Nintendo, despite being known for its family-friendly image, has left long gaps without delivering highly anticipated games. It's been nine years since we've seen a new Donkey Kong game and a staggering 20 years since the last proper F-Zero title. Inquiring about Nintendo's future plans for Labo, their DIY gaming kits, is met with secrecy reminiscent of the Men in Black neuralyzer, erasing your memory. Falling short of Nintendo's expectations can lead to obscurity, locking your work away in a deep, dark vault that even Disney's practices seem charitable in comparison.
One of the games that has seemingly been overlooked is Mario Kart: Double Dash!! This game holds the distinction of being the second best-selling title on the GameCube, but it doesn't generate the same level of enthusiasm as other entries in the Mario Kart series. While Mario Kart 64 is celebrated as a beloved classic, being the franchise's first foray into 3D, and Mario Kart 8 has been a long-lasting success with a steady stream of new tracks and characters, Double Dash!! feels somewhat overlooked, with its excessive use of punctuation seemingly trying too hard to grab your attention.
Double Dash received positive reviews back in 2003, but a few critics raised issues that continue to affect its reputation. It was seen as gimmicky rather than truly innovative, deemed unfair, and criticized for its lack of depth and content. Some found the tracks to be uninspired. Above all, it didn't seem to have made significant improvements over its predecessor, especially when compared to the seven-year gap since Mario Kart 64.
Double Dash features a clever gimmick that involves selecting two drivers instead of one, with the ability to switch between them at the press of a button. The active driver can pick up an item and then switch roles, with the item still under their control. When playing in single-player mode, managing both racers adds an extra layer of item management. In multiplayer, two friends can seamlessly switch between driver and gunner positions, which can lead to thrilling item combinations that can completely change the outcome of races.
However, the game's abundance of items and the relative lack of defensive options compared to other games in the series make races even more chaotic than usual. Unlike Mario Kart 8, where skilled racers can maintain their lead despite occasional blue shell attacks, Double Dash often sees sudden shifts in fortune, which can be either amusing or frustrating, depending on your perspective. It's not the ideal game for showcasing your dominance or putting your overconfident friends or family members in their place.
Despite the chaos, you can still showcase your racing skills. Notably, Double Dash was the first Mario Kart game to make drifting feel natural, as opposed to the somewhat awkward experience in earlier titles.
However, this might be one reason why Double Dash receives mixed reviews. While the drifting mechanics felt fantastic, later Mario Kart games improved and refined them even further. The visual transition from the 2D sprites in Mario Kart 64 to the bouncy 3D models in Double Dash was a significant technical leap, but it doesn't compare to the polished graphics of Mario Kart 8.
The character and track rosters in Double Dash also pale in comparison to more recent entries. While tracks like Dino Dino Jungle's waterspouts and DK Mountain's cannon launch into an unstable volcano were creative and whimsical, the game offers only 16 tracks, which feels limited when compared to the 96 tracks available in Mario Kart 8.
The title of the "best" Mario Kart game often depends on the one you grew up with or played during those college nights. Double Dash rarely emerges as the top choice. It's a bit too quirky and messy, akin to how Zelda II is seen in the world of Kart games. Nevertheless, Double Dash offers a straightforward and enjoyable experience... if you can manage to play it. Unless you've been lugging around your GameCube by its handle for the past 22 years, you're out of luck.
The challenge of playing beloved GameCube classics is a more widespread issue, as Nintendo seems content to keep its old gems away from the market to transform them into full-priced remasters (like Pikmin 1 + 2), mine them for content in larger sequels (think Super Smash Bros. Melee), or simply let them fade into oblivion (the absence of Wind Waker on the Switch feels like a minor injustice). Double Dash stands out as one of the more prominent casualties of this policy.
Perhaps this stems from the GameCube's somewhat lackluster reputation, but it's frustrating to witness Nintendo neglect one of its most successful titles. While some of Double Dash's tracks have made their way to Mario Kart 8, it begs the question: Why not make the entire game available on the Switch eShop? Each game has its own unique character, and something precious is lost when companies like Nintendo see their creations merely as sources for content extraction, rather than experiences worth preserving and passing down independently.
At the very least, Mario Kart 9 could consider including a two-character-per-kart option, adding a strategic twist and potentially more colorful language from players irritated by item onslaughts. This would serve as a fitting tribute to a game that brought countless hours of joy alongside Mario's more famous karting adventures.
