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 in one kart.


 * Instead of just having eight characters, all available from the start, there are now twenty, four of which have to be unlocked.


 * 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 egg or Wario and Waluigi's Bob-omb. There are twenty characters, which can be combined in any way, giving 190 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, and Wigglers. 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: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 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: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: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: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: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: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: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 NEUTRAL 

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 (hardest; all tracks are mirror versions of their original counterparts. All vehicles go as fast as in 150cc mode).

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 Mario Kart: Double Dash!! appear in every racecourse, giving to the drivers a way of change a 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 straight line, bouncing around the track onto walls, and knocking randomly anything, being item or another kart. It can be shot forward or backward.


 * Red Shell - Red Shells home in on the next kart that can be in front on it. 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. Explosion can slip


 * Mushroom - A Mushroom gives to the kart a brief boost of speed. 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 gives to the drivers a boost of speed three times than a one mushroom. If the character who holds the bunch of mushrooms, and get hit by an item, he/she will lost their mushrooms, having one left.


 * Banana - When put, Bananas stay on the track until a kart touches it and suffer a spin out. Bananas can be used wisely as shields to break homing items 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 a period of time, capable of knocking out any kart from the course.


 * Thunderbolt - When used, Thunderbolt reduces every kart in size and speed, dropping their items off as well. Shrunk drivers, if the case that hold items and get hit by another item, they'll lost their power-ups.


 * Fake Item Box - Fake Items 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 gets it and be paralyzed by the box.



Special Items

 * Fireballs (Mario/Luigi) - projectile. A set of five orange (Mario) or green (Luigi) fireballs capable of ricocheting off walls. Collision causes the racers to spin out. Fizzle out after a short time.


 * Heart (Princess Peach/Princess Daisy) - performance booster. A set of two pink hearts surround the racers (similar to the triple shell items in Mario Kart 64); collision with most weapons on the course will give that weapon to the racers if they don't hold any already, and a heart is lost. Spiny Shells penetrate the barrier, and Thunderbolts and falling off the course destroy it.


 * Yoshi Egg / Birdo Egg (Yoshi / Birdo) - projectile. A green (Yoshi) or pink (Birdo) egg. Collision causes the player to crash, and spills three random items onto the track. This can include Green Shells, Mushrooms, Bananas, and maybe a Star or Bob-omb. This weapon has better homing abilities than a Red Shell, and will follow the course ahead even if there is no racer ahead. Unlike a Red Shell, it breaks after a certain amount of time if it doesn't get to its target.


 * Chain Chomp (Baby Mario / Baby Luigi) - performance booster. A giant Chain Chomp, attached to the current vehicle. Collision with the Chain Chomp causes a flip out. The Chain Chomp pulls the vehicle along the main path at an increased speed, with no input from the player. The Chain Chomp eventually stops pulling the racer, returning control to the player without warning. The Chain Chomp will also abandon the player if the player is struck by an item. Very rare and only given to players in sixth place or worse.


 * Triple Shells (Koopa / Paratroopa) - projectile. A set of three Green or Red Shells. Works the same as single Green and Red Shells. The color of the Koopa who gets the item has no effect on the color of the shells, for example, the green Koopa can get both Green and Red Triple Shells. Like Triple Mushrooms, getting hit while holding this item will cause all but one to spill onto the track.


 * Giant Banana (Donkey Kong / Diddy Kong) - stationary weapon. A giant banana peel. Works the same as a normal Banana, large size notwithstanding. Collision also causes three normal-sized Bananas to appear. It is the only item that can deflect a Bowser Shell, and only karts, Bowser Shells, or Yoshi and Birdo Eggs can destroy it. After it is destroyed, it will split into three regular bananas around its original position.


 * Bowser's Shell (Bowser / Bowser Jr.) - projectile. A giant shell, spiked and colored like Bowser's own shell. Works like a Green Shell, with the difference of longevity: Bowser's Shell lasts for a given time, regardless of collisions. Collision with movable obstacles (the cars in Mushroom Bridge, for example) and racers do not destroy it or change its trajectory. The only exceptions are a Giant Banana, which will cause the Bowser Shell to bounce off, and travel back in the direction from which it approached, and the Wiggler Bus in Mushroom Bridge and city, which causes the shell to bounce back from whence it came. When players are hit by Bowser Shell, they lose any items they may have had. Since a head-on hit from Bowser Shell will cause the player to be pushed back, this head-on hit is often known as "being rolled."


 * Bob-omb (Wario / Waluigi) - projectile. A standard Bob-omb: a black spherical bomb with brown feet and white eyes. Explodes either three seconds after being thrown or when hit by something, whichever happens first. All racers caught within the blast are launched upwards, including the thrower, and even racers who drive into the Bob-omb's fallout can spin out.
 * Golden Mushroom (Toad and Toadette) - performance booster. A racer with the Golden Mushroom can obtain a boost equivalent to a normal Mushroom as many times as they wish to, for a period of about ten seconds from their first boost.


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

(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.)

Action Replay
With Action Replay codes and an Action Replay disk and memory card for the GameCube, players can do various sorts of methods of play not on the original game disk. The biggest option on the AR disk is the unrestricted kart selection, which allows big kart riders to ride in small and medium karts. Regrettably, if the big character is in the back, they float ambiguously in mid air. Other options include: Inviable Karts, Tiny Karts, Huge Karts, Extra Speed, Infinite Stars, Unlocking All Courses and Drivers, and One Item Item Boxes.

Trivia

 * The two Exclamation marks in the title( !! ) are part of the name "Double" Dash.
 * This is the one of two games where King Boo is a playable character.
 * The title screen's background will change when all the cups on all difficulties are beaten.