Well, at least we know what we're heading into.
Frustrations
I'm emulating TrackMania DS, and I wish that 277 was an indicator for my FPS, rather than my Kmph. My defaults are struggling with a lot on-screen at once, with frame rates closer to one of those numbers than even two of them together.
Through the slowdown, though, you can catch glimpses of a true TrackMania experience, both in terms of look and sense of speed and control - though that second part was much harder to get a grip on.
Once again, everything is locked behind your progress, and there's a lot less of it on a DS cartridge than there is on its PC counterpart, but from the start, TrackMania DS looked more like the TrackMania that exists in my mind than United Forever showed me in my time with it.
By that, I mean all the quarter pipes and banked corners, the impossibly large scale track constructions that could only exist in a video game. When I think TrackMania, these impossible creations are what I see, in this empty stadium with nothing else going on.
I still had to get to grips with my car, still had to learn how physics in this place work, and would still have to grind through stages to unlock more and more content, only this time, there was no online network to compete against, and in my case in particular, I was playing it via a flipbook.
A track creator exists here as well, but with no way to through it out to the wider world, what's the point? Why invest time and effort in TrackMania DS when any TrackMania on any PC would be a far better choice?
Final Word
And so it wasn't very long before I quit TrackMania DS as well. Mostly because of emulation issues, it has to be said, but I can't imagine sticking with a physical version either, even if it does run wonderfully, or is otherwise technically impressive.
TrackMania, as it exists today, is a big community of very dedicated players, pushing each other to ever more ridiculous times, years in the making in some cases, breaking the game and blowing minds while doing so. New tracks and challenges are created, and creative solutions to abuse the mechanics are found to tear through a stage in seconds. Once you're in this world, you could spend a lifetime exploring it.
TrackMania DS is that, without the community interaction bit.
You might want to play TrackMania in your own little world, on your own little handheld. It might be exactly the kind of bite-sized challenge you're looking for if puzzle games and tactical RPGs don't do it for you, say. But I know that won't be me.
TrackMania is great to see, a bit of a chore to play, and now there's a handheld port.
Fun Facts
Only three of the seven environments in the PC games are available on the Nintendo DS, but at least they don't involve the Coast, because whatever that car on those levels is, it sucks.
TrackMania DS, developed by Firebrand Games, first released in 2008.
Version played: Nintendo DS, 2008, via emulation.