Summary
Mario Kart: Double Dashalmost did not have its iconic two-driver mechanic, according to the game’s producers and chief director. While many Nintendo fans are looking forward toMario Kart Worldon the Switch 2, many fans are fond of some of the classic installments in the franchise, includingMario Kart: Double Dash.
TheMario Kartseries has come a long waysince its genesis on the SNES. With each new installment, Nintendo has the challenge of innovating the racing gameplay while not straying too far from what makes the series beloved by fans. One of the most ambitious gimmicks seen in the series was the two-driver system inMario Kart: Double Dashon the GameCube. While the mechanic put a fresh spin on the traditional gameplay, Nintendo developers revealed that it almost did not make it into the game.
As spotted byVGC, a 2003 Nintendo Dream interview (recently translated byShmuplations) has surfaced, revealing some interesting details aboutMario Kart: Double Dash. Specifically, producers Tadashi Sugiyama and Shinya Takahashi and chief director Kiyoshi Mizuki talked about the two-driver mechanic inMario Kart: Double Dash. According to Takahashi, the idea came from thinking of ways to make themultiplayer aspect ofMario Kart: Double Dashmore exciting. However, the developers admitted the concept was challenging, with the team unsure it could be implemented into the final game. Surprisingly, Sugiyama revealed this caused the development to create another version of the game that featured single-driver karts, calling it the “emergency escape hatch.”
Fortunately, Nintendo was able to make the mechanic work in the end. However, the development went through different iterations of the idea before settling on what made it into the final product. According to Sugiyama, the team initially thought of designing the karts to put the two characters side by side. “Our very first idea was to have sidecars,” Takahashi said. However, the team discovered that this made the vehicles too wide. “Can you imagine eight massive karts lined up like that?” Sugiyama joked. This led to the passenger riding behind the driver on the kart in the final game.
While this fixed the width issue, Sugiyama revealed this caused yet another problem: the driver would be blocked out by the rider in the back when racing on thetracks inMario Kart: Double Dash. However, the development team came up with the idea of letting characters swap positions on the kart. As a result, players could swap drivers whenever they felt like it, fixing the issue.
This 2003 interview sheds some light on the challenges that went into adding the two-driver mechanic forMario Kart: Double Dash. WhileMario Kart 8 Deluxereintroduced the ability to hold more than one item, the GameCube installment is still the only game in the series to feature two characters per kart. Time will tell if gamers will ever be able to experience this mechanic on the Switch 2. WhileMario Kart: Double Dashhas not been announced to be coming to the system, Nintendo revealed thatGameCube games are being added to NSO + Expansion Pack, meaning the racing game could come in a future update.
Mario Kart: Double Dash
WHERE TO PLAY
The Mushroom Kingdom just got a whole lot more hectic as Mario and friends double up for furious kart racing. This time around, each kart holds two racers that can switch places at any time, so choose from a huge cast of favorites and pair them up any way you see fit.The character in front handles the driving duties, while the character in the rear doles out damage with six normal items and eight special items that only specific characters can use. Get ready for some intense multiplayer mayhem with your favorite characters, including Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong, Peach, Bowser, and Koopa.
