2003 was a horrible year for me. I got most of my games stolen from a burglary in February, all my info on my ZIP250 disk was rendered unusable in July, (all my data on my comics are in there) and in August, I got scammed into an e-mail fraud. Anyway, I told you great people before about how I was to not make any FAQs after the one for Super Smash Bros. Melee? Well, I lied. I'm now going to make this FAQ for the next great multiplayer Gamecube game. Hopefully, I can actually finish all this crud in time and not actually leave it in the hands of someone else, but eh, it's just a game. Dr. Omicron's 3rd FAQ "Mario Kart: Double Dash!!" version 1.5 #<-my trademark mines for dividing up sections Table of Contents 0. Lamenting About Falling From a Frying Pan Into a Fire 1. Table of Contents 1a. Table of Contents 1b. SPOILERS! Warning 2. Version History 3. Introduction 3a. My Introduction 3b. The Story of Mario Kart 3c. The Game's Introduction 4. The Controls 5. Characters (top to bottom, left to right) 5a. Mario 5b. Luigi 5c. Princess Peach 5d. Princess Daisy 5e. Donkey Kong 5f. Diddy Kong 5g. Baby Mario 5h. Baby Luigi 5i. Koopa Troopa 5j. Koopa Paratroopa 5k. Toad 5l. Toadette 5m. Yoshi 5n. Birdo 5o. Bowser 5p. Junior 5q. Wario 5r. Waluigi 5s. Petey Piranha 5t. King Boo 6. The Karts 6a. Red Fire 6b. Green Fire 6c. Heart Coach 6d. Bloom Coach 6e. DK Jumbo 6f. Barrel Train 6g. Goo-Goo Buggy 6h. Rattle Buggy 6i. Toad Racer 6j. Toadette's Kart 6k. Koopa Dasher 6l. Para Wing 6m. Turbo Yoshi 6n. Turbo Birdo 6o. Koopa King 6p. Bullet Blaster 6q. Wario Car 6r. Waluigi Racer 6s. Piranha Pipes 6t. Boo Pipes 6u. Parade Kart 6v. Driving Techniques 7. Items 7a. General Items 7b. Special Items 7c. Items From Past Mario Kart Games... 7d. Item Techniques 8. Modes 8a. Mario GP 8b. Time Trials A. Staff Ghosts 8c. Versus A. Basic B. LAN 8d. Battle Mode 9. Battle Mode 9a. Balloon Burst 9b. Bob-omb Blast 9c. Shine Thief 10. Tracks 10a. Mushroom Cup A. Luigi Circuit B. Peach Beach C. Baby Park D. Dry Dry Desert 10b. Flower Cup A. Mushroom Bridge B. Mario Circuit C. Daisy Cruiser D. Waluigi Stadium 10c. Star Cup A. Sherbet Land B. Mushroom City C. Yoshi Circuit D. DK Mountain 10d. Special Cup A. Wario Colosseum B. Dino Dino Jungle C. Bowser's Castle D. Rainbow Road 10e. All Cup Tour 10f. Battle Mode A. Cookie Land B. Nintendo Gamecube C. Block City D. Pipe Plaza E. Luigi's Mansion F. Tilt-a-Kart 11. Secrets 11a. Secret Characters 11b. Secret Courses 11c. Secret Karts _____ 11d. Secret Modes / 11e. Other Secrets | 12. Options and Records v 13. Frequently Asked Questions/ Missed Corrections <----------!·! 13a. Wario/Waluigi aren't in Super Smash Bros. Melee! ^ 13b. King Boo was in Super Mario 64! | 13c. How do I get the Special Cup? \_____ 13d. How do I get the All Cup Tour? 13e. How do I get Mirror Mode? 13f. How do I get Toad/Toadette? 13g. What's a really good team to use? 14. The Hall of Shame 15. Interesting Tidbits 14a. What They Say 14b. References to Past Mario Games 16. Legal Stuff 15a. Copyright Stuff 15b. Contacting Me 15c. Request Guidelines 15d. Special Thanks 15e. Sites 15f. A Goodbye WARNING! SPOILERS! WARNING! Be careful! If you don't want the game completely revealed to you, then back away from this FAQ and go to another! Except for the Secrets section, this FAQ will treat all secret courses, characters, Karts, etc., will be treated as if they are not secret at all! Are you sure you want to proceed? If so, go on. If not, go away before it's too late! Or, if you really want to take a look at my FAQ that badly, here are two things you can do: 1. You can copy and paste the entire FAQ onto a blank text file and search for what you need. For example, if you want to find strategies for the Red Shell, type "Red Shell" into the search, and you'll eventually get there. 2. Get a friend who doesn't mind spoilers to search for the parts that you need. While it's slower and more cumbersome, you eliminate all risk of accidentally coming across a secret. You have been warned. Don't blame me if you see stuff you wanted to discover yourself. # >>>Version History<<< version 0.0 August 24th, 2003 I've started on this FAQ! Though there's hardly any information about the game right now, there's enough for me to put 50 kilobytes into. But the FAQ won't be released until version 1.0 is complete. Version 1.0 December 12th, 2003 This is the first version. There isn't all that much up yet, but I hope you think it's good. I got most of the major sections done. Complete strategies for the first three courses, but the Interesting Tidbits section is largely incomplete. Version 1.1 December 15th, 2003 Here's the refined version of 1.0. I filled in a bit of missing info and added some more. Hopefully, I'll be able to get some records up. Version 1.11 December 17th, 2003 Computerunderground.com now has my FAQ, and in response, I have updated the Sites List and put up the World Records for the three courses I got. Version 1.2 December 29th, 2003 It's about time, huh? I got the Dry Dry Desert section done. The Mushroom Cup is complete! Version 1.3 January 5th, 2003 The Flower Cup has begun! The Flower Cup has begun! Mushroom Bridge is up! Version 1.4 January 7th, 2003 Well, that was fast. Mario Circuit's done. 6 down, 10 to go... Version 1.5 January 12th, 2003 yes, I have been listening to other people's e-mails. The credits list is getting to be a sizeable amount, and a few nitpickers may have noticed over the last few updates that I've changed things I don't mention in the Version History section, such as an annex to King Boo's bio. Anyway, it's now version 1.5, and Daisy Cruiser is finished. One more, and I'll have finished the Flower Cup! # >>>Introduction<<< Me I'm not going to give out a bunch of private information about myself. Okay, so I'll tell you here and now that my name's Mathew Mekvichitsaeng. However, I will tell you that this will be my third FAQ, the first being one for Snowboard Kids and the second being one for Super Smash Bros. Melee. The one for Snowboard Kids was lukewarm at best, though I did get the honor of being the first to put up an FAQ for the sleeper hit. The SSBM FAQ, on the other hand, was a big success. I got a ton of e-mail concerning the game, and the Legends, Idols, and Icons at GameFAQs grew pretty envious of me making such an FAQ without ever seeing an account called "Dr. Omicron" on their boards before. If you want to know my age, I was born on May 29th, 1986. That was the same year as the Challenger and Chernobyl explosions! Anyway, my hobbies obviously include video games. Why else would I be making this FAQ? But I'm primarily a doodler. i'm supposedly acclaimed for my drawing skills, though it seems that The College Board isn't really so happy with the level of sarcasm in everything I do. If you couldn't tell by my spelling and subtle gramma- tical errors, I live in southern California, USA. Sometimes, I attempt to