Mario Kart Wii vs Mario Kart Double Dash (by kyledude92107)

I recently picked up my old copy of Mario Kart: Double Dash (Called MK:DD from here on out) a few weeks ago, and since I was getting a bit bored of playing Mario Kart Wii, I decided to give it a spin. Maybe I never really paid attention to how much fun it was the last time I played it, or maybe I simply didn't notice, but I thoroughly enjoyed the game. The question is, however, did I enjoy it more than Mario Kart Wii? (Henceforth called MKWii)

When I started out the game, I called my brother in to play it with me. The game starts off like any other Mario Kart game; no real beginning, and no objective besides to win the various cups (series of four different races) as you go along. There are Five unlockable cups for each engine class; Mushroom Cup, Flower Cup, Star Cup, Special Cup and the All-Cup Tour. The latter of which includes every course from the previous four cups. As you progress, the cups get more difficult. You do not, however, finish the game when you beat all six cups. There are also different engine classes, from 50cc to 150cc and a mirror 150cc class, that you will have to beat all of the cups in. This alone will keep you occupied for quite some time.

Other than that, there are two other modes in each game; Battle Mode and Time Trial mode... Both which are used for what they usually are in racing games. Battle mode is where you can throw down with a friend (online on MKWii) and Time Trial Mode is where you take to the various tracks and try to best your fastest time for that track without enemies and items getting in your way.

Now, after my first few hours with MK:DD, I enjoyed the fact that the rubber-band AI was not as prevalent, and I also enjoyed the fact that the characters all had their own unique "Special Item". These both add for a more enjoyable Mario Kart experience that focuses more on skill than dumb luck, and does not reward people for doing horribly during a race. The only thing was... Did the lack of Retro Cups (Cups of older courses) and Online play set this Mario Kart game back too far from the new one? In my mind, no.

The reason why is the co-op grand-prix modes. It allows for you and a friend to take turns driving and firing items, and if you have a friend over who doesn't know how to play, they can fire the items instead of getting blown away by you in races. I also belive MK:DD is a little more enjoyable because of the amount of depth the special items add to the game. It actually makes oyu think about who you want to choose as a driver, and who you want to choose as a passenger, minus the whole hidden-stats thing.

The Wii may be made to be more fun to play with groups of people, but as far as the Mario Kart franchise goes, I believe the older Gamecube title holds a bit of an edge over the Wii version of the game.

As far as length goes, the games are pretty close to each other. However, I believe it will take you longer to finish MKWii, becuase of the challenge in some of the requirements for unlocking a few of the characters (I define the length of the game as being how long it takes to fully unlcok everything). MK:DD adds a bit of length to the game with the addition of the All-Cup tour, but you unlock everything as you progress, unlike in MKWii, where you need to get a specific rank in a certain cup/cups. There's also Online play for MKWii and tournaments to keep you playing MKWii longer than you would MK:DD.

As far as available vehicles go, MKWii also has a bit of an advantage. There are 3 weight classes in both MKWii, and Double Dash, but MK:DD only gives each weight class 4-5 different vehicles to choose from, whilst Mario Kart Wii gives each weight class four karts and four bikes to choose from.

The character selection is also slightly bigger in Mario Kart Wii, much like the amount of vehicles. In MKWii, each character belongs to a specific weight class, and each has their own hidden stat-boosters which will make them perform better in certain aspects of the game than others. This adds a nice touch of strategy to the game, but it also confuses newbies to the game. Depending on the weight you choose, your character may bounce off walls like a ping-pong ball, or they may not bounce far, but slow down a bit. It depends on the weight class you choose. Weight class also determines a few other things that are physics-related such as who will get knocked around when two karts collide, and whether or not you can hop gaps without mushrooms. Lightweights also tend to have better acceleration, along with a lower top speed while heavyweights have a higher top speed but a lower acceleration stat. Middleweights are balanced, and are most likely what most people new to the game will choose. All of this holds true in both games, for the most part, except, as previously stated, MKWii has a few more characters.

All in all, both of these games are deserving of your time and money. However, they both serve their own purpose for entertainment, in my opinion, and this shows in the gameplay.

FINAL VERDICT:

Mario Kart: Double Dash over Mario Kart Wii if you play with friends. Mario Kart Wii over Mario Kart: Double Dash if you want more of a challenge, better graphics or online play.

"I have seen the future and it's like the present, only longer."- Dan Quisenberry

-kyledude92107