Out of all of the Mario Kart games that have been released in over the past two decades Mario Kart Double Dash probably stands out most. Mario Kart Double Dash was very unique since it dramatically improved upon the various features that were featured in the Nintendo 64 prequel. Almost everything about this game from high quality gameplay to visual presentation was fantastic. The concept of players being allowed to choose two characters who could switch positions between driving and using weapons against other competitors was very creative. Another thing great about this feature included the idea that players could either team up with their friend as partners during a race versus racing against them separately during Grand Prix mode. The roster for Mario Kart Double Dash was over twice the size of the prequel and included at least 20 characters old and new to the Mario racing series.
This game features returning favorites such as Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and a few others. Double Dash also includes many new characters such as Waluigi, Baby Mario & Luigi, Petey Puranha, King Boo and others that many people haven been wanting to play as since Mario Kart 64. Another thing about this game that was special included the fact that each character were given special items despite their progress within a race along with having the ability to obtain normal items. While the soundtracks for Mario Kart SNES & N64 were special this game had also included great BGM that gets players excited while playing Double Dash. Some of the best soundtracks in the game included Wario Colosseum and Mushroom City among others. Bowser’s Castle theme was also pretty good because it made the stage seem slightly more scary than it actually was.
Some of the level designs in this game were also very creative including Wario’s Colosseum which looks much better than Wario’s Stadium in Mario Kart 64. The Mushroom city race track was reminiscent of Toad’s Turnpike when having to deal with oncoming traffic while trying to complete the course. The battle stages in this game were also pretty cool especially Luigi’s Mansion & Pipe Plaza which was also very fun to play with friends. The Nintendo GameCube stage in the middle of space was also nice because it was something very different than what we have seen in the previous Mario titles. One of the in game features that stands out LAN Play which allowed over fifteen players which were plenty of fun. After its release Mario Kart Double Dash was praised by gaming publications for being an exciting racing title. Mario Kart Double Dash was a title that not only exceeded the expectations of people who were fans of the previous game but it was also one of the best racing games that Nintendo had released during the early 00’s.
Gaming Hearts Collection 