have skill at tennis (and I don't mean Mario Tennis), and for some reason, no one can sense the sarcasm so deeply smothered in every single story of my comics I do in some of my free time. Kart Kraziness Never played Mario Kart before? Want to know what happened behind the scenes? Well, so do I, because there is no story. So I'll make one up. One day, an auto dealer Toad visited the district of the Mushroom Kingdom where Mario lives. His name was Schiff T. He offered Mario a go- kart, and Mario gladly bought one. For some reason, Schiff T. was an honest auto dealer, since the go-kart was literally indestructible. Mario loved his new little vehicle so much that he recommended Schiff to everyone he knew. He recommended them to Luigi, Mario's younger brother, Peach, the damsel in distress, Toad, also known as Kinopio, some random Koopa Troopa, Yoshi, Mario's faithful pet, Donkey Kong Junior, son of Mario's former enemy, and Bowser, Mario's present enemy. A Lakitu observed all this and was more than happy to find (and help build) a lot of courses, from Mario's four Circuits to the luminescent Rainbow Road in space. The crew put a ton of Item Boxes all over the courses, and Super Mario Kart was born. It was 1997. Donkey Kong Jr. went through puberty, adolescence, and Kongo Kollege and is now known as Donkey Kong II. Koopa also got stomped and left for dead by Wario, who stole Koopa's purple go-kart. The rest held on to their karts in hope that they would remain. Lakitu continued to find and fund more courses, this time dozens of times better than the first collection. He got the rights for everything from Moo Moo Farm to Banshee Boardwalk, and the Mario crew was even happier and completely forgot the days of the old. Because there were already 63 competitions in each Grand Prix before this one, the organization was dubbed "Mario Kart 64". Four years later, Lakitu stumbled upon a treasure trove of courses. There were no more incidents with the go-karts and their owners, but the courses were in the same area as the first few Lakitu gathered. Their disappointment quickly turned to joy, since they realized that the cloud creature hadn't lost his edge after all, bringing courses like Cheese Land and Sky Garden to the mix. In fact, the courses were so great that they named this bunch "Mario Kart: Super Circuit". It didn't take long for Lakitu to find the next bunch of courses. With selections like DK Mountain and Mushroom City, he was surprised he hadn't found them before. By then, Schiff had returned and sold more efficient cars, specially designed for the cast. The rest gathered up whatever they had and became equal with Schiff's creations. Since the cars (and baby carriage) has room for two, even more faces from the Mario world were gathered up, as well as the return of Koopa and DK Jr., who has since grown up into Donkey Kong. They had to find a new name for a big change like this--"Mario Kart: Double Dash!!" Double Dashing So, what in the world is Mario Kart: Double Dash!!? Well, for starters, it's a game with two exclamation points in a row in its title. The "Mario Kart" part of the title explains how the game will be played: Mario characters ride around in their land vehicles, trying to get into first place (or defending it if they ARE in the lead). However, that is nowhere near as safe as it seems, for Item Boxes are littered all over every single course, and they give out weapons. You can use these weapons either to strike someone else down, speed yourself up, or maybe something a bit more creative. The "Double Dash!!" part of it explains what new things Nintendo added to the already very innovative series: the characters will be paired up for each race. That means that Bowser will get to go on a father-son excursion with Junior, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi will get to hang out in their pram, and Koopa's new friend Paratroopa will be helping each other out. That's basically...it. Except that the environments are some of the most varied you've ever seen in a racing game, from surreal strips of pure color to a crowded city highway. All that on go-karts. >>>Controls<<< The controls are pretty simple and a lot like Mario Kart 64's. If you've every played any Mario Kart at all, you should be familiar with how this scheme works. ONE PERSON D-Pad: Not Used Control Stick: Steer C-Stick: Not Used A Button: Gas Pedal B Button: Brake X Button: Use Item Y Button: Use Item L Button: Powerslide R Button: Powerslide Z Button: Switch Characters L+R+Direction: Spin Turn CO-OP (DRIVER) D-Pad: Not Used Control Stick: Steer C-Stick: Not Used A Button: Gas Pedal B Button: Brake X Button: Give Item (if Driver is holding one and Item User isn't) Y Button: Give Item (if Driver is holding one and Item User isn't) L Button: Powerslide R Button: Powerslide Z Button: Switch Characters (both players must press Z at the same time) L+R+Direction: Spin Turn CO-OP (ITEM USER D-Pad: Not Used Control Stick: Fire Projectiles Forward or Backward C-Stick: Not Used A Button: Use Item B Button: Use Item X Button: Use Item Y Button: Use Item L Button: Slide Attack Left R Button: Slide Attack Right Z Button: Switch Characters (both players must press Z at the same time) >>>Characters<<< A Kart without a driver is like baseball without the baseball. Luckily, Mario Kart: Double Dash!! has sixteen you can choose right from the start. The "Double" part of the name means you're also gonna have a co-pilot, who stands in the back and uses the items. The two people are completely interchangeable--just press the Z button to switch them. The characters you choose, quite strangely, have no effect on how well you turn or how much momentum you've got--it's completely in the Karts. Key Japanese Name: What the people in Japan call the character by. Rιsumι: Games and systems the character has been in, not including MKDD. Special Item: The character's Special Item. All characters have one. Kart: Their default Kart. You can switch them around though. Weight: The general weight of the character... Lightweights can go into Small and Medium-size Karts. Middleweights can go into any Kart. Heavyweights can go into Medium and Large-size Karts. (For more information, see the Karts section below.) Here is the description of the character. Some of them, such as Mario, have a very long history that would take weeks to type out, and others, such as Baby Luigi, have such a miniscule role that it's hard to write eight to twelve lines about him/her/it. ABBREVIATIONS FOR SYSTEMS: NES=Nintendo Entertainment System SNES=Super Nintendo Entertainment System GB=Game Boy VB=Virtual Boy N64=Nintendo 64 GBC=Game Boy Color GBA=Game Boy Advance GCN=Nintendo Gamecube PC=Personal Computer (AKA Microsoft Windows) MAC=Macintosh Computer Every other system, including Arcade, will be spelled out completely. Mario P. Mario Japanese Name: Mario Rιsumι: Donkey Kong (Arcade) Donkey