Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is a video game developed and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. It combines features from earlier Mario Kart games (Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64 and Mario Kart Super Circuit). The game features the ability for two players to ride on a kart: one to drive and one to use items. It was one of the most popular console games of 2003. Although Nintendo does not have online support for the game, players can connect up to eight GameCubes together using a LAN to have up to sixteen players (two in each kart) in one game. Double Dash!! has five different cups and new karts and characters to unlock. When the game launched back in November 2003, those who pre-ordered received a special Bonus Disc containing movies, demos, and other features.

New Features
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! has several new features different from previous Mario Kart games:
 * There are now two characters per kart.
 * Instead of just having eight characters, all available from the start, there are now twenty, four of which are unlockable. The reason for such a great number of characters is because the races need at least sixteen racers now.
 * Unlike previous Mario Kart games, where there were only a few unlockables, Double Dash!! has many; the player unlocks something for winning nearly every cup.
 * Instead of the 9-6-3-1-0-0-0-0 points system of previous Mario Kart games, Double Dash!! features a new 10-8-6-4-3-2-1-0 system. This has been kept for Mario Kart DS. Also, players move on to the next race regardless of their finishing position, as opposed to Mario Kart 64.


 * There is now an All-Cup Tour with every track in the game. The first race is always Luigi Circuit and the last race is always Rainbow Road, but the other tracks are randomly placed.
 * Instead of every kart looking like a normal go-kart, and it being the character that affected the performance, there is now a huge variety of karts each with its own stats which affect the performance, with the character not making a difference other than weight class.
 * Special items from the original Super Mario Kart have returned; however, the player can now use them and CPU racers do not have an infinite amount.
 * Items can be left stationary on the course, either by the course itself or by a player dropping them by being hit. If the item is a helpful item, like a mushroom, the player that drives into it will instantly activate its effects; likewise if the item is harmful, such as a shell, the player will feel the detrimental effects. Conversely to logic, hitting a Thunder Bolt on the track will seem like the hitter picked it up and used it on everyone else.

Characters
All of the characters have been featured in other popular Nintendo games, except Toadette, this game being her debut. Each character also has special weapons like Yoshi and Birdo's exploding Yoshi Eggs or Wario and Waluigi's Bob-ombs. There are twenty characters, which can be combined in any way, giving 380 possible character combinations.

In addition, numerous other Nintendo characters play minor roles in the game. Lakitu reprises his role as the racetrack keeper, meaning that he signals the start of each race, alerts players when they complete a lap, tells people when they're going in the wrong way, and returns drivers to the racetrack when they fall into dangerous areas. Other characters who make cameos include Shy Guys, Piranha Plants, Wigglers, and Cataquacks. Toadsworth drives the winners of a cup around Peach Beach in the Parade Kart, which can later be unlocked by the player. Piantas and Nokis from Super Mario Sunshine also cheer players on, and are the crowd at victory ceremonies.

Karts
There are 21 karts in all, each has a rating out of five for speed, acceleration, and weight. It also has a class; Light, Medium, or Heavy (L = Light, M = Medium, H = Heavy). Players must choose a kart to fit their heaviest character (if their heaviest character is a Lightweight, they must choose a Light kart, if their heaviest character is a Middleweight, they must choose a Medium kart, if their heaviest character is a Heavyweight, they must choose a Heavy kart.) The only exception is the Parade Kart, which isn't bound to weight restrictions.

