Mario Kart: Double Dash was the fourth main entry in the Mario Kart series of racing games, and was a rather bizarre addition to the series! It was released for the Nintendo GameCube in 2003, and was the first home console Mario Kart since Mario Kart 64, which was released in 1996, for the Nintendo 64. Much like other games in the series, the core gameplay mechanic involved racing karts around a racetrack, whilst utilizing a strange assortment of weapons, to try and prevent other players from winning. But Double Dash did something else, which was totally unique to this release.
In games before, and after Double Dash’s release; you selected which character you wanted to play with, and that character alone would sit in a race kart, and race. Double Dash however decided to be just that little bit different, by allowing players to choose not one, but two characters. One character would sit and drive the car, whilst the other one would stand behind them, and be the one chucking the weapons at other racers.
It was an interesting approach for many reasons, and not just for look alone. One of it’s more clever reasons though, was it provided players with the opportunity to perform combos of special weapons. Each character had their own unique special weapon, which only they (and frequently their counterpart) could use. These ranged from Bowser‘s giant spiked shell, to Donkey Kong‘s giant banana’s. So, having two seperate characters, each with a different special weapon provided an opportunity to utilise different special weapons in the race.
This however was the only game in the series to utilise this approach, as all subsequent releases, went back to a single character in a solo vehicle. It’s also quite sad, as the game featured personal vehicles for each character. That’s right, each character had their own special vehicle to drive. Now they weren’t limited to using their own car, other characters could use them too. But in subsequent releases, there has been less of that.
It was a very interestingly designed game, and one of the most unique entries in the series. And because it featured a cool and memorable collection of Karts; I thought I would share with you my Top 5 favourites. But as is always the case, here are the unlucky few, who are still worthy of a mention:
Heart Coach, DK Jumbo, Toad Kart, Toadette Kart, Bloom Coach, Bullet Blaster and Parade Kart.
And so, without further ado, here are My Top 5 Favourite Karts from Mario Kart: Double Dash; Enjoy!
5. Goo-Goo Buggy/Rattle Buggy – Double Dash saw the Mario Kart debut of Baby Mario, and Baby Luigi, and what a debut they made. They had one of the best personal tracks to date, their combined special weapon was a Chain Chomp, and then their vehicle, was a Pram. The Goo-Goo/Rattle Buggies were really fun to look at, as they were very simple, but also very daft machines, which allowed them to carry a sweet elegance on every race track. Even if you weren’t racing with them, they were fun to see.
4. Koopa King – The Koopa King was one the best looking vehicles before the game came out.It’s the closest thing the series has seen to a Tank. It’s six mighty spiked wheels carried the face and horns of Bowser onto every circuit, even if he wasn’t there. It was a very imposing looking vehicle, a terror of the track, and is still one of the best looking karts in the series to date!
3. Para-Wing/Koopa Dasher – Compaed to other vehicles on this list, the Koopa Dasher/Para-Wing looks rather generic. It just seems to fit into a mold, that mold being the kart for Koopa Troopa and Koopa Paratroopa. But it’s sort of not meant to be much of a looker. Instead it’s meant to be practical, and when you got a choice of which ‘light’ or ‘small’ car to go for, you’d never go wrong choosing this one!
2. Barrel Train – It is no secret that I really like Steam Trains, and so this kart was a favourite of mine before,, and after I unlocked it. Much like the Koopa King above, it was designed to specifically look like something that looks out of it’s comfort zone on a race track, but in that lay it’s beauty, as you’d find it hard to turn away, when you see you kart being overtaken, by a steam train?!
1. Wario Car – The Wario Car is one of the best looking cars in the Mario Kart series to date, and it’s a real shame that it’s not been in future installments. Whilst it does carry Wario‘s moustache (which answers Jeremy Clarkson‘s question: “Has anyone ever done a car with a moustache?”), the designers could shave it off, as for the most part, it looks like an ordinary car. Many Mario Kart games since, sport a collection of vehicles, which do look like cars you can drive on the actual road. This beautifully sleek, purple tinted muscle car, easily fits into that same category, and so wouldn’t look out of place in future games. But for now, if you want to race this vehicle, you can only do it, in Mario Kart: Double Dash…which is rather sad!
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