Kong (NES) Donkey Kong (Intellivision) Donkey Kong Jr. (Arcade) Donkey Kong Jr. (NES) Donkey Kong Classics (NES) Mario Bros. (Arcade) Mario Bros. (NES) Mario Bros. (Atari 2600) Pinball (NES) Wrecking Crew (NES) Super Mario Bros. (NES) Hotel Mario (CD-i) Super Mario Bros. Mushroom World (Arcade) Mario Lottery (NES) Tetris (NES) Golf (NES) Tennis(NES) Super Mario Bros. 2/Doki Doki Panic (NES) Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! (NES) NES Open Tournament Golf (NES) Super Mario World (SNES) Super Mario Land (GB) Golf (GB) Tennis (GB) Alleyway (GB) Game & Watch Gallery (GB) Yoshi (NES) Dr. Mario (NES) Dr. Mario (SNES) Dr. Mario (GB) Yoshi's Cookie (NES) Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (GB) F-1 Race (GB) Super Scope 6 (SNES) Tetris (SNES) Mario's Excitebike (Bandai Sattelaview) Mario's Super Picross (Bandai Sattelaview) Tetris (GB) Mario is Missing (NES) Mario's Time Machine (SNES) Mario's Time Machine (NES) Mario's Picross (GB) Qix (GB) Kirby Super Star (SNES) The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES) Mario & Wario (SNES) Mario's Early Years: Fun with Letters (SNES) Mario's Early Years: Fun with Numbers (SNES) Mario's Early Years: Preschool Fun (SNES) Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong's Quest (SNES) Mario Paint (SNES) Game & Watch Gallery 2 (GB) Sim-City (SNES) Super Mario All-Stars (SNES) Super Mario Kart (SNES) Mario Teaches Typing (PC) Mario Teaches Typing 2 (PC) Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land (GB) Mario Clash (VB) Mario's Dream Tennis (VB) Mario's Game Gallery (PC/MAC) Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES) Super Mario 64 (N64) Pilotwings 64 (N64) Mario Kart 64 (N64) Super Mario Bros. DX (GBC) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64) Game Boy Camera (GB) Mario Artist: Picture Maker (64DD) Mario Party (N64) Super Smash Bros. (N64) Donkey Kong 64 (N64) Mario Party 2 (N64) Donkey Kong '94 (GBC) Game & Watch Gallery 3 (GBC) Mario Golf (N64) Mario Golf (GBC) Mario Tennis (N64) Mario Tennis (GBC) The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64) Paper Mario (N64) Dr. Mario 64 (N64) Super Mario Advance: Super Mario Bros. 2 (GBA) Mario Party 3 (N64) Luigi's Mansion (GCN) Super Smash Bros. Melee (GCN) Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA) Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World (GBA) Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island (GBA) Super Mario Sunshine (GCN) Mario Party 4 (GCN) Game & Watch Gallery 4 (GBA) Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (GCN) Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (GBA) Mario Party 5 (GCN) Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (GBA) Special Item: Fireball Kart: Red Fire Weight: Middleweight You know who Mario is. At least, you'd better. The most famous plumber of all time is also the most famous Italian of all time. Born somewhere in the Mushroom Kingdom, he spent his childhood in Brooklyn as a construction worker, where he repeatedly foiled Donkey Kong's plans to kidnap Pauline, his girlfriend-at-time. After a failure at a wrecking company, he and his brother Luigi moved to the Mushroom Kingdom, where Mario decided on plumbing. Bowser was terrorizing the land, so the brave mustachioed man came to the rescue and consistently beat King Koopa. Since then, he's done everything except plumb, all while wearing his trademark red "M" cap, red shirt, and blue overalls. Luigi P. Mario Japanese Name: Luigi Rιsumι: Mario Bros. (Arcade) Mario Bros. (NES) Mario Bros. (Atari 2600) Wrecking Crew (NES) Super Mario Bros. (NES) Tetris (NES) Super Mario Bros. 2/Doki Doki Panic (NES) Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) Super Mario World (SNES) Game & Watch Gallery (GB) Tetris (SNES) Tetris (GB) Wario's Woods (NES) Mario is Missing (NES) Mario's Time Machine (SNES) Mario's Time Machine (NES) Mario Paint (SNES) Game & Watch Gallery 2 (GB) Super Mario All-Stars (SNES) Mario & Wario (SNES) Super Mario Kart (SNES) Mario Clash (VB) Mario's Dream Tennis (VB) Mario's Game Gallery (PC/MAC) Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES) Pilotwings 64 (N64) Mario Kart 64 (N64) Super Mario Bros. DX (GBC) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64) Game Boy Camera (GB) Mario Artist: Picture Maker (64DD) Mario Party (N64) Super Smash Bros. (N64) Mario Party 2 (N64) Game & Watch Gallery 3 (GBC) Mario Golf (N64) Mario Golf (GBC) Mario Tennis (N64) Mario Tennis (GBC) Paper Mario (N64) Super Mario Advance: Super Mario Bros. 2 (GBA) Mario Party 3 (N64) Luigi's Mansion (GCN) Super Smash Bros. Melee (GCN) Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA) Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World (GBA) Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island (GBA) Mario Party 4 (GCN) Game & Watch Gallery 4 (GBA) Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (GCN) Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (GBA) Mario Party 5 (GCN) Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (GBA) Special Item: Fireball Kart: Red Fire/Green Fire Weight: Middleweight Luigi has always been pretty jealous of his brother's fame. Luigi is forced to play second fiddle in most of his adventures, if he plays in it at all, and the only times the Mushroom Kingdom turns to him is when Mario is captured. How fair is that, being assigned as Player 2 for his whole life? Fortunately, his big break has arrived in games like Mario Party, Super Smash Bros., and Mario Kart, where he has proven himself an equal to Mario (and maybe even superior at times). Will he pull it off again this time, yet another chance for the brother in green to push himself to his limits? Princess Peach Toadstool Japanese Name: Peach Rιsumι: Super Mario Bros. (NES) Super Mario Bros. Mushroom World (Arcade) Super Mario Bros. 2/Doki Doki Panic (NES) Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) Super Mario World (SNES) Dr. Mario (NES) Dr. Mario (SNES) Dr. Mario (GB) Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (GB) Super Mario All-Stars (SNES) Super Mario Kart (SNES) Mario's Dream Tennis (VB) Mario's Game Gallery (PC/MAC) Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES) Super Mario 64 (N64) Mario Kart 64 (N64) Super Mario Bros. DX (GBC) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64) Mario Artist: Picture Maker (64DD) Mario Party (N64) Mario Party 2 (N64) Mario Golf (N64) Mario Golf (GBC) Mario Tennis (N64) Mario Tennis (GBC) Paper Mario (N64) Dr. Mario 64 (N64) Super Mario Advance: Super Mario Bros. 2 (GBA) Mario Party 3 (N64) Super Smash Bros. Melee (GCN) Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA) Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World (GBA) Super Mario Sunshine (GCN) Mario Party 4 (GCN) Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (GCN) Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (GBA) Mario Party 5 (GCN) Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (GBA) Special Item: Heart Shield Kart: Heart Coach Weight: Middleweight Known simply as "The Princess" prior to the 64-bit days, she was cast into a role even worse than Luigi's--she was the classic damsel in distress. But not anymore. Well, seeing the Peach's Castle and Isle Delfino incidents, she still plays her roles sometimes. But since then, she's picked up her parasol and veggies and has gone out to duke it out with the rest of the Mario cast. Along with Mario and Luigi, Peach has been in every Mario Kart game. This time though, she has a snazzy pink old-style car that maxes out at 100 kmph. Princess Daisy Japanese Name: Daisy Rιsumι: Super Mario Land (GB) Mario Golf (N64) Mario Golf (GBC) Mario Tennis (N64) Mario Tennis (GBC) Mario Party 3 (N64) Super Smash Bros. Melee (GCN) Mario Party 4 (GCN) Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (GCN) Mario Party 5 (GCN) Special Item: Heart Shield Kart: Heart Coach/Bloom Coach Weight: Middleweight Her only game was Super Mario Land until Nintendo gave her the thumbs up in Mario Golf for the Nintendo 64. Since then, she's shown up in nearly every Mario anthology game, and it seems that Mario Kart has joined the list. In Super Mario Land, Tatanga, an evil alien, set his sights on Princess Daisy. Naturally, it was up to Mario to save the day, journeying through places like Easter Island and finally to Tatanga's lunar base. Today, however, Tatanga has been completely forgotten, and Daisy has apparently become, according to Nintendo, "Luigi's answer to Mario's Peach". Donkey Kong Japanese Name: Donkey Kong Rιsumι: Donkey Kong (Arcade) Donkey Kong (NES) Donkey Kong (Intellivision) Donkey Kong Jr. (Arcade) Donkey Kong Jr. (NES) Tetris (NES) Donkey Kong 3 (Arcade) Donkey Kong 3 (NES) Donkey Kong Classics(NES) Donkey Kong Country (SNES) Donkey Kong Land (GB) Game & Watch Gallery (GB) Tetris (SNES) Tetris (GB) Super Mario Kart (SNES) Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong's Quest (SNES) Donkey Kong Land 2: Diddy Kong's Quest (GB) Game & Watch Gallery 2 (GB) Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie's Double Trouble (SNES) Donkey Kong Land 3: Dixie's Double Trouble (GB) Mario's Dream Tennis (VB) Mario Kart 64 (N64) Game Boy Camera (GB) Mario Artist: Picture Maker (64DD) Mario Party (N64) Super Smash Bros. (N64) Donkey Kong 64 (N64) Mario Party 2 (N64) Donkey Kong '94 (GBC) Game & Watch Gallery 3 (GBC) Mario Golf (N64) Mario Golf (GBC) Mario Tennis (N64) Mario Tennis (GBC) Mario Party 3 (N64) Super Smash Bros. Melee (GCN) Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA) Mario Party 4 (GCN) Game & Watch Gallery 4 (GBA) Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (GCN) Mario Party 5 (GCN) Donkey Kong Racing (GBA) Special Item: Giant Banana Kart: DK Jumbo Weight: Heavyweight Long ago, in the mid-80's, when hairstyles were at their wildest and fashion most unreasonably insane, Mario's arch-enemy was Donkey Kong. His role was to take Mario's "bride", Pauline, up a construction building while raining barrels down at Mario. He was later finally confined by none other than the plumber in red, but Donkey Kong Jr. (who has since grown up into DK) came to the rescue and freed his father. The two later moved to the Kongo Jungle, and the present Donkey Kong defeated King K. Rool and his army of Kremlings wile meeting new friends. Today, he meets his old acquaintance for a few good games of Karting. As for the 80's DK, you now know him as Cranky Kong, who does nothing anymore except complain and rap. Diddy Kong Japanese Name: Diddy Kong Rιsumι: Donkey Kong Country (SNES) Donkey Kong Land (GB) Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong's Quest (SNES) Donkey Kong Land 2: Diddy Kong's Quest (GB) Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie's Double Trouble (SNES) Donkey Kong Land 3: Dixie's Double Trouble (GB) Diddy Kong Racing (N64) Donkey Kong 64 (N64) Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (GCN) Donkey Kong Racing (GBA) Special Item: Giant Banana Kart: DK Jumbo/Barrel Train Weight: Lightweight Donkey Kong is an ape, but Diddy Kong is a monkey. You can tell because Diddy has a tail. He somehow met up with Donkey a long time ago, and the two are now best friends. Diddy Kong teamed up with Donkey to bust up some Kremlings not once, twice, or three times in the 16-bit world. He apparently got snatched from Rareware's base to Nintendo's, probably due to Microsoft's economic raid on Nintendo (or, in other words, Bill Gates purchased Rare from Nintendo for a hefty price) to partner up with his favorite gorilla again. Baby Mario Japanese Name: Baby Mario Rιsumι: Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (SNES) Mario Tennis (N64) Special Item: Chain Chomp Kart: Goo-Goo Buggy Weight: Lightweight Whoohoo! Baby Mario! Who would've thought a toddler would be capable of navigating a carriage at 200 mph, juggle mushrooms, and switch between the driver's seat And the backseat in less than a second? Anyway, the primary role of Baby Mario in his little career was to ride various Yoshis all over Yoshi Island, who are all doing him a great favor by attempting to return him back to his parents after a stork dropped him into their abode. Unfortunately for the dinosaur tribe, they had to get through Baby Bowser and his ill-tempered babysitter, Kamek. A few years later, he aged at about the same rate as Bart Simpson and got to play some Mario Tennis and Mario Golf. What's next? Super Smash Bros. 3? Baby Luigi Japanese Name: Baby Luigi Rιsumι: Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (SNES) Special Item: Chain Chomp Kart: Goo-Goo Buggy/Rattle Buggy Weight: Lightweight Whereas Mario got to see adventures ever since he was a wee baby, Baby Luigi had to get stuck with the role of hostage. What kept him from starving when the Yoshis were on their way is beyond me, but the hardy newborn with an oversized green "L" cap was more than happy to see his brother safe and sound after Baby Bowser--extra-large sized--get creamed by Yoshis. Unlike Baby Mario though, he never received any grand spots in any game after that aside from Mario Golf. No longer cast out even more than his older self, he has put on his best diapers for this occasion and will try his best not to let his brother down. Toad Japanese Name: Kinopio Rιsumι: Super Mario Bros. (NES) Super Mario Bros. Mushroom World (Arcade) Super Mario Bros. 2/Doki Doki Panic (NES) Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) NES Open Tournament Golf (NES) Super Mario World (SNES) Super Mario Land (GB) Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (GB) Mario is Missing (NES) Mario's Time Machine (SNES) Mario's Time Machine (NES) Mario Paint (SNES) Game & Watch Gallery 2 (GB) Super Mario All-Stars (SNES) Super Mario Kart (SNES) Wario's Woods (SNES) Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land (GB) Mario Clash (VB) Mario's Dream Tennis (VB) Mario's Game Gallery (PC/MAC) Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES) Super Mario 64 (N64) Mario Kart 64 (N64) Super Mario Bros. DX (GBC) Game Boy Camera (GB) Mario Artist: Picture Maker (64DD) Mario Party (N64) Mario Party 2 (N64) Game & Watch Gallery 3 (GBC) Mario Golf (N64) Mario Golf (GBC) Mario Tennis (N64) Mario Tennis (GBC) Paper Mario (N64) Super Mario Advance: Super Mario Bros. 2 (GBA) Mario Party 3 (N64) Luigi's Mansion (GCN) Super Smash Bros. Melee (GCN) Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA) Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World (GBA) Super Mario Sunshine (GCN) Mario Party 4 (GCN) Game & Watch Gallery 4 (GBA) Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (GCN) Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (GBA) Mario Party 5 (GCN) Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (GBA) Special Item: Super Mushroom Kart: Toad Racer Weight: Lightweight Looks like fans of Mario Kart got so angered at his absence that he's practically FORCED to return to Karting! Toad's career started in Super Mario Bros., where he guarded where Peach should've been in every castle (except the last) and gave the infamous message to Mario, "Thank you Mario! But the Princess is in another castle!" The next game marked the beginning of the little mushroom's high point. Toad was a playable character in Super Mario Bros. 2, and he even gets the honor of being the brawniest character! Too bad all he did was assist Mario in the most useless ways (or not show up at all) until Super Mario Kart. Blah blah blah, there were lots of him in Paper Mario, we meet his master, named Toadsworth in Super Mario Sunshine, yeah blah blah blah. And here we are. Toad's now officially playable in every Mario Kart game. Toadette Japanese Name: Kinopiko Rιsumι: Paper Mario (N64) (?) Special Item: Golden Mushroom Kart: Toad Racer/Toadette's Kart Weight: Lightweight Okay, the Paper Mario thing was just a guess. There were girl Toads in that game, and Toadette looks like one of them. Maybe the original Toad planted spores or something. That's what a toadstool's purpose is. Well, the only Toad I remember that even looks remotely like Toadette is the one from Paper Mario is the one who gave away the prizes in the radio contest. When Mario paid attention to a radio broadcast in Koopa Village, he could rush to various places all over the Mushroom Kingdom to claim a prize. Just one thing wrong: That Toad is a guy. I'm completely stumped. Can anybody help? Koopa Troopa Japanese Name: Nokonoko Rιsumι: Mario Bros. (Arcade) Mario Bros. (NES) Mario Bros. (Atari 2600) Super Mario Bros. (NES) Super Mario Bros. Mushroom World (Arcade) Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) Super Mario World (SNES) Super Mario Land (GB) Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (GB) Super Mario All-Stars (SNES) Super Mario Kart (SNES) Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land (GB) Mario Clash (VB) Mario's Game Gallery (PC/MAC) Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES) Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (SNES) Super Mario 64 (N64) Super Mario Bros. DX (GBC) Mario Party (N64) Mario Party 2 (N64) Mario Golf (N64) Mario Golf (GBC) Mario Tennis (N64) Mario Tennis (GBC) Paper Mario (N64) Mario Party 3 (N64) Super Smash Bros. Melee (GCN) Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World (GBA) Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island (GBA) Mario Party 4 (GCN) Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (GCN) Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (GBA) Mario Party 5 (GCN) Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (GBA) Special Item: Triple Shells (Red or Green) Kart: Koopa Dasher Weight: Lightweight I'm willing to bet that this is the one and the same Koopa Troopa from Super Mario Kart. I'm not sure if he has a name (he's certainly not Kooper or Koopa Koot, that's certain), but he's one skilled driver, and he's certainly not passing up an oportunity to fine-tune his kart-racing skills in real 3-D. He and his comrades have been fighting on the Bowser side of the Mushroom Kingdom Wars ever since Bowser's first assault. To the Koopa's dismay, all Mario had to do to take one down was to stomp on their shells, causing them to slip out and become sitting ducks. Add- itionally, their shells can then be kicked to steamroll any enemies that got in their way, whether they be Goombas or Hammer Bros. Koopa Paratroopa Japanese Name: Patapata Rιsumι: Super Mario Bros. (NES) Super Mario Bros. Mushroom World (Arcade) Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) Super Mario World (SNES) Super Mario Land (GB) Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (GB) Super Mario All-Stars (SNES) Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land (GB) Mario's Game Gallery (PC/MAC) Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES) Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (SNES) Super Mario Bros. DX (GBC) Paper Mario (N64) Super Smash Bros. Melee (GCN) Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World (GBA) Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island (GBA) Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (GBA) Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (GBA) Special Item: Triple Shells (Red or Green) Kart: Koopa Dasher/Para Wing Weight: Lightweight It seems that Koopa Troopa has spent his hiatus training his best friend for the races. Paratroopa has premiered into Mario Kart, and it seems that he can match skills with all of the others. He's simply an advanced version of a Koopa. (For reference, see Parakarry from Paper Mario.) His advantage is in his wings, which, pretty obviously, enable him to fly. There doesn't seem to be very much flying on his behalf in this game though. He also dons a red shell, which means that his role is simply to fly up and down on a single spot, rather than green-shelled Paratroopas, who fly forward...until they run into Mario. Mario needs to jump on a Paratroopa for them to lose their wings. Once grounded, they become normal Koopa Troopas. Yoshi Japanese Name: Yossy Rιsumι: Super Mario World (SNES) Yoshi (NES) Yoshi's Cookie (NES) Yoshi (NES) Yoshi's Cookie (NES) Tetris Attack (NES) Tetris Attack (SNES) Mario Paint (SNES) Super Mario Kart (SNES) Wario's Woods (GB) Yoshi's Safari (SNES) Mario's Dream Tennis (VB) Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES) Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (SNES) Super Mario 64 (N64) Mario Kart 64 (N64) Yoshi's Story (N64) Game Boy Camera (GB) Mario Artist: Picture Maker (64DD) Mario Party (N64) Super Smash Bros. (N64) Mario Party 2 (N64) Game & Watch Gallery 3 (GBC) Mario Golf (N64) Mario Golf (GBC) Mario Tennis (N64) Mario Tennis (GBC) Paper Mario (N64) Mario Party 3 (N64) Super Smash Bros. Melee (GCN) Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA) Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World (GBA) Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island (GBA) Super Mario Sunshine (GCN) Mario Party 4 (GCN) Game & Watch Gallery 4 (GBA) Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (GCN) Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (GBA) Mario Party 5 (GCN) Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (GBA) Special Item: Yoshi Egg Kart: Turbo Yoshi Weight: Middleweight Yoshi's role was once Mario's pet from Dinosaur Island that he treated as (quite literally) a workhorse. Yoshi, more than glad to help Mario, allowed the fat guy to ride on his back. Yoshi's jumps carries more power than Mario's, but Yoshi shines in his ability to slurp up almost any enemy and transform it into an egg. Since then, he's been given starring roles in quite a few games, most notably Super Mario World 2. He is also one of the most-liked Nintendo characters of all time, and it's fitting that he gets a part in this Mario Kart with a Kart themed on himself. There was some strange period when Yoshi stopped emitting his trademark noises and instead spewed out weird baby-like noises, saying stuff like "Wow!" and "Yoshi!" Why on Earth did Nintendo do that? Birdo Japanese Name: Catherine Rιsumι: Super Mario Bros. 2/Doki Doki Panic (NES) Super Mario All-Stars (SNES) Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES) Mario Golf (N64) Mario Golf (GBC) Mario Tennis (N64) Mario Tennis (GBC) Super Mario Advance: Super Mario Bros. 2 (GBA) Super Smash Bros. Melee (GCN) Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (GCN) Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (GBA) Special Item: Birdo Egg Kart: Turbo Yoshi/Turbo Birdo Weight: Middleweight Birdo, at least within the realms of Mario's subconscious land appropr- iately called "Subcon", is an egg-spewing maniac who repeatedly tries to take down the hero (or heroine), whoever that may be. The difference is that where Yoshi lays them out of his/her butt, picks them up, and throws them, Birdo shoots them out of her mouth like a bazooka. To take her down, Mario, Luigi, Peach, or Toad had pick up one of her eggs while in midair and hurl it back at her. Then, you do it again. Then, you do it again. In reality, Birdo seems to be a very nice...girl. Whatever she is. It may sound a bit far-fetched, but she may just be, in Nintendo's own words, Yoshi's answer to Mario's Peach. King Morton "Bowser" Koopa Japanese Name: Koopa Rιsumι: Super Mario Bros. (NES) Super Mario Bros. Mushroom World (Arcade) Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) Super Mario World (SNES) Super Mario Land (GB) Mario is Missing (NES) Mario's Time Machine (SNES) Mario's Time Machine (NES) Mario Paint (SNES) Super Mario All-Stars (SNES) Super Mario Kart (SNES) Mario Clash (VB) Mario's Dream Tennis (VB) Mario's Game Gallery (PC/MAC) Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES) Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (SNES) Super Mario 64 (N64) Mario Kart 64 (N64) Yoshi's Story (N64) Super Mario Bros. DX (GBC) Mario Party (N64) Mario Party 2 (N64) Mario Golf (N64) Mario Golf (GBC) Mario Tennis (N64) Mario Tennis (GBC) Paper Mario (N64) Mario Party 3 (N64) Luigi's Mansion (GCN) Super Smash Bros. Melee (GCN) Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA) Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World (GBA) Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island (GBA) Super Mario Sunshine (GCN) Mario Party 4 (GCN) Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (GCN) Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (GBA) Mario Party 5 (GCN) Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (GBA) Special Item: Bowser's Shell Kart: Koopa King Weight: Heavyweight It wouldn't really be a true Mario game without Bowser. Actually, it would, but Bowser's almost as vital to the Mario game formula as Mario himself. His first villainous plan to rule the Mushroom Kingdom by force got spoiled when Mario was able to run under his jumps and hit a switch. It caused the bridge to collapse, sending Bowser into the hellish lava pits inside his own castle. But that was only the first of his schemes. From that on, he tried everything from floating ghost ships to embedding Peach in her castle's stained glass windows to sabotaging Mario's reputation with graffiti--all of which he also captured Peach as... consolation. Or something. But Bowser's not one to turn down an opportunity to compete against Mario and hopefully win, so there's no reason why he's not going to take his six-wheeler out for a spin. After all, there's TWO Marios on the road now. Bowser Jr. Japanese Name: Koopa Jr. Rιsumι: Super Mario Sunshine (GCN) Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (GCN) Special Item: Bowser's Shell Kart: Koopa King/Bullet Blaster Weight: Lightweight Bowser Jr.'s only role so far in a Mario game is in Super Mario Sunshine. Impersonating himself as Mario, he plopped paint onto Delfino Island, choosing eight hot spots for his rampage. He remained undercover until the two Marios met up in Pinna Park, the island's amusement park, piloting a huge mechanical Bowser. When Mario pulverized Mecha-Bowser, Junior retreated to an active volcano called Corona Mountain to meet up with his dad. It wasn't until Bowser himself was overthrown that Junior realized Peach wasn't his mom. Nevertheless, Bowser's seventh son still tags along with him, doing whatever he can to give Mario a hard time. Or, in the case of the Isle Delfino incident, causing Mario to do time. Wario Japanese Name: Wario Rιsumι: Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (GB) Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land (GB) Wario Blast (GB) Mario Clash (VB) Wario Land 2 (GB) Wario's Woods (GB) Mario's Dream Tennis (VB) Mario & Wario (SNES) Wario Land VB (VB) Mario Kart 64 (N64) Wario Land 3 (GBC) Mario Party (N64) Mario Party 2 (N64) Mario Golf (N64) Mario Golf (GBC) Mario Tennis (N64) Mario Tennis (GBC) Mario Party 3 (N64) Wario Land 4 (GBA) Super Smash Bros. Melee (GCN) Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA) Mario Party 4 (GCN) WarioWorld (GCN) Wario Ware, Inc.: Mega Microgame$ (GBA) Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (GCN) Mario Party 5 (GCN) Wario Ware, Inc.: Mega Microgame$ (GCN) Special Item: Bob-omb Kart: Wario Car Weight: Heavyweight Wario's relation to Mario is uncertain, but people were overjoyed that Mario has some kind of evil clone of himself. What's more interesting is that Wario is many times stronger than Wario--in fact, he was invul- nerable (but not impervious) in Wario Land 2 and Wario Land 3! The greediest guy in the Mushroom Kingdom, he'll go to great lengths and even give his life repeatedly to get the treasures he wants (and wants back, in the case of Wario World). Whenever there's a prize to be had, Wario's gonna want in. Treasure