Banana
The Banana is traditionally the most basic of the
Mariokart items you will find, and if you spend
a lot of time in first place you have better be
ready to make this particular item your best
friend. By pressing the item button this item
can be dropped behind you. Opponents will slip
over it and spin out, losing a decent amount of
speed and control. The Banana can also be
thrown by holding up on the D-Pad and pressing
the item button. This way you can chance
hitting an opponent ahead of you, just be
careful you don't slip on the Banana yourself.
Leave the Banana in areas where you think
opponents are most likely to run over it like on
the inside track of a corner, around some item
boxes, or better yet maybe in the middle of a
Booster Pad.
Three Bananas
Similar to the original Banana these ones come
in bunches of three. When you use them item it
won't actually deploy any Bananas, it will make
it so you start dragging them behind you. While
being dragged behind you, you can even use them
as a dangerous tail to spin out enemies behind
you. Press the item button to drop them
individually. Try to avoid dropping them too
close together in a straight line, a horizontal
line across the track however is perfectly fine.
Like the other ones, these Bananas can also be
thrown by holding up on the D-Pad and pressing
the item button up to three times.
Fake Item Box
Similar to the Banana in nature, this one is
more likely to hit your opponents for two
reasons. One because it's bigger and takes up
more space, but mostly because you can hide it
among real item boxes and trick your opponents
into thinking it's the real thing. When you
have one it can be either dropped or thrown like
the Banana. A dropped Fake Item Box is much more
effective however because you can really
position it will. Do your best to drop it
directly in the same position as a real box so
your opponent can't tell it's fake, even when
they know what to look for. Unlike a real item
box, the Fake Item Box does not have a question
mark icon inside of it, that's how you tell the
difference between them. If you see an
unfamiliar box on the course make sure to look
for the question mark icon before you pick it
up. There are real boxes that sit alone by
themselves, so simply looking for item boxes
which are part of a bunch isn't good enough.
You should always make a quick check.
Green Shell
Another traditionally classic Mariokart item is
the Green Shell. The Green Shell will knock an
opponent out if it hits them and really slow
them down. By pressing the item button a Green
Shell can be fired forward toward you opponent.
It will go straight at all times and bounce off
any walls that it hits until it hits an
opponent, falls off the edge of a cliff, hits
another shell, or gets eliminated in some other
way. A Green Shell can not only be fired
forward, but backward as well by holding down on
the D-Pad when you use it. Lastly a Green Shell
can be dragged behind you as a shield protecting
your back by holding the item button but not
releasing it.
Three Green Shells
The similarities between the Banana and the
Three Bananas are analogous to the similarities
between the Green Shell and the three Green
Shells. When you use the Three Green Shells
none of them will actually fire, instead they
will form a protective barrier around your
character. Each time a shells comes toward you
there is a chance it will hit one of the shells
surrounding you and protect you from being hit.
The more shells you have around you the better
protected you are. Like the Green Shells you
can fire them either forward or backward, but
note that you're not actually shooting them
ahead of your character, but ahead of the shell
itself. It's difficult to explain but when you
fire a shell spinning around you which is say
for example, on your right at this moment, it
will shoot straight ahead FROM the right.
You'll know what I mean when you use them, but
suffice to say the three shells are a bit more
difficult to aim than the single Green Shell
itself. You should also note that while you've
got the shells surrounding you, it might be a
good idea to try and drive into opponents so
that your shield actually knows them out.
Red Shell
A close cousin of the Green Shells, the Red
Shell is the bigger, nastier bully of the two.
At first glance it seems to act in a very
similar manner. You can shoot it ahead of you
or behind you by holding down on the D-Pad.
When you launch the shell it flies off ahead of
you like the Green Shell, but that's where the
similarities end. The Red Shells is a heat
seeking death missile which won't rest until it
hits either an opponent, or anything else in its
path. Unlike the Green Shells it will not
bounce when it hits a wall, rather it will
simply disappear. Making up for this inadequacy
however is its ability to systematically hunt
down the opponent in front of you and hit them
from behind. If they're dragging an items
behind them then the shell will break when it
connects, though in any other case the opponent
is knocked out.
Three Red Shells
There's really not a lot to say about the Three
Red Shells that can't be picked up by reading
the Three Green Shells section, followed by the
Red Shells description. That does however have
the disadvantage of being two independent
articles, so let's sum it all up quickly right
here. Three Red Shells start to circle you
forming a protective shield, each shell can be
shot individually and they'll heat-seek the
nearest opponent ahead of you or behind
depending on where you shoot. Try to ram an
opponent while the shield is in full effect and
the shells orbiting your character knock out the
opponent.
Blue Shell
You might think this is yet another variation of
the Green Shell or the Red Shell, but think
again. Besides the word shell being preceded
by a colour, they're really quite different.
