Desert Hills
- This article is about the race course fromMario Kart DS. For its musical theme, seeDesert Hills (theme). For the second world ofSuper Mario Bros. 3 also known as "Desert Hill", seeDesert Land.
| Desert Hills | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Appears in | Mario Kart DS (2005) Mario Kart Wii (2008) Mario Kart World (2025) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cups | Flower Cup (DS, World) Leaf Cup (Wii) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rallies | Golden Rally Cherry Rally | ||||||||||||||||||
| Based on | Desert Land Sarasaland (World) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Desert Hills is the firstrace course of theFlower Cup inMario Kart DS. Elements of the track are based onDesert Land fromSuper Mario Bros. 3.Pokeys roam around the desert and theAngry Sun will dropFire Snakes on the track, in increasing numbers as the laps go on. The course also has sharper turns and more intense slopes than previous tracks in the game, bringing up the difficulty for the Flower Cup.
Desert Hills reappears as a classic course inMario Kart Wii as the first race track of theLeaf Cup, and inMario Kart World again as the first track of the Flower Cup. InMario Kart World, Desert Hills replaces most of theSuper Mario Bros. 3 elements with elements ofSarasaland fromSuper Mario Land, withTokotokos that move in increasing numbers with each lap andBatadons replacing the previous enemies.
Mario Kart DS[edit]
Course layout[edit]
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 ofBrick 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. 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 onemushroom, 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 Pipes, Angry Sun, and block designs are taken from aspects of Desert Land inSuper Mario Bros. 3.
If the player hits the left dark terrain before they touch the water, they will fall through it with no splash animation.
It was one of the courses that could be played overNintendo Wi-Fi Connection.
Missions[edit]
There are twomissions that take place on Desert Hills, both of which the player controlsWario:
- Mission 2-6: The player must useBob-ombs to take out all 5 Pokeys within 55 seconds.
- Mission 4-4: The player must pass through 7 gates within 45 seconds. Along the way, each Item Box containsTriple Mushrooms.
Mario Kart Wii[edit]
Desert Hills makes its classic course debut inMario Kart Wii as the first course of theLeaf Cup. The course received updated graphics, and the starting banner was recolored to blue and now displays the classicMario Kart logo. Few other changes have been made in the this version of this course, 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 useDash Mushrooms, they can go over many of this course's walls, skipping sections entirely.
December 2009's first tournament required players to take out 10Pokeys on Desert Hills. The whole course has more Pokeys than before, and players can make use of Item Boxes that either contain aStar or containTriple Green Shells.
Mario Kart World[edit]
Desert Hills returns inMario Kart World, appearing as the first course of theFlower Cup. It is the first classic course in the series' history to be in the Flower Cup. The course is also the starting point of theGolden Rally and the final destination of theCherry Rally. The course has been drastically redesigned, removing elements from Desert Land fromSuper Mario Bros. 3 in favor of elements ofSarasaland fromSuper Mario Land. The pyramid at the start has been replaced with a ramp shortcut. The middle of the course has been significantly widened, featuring steep sand dunes to trick off of andBatadons. The off-road of this area has also been widened, with pillars added to the right where a new off-road shortcut is located. The slopes at the end have been significantly flattened and replaced with two ramps on the left, one of which is aGlide Ramp. A stone arch over thefinish line features carvings of theAngry Sun and Batadons on either side.[1] A newGlide Ramp shortcut was added near the end of the course. There are also two ramp shortcuts in the water near the starting line, one located on the right and a backwards one on the left that can only be taken when Desert Hills is driven in reverse. It is located in the southwestern desert region, and is the westernmost course in the game's map.[2]
The Angry Sun, Fire Snakes and Pokeys have been replaced with Batadons andTokotokos appearing as obstacles on the track.[3] The Tokotokos dynamically move with each lap; on lap one, three Tokotokos are simply sitting in the off-road; on lap two, one Tokotoko starts moving; on lap three, the other two begin moving. All three Tokotokos begin moving if Desert Hills is driven on backwards from most of its routes, while only one Tokotoko moves if Desert Hills is driven forwards from a route. Unlike other courses that end a rally in Knockout Tour, Desert Hills is driven backwards for the final race, though the minimap is not flipped upside-down unlike when going in reverse in VS Race.
Routes[edit]
LikeMario Bros. Circuit, theroute fromShy Guy Bazaar is the only one that enters Desert Hills so that the course is driven in the forwards direction. Pokeys, Fire Snakes, and a sand-dwellingCharvaargh are located near a cave used on the route between Desert Hills and Shy Guy Bazaar.Conkdors are located on the routes leading fromCrown City,DK Spaceport, and Mario Bros. Circuit.
