Board 8 > Mario Kart Double Dash is pretty great

(+) Yeah! (+)

I always hear this described as the worst console Mario Kart, but it feels pretty damn good to me.

Why have you all misled me for so long
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It's good in its own unique way, but I'd still rank it near the bottom overall.
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Was there a difference in what pair you chose that couldn't be done with a single character.

The only thing I can think of was kart/special combo
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It's great with the Tag mode but there nothing like 64 for Sheer Carnage.
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Worst console Mario Kart is easily 64.
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Lightning Strikes posted...

Best console Mario Kart is easily 64.

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If you turn ever so slightly in a direction for a split second, you can tell that the kart actually goes in the OPPOSITE direction than where you turned. This makes the kart really clunky to turn imo since that split second can really throw you off.
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Double Dash is great.

Especially if you get a chance to LAN it and play with 8 people.
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Lightning Strikes posted...

Worst console Mario Kart is easily 64.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7-51DeTRRQ" data-time="
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Lightning Strikes posted...

Worst console Mario Kart is easily 64.

Agreed
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charmander6000 posted...

Was there a difference in what pair you chose that couldn't be done with a single character.

The only thing I can think of was kart/special combo

Yeah I think it's just the special
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literally the best one
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Mitochondriagon posted...

Lightning Strikes posted...

Worst console Mario Kart is easily 64.

Agreed

This.

DD is the best console Mario Kart.
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My only complaint is that a lot of the tracks are uninspired especially compared to its predecessors. I also don't care for rainbow road!
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dd is the best mk
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Nelson_Mandela posted...

My only complaint is that a lot of the tracks are uninspired especially compared to its predecessors. I also don't care for rainbow road!

I mean that's kind of a big deal
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I love it, probably my favorite MK game.
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It had the best blocking system in the series.

I hate how in every MK game you can block just by dragging items behind you. In DD it took skill and timing to block a Red Shell, dammit.
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LeonhartFour posted...

Nelson_Mandela posted...

My only complaint is that a lot of the tracks are uninspired especially compared to its predecessors. I also don't care for rainbow road!

I mean that's kind of a big deal

Nah, I love the way it handles and the tracks aren't "bad." I just mean they don't all have the same charm and creativity as SMK and 64.
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I had tons of fun with it when it was out, but I don't think the double characters mechanic really added anything worthwhile to the formula. It's an interesting gimmick but definitely just for that one time.

Compare that to Wii or 8 which have 32 stages (a DS invention), so many ways to play grand prix multiplayer instead of the rigid cup system, BIKES, 12 racers, and much nicer aesthetics and music.
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My second-favorite Mario Kart, only after 8
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Underleveled posted...

My second-favorite Mario Kart, only after 8

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Murphiroth posted...

Underleveled posted...

My fourth-favorite Mario Kart, only after DS, Super, and 8

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I would say the SNES Mario Kart is the worst one. It's balanced, sure, but it's not very fun. And this is coming from someone who used to LOVE Super Mario Kart way back in the day... but these days I just don't enjoy it. I guess it hasn't aged well.

64 > Double Dash > Wii > Super in terms of fun. I haven't played enough of MK8 to know where to place that one, except I would definitely put it over the Wii mersion. As far as handheld Mario Karts, the DS version is by far the most fun to me, and I would put that over everything except 64. (Assuming people don't break the game by snaking...ugh.)

And yeah, MK64 is the least balanced, and 4-player will always be unfair to somebody, but I don't care! Still fun as heck. I love the airheadedness of the characters' behaviors, how far you get knocked by shells, etc.
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I didn't like MKDS very much at all

never quite understood the love for that one
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MKDS is the only Mario Kart game that I think has truly fun additional 1-player modes. I haven't played enough 7 or 8, so I don't know about what you can do in those games. I also found it very fun in MKDS to try to beat all the staff ghosts, because they were reasonably difficult...not too hard, not too easy, for the most part.
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Haste_2 posted...

DS version is by far the most fun to me, and I would put that over everything except 64. (Assuming people don't break the game by snaking...ugh.)

Snaking is just using turbo boosts, but DS is so fluid that you can use them on straightaways. How do you hate that?
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yeah the reason I dropped MKDS was because I didn't think the single player content was very fun
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It has the same single player content as any other MK plus some though
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coincidentally it was around that time I realized I don't play Mario Kart for single player stuff
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well maybe that's not true

I had no problem beating all the GP stuff in SMK, MK64, and even DD

I got bored with MKDS before I finished them all. I dunno if it was the courses or the item balance or what.
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Mitochondriagon posted...

Lightning Strikes posted...

Worst console Mario Kart is easily 64.

Agreed

Yep, I don't see any real room to debate that even. SMK did its own thing, Mario Kart 64 is just like a vastly worse version of what came after.

Double Dash though... yeah it was good. Obviously 8 is better in a bunch of technical ways (and the single biggest that you can actually play GP race with 3-4 drivers), but Double Dash hits a pretty great sweet spot the series has had trouble reaching otherwise:

-You can dodge red shells by skill.
-You can't drag items, so skill is required to defend yourself.
-You can carry two different items which has some strategy applications.

