Desert Hills

Desert Hills
The course in Mario Kart Wii.
Information
Cup(s)	Flower Cup Leaf Cup
First appearance	Mario Kart DS (2005)
Appearance(s)	Mario Kart DS Mario Kart Wii
Map(s)	DS Wii Regular Mirror Regular Mirror

Desert Hills is the first track of the Flower Cup in Mario Kart DS. It reappears as a retro track in Mario Kart Wii as the first track of the Leaf Cup.

As its name implies, the track takes place on a desert with many steep hills. There's also an oasis beside the first turn.

Layout

Mario Kart DS

As seen in Mario Kart DS.

This track takes place in a plain desert and is one of the few tracks to have Pokeys. When a racer touches a Pokey, they flip to the side and drop their items. CPU racers sometimes may get hit by a Pokey, when the Pokey continues moving in their direction, continuously flipping them over and slowing them down greatly. It's also the first track to feature Fire Snakes (the second being Grumble Volcano). If you touch a Fire Snake, you spin around. The sand here slows the drivers sharply. It ends with long, sharp, winding turns. In a similar vein to Airship Fortress, this track's inspired by World 2, Desert Land, in Super Mario Bros. 3 (which is also known as Desert Hill).

Mission Information

• 2-6: Wario must defeat five Pokeys.
• 4-4: Wario must drive through 7 numbered gates in order.

Mario Kart Wii

This track returns as a retro course in Mario Kart Wii. It has many of the same features as the DS version, such as Pokeys and Fire Snakes (the Fire Snakes now have eyes). It's the first course in the Leaf Cup.

Shortcuts

• Before the second turn, use a Mushroom or 2 to cut through the deep sand between the pyramid and the wall.
• At the last section with the winding road and sandy hills, use a Mushroom to speed onto the first big hill and angle yourself such that you will land in the middle of the second. Time a hop right as you land to bounce over the second hill, and you will have cleared both hills.
• At the beginning of the course, drive forward a bit and drift to the right. When you release your mini-turbo, hop into the sand. Next, line up the vehicle and use a mushroom. Spin drift and you'll proceed to clip the wall. If all done correctly, you'll land at the end of the first turn of the course.^{✱ for MKWii}

Glitches

• If you hit the hit the left dark terrain right before you touch the water, you will fall through it with no splash.^{✱ for MKDS}

Time Trial data

Mario Kart DS

Staff Ghost

Course	Time	Player	Character	Kart
Desert Hills	1:31:262	Ninten★かつ	R.O.B.	ROB-LGS

World Record

Course	Time (PRB)	Player	Character	Kart
Desert Hills	1:09:375 (video)	MKDasher	Dry Bones	Standard LG

Course	Time (Non-PRB)	Player	Character	Kart
Desert Hills	1:09:805 (video)	MKDasher	Dry Bones	Standard LG

Mario Kart Wii

Staff Ghosts

Character	Recorder	Time	Vehicle	Wii Wheel?
	Normal
	Nin★CHIA	02:10.233		No
	Expert
	Nin★solami	01:52.686		Yes

Trivia!

• With the inclusion of the Angry Sun, Fire Snakes, and the various Pyramids and other structures, Desert Hills could be based on Desert Land from Super Mario Bros. 3.

Previous track: Luigi's Mansion	Current track: Desert Hills	Next track: Delfino Square

Previous track: GCN Waluigi Stadium	1st reappearance: Mario Kart Wii	Next track: GBA Bowser Castle 3