does make his games, after all. He struts up to the tracks in his fancy purple Cadillac and plans to tear up the pavement to steal the show. Will it actually happen? It's up to you. Waluigi Japanese Name: Waluigi Rιsumι: Mario Tennis (N64) Mario Tennis (GBC) Mario Party 3 (N64) Super Smash Bros. Melee (GCN) Mario Party 4 (GCN) Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (GCN) Mario Party 5 (GCN) Special Item: Bob-omb Kart: Wario Car/Waluigi Racer Weight: Middleweight Okay. I have next to nothing that I can say about Waluigi. The last (but certainly not least) character on the list hasn't appeared in any Mario adventures at all! He only showed up in Mario Tennis as Luigi's rival. Later, he decided that tennis wasn't good enough for him, so he gave Bowser a beating in Mario Party 3 and set up his island home filled with anti-Luigi posters, signs, and other stuff as a board. He returned in the next Mario Party installment and really didn't do anything out- standing there. A bit of Mario Golfing on various systems, including the Toadstool Tour on the Gamecube, and now, here he is, in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! As for his personality, he's a lot like Wario, except that his rage is turned towards Luigi. Pretty strange, since Luigi already has enough rage built up within himself AT himself. Petey Piranha Japanese Name: Boss Pakkun Rιsumι: Super Mario Sunshine (GCN) Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (GCN) Special Item: Any* Kart: Piranha Pipes Weight: Heavyweight Unlike most of the main characters in the Mario universe, Petey Piranha had a pretty humble start. A large walking and flying Piranha Plant donning red briefs with white polka dots and a raspy voice, he co-starred with Mario in Super Mario Sunshine as a boss, in charge of the Bianco Hills region of Isle Delfino. He fought with Mario and lost inside the giant windmill. Later, he set a rematch with Mario, using his flying abilities to terrorize the village at the foothills of the area. Needless to say, Mario creamed him again. Petey coughed up a total of two Shine Sprites and called it quits with villainy. He then turned to golf about a year later and became a late entry to the Toadstool Tour. He hits the ball very hard but has little control over where it goes. King Boo Japanese Name: King Teresa Rιsumι: Luigi's Mansion (GCN) Super Mario Sunshine (GCN) Special Item: Any* Kart: Piranha Pipes Weight: Heavyweight What bothers me a lot is how a Boo manages to drive without any feet. I think it's best not to think too much about it though. But, like Petey Piranha, King Boo also had some pretty obscure origins, though not quite as humble as Petey--he was Luigi's biggest challenge during the green plumber's journey through his haunted mansion. After sucking up all the ghosts (he needed) with the Poltergust 3000, Luigi headed up to the roof to duke it out with the master of the whole scheme. King Boo hid behind a Bowser disguise, but that wasn't enough for Luigi to overtake him. Saddened by his loss, he headed to Isle Delfino and turned to gambling. Unfortunately, he was unlucky enough to run into the other Mario Brother, and even King Boo's new slot machine weapon couldn't stop the man in red. *Petey and King have access to every other character's Special Items. They appear randomly. Well, randomly as in odds of it appearing. The Special Items they get depend on their position; for example, they're more likely to get a Giant Banana in 1st place than a Chain Chomp. # >>>Karts<<< Unless you're planning a footrace, you're gonna need some kind of vehicle to propel you forward toward the finish line. Mario Kart: Double Dash!! throws out the go-karts that were in all of the other Mario Kart game and instead chooses to have eight new modes of transportation. All of them can zoom upwards of 190 mph (304 kph), but all of them have different top speed, acceleration, and weight, regardless of who you choose to ride on it--another big change from previous Mario Karts. But you can still have a lot of fun shooting shells and dropping banana peels at each other! The stats are out of five and are how they are in the game. Your driving skills will probably make you disagree with them. Each character has their own Kart, though the only ones you'll have at the beginning belong to the characters on the top row of the character select screen--Mario, Peach, DK, Baby Mario, Koopa, Yoshi, Bowser, and Wario. The rest you'll have to earn (see the Secrets page on how to get them). As for the sizes, that's pretty simple: Every Kart in the game, with the exception of the Parade Kart, is the same weight as the character who owns it. For example, Baby Mario owns the Goo-Goo Buggy, so it's considered as a lightweight Kart. Though the Barrel Train's weight says "3", it's a lightweight Kart, meaning only lightweight characters can fit in it, because Diddy Kong, a lightweight, owns it. The stats are (or should be) pretty explanatory. The wording is verbatim from the game itself, and you know to trust the professionals. However, where they ranked the stats in stars, I'm using the Arabic numeral system because it's easier to type and less confusing in black and white. Other- wise, the number you see should equal the number of stars in the game. The scale's from 1 to 5, but it's pretty stupid to use 1 for the best and 5 for the worst. That's only for rankings. So, 5 means that the Kart excels in that area, and 1 means that it just clunks along in that category. Took long enough to get to the attribute descriptions. ·You've got to be dumb if you can't understand "Top Speed". That number's directly proportional to the maximum miles (or kilometers, depending on where you live and what version you have) per hour the Kart can go. ·"Acceleration" may need a second explanation. The scientific definition of it is "a 2nd derivative, measuring the slope of S(x), the first derivative, or speed". (Acceleration is labeled, appropriately, "A(x)".) Confused yet? Good. In laymen's terms, acceleration is how fast something gets faster. In this game, a Kart with a 5 can get up to top speed in a snap, and a Kart with a 1 will take some time. Unlike most racing games, acceleration is very important, because most injuries in this game will bring your Kart to a halt, and you need to get back up and running as quickly as you can to keep up. ·The third category, Weight, may need a bit of explaining. Basically, it's three different qualities jammed up into one stat. Most directly, it controls your ability to shove other Karts around. When two Karts collide, either they are of equal weight, such as the DK Jumbo and the Wario Car, and they suffer equal recoil from the other, or one is heavier than the other, and the lighter Kart ends up bouncing sideways away. Secondly, it determines handling. Heavy Karts require a lot of force to move, and turning is no exception. Lighter