Jump to content

Mario Kart: Double Dash

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Acesyksyk09 (talk | contribs) at 21:33, 30 April 2012. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
European box art
Developer(s)Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Director(s)Kiyoshi Mizuki
Yasuyuki Oyagi
Futoshi Shirai
Daiji Imai
Producer(s)Shigeru Miyamoto
Tadashi Sugiyama
Shinya Takahashi
Takashi Tezuka
Composer(s)Shinobu Tanaka
Kenta Nagata
SeriesMario Kart
Platform(s)Nintendo GameCube
Genre(s)Racing
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (マリオカートダブルダッシュ!!, Mario Kāto: Daburu Dasshu!!) is a racing game developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube in 2003. The game is the fourth installment in the Mario Kart series, following Mario Kart: Super Circuit from 2001. It was succeeded by the handheld game Mario Kart DS, which was released for the Nintendo DS in 2005.

Similar to previous titles, Double Dash!! incorporates characters from the Mario series and pits them against each other as they race on different, Mario-themed tracks. The game introduced a number of new gameplay features, most notably the inclusion of two riders per kart. Double Dash!! supports LAN play using the Nintendo GameCube Broadband Adapter, allowing 16 players to compete simultaneously. There are 20 characters to select from in total, with eleven of them being new to the series. A special item for each character has also been implemented.

Double Dash!! was generally well-received by critics; it attained an aggregated score of 87 out of 100 on Metacritic. Reviewers praised the graphics and the new gameplay features, but criticized the voice acting. It was also commercially successful, selling over 3.8 million copies in the United States, and over 802,000 copies in Japan.

Gameplay

See also: Gameplay of the Mario Kart series
File:Double Dash!!.png
The "Double Dash!!", a special racing boost that is exclusive to this game.

Double Dash!! is a racing game in which the player races in a kart against other teams in different courses. The screen indicates the standings in a race, the current speed of the player's kart and incoming weapons. Like in the previous Mario Kart games, players can pick up item boxes to receive a randomly selected item and use it to impede the opposition and gain the advantage. Some items, such as shells and bananas, allow the player to hit others to slow them down, while other items, such as the star power-up, render them temporarily invincible to attack. The game is the first in the series in which instead of one character per kart, there are two: one to drive, and one to use items. It is also the first game in the series where players drop their items when hit by a weapon, and the only game to have the "Double Dash!!" technique, which is named after the subtitle of the game. The powerslide technique, an action that allows the player to drift around turns, has been improved; players can tilt the control stick while drifting to make sparks appear around their kart. If tilted enough, the sparks turn blue, and the player gets a speed boost known as a "mini-turbo".[1][2]

The Grand Prix mode has the player race against seven computer-controlled teams in a series of predetermined courses. It requires that the player choose an engine class from among 50 cc, 100 cc, 150 cc and Mirror Mode. These classes serve as difficulty levels–the higher the engine class, the faster all karts go. In battle mode, the player fights against human-controlled opponents using items scattered throughout a battle arena. There is the traditional balloon-popping battle game, in which the player must use items to pop an opponent's three balloons while defending their own. In addition, two new games have been implemented: the first involves capturing a Shine Sprite and maintaining possession of it for a time period, and the other involves throwing Bob-ombs at each other to collect points. As in previous installments, the battle arenas are enclosed, with a varying layout and a replenishing arsenal of items. Double Dash!! also features LAN play using the Nintendo GameCube Broadband Adapter. Up to eight GameCube consoles can be connected, allowing for 16-player multiplayer games, with two players controlling each kart.[3]

File:Thanks For Playing Screen (Mario Kart Double Dash!!).png
All of the playable characters are together in the second "Thanks for playing!" picture.

Players can choose from a cast of twenty characters, eleven of which are new to the series. Characters have their own special items, like Mario and Luigi with Fireballs; Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong with Giant Bananas; and Wario and Waluigi with Bob-ombs.[4] The character's weight class (light, middle, or heavy) determines the kart in which they can ride as well as their speed, acceleration, and weight attributes. There are sixteen courses, divided into four cups: Mushroom, Flower, Star, and Special. A fifth event, the All-Cup Tour, has the player race all of the tracks. The tour always starts with Luigi Circuit and ends with Rainbow Road, but the remaining fourteen tracks show up in random order. Each track is also playable in Mirror Mode, available after winning the tour, in which all of the tracks are mirrored; this mode is only available for 150 cc.[5]

The time trials mode has the player attempting to garner the fastest completion time in a course, with the fastest time being saved as a ghost, a carbon copy of the player's performance that the player can race against later.

