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Originally Posted by Wraith
WTF is snaking?
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What is snaking?
Snaking makes use of the mini-turbo technique in Mario Kart DS. Power sliding, or drifting (another word for it) is when you make your kart slide in a certain direction, and after pressing the control pad from left to right, get a small speed boost, or mini-turbo. Snaking is when you mini-turbo from one side of the track to the other side of the track. If performed successfully, you'll get the speed boost each time you're done mini-turboing to the opposite side of the track.
Now, you're probably wondering how this technique got its name. When snakes slither, they usually move their bodies from left to right. When you're snaking in the game, you'll be moving your kart from left to right.
Another name for this technique is this: "SSMTs". That stands for Straight Stretch Mini Turbos. This term had originally come from Mario Kart 64, came back in Mario Kart: Double Dash, and is now in Mario Kart DS. SSMTs is also a bit of a better term to use than snaking. Why? This isn't limited to back and forth motions, which is what the term "snaking" is limited to.
If this is pulled off right, you'll be able to get ahead of your opponents easily with the mini-turbos that you would be getting each time you drifted.
How do I snake?
It was sort of outlined up above, but now I'll explain in more detail how snaking is done. First of all, you would need to know how to power slide. I'll go ahead and explain that, since power-sliding and using the mini-turbo is primarily how you snake.
Normally, mini-turboing is used on corners so you can get a speed boost as you're turning a corner on the course. To do this, you have to press the R button and press the control pad quickly from left to right. So, say that you want to mini-turbo around a corner that is turning to the left. So, once you press R, hold it down and press the control pad from left to right to get the mini-turbo.
Snaking uses this technique, only when people do it, they don't use it on just corners. They'll use it on the whole track! When the race starts, if somone is going to snake, they'll mini-turbo to the right first to get the speed boost there. Then, immediately, after they get the mini-turbo, they will slide to the left. Then, that will just alternate throughout the race, giving them back-to-back speed boosts, even when you're not turning a corner.
However, when a snaker is turning a corner, they'll mini-turbo multiple times in the direction that they're turning to get tons of mini-turbos as they're rounding the corner.
That's what you basically do when you snake, and that's what your opponent will be doing if they're snaking while you're racing them.
Update on 12/25: The user GJ_CHUBZ made a very helpful video about how to snake, and it shows you what it looks like to snake in case you don't quite understand what it looks like after reading this. Here's a link to that video:
The Pros and Cons of Snaking
People have lot's of different views on snaking. Some think that it is a fun way to play, and makes it harder for your opponent to beat you. While others see it as a cheap way of racing and showing that you don't have any skill in racing when all you do is snake. There are both good sides and bad sides to snaking though gameplay wise.
First, the good sides. Snaking can get you various mini-turbos, keeping you ahead of your opponent for just about the whole entire race. When you snake, you do have a better chance of winning because the speed boosts can keep you ahead of your opponent. This is one of the reasons that people see snaking as a bad thing. If someone is really good at snaking, then it's very hard to pass your opponent, even if you use an item like a red shell or something.
Another thing on the good side of snaking is that you can dodge some items laid on the course by other racers easier, with the exception of homing items like the blue shell, red shell, and the lightning bolt. Since you're moving from one side of the course to the other, you can end up getting out of the way of things like green shells, fake item boxes, Bob-Omb explosions, and other things.
There are bad sides to doing this technique though. One of them is, if the track you're on doesn't have enough room to snake, and you try, you might end up falling off the course and letting your opponents pass you during the race. Also, if there are a lot of items lined up in a row (like banana peels), you might end up hitting them and spinning out. Same as if there are some items lined up somewhat in a column (like a column of banana peels). There's a chance you might end up not smacking into one, but there's also a chance that you'll probably hit one of those items.
People say it's cheap. Should I do it?
That's pretty much up to you. If you think that you should do it so it can help you win more races, then do it. But, if you like to have a challenge when you race, then you should avoid snaking. When you do snake, because you're constantly getting speed boosts, it will be tough for people to pass you, making it much easier for you to win.
So, basically, it's up to you whether you should do it or not. If you want to have an easy win against everyone, then do it. However, if you're more into a challenge, then don't do it.
Does the weight and how well my kart can drift effect how well I snake?
Yes, your kart weight does effect how well you can snake with that kart. Lighter karts are generally better to snake with than heavier karts. So, if you're snaking with a lighter kart, you'll be "more in control" of your slide than you would if you were snaking with a heavy kart.
How well the kart you're using can drift also is a vital factor about whether you will be able to snake or not. If the drift bar is high, the kart will turn more while drifting. When you're picking a kart, on the bottom screen, you see the kart's stats. If the drift bar is higher, the kart won't be able to drift that well as a kart that has a lower drift bar. Since snaking is basically drifting, this is very important. The heavier karts can't drift as well, and have higher drift bars than the lighter karts. If your drift for the kart you're going to use is too high (which is usually the case with some of the heavier karts), the drift might not work right and, while you're drifting, end up going off of the track.
An example of a really light kart is Toad's Mushroom Kart. With a light kart like that, you'll be able to snake much easier. Usually, you'll stay on the track and won't go off of it. However, that's not entirely the case if you're using a heavier kart, like Bowser's kart.
Since his kart is much heavier than any lightweight kart, it will be hard to keep him on the kart, or any heavy weight kart for that matter, on the track while you're snaking. If you're using a heavy kart and try to snake, chances are that you'll end up drifting all the way off the track. However, some heavy karts, like the ROB-BLS, are really good for snaking.
Middle-weights, like Mario and Luigi's karts, are neither bad nor good with snaking. Since they're sort of light and sort of heavy, they're neither bad or good at drifting. There's a chance that you might drift off of the course, but there's a chance that you'll snake that part of the course successfully. Poltergust 4000 is also a really good snaking kart to use.
So, basically, how well you'll snake really depends on the weight of the kart you're using.
Prolonged Rocket Boost (PRB)
"PRB is a nifty trick which allows you to retain the property of going off-road without speed loss. After a perfect rocket boost, or a zipper on the ground, if you can Mini Turbo fast enough to never lose maximum speed your kart will be able to go off-road without speed loss. Once you drop from top speed you won't be able to do it again unless you hit a zipper. By using this trick you can ignore some track boundaries, like cutting through dirt in SNES Mario Circuit 1. This should be added because you must snake to do it effectively and people are asking all the time about it."