quote Nintendo Power Issue 173 - Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

The franchise that originated the kart racing genre is speeding onto the GCN scene this month, and it's biggest and best Mario Kart ever. Brillian graphics and perfectly balanced play control are expected of every Mario Kart game, the Mario Kart: Double Dash!! doesn't disappoint. but the real news is that two charecters team up on the karts - one in the driver's seat and one on the rear platform; the latter tosses koopa shells at opponents or drops banana peels at strategic points on the track. Better yet, two players can combine their talents on one kart during cooperative play modes. All your favorite citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom (along with guests Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong) are aboard for the ride,racing in Grand prix, Time Attack and Battle modes. The action is awesome - chaotic, see-saw, fresh and surprising. This on deserves a spin.

Traffic on the road makes things even more interesting for racers, who must weave around it.

Races take place in a wide range of settings, from the desert to the city to the jungle.

Two players can go head-to-head, each controlling once kart and switching between charecters.

The fun becomes more manic when four players vie for the lead. Items play a key role.

quote mariokartdoubledash.co.uk

Lightweight :
Diddy Kong, Koopa Troopa, Paratroopa, Bowser Jr., Baby Mario, Baby Luigi
Middleweights :
Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, Birdo, Waluigi
Heavyweights :
Donkey Kong, Bowser, Wario

quote mkdd.co.uk

Mario Kart: Double Dash!! frequently asked questions


Game:

When is this out?

No laughing at the back, but for once the United States gets the game last. Well, last of the major territories at least...
Japan: November 7th
Europe and Australia: November 14th
US: November 17th

What does the box look like?

The boxart has been confirmed to look like the one below, although it's certainly not final (the game won't release with a Rating Pending badge for starters). Anyone who thinks it looks uncannily like our own mockup that we made back in May is right... The Japanese box looks like this.


Will there be 'cheating' AI again?

There is some element of computer-catch up, but we think is a good thing as it keeps the races closer, and the same works both ways: players behind the pack will benefit from a small speed increase and better weapon pickups.
How many players is this?

System-link aside (see Online Play) the game is for 1 to 4 players, with system-link LAN allowing for up to 8. You can play 16 players co-op (one person firing from the back of each Kart). Grand Prix mode has been confirmed for 2 player simultaneous split-screen play, whilst battle mode and VS mode (normal racing) is 2 to 4 players (without LAN).
Will there be AI controller Karts in multiplayer?

Yes, if there are 2 or 3 human players the Gamecube will (optionally) make up the rest of the pack. There has been no Gamecube-controlled players in Battle Mode so far though.
What are the various modes?

So far, the following modes have been confirmed:
Grand Prix 50cc
Grand Prix 100cc
Grand Prix 150cc
Battle mode: Bom-omb Challenge (only weapons are bombs)
Battle mode: Balloon Burst (with all weapons)
Battle mode: Shine thief (capture the flag style)
VS mode (up to 16 players via LAN, 4 players per screen) - 16 players if playing co-op
Time Trial mode
Time Trial mode?

Yep. Although you only get 2 mushrooms this time, one per character, not 3.
What are the controls?

See our lovely little picture (click to enlarge):

A: Accelerate, B: Brake, X/Y: Fire weapons and use items, L/R: Powerslide (no hopping yet), Z: Switch characters, Analog stick steers, obviously
Will players be able to fight, apart from weapons?

You can steal items from rival karts if your rear character is not holding anything: by ramming an opponent, whilst using a mushroom, running into an opponent, whilst using a Star, or by slide attacking an opponent. See our Driving Guide for more information.
Characters:

Which characters are confirmed so far?

The characters are: Mario, Luigi, Daisy, Peach, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Yoshi, Birdo, Wario, Waluigi, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Bowser, Bowser Jr., Koopa, and Paratroopa.


Do they have to be in the logical pairings?

No, you are free to select your first and second characters at the select screen independant of each other, and independant of the desired Kart. The Kart defines the handling/speed, and the characters define the available weapons. With the weapons being paired (ie, both Mario and Luigi have fireballs) it's therefore wise to not always go with the natural character pairings and hence double your available weaponry.
Where's Toad?

See here for the secrets page.
Is there two characters in each Kart?

Yes - one 'driving' and one 'firing weapons'. Both can be controlled by the same player, with the firing character on the back. You can switch by using the Z button. There is also co-op play, with 2 human players in the same kart - see our Driving Guide for more information.
Do you have to use two characters?

