Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

"This series is bullet-proof!"

The Super Mario Kart franchise has been going strong for over 10 years now. Nintendo has made one for almost every system (counting out virtual boy and the original game boy) and each of them has received well-deserved praise from the video game industry. So, for the Nintendo Gamecube, Mario Kart: Double Dash is released. It was a Mario Kart game so I immediately thought it was going to be amazing. Guess what? It was! There are new characters (they have Waluigi!), new battle modes and… NEW EVERYTHING! The co-op mode gives a sense of strategy, and also makes things more fun as two people can team up to play one cup! This game totally exceeded my expectations and is another slam-dunk by Nintendo. Prepare for my review for the most copied game ever in the history of video games!

Graphics: 10/10
The graphics in Mario Kart: Double Dash are simply amazing. The courses blow me away every time I look at them, plus there are no slow down flaws and no load times! All the courses are vibrant, lively, and VERY detailed. The most impressive courses I saw were Wario’s Coliseum, Rainbow Road, and DK Mountain. The environments in Rainbow Road were vibrantly colored and very detailed. I loved Wario’s Coliseum. It was like you riding in giant ball/cage/maze… very cool. The racers in this game all look very clean and polished. Princess Peach has the almost-blinding blonde hair while Bowser has a shell on his back lined with large and deadly spikes. I really liked how the racers have their own custom cars instead of these default little carts. For example, Wario had a purple Cadillac, Baby Mario drove a stroller, and Bowser had some kind of tank-like war machine! The graphics in this game were really good. The good people at Nintendo really outdid themselves this time. In tiny things, like the menu screen for the game, you will see that everything is painstakingly detailed and polished! I was amazed by this game’s visual abilities. Mario Kart: Double Dash is truly a treat for the eyes.

Gameplay: 10/10
Have you ever heard of a Mario Kart Game that wasn’t fun? Didn’t think so. The courses in this game are unbelievable! My favorite course in this game is DK Mountain. What happens is that you are shot out of a cannon to the top of a mountain. Then, you are in a high-speed race down the mountain! It is insane! The fact that you have two characters in one kart gives a strategic feel. It is really fun to work together in co-op style gameplay in the Grand Prix contests! You can have one guy in the back handling weapons duties, and another racing his way to victory. Plus, you might not want to have the big guy in back and the little guy driving or the car may swerve. The multiplayer was always a very important part of the Mario Kart experience, so of course they had to make it REALLY good. They have a game called “Shine Sprite Thief”, when the players try and steal the shine sprite and keep it until time runs out. It is kind of like “kick the kid with one shoe”. Whoever has the shine sprite in their possession better run for their lives. There is also a game called “Bombomb Blast”. In this game you collect bombs and try to blow your opponents away. The battle arenas are all different from each other; there is even one where you fight on top of a giant Gamecube! I also really enjoyed that the characters had their own special moves! For example, Donkey Kong can throw giant banana peels, Wario can set a walking bombomb on the course, while Baby Mario has his own chain chomp that tears up everything in its path. Time Trial mode is also fun for those who like to be record-makers and record-breakers. There weren’t any new items, but there are double-item boxes so that both the front and back characters in the kart can have an item at their disposal. But there were only a couple tiny flaws. I just wish that the battle arenas were larger and that there were more racers for you to choose from (Shyguy). Also, it would be cool to have a career mode, that would add more depth wouldn’t it! But overall, this game is very satisfying in gameplay. It will keep you playing it until the next Mario Kart game comes out!

Control: 10/10
Like every single Mario Kart game ever made in the history of video games, this game controls like a dream! Seriously, have you ever heard of a Mario Kart game that had poor controls? Didn’t think so. It is really easy to use your weapons as well as switching characters. Steering is really easy also, because this is NOT one of those racing games where the developers try to make the game as real as possible by making the car handle like a slug! Trust me, you will the controls mastered in a matter of seconds.

Replay Value: 10/10
This game is always calling me to play it some more, as it will with you! There isn’t tons of stuff to unlock except for some new racers, cars, or the Special Cup, which is featured in every game and is a blast to play. The thing that always makes me come back for more is the sheer fun of the whole game experience! The three different ccs promise tons of hours of fun game playing. The crazy courses, the racers, the items and power-ups, all this will make you come back for more!

Sound: 10/10
The sound in this game is clear as a bell. The music is simple, but catchy. You will find yourself humming the tunes shortly after the race. The voices were funny, as Mario would say after a 2nd place finish, “that wasa pretty gooda, Mario get you next time”. I liked to hear the characters talk and sometimes taunt each other and it is always fun to hear the chain chomp’s ravenous bark as he blazes down the course, destroying everything in his path! All of the tracks go well with the course, and it is good to have a cartoony game with good music that doesn’t annoy you or distract you from the game itself. It is good to have a game that has noises and music that never gets annoying. The sound quality in this game is top-notch!

Story: N/A
Well this is a racing game, don’t expect to have an elaborate Metal Gear Solid plot about terrorists trying to take over military headquarters! This is Mario Kart: Double Dash! Let’s have some fun!

Game Length: 6/10
This is the only thing I had a problem with, there are only so much things you can do before you successfully complete every course. But then again, once I started playing this game; I didn’t put it down! You can try to unlock every single secret, get every car, get every character, but I find that to be slightly pointless, to try to unlock every little thing, even it is something that doesn’t effect the game experience at all. Also, I wish there could be more courses, I mean this IS Gamecube, right? I think we can put more courses in there! But, game length doesn’t really matter, because you will be playing this game for hours anyway!

Overall: 10/10
Mario Kart: Double Dash for the Nintendo Gamecube is another slam-dunk by the good people at Nintendo! This game blew me away when I first got it, and it still manages to blow me away every time I play it! As far as I’m concerned, this series is completely bullet-proof! The courses are all designed ingeniously and are VERY detailed. There is constant action in the courses, and they are all different with each other. The racing is insane and very fun and the sound is clear as a bell and very amusing. The graphics are insane! The courses, the characters, the cars, even the menu screen are all made with brilliant detail! This game is addicting and fun for everyone, as the multiplayer continues to impress me every time I play! The game’s controls are very easy to learn and become a second nature before the first lap is over! All of this makes this game one of the best games of the year, for the Gamecube, and one that no Nintendo faithful should go without! Go and buy this game now!

The Good
The courses are insane!
The multiplayer is better than ever!
The graphics are extremely detailed and well done.
The controls are really easy to learn.
The replay value is through the roof!
The music rules!

The Bad (if any)
There aren’t a whole lot of secrets to uncover.
There should be more courses.
No new items.
It took me nearly two days to write this review.

Overall Score: 9.7/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/29/03