Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

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Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (styled as MARIOKART Double Dash!! and abbreviated to MKDD) is a racing video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube. It is the fourth game in the Mario Kart series.

Gameplay

Double Dash!!'s gameplay vastly differs from and improves on its predecessors in many ways; since the player can pick not one character, but two - one to drive, and one to use items. In addition, the player is able to use karts that are not the characters' (Mario and Luigi can use Yoshi's kart, for example) depending on their class, whether they are heavyweight, middleweight, or lightweight. Not only this, the power slide has been improved; if the player makes blue sparks while power sliding, a mini turbo is performed. The rocket start is also improved as the Double Dash!!, in which both team members perform it when the Pre-race countdown is finished. There are sixteen courses to race on. Each cup features four tracks. Five different cup races are available, one of which is the All Cup Tour, featuring all sixteen tracks in random order (except for the first, Luigi Circuit, and the last, Rainbow Road). Each track is also playable in "Mirror Mode," where the tracks are mirrored; however, Mirror Mode is only available for 150cc.

This installment also features multiplayer battle modes. As in previous installments, the battle arenas are enclosed, with varying architecture and a constant arsenal. In addition to the balloon-popping game, which has been the standard Mario Kart battle game, two new battle systems are included. The first, called "Shine Thief", involves capturing a Shine Sprite and maintaining possession of it for a set time period. The second, called "Bob-omb Blast", uses only colored Bob-ombs, and utilizes a trade-off point system that requires the players to succeed in attacks, while also avoiding those directed at them. Both battle modes have returned in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Aside from the many drivers available, numerous other Mario characters play minor roles in the game. Lakitu reprises his role as the referee, signaling the start of each race, alerting players when they complete a lap, warning them when they are going the wrong way, and returning drivers to the racetrack when they fall into dangerous areas. Shy Guys, Piranha Plants, Goombas, and Wigglers are also present in the game and serve as obstacles for the driver to avoid. Toadsworth drives the winners of a cup during the victory celebration. Piantas and Nokis from Super Mario Sunshine also cheer players on certain courses, such as Peach Beach and Daisy Cruiser, and form much of the crowd at victory ceremonies (held at Peach Beach). Classic Mario series characters, including Donkey Kong Jr., can be seen in the crowds around Waluigi Stadium.

The game includes 21 karts to choose from. They are categorized by weight. Generally, lightweight karts have good acceleration and handling and are easily able to traverse rough terrain, but have low top speeds, can be knocked around by larger karts, and can only hold light characters. Heavyweight karts usually have high top speeds, can knock around many smaller karts, but they have poor acceleration, steering, off-road handling, and can only be manned if there is at least one heavy character. Middleweight karts' performance are well-balanced, but they cannot hold heavy characters. However, there are exceptions to this, such as the Barrel Train and Boo Pipes. Of 21 karts available in all, only eight are available from the start. The other 13 may be unlocked by successfully completing races and finishing the game. Although everyone has one kart, the twenty-first kart is the Parade Kart that Toadsworth uses to drive the first place winners. This kart the best stat ratio (4 stars for speed and weight; 3 stars for acceleration) and any combination of characters can drive it, but it takes the longest to recover from flipping over.

A notable attribute of Double Dash!! is that it allows LAN play using the GameCube broadband adapter. Up to eight GameCubes can be connected, allowing for 16 player multiplayer games (two players controlling each kart).

Teams

Medium

Team	Default Karts	Kart Photo	Speed	Acceleration	Weight
Mario and Luigi	Red Fire		★★★	★★★	★★★
	Green Fire		★★★★	★★	★★
Peach and Daisy	Heart Coach		★★	★★★★	★★★
	Bloom Coach		★★★	★★★	★★
Yoshi and Birdo	Turbo Yoshi		★★	★★★★	★★★
	Turbo Birdo		★★★	★★★	★★★★

Mario and Luigi

Peach and Daisy

Yoshi and Birdo

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Light

Team	Default Karts	Kart Photo	Speed	Acceleration	Weight
Baby Mario and Baby Luigi	Goo-Goo Buggy		★	★★★★★	★★
	Rattle Buggy		★★	★★★★	★★
Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa	Koopa Dasher		★★	★★★★	★★
	Para Wing		★	★★★★★	★★
Toad and Toadette	Toad Kart		★★	★★★★	★★
	Toadette Kart		★	★★★★★	★★

Baby Mario and Baby Luigi

Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa

Toad and Toadette (unlocked with Gold in Special Cup, 100cc)

