Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

THE BAD:
- The game's new form of partner racing in which it introduced can appear to be a bit of a lag in certain perspectives when compared to the previous two titles

SUMMARY:
This game really impressed me when I'd first spotted it's kind on a television commercial during the holiday season of 2003(even though circumstances led me to purchase it over a year and a half later from that point in which my interest was first at it's peak).

The fact that really grabbed my attention initially before anything else was the new generation feature of being able to race with two iconic Nintendo characters on one kart, one navigating the vehicle in the front at the wheel, and the other in the additional back section of the new vehicles with the main situational occupation of either throwing various items and/or whacking other karts that may be near by either bumping into them or manually pressing the shoulder buttons(function only available in co-op racing mode). While the only negative point that I see standing with this game's trademark selling point is being that the fact that two characters are to share one vehicle and nothing else seems to be too big of a change for the classic Mario Kart gamers back in the days of the SNES and N64 titles and some people who would publicly critique this game in any way found this game play type for this Nintendo-based genre to be too slow, crowded, and somewhat clumsy. This fact, however, never fazed my perfect score in which I gave this title by means of my personal preference.

The Time Trials in terms of difficulty is not all that harsh when compared to the strict and precise requirements demanded in Mario Kart Wii. Nothing really specific is involved when considering how the challenges offered are to play out, simply select the appropriate character and vehicle to match and practice, practice, PRACTICE. So I find that this mode of gameplay differs no less or more from Mario Kart 64's besides the basic visual and performing differences that are a given with any new title.

The new stages exclusive to this game were very unique and never boring, as is the basic rule for any classic Nintendo-based game involving the antics of Super Mario and company. This time they seemed to be fashioned somewhat larger and wider than the race tracks of the past, seeing as how the new character passenger feature more than likely called for it. The stages have been heavily improved in this installment, like being shot out of a barrel cannon onto the summit of a great mountain(with a sour-looking face)on the stage known as DK Mountain, or driving through the decks and dining halls of an actual ocean cruise liner on Daisy Cruiser. My personal favourite track among these examples is Baby Park(a stage dedicated to the Baby Mario Bros., Baby Mario and Baby Luigi from the Yoshi's Island series, also brand new characters exclusive to this title), since it is one of the most simplest courses to date which would then include over 5 laps in order to match the race times with all the rest. This would give an avid player such as me the chance to hone item-handling skills to their near limit as I receive both increased room to race and extra time to do so all in one neat little package.

Moving on to items, for this title alone, each character receives their own personal item relatable to their character's personal image. Examples would be both Bowser and Baby Bowser being able to substitute giant spiked green Koopa shells in exchange for just the regular-sized green and red smooth ones. Donkey Kong and Diddy would be similar to this duo for the fact that they can lay out giant bananas on the track that it near impossible to miss by rival drivers, and when hit they split into at least 4 regular-sized banana peels in order to extend the effect of this certain item even further to these primate character's advantages. Out of these examples, my favorite would have to be the Baby Mario Bros's custom item, which is a large Chain Chomp fastened to the vehicle that they are driving that, when put in effect, drags the vehicle with the drivers in it across the course with great speed, knocking over anyone they may run into, causing them to wipe out. It wears off shortly though but this will be the least of your worries seeing how effective this special item can really be in it's duration(however, as it would be, this item only shows up as a regular lightning bolt or winged blue shell may, in the rare case that you fall far behind in the ranks and are placed at least below 4th).

The background music used for each of these stages was indeed a big step forward, noticably much clearer and vibrant and personally fitting to each track's ideal environment and/or naturally placed vibe.


With these elongated points of mine being made, there is no doubt in my mind that this game is a must-have for any fan of the classic Nintendo series. It includes everything you would expect from a franchise like this and so much more, as is Nintendo's everlasting aim to please.