The combination of this means it's the only Mario Kart other than Super where I don't feel at the mercy of items (other than blue shells which are a cancer as always), and one which rewards getting good at the game.
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I can't wait for this "SMK was a good game" gimmick people have to end

SMK was a decent game that was vastly improved on by nearly every game to follow it
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NeoElfboy posted...

The combination of this means it's the only Mario Kart other than Super where I don't feel at the mercy of items (other than blue shells which are a cancer as always), and one which rewards getting good at the game.

I mean DD is what birthed blue shells becoming a cancer in the first place so it's the first one where you actually do have to be very afraid of items, especially with the stupid blue shell explosions

at least MK64 kept them relegated to one specific item box that wasn't easy to reach and only on certain courses (and anyone could get them if they wanted to), not to mention the damage wasn't any worse than getting hit by a regular shell; you just couldn't block it

items not being stupid is probably why I prefer SMK and MK64 to all the others
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StealThisSheen posted...

I can't wait for this "SMK was a good game" gimmick people have to end

SMK was a decent game that was vastly improved on by nearly every game to follow it

I mean I haven't played SMK in who knows how long but I'll always have fond memories of it, so I'll still say it's a good game (Lapping the entire field never got old). I'm sure it's probably obsolete compared to future games technically speaking, but MK doesn't hold my interest for very long anymore.
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Oh, it's 100% fair to feel nostalgic for it. It's not one of those games that is crap and only nostalgia.

Saying it's the best game in the series is just being a little too blinded by nostalgia.
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Double dash four player with two carts will always be my best memories with Mario kart.
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LeonhartFour posted...

It's good in its own unique way, but I'd still rank it near the bottom overall.

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I honestly havent gotten into a MK since DD. That game just handles so much better to me than the newer games that I just get turned off.
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God no. I tried playing it again last week when I plugged in my GameCube, it didn't last long.
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Baby Park is the best map in Mario Kart history.
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_SecretSquirrel posted...

Baby Park is the best map in Mario Kart history.

http://wiiudaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Yoshi-Circuit-Mario-Kart-8-DLC-1.jpg
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64 > DD > Advance > SNES

I'd say I had nostalgia goggles on but the one I started with is the lowest
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StealThisSheen posted...

Oh, it's 100% fair to feel nostalgic for it. It's not one of those games that is crap and only nostalgia.

Saying it's the best game in the series is just being a little too blinded by nostalgia.

I don't think that's fair at all. SMK is legitimately different than the other Mario Karts, not just directly improved upon.

-No blue shell, no AI lightning bolt/POW block/etc.
-When the AI uses items it's in a way which is far more directly skill-based to avoid (namely that they throw them in front of you and you have to avoid where they appear on the track). When enemy players use items, the red shell can be dodged by skill.
-Way, way faster than later Mario Kart games (200cc of 8 aside) - laps frequently take only ~20 seconds. Races are often plenty twisty despite this.
-This is pretty subjective, but turning feels more technical and challenging (in a good way) in SMK than some of the later games. Some of it's probably just the speed, as the point above.

LeonhartFour posted...

I mean DD is what birthed blue shells becoming a cancer in the first place so it's the first one where you actually do have to be very afraid of items, especially with the stupid blue shell explosions

at least MK64 kept them relegated to one specific item box that wasn't easy to reach and only on certain courses (and anyone could get them if they wanted to), not to mention the damage wasn't any worse than getting hit by a regular shell; you just couldn't block it

You could get blue shells from any box if you were fourth place or below.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rQjYBQdrK8RI6801io_7D0tShweqjDMWyuwCn46oMyE/edit#gid=0

Granted, the AI couldn't, so it wasn't an issue in 1P at least.

The explosion introduced in DD at least allows you (as #1) to try to catch #2 in the blast. Although I agree that it dealing even more damage was terrible.
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Blue Shell, Lightning, Starman, Just 3/4 of the "I'm never speaking to you again!" starter pack!
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NeoElfboy posted...

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rQjYBQdrK8RI6801io_7D0tShweqjDMWyuwCn46oMyE/edit#gid=0

So on average the most common item in the game is Triple Red Shell? That's pretty crazy. I would've thought it'd be Single Mushroom or Triple Mushroom.
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There's plenty of driving skill required even in Wii and 8.

The person in first can get hit by multiple blue shells and not lose if they're far ahead enough. Without it the people in the back get pummeled by each other and 3rd 2nd and 1st is decided after the first lap.
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NeoElfboy posted...

-When the AI uses items it's in a way which is far more directly skill-based to avoid (namely that they throw them in front of you and you have to avoid where they appear on the track). When enemy players use items, the red shell can be dodged by skill.
-Way, way faster than later Mario Kart games (200cc of 8 aside) - laps frequently take only ~20 seconds. Races are often plenty twisty despite this.

-Well, yeah. It has to be more directly skill based because the AI has infinite items. If you couldn't use skill to avoid them, they'd just continually hit you over and over again in a never ending cycle.
-Is it actually faster, or are the tracks just shorter and often devoid of things like elevation differences that might slow you down? Sure, you slow down if you go off the track or over a hazard, but the newer games have that on top of other things and are typically larger tracks.

I'm not saying you can't enjoy the first point, for instance, but I wouldn't tote it as a "feature" of the game. It's basically "Get good or the game will fuck you over infinitely." Removing the AI having infinite items is definitely an improvement, because it basically forces an artificial skill barrier otherwise.
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