Pandora's Box: The Ultimate GameCube Tier List

#9: Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

Rating: E

Players: 1-16

Price Range: ~$70 USD

A cart racing game.

Yeah, this is obviously a pick for the top ten. One of the best multiplayer experiences by far.

Before we dive into the game itself, I have to say that this is easily the best Mario Kart up until this point, with the previous games being a mixed bag.

Super Mario Kart reused course themes and have arguably the worst tracks in the series, the control and drifting is pretty bad, and the Battle mode is easily the most barebones in the entire series. Sure, the original version of Mario Kart 8 is worse, but that doesn't change the fact that this is one of the weaker ones in the series. Mario Kart 64 was a big improvement, but is inherently flawed compared to its competition and later games. The drifting is still awful, it has one of the worst Special Cups in the series, with Wario Stadium and Yoshi Valley being contenders for some of the worst courses in all of Mario Kart, and its Rainbow Road is overly long. That is also adding to the fact that there is a large amount of repetition and annoyances with the blatant rubber-banding of the AI, gaining increased speed when you are in front and somehow being able to snipe you with bananas even though you throw them across the entire world. Speaking of which, the Red Shell, one of the most powerful items in the series, is useless because when you throw it, it goes directly towards the one in a placement ahead of you in the most literal way possible, going straight towards them on the track, even if there are walls in the way as opposed to ending up the track and veering off to them when they are right in front of it. Completely busted and stupid. Even though the Battle mode is an improvement, it is only better because of the somewhat better, if still underwhelming battle arenas and the fact that it can be played with four players. Even its character sprites, yes, sprites, are behind the times since Crash Team Racing came out around that time with 3D models for racers! Why!? With no unlockables besides a new title screen for getting gold in all the Cups, this game has little replayability. Super Circuit is also pretty rough, with its controls being utterly abhorrent, with only its course selection being what makes it stand out and have any staying power.

Double Dash was the first Mario Kart to actually be good, like, really good. It was the first modern Mario Kart, with great drifting controls and player feel, along with modern sensibilities while standing on its two feet.

Now is as good as a time to talk about what makes this game so special, the two-character system, hence the game's name, having two characters on the same kart. This adds a very unique dynamic, as these characters have their own attributes and special item (which I'll get into shortly). With different vehicles of each of the three weight classes, being light, medium, and heavy, with light having faster acceleration but slower speed and heavy having faster overall speed but slower acceleration. Having a character of a higher weight class forces you into a vehicle of that class, and the vehicles also have their own attributes. This kart system is a mechanic that has been done in later games, but having two characters per kart has never been done ever since.

Not only does a higher weight allow you to knock other racers of a lower one, but you could also switch spots with the driver and the one on the back to allow for a different handling of driving, switching of items from the front to the back, and punches to other racers to steal their items. Glorious.

You even have each pair of characters (except for Petey Piranha and King Boo since they could have any special item) have their own special item, which, again, hasn't ever returned. They're very unique and cool and can really change the game. Sure, some are better than others, with Peach's and Daisy's Heart item being broken as it makes them invincible to everything except Lightning and allows them to pick up and steal items that hit their kart, but they are overall quite powerful and a great addition. In the Battle mode, they even allow all characters to use them, which is very cool.