Although DK Spaceport has a route leading to Desert Hills, and Desert Hills has a route leading toKoopa Troopa Beach, the reverse is not true for either; Desert Hills does not have a route leading to DK Spaceport, and Koopa Troopa Beach does not have a route leading to Desert Hills. The former trait is shared with DK Spaceport's routes toPeach Stadium and Mario Bros. Circuit, while the latter trait is shared with Koopa Troopa Beach's routes fromWhistlestop Summit andGreat ? Block Ruins.
FromCrown City
FromDK Spaceport
FromShy Guy Bazaar
A composite map of all routes leading to Desert Hills
Brands[edit]
This section is astub. Please considerexpanding it to include any missing information.Specifics: brands in Mario Kart Wii
Mario Kart DS[edit]
Mario Kart Wii[edit]
Mario Kart World[edit]
Profiles[edit]
Mario Kart DS[edit]
- Instruction booklet description:
- English (United States):
This racetrack built in the middle of the desert tends to be quite bumpy.[4]
- English (United States):
- Website description:
- English (United States):
This racetrack built in the middle of the desert tends to be quite bumpy. Watch out for fireballs and stray Pokeys! - English (United Kingdom):
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 (United States):
Mario Kart Wii[edit]
- Website description:
- English (United Kingdom):
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 (United Kingdom):
- 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[edit]
Mario Kart DS[edit]
Course select icon
The pyramid shortcut
Luigi racing on Desert Hills
Mario Kart Wii[edit]
The course banner
A preview of the course
Intro for 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), theAngry Sun releasesFire Snakes onto the track.
Mario Kart World[edit]
Course icon
Icon in theGolden Rally
Icon in theCherry Rally
World map icon
The first turns withTokotokos
The final turns
Naming[edit]
Internal names[edit]
| Game | File | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Kart DS | desert_course | Desert Course | |
| Mario Kart Wii | old_desert_ds | Old DesertDS | |
| Mario Kart World | DesertHills[5] | Desert Hills |
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | サンサンさばく[6] San San Sabaku | Sun Sun Desert | |
| Chinese(Simplified) | 阳光沙漠[7] Yángguāng Shāmò(Mandarin) Yèuhnggwōng Sāmohk(Cantonese) | Sunshine Desert | |
| Chinese(Traditional) | 陽光沙漠[7] Yángguāng Shāmò(Mandarin) Yèuhnggwōng Sāmohk(Cantonese) | Sunshine Desert | |
| Dutch | Zonneruïne[7] | Sun Ruin | |
| French | Désert du Soleil[8] | Sun Desert | |
| German | Glühheiße Wüste[9] | Glowing Hot Desert | |
| Italian | Deserto Picchiasol[10] | Sunbeaten Desert | |
| Korean | 썬썬 사막[11] Sseon Sseon Samak | Sun Sun Desert | |
| Polish | Wydmowa Wyżyna[12] | Dune Upland | |
| Portuguese | Colinas Desérticas[7] | Desert Hills | |
| Russian | Песчаный путь[7] Peschanyy put' | Sandy Path | |
| Spanish | Desierto Sol-Sol[13][14] | Sun-Sun Desert |
Notes[edit]
- Desert Hills is one of three courses in theMario Kart series to have returned more than once to occupy the same slot in a cup each time it has appeared (in this case, the first one). The others areWii Mushroom Gorge andDS Peach Gardens. It is the only one of the three to not appear in theMario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass.
References[edit]
- ^Nintendo of America (April 2, 2025).Mario Kart World – Nintendo Direct | Nintendo Switch 2.YouTube. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
- ^File:MK World map.pngMedia:MK World map.png
- ^On a joué à MARIO KART WORLD, on vous dit TOUT !!
- ^2005. Mario Kart DS.Nintendo. Page 35.
- ^File name of the course'ssticker on theJapaneseMario Kart World online events website,Sign_DesertHills.png. All course stickers use the prefix "Sign_". Retrieved September 1, 2025.
- ^【DS】マリオカートDS 実況プレイ！ めざせ全カップ優勝！編【生放送】
- ^abcdeIn-game name fromMario Kart World
- ^Mario Kart World in-game name from French localization (Uploaded 5 Jun. 2025 onYouTube by Siphano)
- ^Let's Play Mario Kart DS [Grand Prix / 150 ccm / Deutsch] (Part 4): Blumen-Cup!
- ^Mario Kart DS nel 2025 è un trip nostalgico
- ^마리오 카트 DS #1 : 추억의 마리오 카트 달려보자!
- ^In-game name.Mario Kart World (Ver. 1.5.0). Nintendo. Retrieved January 22, 2026.
- ^Nintendúo.Jugamos la VERSIÓN FINAL de MARIO KART WORLD (4:40).YouTube (European Spanish). Retrieved June 3, 2025.
- ^BRCDEvg.Estrenando juntos MARIO KART WORLD (17:24).YouTube (Latin American Spanish). Retrieved June 5, 2025.
