Mario Kart: Double Dash

Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! U.S. Box cover
Developer(s)	Nintendo
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Designer(s)	Nintendo
Platform(s)	GameCube
Release	November 7, 2003
Genre(s)	Racing game
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer

Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is a video game developed and published by Nintendo for the GameCube video game console. 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 throw weapons. 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. Mario Kart: 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.

Gameplay

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.
• 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 positions, as opposed to Mario Kart 64 and Mario Kart: Super Circuit.
• 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. Using a Thunder Bolt on the track affects only the other players.
• Spiny Shells act differently than they did in Mario Kart 64 and Mario Kart Super Circuit. Instead of traveling on the ground and heading toward the person in first place, they will fly to the person in first place and explode. In addition to the behavior changing, the appearance of the shell was changed to sport a pair of wings.
• If run over when small, smaller characters will go flying but won't get squashed, unlike in Mario Kart 64.

Characters

All of the characters have been featured in other popular Nintendo games. 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.

Mario - the classic Nintendo character
Luigi - Mario's brother

Baby Mario - Mario's younger self
Baby Luigi - Luigi's younger self

Wario - Mario's greedy counterpart
Waluigi - Luigi's sneaky counterpart

Princess Peach - the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom
Princess Daisy - the princess of Sarasaland

Bowser - the Koopa King
Bowser Jr. - Bowser's (8th) hatchling

Donkey Kong - the gorilla's son from the first game featuring Mario
Diddy Kong - Donkey Kong's sidekick

Koopa Troopa - a green turtle-like creature
Paratroopa - a red flying turtle-like creature

Yoshi - a green dinosaur
Birdo - a pink dinosaur with a large mouth

Toad - a humanoid mushroom of his race
Toadette - a female humanoid mushroom of her race

Petey Piranha - an oversized flying piranha plant from Super Mario Sunshine
King Boo - the king of Boos, with a new appearance.

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 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, Goombas 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 in courses such as Peach Beach and Daisy Cruiser, and are the crowd at victory ceremonies. Classic Mario characters can be seen in the crowds around the Waluigi Stadium course, including Donkey Kong Junior (several of him in fact, as the character sprites are repeated throughout the audience).

Karts

There are 21 karts, each with a rating for speed, acceleration, and weight. Each kart also has a class: Light, Medium, or 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 can be used by any combination of characters.

Tracks

Mario Kart: Double Dash!! features sixteen tracks divided into four cups. All tracks have three laps except for Baby Park which has seven and Wario Colosseum which has two. An unlockable fifth cup, the All-Cup Tour, consists of all sixteen tracks in a random order with the exception of Luigi circuit, being first, and Rainbow Road, being last.

Mushroom Cup	Flower Cup	Star Cup	Special Cup
Luigi Circuit	Mushroom Bridge	Sherbet Land	Wario Colosseum
Peach Beach	Mario Circuit	Mushroom City	Dino Dino Jungle
Baby Park	Daisy Cruiser	Yoshi Circuit	Bowser's Castle
Dry Dry Desert	Waluigi Stadium	DK Mountain	Rainbow Road

Unlockables

Winning a gold trophy in each level will unlock the following items:

	Mushroom Cup	Flower Cup	Star Cup	Special Cup	All Cup Tour
50cc	Green Fire - Luigi's Kart	Bloom Coach - Daisy's Kart	Para Wing - Parakoopa's Kart	Bullet Blaster-Bowser Jr.'s Kart	Nothing
100cc	Rattle Buggy - Baby Luigi's Kart	Waluigi Racer - Waluigi's Kart	Special Cup Tour	Toad & Toadette Characters & Kart	Nothing
150cc	Luigi's Mansion - Battle Stage	Turbo Birdo-Birdo's Kart	Barrel Train - Diddy's Kart	All Cup Tour	Mirror Mode
Mirror	Toadette Kart	Tilt-A-Kart - Battle Stage	Petey Piranha & King Boo Characters & Kart	Boo Pipes - King Boo's Kart	Parade Kart