The Versus mode allows the player to choose a course from any of the four cups and race against human opponents. It also allows the player to modify a race's settings in the options screen, such as the number of laps and weapons to use.

In addition to the playable drivers, there are also supporting characters in this game as well. Lakitu reprises his role for the fourth time in the franchise as the track marshal, helping the racers in various situations such as announcing laps, counting down to the start with his traffic lights, and taking teams back on track with his fishing pole in case they fall off course during the race. Other supporting characters included in this game are Shy Guys, Goombas, Nokis, Toadsworth, among others.

Development

Shigeru Miyamoto provided a number of opinions to the development team.

Double Dash!! was first shown at the E3 in 2001 as a seven second long video clip. The clip featured Mario and Luigi driving their karts on a bump mapped 3D surface with no background. At the time, it was early in development, and the working title of the game was simply Mario Kart.[6] In April 2003, Nintendo released the first pictures and details of the game, as well as revealing the title to be Mario Kart: Double Dash!!.[7] At the E3 in 2003, a playable demo of the game was available. New features, such as having two characters drive one kart, had been implemented.[8] An updated demo with some new additions was shown at the Games Convention in August 2003.[9] In September, Nintendo held a Gamers' Summit for the press, in which a nearly complete and more sped up version of Double Dash!! was displayed. The Gamers' Summit also announced the North American release date to be November 17, 2003.[10]

The development team struggled in coming up with gameplay features that would be enjoyed by the fans of the series. One of the hardest tasks chief director Kiyoshi Mizuki was assigned to do was to attract people who had no prior experience with the series; he decided to make the gameplay as simple as possible. Producer Shigeru Miyamoto presented the staff with a variety of opinions which they in turn would have to accommodate into the game the best way possible. Miyamoto let the team decide which graphics they wanted to use without restrictions.[11]

Connectivity to the Game Boy Advance was discussed as an opportunity among the developers, but they eventually agreed that Double Dash‼ was not suited to these connectivity ideas and decided to exclude it. It was desirable to narrow down the gap between the ability of veteran and novice players. Therefore, gameplay features like the ability to escape the banana were removed; the staff wanted both veteran and novice players to enjoy themselves.[11]

The game's soundtrack was composed by Shinobu Tanaka and Kenta Nagata.[12] Many of the original voice actors from the Mario series worked on this title, with Charles Martinet as Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Baby Mario, and Baby Luigi; Jen Taylor as Princess Peach, Toad, Toadette, and Birdo; Deanna Mustard as Princess Daisy; Kazumi Totaka as Yoshi; Scott Burns as Bowser; and Dolores Rogers as Bowser Jr.[13]

A special edition of the game was also released, which included a bonus disc containing demos and gameplay videos of other games released around the time, including Mario Party 5, Pokémon Colosseum, and Kirby Air Ride, among others.[14] The special edition disc also includes exclusive digital content that could be transferred to the Game Boy Advance title Fire Emblem via the Game Link Cable.[14]

Reception

Mario Kart: Double Dash!! has received generally favorable reviews. The game received the "Multiplayer Game" award from ITV's Game Stars in 2004.[23] The game sold 3.8 million units in the United States,[24] and over 802,000 units in Japan.[25] According to the NPD Group, Double Dash!! was the best-selling game of November 2003.[26] It is also the third best-selling GameCube game in Australia.[27] Joystiq reported in February 2009 that the game had sold over seven million copies worldwide.[28]

Nintendo Power gave the game a perfect score, and said the graphics were of "3-D perfection" and the controls and game mechanics "rival those of any GCN racing game".[20] Double Dash!! also received a perfect score from GamePro, who commented that the gameplay remains "fast and furious".[29] The feature of having two riders per kart was praised by Justin Leeper and Andy McNamara of Game Informer; McNamara stated: "Giving the player control of two different characters is pretty cool in single-player, but add a friend on the back of your kart in multiplayer and it opens the game up like never before."[16] GameSpy called Double Dash!! a "great-looking, great-playing game that most gamers will instantly warm to."[18] Eurogamer thought the game was one of the "finest pieces of electronic entertainment ever developed."[30] GameZone's Louis Bedigian felt that none of the racing games he had played for the GameCube were as "spectacular" as Double Dash!!.[31] GMR's Andrew Pfister said, "Mario Kart: Double Dash is the most fun you'll have with a game this year. And probably next year. And maybe even the year after that".[32] Brett Elston of GamesRadar praised the game's "dual-riders idea and untouchable multiplayer".[4] Electronic Gaming Monthly said that the game's "pure, exhilarating glee will envelop your soul".[15] The game placed 63rd in Official Nintendo Magazine's 100 greatest Nintendo games of all time.[33]

