I waited for this game for about ten years it seems like, but now that it is here I can say the long wait was well worth it. The day I picked up the game was obviously the first day it came out and I told myself that I would beat the entire game the first week I had it, and then I would write a review for it right away. Well the first part seemed to happen, but I just couldn’t put the game down long enough to actually write the review. Well, that’s not 100% true, but it’s pretty close. Most games I can play, beat and review right away, but I felt Double Dash needed some extra attention. If I had written this review a month ago it would have been very different than final product I am conducting here. Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is one of those games that you can just never get tired of playing. In a way it is a lot like Super Smash Brothers Melee. I can foresee that we will be playing this game for system generations to come.

Let’s get the easiest to discuss out of the way first, the graphics. The graphics are very nice to look at; they don’t come much better than this at this time. Being a racing game, the graphics are not that important anyway, but it’s a plus to see Nintendo put the extra effort into making it easy on the eyes. Everything is marvelously detailed. Even the simplest of tracks (Baby Park) are full of movement and life. The first time I saw Baby Park and raced there I thought it looked like Nintendo was one track short and just threw that together in a few days. After racing there several times I not only tried to beat my opponents but I looked around at what was happening in the background. I came to the realization that I rarely look at the background artwork because I am too busy racing. After I did that on Baby Park I knew I had to do it with each track. I think the background detail is greatly under-appreciated, but without it the game really isn’t all that special. Sure, you’ll notice it a little bit, but next time you play the game, try and imagine playing on just the track; the game really doesn’t work without the surrounding scenery. The character models are just amazing. Everything is just so smooth and flowing. After I tried my hand at Double Dash for about a week I went back and played Mario Kart 64 and I just couldn’t believe that the graphics had come so far in only several years.

103 MPH and Mario isn't wearing a seatbelt. Bad Mario!

Once again Nintendo was all about the gameplay, which brings an exuberant smile to my face. First of all it is a lot harder than Mario Kart 64 was. That doesn’t necessarily mean that Double Dash is a hard game, it just means it’s more of a challenge. Trust me; it’s still pretty easy to play and to get good at. Nintendo really can’t make the game too hard seeing as how they want everyone from ages five to eighty-five to be able to play it and have fun with it. While at Carl’s house recently he told me that he had played Mario Kart with his father and his sister earlier that day. Now I am sure most of you don’t know Carl the way I do but take my word for it when I say that his family is not so much into playing videogames. “This just in, Mario Kart brings families closer.” How’s that for a headline on the news? It would be a nice change from all the negative things we hear about, but the people who report the news only think it’s important to relay the bad to us and not the good. However, that is another topic for another day.

There are a few modes you can play, and within those modes there are even more modes. You have your choice between Grand Prix, Versus, Time Trials, and of course Battle mode. Now in the Battle mode you can play the classic Balloon Battle, plus the Bob-Bomb mode, or Shine Thief. The Balloon Battle everyone knows about so let’s move right on to the Bob-Bomb mode. Basically you collect Bob-Bomb’s and toss them at other players. If you blow them up you get a star. However if you get blown up you lose a star. The first player to collect three stars (or if you’re playing with three or four people, four stars) wins the match. The matches are usually very short but the mode is so addictive that you can sit there with a group of friends and play for hours, and if you’re playing with people who are good enough, you can sometimes drag the match out for several minutes. The Shine Thief mode works like this: a Shine is released at the beginning of the match and whoever gets it first need to drive around avoiding enemy fire. But who is the enemy? Everyone. If you possess that Shine you are public enemy number one. If you get hit with an item you lose the Shine and then you have to work together with the others to take down the new Shine holder. Once that Shine is out in the open though it’s every man for himself. This mode is extremely fun when you have four players but it is quite dismal with less than four. The Versus mode can be played with two or more on any of the engine types (50, 100, and 150 CC but not Mirror Mode). Time Trials doesn’t need any explanation. You type in you initials so it can keep your high scores, you pick your track, and then you have fun. In Grand Prix mode you can choose any engine size as well as Mirror Mode (if you have it unlocked). You then have to decide your characters and your Kart. There isn’t much need to go into that seeing as how Eric went into it in FULL detail in his review. You can check out his review in the review section.


It's funny because Luigi is driving a pink Kart.
The sound is pure classic Nintendo. It has a beat, it has rhythm, and you can move to it while you’re playing the game. For most of the gamers out there I know this is the closest to dancing you will ever come. I know it is for me. The only thing it’s missing is a pair of Conga drums. The music isn’t annoying either. I usually can’t stand when songs get stuck in my head but I find it quite enjoyable when Mario Kart: Double Dash!! songs do. One of the features I love about Double Dash is that the music starts to get more upbeat and have a faster tempo as the race nears its finish. The faster music for me I know gets my blood pumping and my adrenaline going and I think I race better because of it. Then again this could be some kind of weird affect years of insanity has caused (Editor’s note: He really is insane. We’re working at getting him help). The actual sounds are hilarious, amazing, and adorable. Not many of the sounds are annoying except for maybe Peach and Daisy who I think are supposed to be like that.

The controls to the game are not too tight and not to loose, they are perfect. The only button that might be a bit too sensitive is the joystick and if you’re good at the game you learn quickly that you can abuse that sensitivity very easily. When I power skid it takes me about a tenth of a second to get the little blue sparks boost. I have learned to boost so well that I can even boost when the turns are of the slightest degree. I find it funny that when I play with my friends I can hear them moving the joystick all the way right and all the way left in order to get the blue sparks. I just have to laugh at them. Of course being the cruel S.O.B. that I am I wouldn’t tell them how to do it properly because then I might start to lose. Well I think my secret might be out now seeing as how they’ll all read this. At least it will be nice to have some real competition though now! The best thing I like about the controls is the new kart system. I think the idea of having one character drive and one be on fire duty is very creative indeed. It does, however, make for finding a good driving pair a pretty long, drawn-out process. I had to use twenty combinations or more to finally find who I thought was best. If you play the game you find out that some characters are good for driving and others are good for firing. One thing I would have liked to see them add, though, is the ability to change controls, or have a few options for us to choose from. Even though I think the best option is probably what they went with it would be nice to be able to choose for myself.

My overall thought of the game is that I love it. I think the best part of the game would have to be that the A.I. is surreal. The computer drivers will work together to take you down if you are in first, something that rarely happened in Mario Kart 64. It can be frustrating at times but it just adds to the difficulty. It is amusing to be in second place and have the computer go after only the first place computer player and then have to duke it out with him at the finish to see who will claim first place. I can see I will be playing this game for a long time to come.