Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

"Good game, but something's missing..."

I remember playing Mario Kart 64 for the very first time. I had rented the game, but after having played it for one day, I realized that I had to buy that game, simply because it was so special. Anyway, I’m here to discuss Mario Kart Double Dash!! (MKDD), so I’ll stick to that. My expectations were, of course, very high. I wanted it to be the game everything it had been and even more. Then I heard all the extra features included and I knew that it was going to be great: more characters, more multiplayer-modes, more weapons, more everything. The biggest change was naturally the fact that now two drivers were attending each kart, meaning it’s possible to have two weapons at a time as well. However, it’s not really a kart, more a car.. Still, release dates couldn’t come soon enough.
But then came the day that I saw movies for the first time. I was shocked to death. Everything looked far too slow and chaotic and my hopes were crushed. This couldn’t be happening!! Despite this, I bought the game, because I thought that it just had to be a good game. And now it’s been four weeks since I got it…

First, I’ll explain the game’s layout. When the game starts off, it’s all very recognizable. Happy theme, clear menus etc. Nothing much has been added to the single player mode: Grand Prix (which eventually unlocks some karts, characters and modes) and Time Trial are both still present. The multiplayer mode has been expanded with a few surprises: Vs Mode, Battle Mode and Grand Prix remain intact, although some nice changes have been made. Grand Prix is now playable as a co-op mode as well, where you and a mate can be on one car together, with one of you being the driver and the other in control of weapons (you can even switch positions while driving by pressing Z). It’s a great feature, especially when the two of you improve and the tactical racing can begin. Vs Mode is still the same as it used to be, although now the sort and number of weapons can be set, as well as the number of laps. It makes for a more skilled race when not using weapons but only your driving skills. The Battle mode is also still there, although it still is one of the less entertaining features to me, but I’ll come to that later. It is now divided into three modes: the Balloon Fight is the same as it was in the last game, but now there is a Bob-omb Fight and a Shine Thief mode included. Bob-omb Fight being a game in which you have to hit each other with Bob-ombs three times and Shine Thief mode being a battle in which you have to collect the Shine and keep it till time runs out. Both aren’t spectacular, but fun for a change.

Now the details of the game. You can choose any two characters to race with and then choose a ‘kart’. Whether this kart is heavy-, medium- or lightweight depends on your characters (e.g. Bowser + Mario = heavyweight). In theory, these three classes have their advantages and disadvantages, illustrated in three classes: weight, acceleration and speed. As you could guess, a heavyweight kart has a high speed and weight, but very low acceleration and a lightweight kart has relatively high speed and acceleration but low weight. The choice is up to you, but I’ve noticed that heavyweight karts don’t have any advantages at all: I’ve been sent spinning by a lightweight kart several times. However, especially in Time Trial, it’s the speed that counts. An essential technique to set the ultimate records is powersliding. Compared to the last game, it is now much more difficult to race a perfect lap using this in every corner. First you have to steer into the corner after which you press and hold R (or L, whatever you prefer). You’ll slide through the corner, but during this, you have to wiggle the control stick from left to right a few times after each other and as quick as possible. If you do it correctly, the sparks emerging from you wheels will first become red followed by blue. When you release the button at blue sparks, you’ll get a speed boost. Very handy, but tricky to perform so a lot of practice is needed. However, even after a lot of practice it’s still hard to perform it in a few small corners after each other. A bit too hard, because it takes too long before the sparks become blue. So Time Trial now is now a bit too frustrating: one wrong wiggle costs you your record. Especially on the longer tracks, this usually becomes a pain in the butt. Which is a shame, because it’s great to unlock and beat staff ghosts on every track. It doesn’t earn you anything, but it’s very satisfying.
While racing anything but Time Trial, you have several weapons at your disposal, these being collected by weapon blocks that float over the road. There are basic weapons like bananas and green shells, better weapons like red shells and lightning (only obtained when in a bad position like sixth) and special weapons. Every preset character team has a special weapon and all of them are very handy. Donkey and Diddy Kong have superbananas, Baby Luigi and Baby Mario have a chain chomp, Bowser and Baby Bowser have huge Bowsershields etc. These special weapons too, were designed to help someone in a bad position, but some special weapons can be obtained even when in first place (especially the superbananas), which gives that person a huge advantage. The CPU-players now use all the weapons too, so everything flies around your ears. You could say that this is an advantage, because the CPU is now a lot smarter. I, however, find this very, very annoying. In Vs mode and Grand Prix, players are way too dependent on weapons. For example, you’ve been in first place for almost all the race, and then suddenly you find yourself ten yards away from the finish being fourth, just because the CPU just fired three red shells, a Chain Chomp and a spiny shell at you (which they constantly seem to have, especially when you're in first place), therefore ruining your race. Or the other way around: you’ve been racing a friend and won, just because you got the best weapons. There is a possibility to turn off the weapons, but weapons are part of MK and should therefore have been more balanced.

Without spoiling anything, there are some things to unlock, but once you’ve finished every cup on all ‘difficulties’ in Grand Prix, you’re done. All that remains is multiplayer, so if you don’t have friends to play with in the first place, it’s a very short game: only Time Trial is a real challenge for one player. If you do have one or more friends, you can have a lot of fun. Grand Prix is great in co-op mode, Vs Mode is fun but not spectacular and battle is simply chaotic and doesn’t really require skill but is fun if you want to do something else. I think it really is a shame that you can’t play Time Trial with two players, both on the same kart. It’d be great and a bit easier than going solo. The tracks, by the way, are fantastic overall. Although the ideas were ‘borrowed’ from MK64 (think of snow, desert, jungle etc.), almost all of the tracks offer variety and challenges. I have found just one annoying track, namely Dry Dry Desert

Last thing I want to talk about is the core of the game. First off, sounds: most of the music is real Mario-style. This means neither very good nor very bad, just good. It never gets annoying, which is the most important thing. I do love the music of the Daisy Cruiser and Peach Beach. It’s so nice to listen to and resembles the music of Koopa Troopa Beach from MK64. But that’s just my opinion. Secondly, the graphics: no complains here either. Crystal clear, no fog, no pop-up, no slow-down and all very colorful. It’s all very Mario, just as the sounds. Loved it.

So, all in all, it’s a great game with some fantastic additions. Still, there’s something missing. I can’t really explain what it is (the speed of the game is fine, by the way), but it left me with a sort of empty feeling instead of the special warmth MK64 gave me. Perhaps it’s just me, perhaps I was expecting too much, it’s all possible, but I do think that there are some annoying niggles in the game that are too big to be overseen, the primary being the powersliding and the weapons. Anyway, the game’s fun while it lasts, but for me, it lacked too much to keep me interested and crown it to must-have.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/09/03