Double Dash!! has also received criticism from the media. Considering the seven-year gap since Nintendo 64's Mario Kart 64, GameSpot's Ryan Davis stated that he was "a little disappointed with the limited scope of the game." He also said that the repetition of the voice acting was "unrelenting".[17] IGN was also critical towards Double Dash‼ for not progressing beyond its predecessor, calling the game a "mediocre effort".[19] The UK-based publication Edge accused the game of "not being a racing game anymore."[34] Game Revolution criticized the game's single-player mode for lacking substance and the track design for being "bland".[35]

References

  1. ^ Alfonso, Andrew. "Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Guide – Basics". IGN. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  2. ^ 1UP Staff (2004-05-09). "Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (GC)". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2012-04-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "Parents' Info". Mario Kart: Double Dash‼'s official website. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  4. ^ a b c Elston, Brett (2006-04-13). "Mario Kart: Double Dash!!". GamesRadar. Retrieved 2012-04-15.
  5. ^ Alfonso, Andrew. "Mario Kart: Double Dash‼ Guide – Secrets". IGN. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  6. ^ "Mario Kart for GameCube". IGN. 2001-06-06. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
  7. ^ "Mario Kart Double Dash Revealed". IGN. 2003-04-23. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
  8. ^ Lewis, Cory D. (2003-05-14). "E3 2003: Hands-on Mario Kart: Double Dash!!". IGN. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
  9. ^ Schneider, Peer (2003-08-21). "GC 2003: Playing Mario Kart". IGN. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
  10. ^ Mirabella III, Fran (2003-09-17). "NGS 2003: Mario Kart: Double Dash!!". IGN. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
  11. ^ a b "Mario Kart: Double Dash!! - the Interview!". Computer and Video Games. 2003-11-03. Retrieved 2009-01-08.
  12. ^ "Mario Kart: Double Dash‼ Info". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
  13. ^ "Full cast and crew for Mario Kart: Double Dash‼". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
  14. ^ a b "Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (Bonus Disc)". IGN. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
  15. ^ a b Electronic Gaming Monthly. Ziff Davis: 230. December 2003. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. ^ a b Leeper, Justin; McNamara, Andy. "Mario Kart: Double Dash!! review". Game Informer. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ a b Davis, Ryan (2003-11-13). "Mario Kart: Double Dash!! review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
  18. ^ a b Williams, Bryn (2003-11-01). "Mario Kart: Double Dash!! review". GameSpy. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
  19. ^ a b Mirabella III, Fran (2003-11-11). "Mario Kart: Double Dash!! review". IGN. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
  20. ^ a b Nintendo Power. Nintendo: 154. January 2004. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  21. ^ "Mario Kart: Double Dash!! reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  22. ^ "Mario Kart: Double Dash!! reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  23. ^ Radd, David (2004-04-19). "United Kingdom: Game Stars Awards (GCN)". GameDaily. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
  24. ^ "US Platinum Videogame Chart". The Magic Box. 2007-12-27. Archived from the original on 2007-01-06. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  25. ^ "GameCube Best Selling Ranking". Shrine of Data Sales Database. 1997-11-05. Archived from the original on 2005-02-25. Retrieved 2007-01-11.
  26. ^ Thorsen, Tor (2003-12-17). "Monthly NPD console game sales chart: November 2003". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
  27. ^ Vuckovic, Daniel (2006-10-16). "The Best Selling GameCube Games - Australia's Choice". Vooks. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
  28. ^ Ransom-Wiley, James (February 26, 2009). "Guinness pours out its Top 50 Games of All Time". Joystiq. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
  29. ^ Buzz, Bro (2003-11-17). "Mario Kart: Double Dash‼ review". GamePro. Archived from the original on 2009-01-14. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
  30. ^ Bramwell, Tom (2003-11-03). "Mario Kart: Double Dash‼ review". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
  31. ^ Bedigian, Louis (2003-11-17). "Mario Kart: Double Dash Review". GameZone. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  32. ^ Pfister, Andrew (December 2, 2003). "Ain't it funny how time slips away?". GMR. Archived from the original on March 1, 2004. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
  33. ^ "80-61 ONM". ONM. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
  34. ^ Edge. Future US: 98. Christmas 2003. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  35. ^ G-Wok. "Mario Kart: Double Dash‼ review". Game Revolution. Retrieved 2008-02-29.

External links

Template:Wikipedia books

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mario_Kart:_Double_Dash&oldid=490018187"