Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

Mario Kart: Double Dash
Developer	Nintendo EAD
Publisher	Nintendo
System	Nintendo Gamecube
Release Date	JP November 7, 2003 EU November 14, 2003 US November 17, 2003 AU November 19, 2003
Genre	Racing
Gallery	GH Gallery
Rating	ESRB: E

Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is the fourth Mario Kart game, which was released for the Nintendo Gamecube in 2003. The game is known featuring a variation on the Mario Kart gameplay by having two racers in each kart.

Gameplay

This installment features karts which seat two characters instead of one. In this buddy system, the front character drives while the rear character uses items. Different karts are also available depending on character weight.

As with all Mario Kart games, it features three cups with an unlockable Special Cup, and four tracks in each cup. The Battle Mode also has several different variations. Aside from the classic version, there are also modes in which players compete for Shine Sprites or lob Bob-ombs at each other.

Due to featuring two people per kart, the game features much more characters. There are sixteen characters initially, and more characters are unlockable as the cups are completed. Among the other unlockable content are Battle Mode tracks and karts. There are also items that can exclusively be used by certain characters.

Playable Characters

Every two characters are paired together as a default team.

• Mario
• Luigi
• Princess Peach
• Princess Daisy
• Yoshi
• Birdo
• Baby Mario
• Baby Luigi
• Koopa Troopa
• Koopa Paratroopa
• Donkey Kong
• Diddy Kong
• Bowser
• Bowser Jr.
• Wario
• Waluigi
• Toad
• Toadette
• King Boo
• Petey Piranha

The last four characters (Toad, Toadette, King Boo and Petey Piranha) are all unlockable characters.

Tracks

Mushroom Cup	Flower Cup	Star Cup	Special Cup
Luigi Circuit	Mushroom Bridge	Sherbert Land	Wario Coliseum
Peach Beach	Mario Circuit	Mushroom City	Dino Dino Jungle
Baby Park	Daisy Cruiser	Yoshi Circuit	Bowser Castle
Dry Dry Desert	Waluigi Stadium	DK Mountain	Rainbow Road

Legacy

The following games reverted to the single-kart formula, and Double Dash's buddy system has not been revisited beyond the inclusion of the Fusion Kart in Mario Kart Arcade GP DX.

This game is particularly notable for the number of characters that it introduced in the series, most of whom would go on to reappear in later Mario Kart games. It is also known for being the first appearance of Toadette.

Various tracks from this game would reappear in later Mario Kart games as Retro courses, starting in Mario Kart DS.

Sequels

The next Mario Kart game to be released would be the first arcade release, Mario Kart Arcade GP. The next game for a Nintendo console would be Mario Kart DS.

See Also

• Mario Kart Tracks