See I told you I’d potentially do a review of Mario Kart Double Dash soon. I mean this won’t or doesn’t even really need to be too much of a long one. Due to the fact we’ve all played a variation of this game at some point in our lives. Be it on N64, Gameboy, DS, Gamecube, Wii, Switch and some of the others I can’t be arsed to list. Fundamentally though it’s the same game with slight variations, and mechanics which sometimes don’t follow over to the next iteration.
Even though we haven’t technically had a new game since the Wii U, the Switch port of 8 Deluxe is just fucking mint. It’s just endlessly fun and can be picked up as and when you want, and that’s before all the new DLC tracks that have been added in. Not that I have got around to purchasing the season pass yet though.
Starting this review I will say I do find it’s hard not to compare this title to 8, as with all the quality of life upgrades that have happened in between seem to show the age of this title. That’s not to say it isn’t fun still, not by any means. With me somehow losing all my previous play data I didn’t mind starting again because the charm of all Mario Kart games come from the super fun, quick tracks. This here is no different with the always immediately entertaining tracks, which are always well designed and loop around themselves. Scattered with obstacles whether it be a rogue Koopa or a mini tornado. Let’s also not forget the always banging soundtrack for these games which add to the tracks individuality. What I do find though is even though all Mario games on release regardless of the hardware always look great for the time, this is true on this title. However you can’t help but drive round and feel it looks dated. Not having the full immersion of 8 with the loopings around, diving under the sea, gliding off mountains etc.
This title is the only game where your kart is raced by two playable characters and are switchable mid race via the Z trigger on your controller. No other Mario Kart game has done this since. Initially it’s a fun little gimmick and has some nice animations, like if you are hit by a bomb and the back player gets dragged along for a while. However, outside the Co-op function where one drives and the other uses items, not that my little lonely self has got to do this, it doesn’t serve much function. You have a roster of 20 to pick from so not the 40 of 8, and you have less customisable kart options, just the pre-made ones that effect, weight,speed and acceleration. Again showing how it’s dated comparably.
The racing itself is pretty decent, the handling is pretty responsive, and the drift function which transitioned into the later series entries is good. I do find however I tend to hit bananas or fake item boxes more. This is arguably down just to my terrible driving but I do feel the tracks themselves come off a bit smaller with narrower roads, and I think the bananas themselves are slightly bigger.
Even the item box pool is lesser, with not as many choices to get, and less spawn ratio of the better stuff depending on your position. It does however do one thing I would like to see back, all characters have a chance of getting their special item on pick up. For instance Yoshi’s egg, Mario or Luigi’s fireball, or even Donkey Kong’s giant banana. And no that isn’t a euphemism. I do find with the race pacing as well it’s fairly easy to stay miles ahead of the pack and it seems far less hostile then later games as soon as you go for 150cc it just becomes mid table anarchy.
Overall I certify this a 6/10, Tasty gaming.
I won’t go into too much detail here as over all it’s your standard Mario Kart game, and for a quick review in between life and the bigger games I am playing. I can only really rate it as low as 6, even though it is fun as anything to play, it’s hard not to compare it to 8 and see how far the series as come on, and how much is missing from this title. It looks, sounds and plays well, and is worth playing even now but, I’d say only rarely.
Released 7th November 2003, Nintendo Gamecube.
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