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Other

Team	Default Karts	Kart Photo	Speed	Acceleration	Weight
Donkey Kong (H) and Diddy Kong (L)	DK Jumbo		★★★★	★★	★★★★
	Barrel Train		★★★★	★★	★★★
Wario (H) and Waluigi (M)	Wario Car		★★★★	★★	★★★★
	Waluigi Racer		★★★	★★★	★★★
Bowser (H) and Bowser Jr. (L)	Koopa King		★★★★★	★	★★★★★
	Bullet Blaster		★★★★	★★★	★
King Boo (H) and Petey Piranha (H)	Boo Pipes		★★	★★★★	★★★★★
	Piranha Pipes		★★★★	★★	★★★★★
N/A	Parade Kart		★★★★	★★★	★★★★

Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong

Wario and Waluigi

Bowser and Bowser Jr.

Petey Piranha and King Boo (unlocked with Gold in Star Cup, Mirror)

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Tracks

Mushroom Cup	Flower Cup	Star Cup	Special Cup
also in Mario Kart DS	also in Mario Kart DS	also in Mario Kart 8/8 Deluxe
also in Mario Kart Wii	was about to be in Mario Kart DS later appeared in Mario Kart Wii		also in Mario Kart 7
also in Mario Kart DS and 8 Deluxe (or 8 DLC)	also in Mario Kart 7	also in Mario Kart DS and 8 Deluxe (or 8 DLC)
also in Mario Kart 8/8 Deluxe	also in Mario Kart Wii	also in Mario Kart Wii

Battle courses

also in Mario Kart Wii	was about to be in Mario Kart DS	also in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
	also in Mario Kart DS

Items

Normal Items

Special Items

Every character has their own special item. Different combinations means a wide variety of items. For example, if someone were to play as Toadette, another player were to play as Baby Mario/Luigi and they controlled the kart together, they would be able to get Golden Mushrooms and the Chain Chomp occasionally.

Unlocking Criteria

Almost all cups in the game will unlock something new once the player completes it. Here is a list:

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Mario Kart: Double Dash!!.

Soundtrack

Trivia!

• This is the first Mario Kart game to feature Shine Thief and Bob-omb Blast.
• This is the only Mario Kart game to have two players on a kart.
• This is (by far) the only Mario Kart game to have Petey Piranha and Paratroopa as playable characters.
• This is (by far) the only Mario Kart game to have Toad as an unlockable character.
• This is the last Mario Kart game to feature only new courses.
• A first run production of the game included a limited bonus disc inside the case in a second holder with exclusive content related to other GameCube games.
• This is the first Mario Kart game that has more than four battle courses, the second being Mario Kart DS, third being Mario Kart Wii, fourth being Mario Kart 7 and fifth being Mario Kart 8 (and Deluxe).
• This is the first Mario Kart game that has "Mirror Mode" (though Mario Kart 64 has Extra Mode).
• Oddly enough the retro tracks for Mario Kart: Double Dash!! are labeled GCN which stands for GameCube Nintendo. It should be initially written as NGC which makes it called Nintendo GameCube, which is used that way in Japan.
  • However Mario Kart 7's Prima Guide labels the retro tracks as "GC" which stands for simply GameCube however this isn't present in the actual game and it's still labeled as "GCN".
• This is the first Mario Kart game to have unlockable characters.
• Double Dash!! introduced LAN Play, using the common Ethernet standard, to the series.
  • Up to eight GameCube consoles can be linked together for LAN Play, using one straight through cable per console connected to an Ethernet hub. Nintendo recommends that no other devices are connected to the hub. When linking just two GameCube consoles, no hub is required, but a crossover cable must be used to connect both systems directly.
  • Online play is not officially supported, but third-party services (such as Warp Pipe and XLink Kai) allow GameCube systems to use LAN Play on a WAN (Wide Area Network).
  • Characters and karts are selected at random during LAN Play. King Boo and Petey Piranha are unavailable, even if unlocked.
  • Super Circuit was the first game to feature linked multiplayer for up to four players, but it utilized proprietary Game Link Cables instead of the Ethernet standard. Single-Pak and Multi-Pak modes are available.
  • Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart 7 feature LAN Play, known simply as multiplayer, using wireless (Wi-Fi) technology instead of wired. Single-Card and Multi-Card modes are available.
  • Mario Kart Wii and the original Mario Kart 8 only support Online Play using a connection to the Nintendo WAN (Wide Area Network). Fans of Mario Kart Wii operate a third-party server.
  • Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for the Nintendo Switch reintroduces wired LAN Play to the series. This feature is only available in docked mode. 8 Deluxe has a limit of one or two players per Nintendo Switch for LAN Play.

External Links

• The official Mario Kart Double Dash!! website