Shy Guy was playable first in “Mario Kart DS” and has appeared in every iteration since except for “Mario Kart Wii.” Shy Guy in DS has a red skin but has since adopted numerous color variations in subsequent versions.
The first and only Mario Kart game you can play as R.O.B. is “Mario Kart DS.” It stands for “Robotic Operating Buddy” and outside the Mario Kart franchise, first appeared in “Super Mario Bros. Brawl” on the Wii.
Yoshi is one of 5 DS characters playable on all versions of Mario Kart. Yoshi is my sister’s favorite racer and in “Super Mario Bros.” can both eat the enemy Koopas and use eggs as projectiles.
Dry Bones is playable in the first iteration of “Mario Kart,” “DS,” “Wii,” “8 Deluxe,” and “Tour.” His kart in “Mario Kart DS,” the Dry Bomber along with Toad were my go-to combination on the DS.
Wario was first introduced to Mario Kart in “Super Mario Kart” in 1992 and like Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, Bowser, and Yoshi, are playable in all console versions of Mario Kart.
Waluigi was first playable in “Double Dash” and in every other console version after 2003. “Waluigi’s PinBall” is also my favorite course on the DS version.
Koopa Troopa made his first appearance in “Mario Kart: Double Dash” in 2003. But, the only other Mario Kart game where he is a playable character is "Mario Kart Tour,"" the IOS version of the game released in 2019.
Bowser is the villain of many Nintendo games and made his racing debut in the original Mario Kart. He is the King of the Koopa Kingdom and lords over the Koopas (who in their shell form take the appearance of red and green shells).
Daisy was the first unlockable character in “Mario Kart DS,” the first Mario Kart game I owned (and still my favorite). Her first appearance was in 2003 in “Mario Kart: Double Dash” on the GameCube.
Toad has always been and will always be my chosen character. Toad made his debut in the first Mario Kart game and is playable on every single release to-date.
Donkey Kong, or “DK,” first appeared in the second iteration of Mario Kart, 1996’s “Mario Kart 64,” playable on the Nintendo 64. Donkey Kong made his debut outside of karting in the arcade game “Donkey Kong” in 1981.
Peach has also appeared in all 9 Mario Kart games, beginning with “Super Mario Kart.” The Queen of the Mushroom Kingdom, she is often accompanied by an army of loyal Toad attendants.
Luigi, one of the original Super Brothers, has also appeared in all versions of Mario Kart, from 1992 to 2019. Luigi is the younger of the two brothers and my best friend Asher’s chosen racer throughout all Nintendo games.
Mario first appeared in the first interation of the game, "Super Mario Kart" in 1992 and was playable on the first Nintendo console, SNES. Since, Mario has appeared in every all 9 console versions of Mario Kart.
This webpage is an ode to “Mario Kart DS,” which came out on the Nintendo DS in 2005.