Stats
 Image:RedFire.jpg|Red Fire Speed:3 Acceleration:3 Weight:3 MEDIUM Image:Greenfire.jpg|Green Fire Speed:4 Acceleration:2 Weight:2 MEDIUM Image:Mkdd heart coach.jpg|Heart Coach Speed:2 Acceleration:4 Weight:3 MEDIUM Image:BloomCoach.jpg|Bloom Coach Speed:3 Acceleration:3 Weight:2 MEDIUM Image:Mkdd turbo yoshi.jpg|Turbo Yoshi Speed:2 Acceleration:4 Weight:3 MEDIUM Image:Turbobirdo.jpg|Turbo Birdo Speed:3 Acceleration:3 Weight:4 MEDIUM Image:Googoobuggy.jpg|Goo-Goo Buggy Speed:1 Acceleration:5 Weight:2 LIGHT Image:Rattlebuggy.jpg|Rattle Buggy Speed:2 Acceleration:4 Weight:2 LIGHT Image:Toadkart.jpg|Toad Kart Speed:2 Acceleration:4 Weight:2 LIGHT Image:Toadettekart.jpg|Toadette Kart Speed:1 Acceleration:5 Weight:2 LIGHT Image:Mkdd koopa dasher.jpg|Koopa Dasher Speed:2 Acceleration:4 Weight:2 LIGHT Image:Parawing.jpg|Para-Wing Speed:1 Acceleration:5 Weight:2 LIGHT Image:DK Jumbo.jpg|DK Jumbo Speed:4 Acceleration:2 Weight:4 HEAVY Image:Barreltrain.jpg|Barrel Train Speed:4 Acceleration:2 Weight:3 LIGHT Image:Mkdd koopa king.jpg|Koopa King Speed:5 Acceleration:1 Weight:5 HEAVY Image:Bulletblaster.jpg|Bullet Blaster Speed:4 Acceleration:3 Weight:1 LIGHT Image:Wario car.PNG|Wario Car Speed:4 Acceleration:2 Weight:4 HEAVY Image:Waluigiracer.jpg|Waluigi Racer Speed:3 Acceleration:3 Weight:3 MEDIUM Image:Piranhapipes.jpg|Piranha Pipes Speed:4 Acceleration:2 Weight:5 HEAVY Image:Boopipes.jpg|Boo Pipes Speed:2 Acceleration:4 Weight:5 HEAVY   Image:Paradekartart.jpg|Parade Kart Speed:4 Acceleration:3 Weight:4 ANY WEIGHT 

Tracks
All the tracks have three laps, except for Baby Park (the shortest track), which has seven laps and Wario Colosseum (the longest track), which has two laps.

Mushroom Cup

 * Luigi Circuit
 * Peach Beach
 * Baby Park
 * Dry Dry Desert

Flower Cup

 * Mushroom Bridge
 * Mario Circuit
 * Daisy Cruiser
 * Waluigi Stadium

Star Cup

 * Sherbet Land
 * Mushroom City
 * Yoshi Circuit
 * DK Mountain

Special Cup

 * Wario Colosseum
 * Dino Dino Jungle
 * Bowser's Castle
 * Rainbow Road



Difficulty Levels

 * 50cc (easiest)
 * 100cc (medium difficulty)
 * 150cc (hard)
 * Mirror Mode is the hardest difficulty. All tracks are reversed, and karts go at 150cc speed.

Battle Mode
There are three battle mode options: Balloon Battle, Shine Thief, and Bob-omb Blast. The six arenas are:


 * Cookie Land
 * Block City
 * Nintendo GameCube
 * Pipe Plaza
 * Luigi's Mansion (unlockable)
 * Tilt-a-Kart (unlockable)

Items
Traditional items from Super Mario Kart through Mario Kart Super Circuit and new items for Mario Kart: Double Dash!! appear in every race course, giving to the drivers the opportunity to alter the race drastically, from some basic items (Banana, Shells, Mushrooms) obtained when a kart is at first place, to frantic items (Blue Shell, Star, Lightning) obtained when the kart is under fourth place.

Items are classified in two forms:


 * Standard: Any driver can obtain these types of items when get an Item Box or Double Item Box.


 * Special: Some drivers obtain an special own item when get an Item Box that other drivers cannot obtain. When a character holds a special item, the second character won't obtain another special item via Item Box.

Standard Items



 * Green Shell - When shot, Green Shells go through in a straight line, bouncing around the track onto walls, and knocking randomly anything, being an item or another kart. It can be shot forward or backward.


 * Red Shell - Red Shells home in on the kart in front of you. It can be thrown backward as well, although, when shot, acts like a green shell. Red Shells can break if they bump on a wall.


 * Spiny Shell - When shot, the Spiny Shell goes automatically to the kart who is at first place, blowing the kart up after locked, dropping off their items on the track. The explosion can also spin other karts out when contact is made.


 * Mushroom - A Mushroom gives the kart a brief boost of speed. If used properly, it can be used to take shortcuts and used to steal (or drop) items directly from another kart.