Yes. Some people have been put off by the idea of two characters in one Kart but we don't think the gameplay would differ too much from previous MK games. In addition, the CNN movie shows the back character pushing off (bobsled style) at the beginning of a race. It adds a degree of tactics to the gameplay not seen before because which character is at the back determines the weapon pickup when you go through an item box.
Is cooperative play included?

Yes. See above, and our driving guide.
Why is there an N on the front of the Koopa's Kart on early screens?

Because Koopa and Paratroopa are known as Nokonoko and Patapata in Japan. Eagle-eyed readers will note this has been changed to a K.
Will Sonic be in this game?

Possibly, possibly not. Quite often Mario games have been entirely Nintendo-character based, if not wholey Mario-character based. Smash Bros allowed a few other Nintendo characters in, but certainly not any Sega characters as such. As for MKDD - we simply don't know yet.
Can two players use the same characters?

No. Nor can you use the same kart as someone else, unless, of course, you're sharing in co-op mode and are both in the same kart.
Which Karts are available?

You can see all the karts on our driving guide page. The images are clickable, so click the kart to see a higher resolution version that pops up in a new window.
Weapons:

Which weapons are confirmed so far?

You can see all the weapons on our driving guide page, with full descriptions. The images are clickable, so click the kart to see a higher resolution version that pops up in a new window.
There are 2 sets of weapon/item pickups - the first is a general set which everyone can collect, the second are 8 character-specific weapons, again, our driving guide page has everything you need.
Tracks:

Which tracks have been confirmed so far?

The first 3 cups are as follows:
Mushroom Cup
Flower Cup
Star Cup

Peach Beach
Mushroom Bridge (M)
Sherbert Lane (M)

Luigi Circuit (M)
Mario Circuit
Mushroom City (M)

Baby Park
Daisy Cruise
Yoshi Circuit

Dry Dry Desert (M)
Waluigi Stadium (M)
DK Mountain (M)

Highlight below to see spoilers
------

There is a special cup too - available later on in the game. Thanks to Nick McIntosh, who went to the competition in Australia, we now know the track names for the Special Cup. We've hidden the names for SPOILER reasons, just select over the area below with the mouse to reveal them. Please no discussion of these in the normal forums, we've made a SPOILER-area forum just for discussion of things not unlocked at the start.
Special Cup

Wario Colosseum

Dino Dino Jungle

Bowsers Castle

Rainbow Road


For all the info, screenshots and maps of the tracks, please click here.
How about battle mode tracks?

Again, please see the bottom of our tracks guide page, which lists all the currently known battle mode maps.
Online Play:

Can you play online?

Out of the box? No. Nintendo have stated on multiple occasions that Online gaming does not feature heavily in their interests for Gamecube. However, you will be able to link two Gamecubes via the Broadband Adapter, locally, for 8 player play across two screens.
It's also possible that Gamespy (or someone else) will develop a tunnelling system through software and a PC broadband connection, which will allow gamers to play online, but we will have to wait and see.




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We all nkow that the Golden Mushroom was Peach's special item in the earlier version of the game
But then it suddenly disappeared, misteriously.

Here's a pic. of when it was Peach's and Daisy's special

Of course it would be a rapid boost, but it could be a regular or out of the game item now.
But it could be a secret teams' special. (notice how I put the ' after the s ^.^)
Obviously if they have one secret team then they're gonna have more. And maybe that explains the bullet bill kart, not saying that Bullet Bill is a secret character. But 'm I'm hoping it will be Shyguy and Goomba

quote

When DK use his giant banana, if a kart run over it, it multiply to a lot of smaller banana skin on the track.
But, if someone hit it with a shell, it turn into a lot of bonus like mushrooms or starmen...

quote GMR Issue 10 - MARIO KART DOUBLE DASH - PLUMBERS MAKE GREAT NATURAL RACERS, DON'T YOU THINK?

Time for a show of hands: How many of us didn't spend the majority of our collage years throing back bottles of MGD while racing the night away with Super Mario Kart or Mario Kart 64? What? Some of you are still in high school? Well, that gives you something to look forward to as you continue the pursuit of higher education (aka skipping class and playing Mario Kart: Double Dash).

