How to Win a Race in Mario Kart Double Dash

Last Updated: February 1, 2021

Mario Kart Double Dash is generally regarded as one of the best games ever made for the Nintendo GameCube and possibly the most fun Mario Kart game ever. It's the only game where two racers actually ride together on the same kart! But winning a race isn't as easy as it looks. Here are some tips and tricks to help you improve your game.

Steps

1
Choose the kind of characters that can suit you the best. The racer you choose will affect what kind of kart you can drive. There are three kinds of drivers you can choose from:Light, Medium, and Heavy.
- Light drivers can ride in any kind of kart.
- Medium weight drivers can ride in medium karts and heavy karts.
- Heavy characters can only ride in karts that are heavy as well, so choose wisely.
2
Understand the light characters. Light Characters include Diddy Kong, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Koopa Troopa, ParaTroopa, Bowser Jr., Toad, Toadette.

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3
Pick between the medium characters. Medium Characters include Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, Birdo, Waluigi.
4
See if you like one of the heavy characters. The Heavy Characters are Donkey Kong, Bowser, Wario, Petey Piranha, King Boo.
5
Choose a kart. Depending on your character selection, you will be able to race in certain karts.
- Light Karts have good acceleration but lower overall top speeds. Only light characters can ride in these karts.
- Medium Karts are average in all aspects of racing. Light and Medium characters can ride in these.
- Heavy karts have poor acceleration but have the highest overall top speeds. Everyone can ride in Heavy Karts.
6
Select a track or cup to race on. Choose one from this game where there are 16 courses divided up into 4 cups. They are Mushroom, Flower, Star, and Special. Each cup holds 4 tracks and you have to select the entire cup to play in Grand Prix mode, or a single course in the other modes. There is another cup that allows you to play all of the courses at the same time in Grand Prix mode only and that's the All-Cup Tour.
7
Start the race. For a big power boost at the start of the race, you must press "A" (which acts as the gas pedal) exactly when the screen says, "Start!". This can be done easily since the screen counts down from 3, 2, and then 1, at a steady pace. You should be able to get the timing right with practice if at first you don't get it. There is also the Double Dash starting boost and it works the same way as the Rocket Start, except that you and your teammate must press the gas pedal button at the same time.
8
Pay attention to how the items work. Learn which can be used for you own benefit, or to slow down other racers. Here are some basic items to know:
- Green Shells: Move in straight lines and will roll over a kart briefly. Can be thrown backwards or forwards.
- Red Shells: Home in automatically on the Kart in front of you and flip them over when it strikes if thrown forward. If thrown backwards it acts as a green shell traveling in straight lines only.
- Banana: Can be dropped for other karts to run over, causing them to spin out.
- Spiny Shell: These blue colored spiny shells fly above the track at ultra-fast speeds until it finds the leader and explodes them and anyone near them.
- Fake Item: These look like real item boxes from afar but shocks anyone who is foolish enough to touch them.
- Mushroom: Can be used to give your kart a short speed-boost.
- Star: Makes you invincible for a period of time and makes you faster. Karts that are touched by a star-kart will be sent flying.
- Thunderbolt: Shrinks everyone but the user in size and speed.
9
Use special weapons. Besides all those listed above, each character has his/her own special weapon for use in a race. These fun extras can be fireballs, eggs, bombs, and others depending on your character!
10
Stay on track at all times, going off course slows you down greatly. Also look out for Dash Panels. Your kart will go much faster when driving over one.
11
Take advantage of the Drift feature. This allows your car to "drift" or steer around without losing speed.
12
Keep racing. You're not going to win your first race unless you've had a lot of other Mario Kart experience. So the more you practice the better you get, just like with everything else.

Community Q&A

Question

Which characters should I choose?

Community Answer

Generally, I like to choose the koopas for the triple shells, it lets me block lots of incoming shells when in first. Small characters seem to be the best, with the koopas and toads being a lot of pros go-to choices.

Warnings

Since it is one of the most popular games ever for the GameCube, Double Dash!! is usually available at most major stores. But because the game is now outdated, they are harder to come by and you may have to buy online.

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