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, therefore in the "all" class (A = All).

Stats

 * Red Fire: Speed:3, Accel.:3, Weight:3 M
 * Green Fire: Speed:4, Accel.:2, Weight:2 M
 * DK Jumbo: Speed:4, Accel.:2, Weight:4 H
 * Barrel Train: Speed:4, Accel.:2 Weight:3 L
 * Heart Coach: Speed:2, Accel.:4, Weight:3 M
 * Bloom Coach: Speed:3, Accel.:3, Weight:2 M
 * Wario Car: Speed:4, Accel.:2, Weight:4 H
 * Waluigi Racer: Speed:3 Accel.:3, Weight:3 M
 * Turbo Yoshi: Speed:2, Accel.:4, Weight:3 M
 * Turbo Birdo: Speed:3, Accel.:3, Weight:4 M
 * Goo-Goo Buggy: Speed:1, Accel.:5, Weight:2 L
 * Rattle Buggy: Speed:2, Accel.:4, Weight:2 L
 * Koopa King: Speed:5, Accel.:1, Weight:5 H
 * Bullet Blaster: Speed:4, Accel.:3, Weight:1 L
 * Koopa Dasher: Speed:2, Accel.:4, Weight:2 L
 * Para-Wing: Speed:1, Accel.:5, Weight:2 L
 * Toad Kart: Speed:2, Accel.:4, Weight :2 L
 * Toadette Kart: Speed:1, Accel.:5, Weight:2 L
 * Piranha Pipes: Speed:4, Accel.:2, Weight:5 H
 * Boo Pipes: Speed:2, Accel.:4, Weight:5 H
 * Parade Kart: Speed:4, Accel.:3, Weight:4 A

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
The available items are split into four types, with few exceptions.


 * Projectile: can be fired ahead of the player (by hitting X or Y) or behind (by pulling back on the control stick while hitting X or Y).


 * Stationary weapon: can be fired ahead of (By pressing X or Y while holding the control stick forward) or behind the player (Hitting X or Y). Stays stationary once it hits the ground.


 * Performance booster: helps the current player. All boosters can also be used as weapons when used correctly.


 * Other: May be a special item. (See booklet for more information).

Standard Items



 * Green Shell - simple projectile- Fires straight ahead or behind the player. Continues in a straight line until it hits a wall or other object. Disappears after 10 collisions with objects other than players or items.


 * Red Shell - homing projectile- When launched ahead, proceeds to follow the road behind the nearest player (Unless launcher is in 1st position). Proceeds to smash into the player ahead with the same force as a green shell. They can be dodged by firing an item behind to smash it on, or by mini-boosting at the point that the shell tries to smash into the player. Disappears after 1 collision on a wall.


 * Spiny Shell - homing projectile- Flies at high speed towards the player in 1st position. Upon contact, initiates a huge explosion, throwing any karts caught in it up into the air.


 * Mushroom - performance booster- Boosts the player forward at high speed for 1 sec approx. Also, while a mushroom boost is in effect, if the player passes over terrain that would slow them down, it does not.


 * Triple Mushrooms - performance booster. A set of three Mushrooms, used the same way. Rarely acquired above fifth place, but common under fifth. If players get hit with something while carrying these, then they drop all except one.


 * Banana - stationary weapon. A banana peel. Collision causes the racer to skid and lose control of the vehicle for a second. Unlike in Mario Kart 64, the player cannot regain control under any circumstances; forward momentum, however, is not affected nearly as much. Can be used for protection against incoming Red Shells.


 * Star - performance booster. A gold star - the Invincibility Starman. Collision with any racer will cause them to flip out; collision with any weapon and some course obstacles will immediately destroy it. Invincible racers also receive a constant speed boost throughout the Star's duration. Only given to racers in lower positions.


 * Thunderbolt - global weapon. On use, all other racers will shrink approximately fourfold after a brief loss of control, and slow down greatly, This won't affect racers if they have a Star when the Thunderbolt is used, or if they are not in control of their kart, e.g. if they're spinning out of control, if they have fallen off the track, or being transported through the automatic travel points on DK Mountain or Rainbow Road. If a racer falls from the track while small, they will always be returned at normal size. Given only to racers in the last few positions (usually eighth) and only very rarely.


 * Fake Item Box - stationary weapon. Similar in appearance to Item Boxes, but can be identified by the upside-down question mark and red color when approached. Causes the player to flip over several times, seriously reducing momentum. Unlike other Mario Kart games, Koopa Shells pass through them and therefore cannot be used to block them.



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.

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