item behind you. This can protect you from oncoming
opponent attacks from items that hit you from behind, such as red and green
shells. You are also able to store another item in your inventory while
holding your throwable item behind you.

Note: this doesnt work on Wi-Fi.

Lighting bolt
On the DK Jungle Parkway, Royal Raceway, or Wario Stadium courses, use
a lightning bolt just before someone reaches the jump. They should fall
off the jump, costing them time. Do not use it when they are invicible, or on the
turbo pads because it will not affect them.

Recommended player and kart combination
Use R.O.B. and R.O.B. Legs. The heavy weight will help knock people off
the track while their high speed will help you get past your opponents
and gain the lead.

Shortcut in Bowser's Castle
When you get to the rotating floor, go around it all the way until you
see the door.

Shortcuts in Delfino course
Near the halfway Square point of the course, use a mushroom to cross the water
and land on a dock. This is not easy, but saves a lot of time.
Additionally, after the track is on again after it splits, go over the bridge
and follow the course as usual. Slightly before you make the right turn
to go across the bridge, make a right turn to go in an alleyway and cut
the corner and be ahead on the track slightly. It is recommended that
this be done with mushrooms or some other speed boost item.

Shortcuts in Mario Circuit
In Mario Circuit 1, get two mushrooms. On the third turn there are two
pipes. Use the mushrooms in the dirt part to save approximately five
seconds. The second shortcut is in Desert Hills. In the part with the big
"pyramid", there is a small gap. Use a mushrom to go through a good
shortcut.

Shortcut in Sky Garden
When you get to the second green bridge, look to the left to see a
cloud that goes across to the other track. Hop over it to get to it, then
hop back off to avoid falling off. Note: This may require some practice.

Shortcut in Waluigi Pinball
After you shoot up the slot at the beginning of the race, get a
mushroom and wait until you see the first ramp on the track. When you are
coming toward it, use the mushroom to ramp off and go over your opponents
on the track. This can help you to get ahead a few places.

Shortcuts in Yoshi's Circuit
Just after the first two turns, go straight and you will see a gap in
the wall. Hop over it to get ahead. Additionally, drive forward until
you see the two cloud signs that read "Nintendo" in red. Right after you
pass the second sign, you should see a hole in the wall. You may need
to use a Mushroom or any other speed items to get across.