You won't be able to pick up one of these babies
unless you're really falling back in the race,
but when you do it's worth it. Launch the Blue
Shell (only forward) will cause it to heat-seek
the character who is currently in first place
and smash them in a fiery explosion which
incapacitates them longer than almost any other
item. The Blue Shell cannot possibly miss, hit
a wall or be knocked out by any other means.
Once shot it is guaranteed to hit. If you
happen to be in first place and hear the
familiar sound of a Blue Shell coming, it might
be a good idea to pull back a little so you
don't have to be the one bearing the full force
of this behemoth.
Mushroom
With a Mushroom in your inventory you have at
your fingertips the ability to give yourself a
boost of speed any time you want. Press the
item button with a Mushroom in your inventory
and you'll launch forward. When a Mushroom is
used on rough terrain you will temporarily be
immune to its slowing effects. For this reason
the Mushroom is the ultimate shortcut item, you
can give yourself a burst of speed to get across
some sandy terrain which is a shorter path, but
would normally slow you down. This way you'll
be able to get across it not only without being
slowed down, but actually with the Mushroom
speeding you up. Use it to get extra air off of
a jump or just to help you catch up with an
opponent from behind, the traditional way.
Three Mushrooms
Similar to the single Mushroom this particular
item allows you to use a total of three normal
Mushrooms before it runs out. Each Mushroom you
use acts as a normal Mushroom. You're more
likely to get this one if you're falling behind
in the race.
Gold Mushroom
The ultimate Mushroom. When you use this once
the timer begins, it doesn't actually appear on
screen but you can use that Mushroom as many
times as you like before it disappears. It
doesn't disappear based on how many times you
use it, but rather a set period of time starting
after the first use so there's no drawback to
using it over and over again as much as you can.
Each use gives you a speed boost similar to that
of a normal Mushroom so if you're far behind
then this item can really help you get ahead,
especially since you can cross the rougher
terrain without slowing down.
Boo
Boo is the general name for the ghosts in Mario,
and in this situation Boo is the name of the
item stealing ghost you can use as an item.
When you see a ghost appear in your inventory,
use it and the ghost will track down any other
player with an item and bring that item back to
you. Not only do you get the item, but it
steals it away from the other player so that
they can no longer use it. Just be careful
because the same thing can happen to you. If
you pick up something good don't waste too much
time before you use it otherwise you risk having
it stolen. There is an additional bonus to
using this item as for. For a short period of
time after using a Boo your character will fade
into ghost form during which time he/she will be
immune to dangers like shells and Bananas, as
well as not appear on the map.
Bomb-Omb
The Bomb-omb is just the official name for the
bomb item that you might pick up during your run
through the stage. When used as an item the
Bomb-omb is thrown forward where it hits the
ground, waits a second or two, and then explodes
with a large blast radius. Great for taking out
more than one opponent however it's extremely
dangerous and hard to throw accurately. Keep
in mind that in throwing it forward you also
risk driving directly into the explosion as
well. Fortunately the item can not only be
thrown forward, but also dragged and dropped
behind you. There's virtually no chance of
being hit by the bomb when you drop it behind.
Bullet Bill
One of two brand new items appearing only in
Mariokart DS. This is basically like a super
fast autopilot and is arguably the best item you
can receive when you're trailing far behind.
Your kart will automatically transform into a
large bullet and get a super burst of speed.
The AI will drive for you perfectly at super
speed around every corner. Not only that you'll
cream any opponents in your way as you go. It
lasts for a decent amount of time but not TOO
long. Usually enough to get your from last
place to about 4th or 5th.
Blooper
The second of two brand new items exclusive to
Mariokart DS. When used the Blooper will splash
a blast of ink into the faces of all the
opponents who are ahead of you in the race,
screwing up their vision and making them drive
erratically. Since they can't see where they're
going you'll often have the advantage of still
being able to take all the best paths and
shortcuts. You'll really understand what your
opponents are going through when the item is
used by someone behind you. Two or three blasts
of ink cover the screen in random positions and
start to slide down. Most of the time it's still
possible to see well enough ahead of you to
drive as you normally would, but at times you'll
be forced to drive by the map on the touch
screen until it wears off.
Star
The Star is probably the best "overall" item you
can get in the game, while its effect may only
last a short period of time it can really help
you blast ahead of every other opponent. When
you use a Star your character will begin to
flash. At this point you now drive much faster,
you can drive into opponents and smash them out
of the way, and lastly your vehicle is not
effected by slowing terrain so you are free to
take all the shortcuts you want.
Lightning Bolt
This is the classic "all powerful item" which
has been around since the beginning of the
series. Only found by people in last or close
to last place, the Lightning Bolt will hit every
single opponent in the race and shrink them down
to a miniscule size. While small your opponents
move slower, giving you the opportunity to not
only pass them but also run over them, squishing
them into tiny pancakes. Used at the proper
time you can also completely screw up your
opponent trying to get into a shortcut, or going
over a jump.