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- Appeared again in Mario Kart DS.
• 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 or behind the player (except the blue shell).
• Stationary Weapon: Can be fired ahead of or behind the player, but 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. Breaks after ten collisions with walls (VS mode) or three wall hits (Battle Mode). Also breaks when it hits another Koopa Shell, Banana, or racer. (Similar to Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64.)
• Red Shell - Homing projectile. Can be fired either ahead or behind the racers, though will lose its homing capacities when launched behind. Otherwise homes in tightly on the nearest player at the time of use. Breaks on a single collision (racer or otherwise) and cannot get over all ramps and jumps. It can be willingly avoided if a turbo boost is timed right. (Similar to Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64.)
• Spiny Shell - Homing projectile. Blue with spikes and wings, but sized similarly to Green and Red Shells. Homes in quickly on the current leader and causes a large explosion which can also take out nearby racers. Not as rare as previous games, and can be obtained from any position from fourth down in GP mode. Extremely difficult to avoid. The shell locks onto the player, not rank. E.g., If Mario is in first place, and a Spiny Shell is released, even if Mario drops to third place, he will still be the center of attack.(Similar to Mario Kart 64.)
• Mushroom - Performance booster. Boosts the player's speed greatly for a short time. Necessary to clear some (optional) jumps. Hitting another player during the boost allows players to steal any items (or a balloon in Battle Mode's Balloon Battle) the other kart may be carrying (if both characters have something, then the player will steal the back and have the front one drop). (Similar to Mario Kart 64)
• 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. (Similar to Mario Kart 64.)
• 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.
• Starman - Performance booster. A gold star. 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 Starman's duration. Only given to racers in lower positions. (Similar to Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64.)
• Thunderbolt - Global weapon. On use, all other racers will shrink approximately fourfold after a brief loss of control, and slow down greatly. This will not affect racers if they have a Starman when the Thunderbolt is used. If a racer falls from the track while small, he or she will always be returned at normal size. Given only to racers in the last few positions (usually eighth) and only very rarely. (Similar to Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64.)
• Fake Item Box - Stationary weapon. Similar in appearance to Item Boxes, but can be identified by the upside-down question mark and red colour when approached. Causes the player to flip over when hit, seriously reducing momentum. Unlike other Mario Kart games, Koopa Shells pass through them and therefore cannot be used to block them. (Similar to Mario Kart 64.)

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 and Chain Chomps penetrate the barrier, while Thunderbolts and falling off the course destroy it.
• Yoshi's Egg / Birdo's 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. These can include Green Shells, Mushrooms, Bananas, Starmen or Bob-ombs. 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 does not get to its target.
• Chain Chomp (Baby Mario / Baby Luigi) - Performance booster. A giant Chain Chomp, attached to the current vehicle. The Chain Chomp pulls the vehicle along the main path at an increased speed, with no input from the player. Collision with it causes a flip out. 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.
• Triple Shells (Koopa Troopa / 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 (The regular 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. 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, however the bowser shell is much larger, causes a total loss of momentum when hit, and isn't destroyed by impacts (Rather, it stays on the track for a set length of time). Collision with movable obstacles (the cars in Mushroom Bridge, for example) and racers do not change its trajectory. The only exceptions are the Giant Bananas and Wiggler Bus in Mushroom City and Bridge, which will cause the Bowser Shell to bounce off, and travel back in the direction from which it approached. When players are hit by Bowser's Shell, they lose any items they may have had. Since a head-on hit from Bowser's Shell will cause the player to be pushed back, this head-on hit is often known as "being rolled".
• Bob-omb (Wario / Waluigi) - Stationary Item. 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 racers who drive into the Bob-omb's blast radius can spin out even if they aren't hit by the exlosion itself.
• Golden Mushroom (Toad/Toadette) - Performance booster. A racer with the Golden Mushroom can obtain a boost equivalent to that of a normal Mushroom as many times as he or she wishes 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 to whom they are assigned, 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 backseater. Also Boo and Petey Piranha can pick up any weapon at random, and have no special weapon of their own.)

Actors and their characters

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

Bonus Disc

The Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Bonus Disc is a special bonus given to those who pre-ordered Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. The bonus disc was distributed by including it in the case for the game, which featured a red label printed on the cover stating that a bonus disc was included, as well as a second slot that inside the case that contained the extra disc. Copies of Mario Kart: Double Dash!! purchased after the first shipment were sold without the disc, and featured a case with the second disc slot and red label removed.

• The Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Bonus Disc has the following features:
  • a movie of 1080° Avalanche
  • bonus items for Fire Emblem (Game Boy Advance)
  • a movie of Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles
  • a playable demo of F-Zero GX
  • a movie of Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup
  • a movie of Kirby Air Ride
  • a playable demo of Mario Party 5
  • a movie of NBA Live 2004
  • a movie of Pokémon Colosseum
  • a playable demo of Sonic Heroes
  • a movie of SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom
  • a playable demo of Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III
  • a playable demo of the 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game

Trivia

• This is the first appearence of Toadette.

External links

• Official Site
• Template:Nintendo.com
• Mario Kart: Double Dash!! wiki guide at StrategyWiki (previously hosted by Wikibooks)
• Mario Kart: Double Dash at MobyGames
• Mario Kart Double Dash world records page
• Warp Pipe Technologies- Warp Pipe network tunneling application to play Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and other GameCube games online