When we last saw the game, we had some concerns. We saw only three tracks, had no information about the battle mode, and most troublesome of all, felt the game was too slow. Apparently, a little bit of F-Zero rubbed off on the DD team, and now Mario and friends have shed some of the junk in their trunks. We've also seen a couple new tracks as well as seom Battle mode stages (one atop a giant GameCube, another racing through classic green pipes).

Tap the keg, Mario Kart: Double Dash is almost here.

quote

IGNcube: Do you think you'll be able to get Mario Kart: Double Dash!! running smoothly over the Internet?

Chad Paulson: There is no question. It is just a matter of time. We ask all gamers to bear with us and be patient. That's second nature for Nintendo fans, huh? But the good news is you won't have to wait long. We are anticipating playable online gaming by the end of the year with a high-speed cable or DSL broadband service (256 kbps upload recommended).

quote ign.com

October 29, 2003 - Nintendo of Europe today published a full cup and track listing for its upcoming racer Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, which debuts on GameCube in the region in two weeks and the US in less than three. We have the full selection verbatim from the company's exclamation-point-filled press release:

MUSHROOM CUP
Luigi Circuit
A relatively quiet start to the mayhem, the Luigi Circuit features long straights and speed boosting panels galore. Watch out for the Chain Chomp guarding the short cut! He's noisy and always hungry!

Peach Beach
Princess Peach's favorite resort is also a sandy racing track with hazards galore! Dodge the Cataquacks and look out for the tide as you seek that elusive shortcut across the sandy bay!

Baby Park
A deceptively straight-forward oval circuit set in a theme park complete with its own rollercoaster! You've got to make sure you take each corner just right and use your power-up items for maximum effect if you plan on winning this race!

Dry Dry Desert
A wide and open track filled with ancient monuments and temples. There's no time for sight-seeing here as you'll be avoiding whirling tornados and escaping from quicksand in this fun desert-themed track.

FLOWER CUP

Mushroom Bridge
One of Mushroom Kingdom's most famous landmarks! This track has plenty of room to maneuver...if you can avoid all the traffic that is. Keep your eyes open for mushroom carrying motors!

Mario Circuit
A glorious circuit full of famous landmarks and characters. There's plenty of twists and turns on this course so be sure you've mastered your drifting skills!

Daisy Cruiser
All aboard Daisy's luxury liner for a manic race above and below decks. Speed around the swimming pool and dining room, just don't hit any of the tables!

Waluigi Stadium
Waluigi Stadium is an off-road track filled with bumps, mud and big jumps, and as if that isn't enough, you've also got to watch out for Piranha Plants and fireballs! This is one race that is definitely going to get dirty!

STAR CUP

Sherbet Land
Don't let the ice and snow lull your senses, this is one treacherous course! Careless driving here will end in kart pileups and collisions with all sorts of nasties.

Mushroom City
Avoid the late night traffic in downtown Mushroom City by choosing your route carefully and you're bound to come up in first place! Don't get lost in there.

Yoshi Circuit
What could be better than a circuit in the shape of Yoshi? Not much! This circuit will really test your Mario Kart mettle with its tricky corners, bends and straights. You're going to have to push your kart to the limit if you want to finish in first place.

DK Mountain
Shoot yourself to the top of DK Mountain using Donkey Cannon and hurtle down the side avoiding large boulders and gaping chasms. But once at the bottom, you're not safe yet, you've still got to cross the perilous rope bridge to get to the winning line.

quote Might be Spoilers to Some

Lightweights:
B.Luigi Kart ---- S:2 A:4 W:2
B.Mario Kart --- S:1 A:5 W:2
Bowser Jr Kart - S:4 A:3 W:1
K.Troopa Kart - S:2 A:4 W:2
Toad Kart ----- S:2 A:4 W:2

Mediumweights:
Mario Kart --- S:3 A:3 W:3
Peach Kart --- S:2 A:4 W:3
Waluigi Kart - S:3 A:3 W:3

Heavyweights:
Bowser Kart --- S:5 A:1 W:5
DK Kart -------- S:4 A:2 W:4
P.Piranha Kart- S:4 A:2 W:5

quote mariokart.com on the Chain Chomp

Baby Mario and Baby Luigi can unleash their very own obstacle-stomping, kart-chomping personal escort. The Chain Chomp pulls them at high speed through hairpin turns, while chewing up everything in its path.