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
As every new Mario Kart game, Mario Kart: Double Dash!! shows several new features, granting a new style of playing for the users. Apart from that there are two characters per kart, the number of playable characters was increased to join the race. As imply in various Mario series games, Mario Kart: Double Dash!! contains various elements to unlock as well. By beating the cups available in every engine levels, the player unveils hidden levels, karts, and other playable characters in the game. Furthermore, there is a more dynamic selection of karts: Every kart has specific stats that distingishes from the others, as well capturing their respective character's style; for instance, Mario's kart, the Red Fire.

Items are the main element presented in every Mario Kart game, and Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is not an exception. These are obtainable via Item Box, where characters can receive any standard Item or a Special Item. This latter only can get certain characters and others cannot obtain. Additionally, Power-ups dropped on the course will instantly affect the kart that would pick on it as a Banana, a Koopa Shell or a Mushroom or Star. The effects of certain items have changed considerably as well.

Another notorius change featured in the game is the point system given to the racers after a competition in Grand Prix mode. From Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, this new system is used for the new Mario Kart games, Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart Wii. Also, players cannot retry a failed race in Grand Prix mode as opposed to Mario Kart 64. Users have to continue racing until finishing a cup to see results. The following table shows the difference of the point spreads from previous games to Mario Kart: Double Dash!!.

The Characters
In Mario Kart: Double Dash!! includes a wide number of playable characters, all of them appeared from other Mario games. Characters are divided into three classes depending on their weight: Light ; Medium and Heavy. There is a total of twenty characters, which can be combined in any way, giving 380 possible character combinations.

Other Characters
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, Cataquacks, and Dinosaurs. Toadsworth drives the winners of a cup around Peach Beach in the Parade Kart. Piantas and Nokis from Super Mario Sunshine cheer the racers in some race courses and join at victory ceremonies.

Karts
There are 21 karts available in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, notable for having different designs and appearances, depending in the character who is selected to drive a vehicle. Every kart has three ratings, rated out by the number of stars where the maximum amount are five:


 * Acceleration: How quickly can a kart achieve its top speed.
 * Speed: The level of top speed when kart goes forwards.
 * Weight: The weight of the kart and the strenght of the same.

Just as the characters are classified according to their weights, karts are split into three groups in size, with some general characteristics:


 * Light: Lightweight karts show a nice acceleration but poor top speed and low weight. They can be easily bumped away by tougher karts. They don't loose too much speed when these kart go off course.


 * Medium: Medium-weight vehicles show a average top speed and acceleration. Some karts within this group can vary their stats though.


 * Heavy: Heavyweight karts have the highest level of weight among the karts, capable of knocking apart light and medium vehicles. Many of these show high top speed, although their acceleration and off-road is fairly poor.

Each combination of characters will also determine the class of kart that will be used for the race. The table to the right means the resulting vehicle in accordance to the size of the characters.

An exception to this rule is the Parade Kart, where all the characters of different sizes can drive on it. It is unlocked by completing the All-Cup Tour in Mirror Mode.

Stats
Note: For some karts, although it may look like they have the exact same weight, they may actually be heavier/lighter than the other. Therefore, some of the weights are in decimal format to improve stat accuracy.

 Image:RedFire.jpg|Red Fire Speed:3 Acceleration:3 Weight:3 MEDIUM Image:Greenfire.jpg|Green Fire* Speed:4 Acceleration:2 Weight:2.67 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:2.33 MEDIUM Image:Mkdd turbo yoshi.jpg|Turbo Yoshi Speed:2 Acceleration:4 Weight:3.5 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:2.33 LIGHT Image:Parawing.jpg|Para-Wing* Speed:1 Acceleration:5 Weight:2.33 LIGHT Image:DK Jumbo.jpg|DK Jumbo Speed:4 Acceleration:2 Weight:4.5 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:3.5 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 * is unlockable

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.
 * * Represents a course that reappeared in Mario Kart DS's retro cups.
 * ** Represents a course that reappeared in Mario Kart Wii's retro cups.

Mushroom Cup
Easy simple tracks with little turns, easy gimmicks, and easy curves


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

Flower Cup
Kind of easy tracks, with more sharp cuves, more gimmicks, and jumps (Waluigi Stadium)


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

Star Cup
Hard tracks with tons of gimmicks, multiplue curves, and longer tracks


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

Special Cup (unlockable)
Hardes with very long levels, many gimmicks, hard curves, 90 and 180 degrees curves, and plenty of non gated areas (easy to fall off stage)


 * 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 (Returns in Mario Kart Wii.)
 * Block City
 * Nintendo GameCube
 * Pipe Plaza (Returns in Mario Kart DS.)
 * 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 off of the walls, and knocking randomly into anything, be it an item or another kart. It can be shot forward or backward.
 * Red Shell – Red Shells home in on the kart in front of the player. 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 either 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 Chain Chomps, Blue Shells, Stars and Thunder Bolts). If used correctly, 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 for a certain period of time, while the Chain Chomp knocks out other karts. 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 karts three times at once. If the character gets hit by another item while holding Triple Shells, the character will lose 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 split 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, excluding Luigi's fireballs, and Birdo's pink Egg.

(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.)

Voice Cast

 * Charles Martinet: Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi
 * Jen Taylor: Princess Peach, Toad, Toadette, Birdo
 * Deanna Mustard: Princess Daisy
 * Kazumi Totaka: Yoshi
 * Scott Burns: Bowser
 * Dolores Rogers: Bowser Jr.

Quotes
For a full list of quotes, see here.