 * Triple Mushrooms - A bunch of three mushrooms that give the drivers a boost of speed three times. If the character who holds the bunch of mushrooms gets hit by an item, he/she will lose two of their mushrooms, having one left.


 * Banana - When put, a banana peel stays on the track until a kart touches it and suffers a spin out. Bananas can be used wisely as shields to break homing items such as red shells. It can be thrown either forward or backward.


 * Star - When used, the kart becomes invincible against any item, and quite fast in the period of time, capable of knocking out any kart from the course and stealing items.


 * Thunderbolt - When used, the Thunderbolt reduces every kart in size and speed, dropping their items off as well. If shrunken drivers get hit by an item while holding an item, they lose the item.


 * Fake Item Box - Fake Item Boxes act like a Normal Item Box, but they're reddish and have an inverted ? symbol. When used, they stay on the track until a kart hits it and spins out.



Special Items

 * Fireballs (Mario/Luigi) - A set of five orange (Mario) or green (Luigi) fireballs capable of ricocheting off walls. When they hit another kart, the kart they hit will spin out and slow down. They can be thrown both forward or backward.


 * Heart (Princess Peach/Princess Daisy) - A couple of hearts that will surround the kart, absorbing the impact of any item that collides with the kart (except for the Chain Chomps, Blue Shells, Super Stars and Thunder Bolts).When used wisely, racers can absorb the item dropped on the road and use it against the other players. The Hearts have no time limit for use. The Hearts can only take two hits.


 * Yoshi Egg / Birdo Egg (Yoshi / Birdo) - A green (Yoshi) or pink (Birdo) egg. They work similarly to a red shell, chasing after a kart, knocking it out when collision occurs. After colliding, these eggs let out three items that could be a Banana, a Green Shell, a Mushroom, a Star or a Bob-omb.


 * Chain Chomp (Baby Mario / Baby Luigi) - A huge Chain Chomp is summoned and boosts the kart frantically in a period of time, while the Chain Chomp knocks out other kart. After use, Chain Chomp leaves the kart and goes following the path until it disappears.


 * Triple Shells (Koopa / Paratroopa) - An arsenal of three shells (Green or Red), knocking other kart three times at once. If the character get hit by another item while holding Triple Shells, the character will lost two Shells having one left.


 * Giant Banana (Donkey Kong / Diddy Kong) - Giant Bananas can be littered either forward or backward, staying on the road until a kart hits it. Drivers will spin out, and then, the Giant Banana will into a three normal Bananas in that zone.


 * Bowser's Shell (Bowser / Bowser Jr.) - The driver will summon a huge Spiny Shell that acts like a Green Shell, going in a straight line, and bouncing around the road, destroying items and razing other karts, dropping their items off. It can be thrown forward or backward. Curiously, Bowser's Shell tends to bounce onto other special items.


 * Bob-omb (Wario / Waluigi) - When used, a Bob-omb stays on the road until a kart passes near it in order to explode and blow up any karts. It can be thrown forward or littered backward.


 * Golden Mushroom (Toad and Toadette) - Gold Mushrooms provide the drivers multiple boosts of speed in a row in a period of time.


 * Petey Piranha and King Boo can get any of the special items.

(Note: Although special items can only be obtained by the characters they are assigned to, if a player is holding a special item another player can steal it by colliding with the player holding the item while under the influence of a Mushroom, Star, or Slide-Attack. Also, any character can get any special item in Battle Mode. Thirdly, in Co-Op Mode, the driver can pass a special item to the person in the back.)

Trivia

 * The two Exclamation marks in the title( !! ) are part of the name "Double" Dash.
 * The "Congratulations!!" screen, shown when players receive a trophy, also has two exclamation marks.
 * This is the first Mario Kart to feature Baby Luigi, Baby Mario, Birdo, Bowser Jr., Diddy Kong, King Boo, Koopa Paratroopa, Petey Piranha, Princess Daisy, Toadette, and Waluigi as playable characters.
 * This is one of the two games where King Boo is a playable character.
 * Once all the cups on all difficulties are beaten, the title screen's background will change. Same goes for the "Thanks for Playing!" screen, displayed when you finish the Special Cup on any difficulty.