Karts can turn on a dime, but the heaviest Karts will suffer at hairpin turns. Finally, and most indirectly, a heavy Kart will be very affected by offroad terrain, such as the grass in Mario Circuit. The terrain itself will vary from course to course. For example, the light-colored sand in Dry Dry Desert is part of the track and won't slow you down; the sand in the Chain Chomp pit in Luigi Citcuit will. Finally, the trend of the types. Half of the Karts follow this rule: Top Speed + Acceleration = 6 and Weight = Top Speed The ones that do follow are: Red Fire, DK Jumbo, Rattle Buggy, Toad Racer, Koopa Dasher, Koopa King, Wario Car, Waluigi Racer Red Fire Character: Mario Top Speed: 3 Acceleration: 3 Weight: 3 This Kart looks like an off-road mountain vehicle painted red. Just like everything else attributed to Mario in multiplayer games, Mario's machine is designed to not have any weaknesses or strength--as you can see, all of those stats are the same. If you've never played a lot of Mario Kart previous to this game, I would recommend picking any 3-3-3 Kart, such as this one, to figure out what you specialize in, whether it's maintaining top speed, recovering from hits, or pushing your weight around. Green Fire Character: Luigi Top Speed: 4 Acceleration: 2 Weight: 2 The eternal understudy's Kart seems to be just what an understudy gets-- a clone of another Kart. This is identical to Mario's Kart, except it's green, has L's in place of M's, and its tires read "Luigi & Mario". Don't be fooled though--Luigi's Kart doesn't rive like Mario's. It has a more powerful engine, but the steering wheel is tighter. Though you acquire it very early in the game, don't use it as soon as you'll get it, because though the top speed is higher, you pay in bad acceleration and weight. This means that other people can push you around, and you'll probably end up being pushed around some more while you're trying to reach top speed. Truly a Kart matching the neglectedness of the green plumber. Heart Coach Character: Peach Top Speed: 2 Acceleration: 4 Weight: 3 Peach boasts herself a modified and pink 1912 Napier, a car that was supposed to be used for vacationing and high mileage (at least, for that era). Just like old cars, it has a below average Top Speed but doesn't take long to achieve the maximum velocity. Because it's so slow, the pink princess's mobile is not meant to be brought out to the long straightaways of the Mushroom Cup. Try going for the sharp turns of the Star Cup instead. Bloom Coach Character: Daisy Top Speed: 3 Acceleration: 3 Weight: 2 Daisy looks so much like Peach that her Kart is simply a flower-themed version of Peach's Napier painted orange! Or is it...? If you've ever played using the Green Fire (or read my decription on it), then you know that similar Karts can have dissimilar stats. In fact, none of the Bloom Coach's qualities are the same as the Heart Coach's! The not-so-sloppy jalopy may seem inferior to the likes of the Red Fire or the Waluigi Racer, but their increased weight relative to the Bloom Coach is a double-edged sword: The Bloom Coach can't bully other karts as much, but it's not as harsh offroad. DK Jumbo Character: DK Top Speed: 4 Acceleration: 2 Weight: 4 DK is pretty heavy. However, the big gorilla isn't quite as massive as Mario's other rival, Bowser, and Donkey Kong's Kart fits that attribute. It's not quite at either extreme, but it edges towards the heavier side of the spectrum. And because Donkey lives in the jungle, his Kart is made completely out of wood and metal scraps. Sort of reminds me of a soap box derby racer. Sort of. Making a resemblance to a barrel, the wheels are made out of log slices and the front bumper a thin log. If DK could make a Kart out of wood and compete and win, what does it say for specialty cars for racing, like the Red Fire? Barrel Train Character: Diddy Kong Top Speed: 4 Acceleration: 2 Weight: 3 If you go in order, the Barrel Train should be the last Kart you unlock for a character available from the start. And for good reason too--it's not for beginners. It's a lightweight Kart, but the Barrel Train must be made of lead or something, because its attributes are closer to that of a heavyweight Kart, save the Weight of 3. This would be the Kart I recommend if you need to have two Lightweights but also need to play on an easy course, which requires a good Top Speed but not nearly so much in handling or recovery. Not quite recommended for later courses though, because if you're not good at this game, you'll be falling off all the time. Goo-Goo Buggy Character: Baby Mario Top Speed: 1 Acceleration: 5 Weight: 2 A baby wouldn't be complete without something to travel with, right? Baby Mario can ride along in style (and if not style, then at least speed and aggression) in the Goo-Goo Buggy. A baby carriage themed on Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, it has a health flower picture stamped on the sides and yellow stars printed on the wheels. I guess Nintendo intends for the Baby team to be the lightest in the game, so the pram is on the Lightweight extreme. It has the lowest Top Speed, the best Acceleration, and only the Bullet Blaster is lighter. Thus, this Kart should only be used in reall really twisty and rough courses, like DK Mountain. Of course, then, it's as comfy as a warm but new diaper. Rattle Buggy Character: Baby Luigi Top Speed: 2 Acceleration: 4 Weight: 2 And Baby Luigi, the understudy of understudy, gets his very own Kart too! green version of the Goo-Goo Buggy, the Rattle Buggy sacrifices the resilience of the Goo-Goo Buggy for a better engine. It still weighs the same, but because it's more moderate, the Rattle Buggy can be used in almost any course, and it'll make it out in one piece. If you don't get my implications so far, it means that I recommend you use the Rattle Buggy as soon as you unlock it! 2-4-2 Karts are also the standard used during Time Trials, because it can do Mini-Turbos (see below) very easily but boosts to a fast enough speed that heavy Karts can't make up for it in sheer gas pedal. Toad Racer Character: Toad Top Speed: 2 Acceleration: 4 Weight: 2 The Toad Racer resembles the blue classic go-cart you've seen and loved in Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64, and Mario Kart: Super Circuit. And, since it's Toad's, you can rest assured that it's blue. It has the exact same stats as the Rattle Buggy, which means it'll function exactly the same, since it's also a Lightweight Kart, so whether you choose the Toad Racer or the Rattle Buggy is largely a matter of taste. Of course, there are many Toad fans out there (much more than Baby Luigi fans, that's for sure), and the more conservative people would rather see a go-cart in a game called Mario KART, so you should expect to see a lot of Toad Racers out in the streets and not a lot of Rattle Buggies. Or it could be psychosomatic. Or something. What am I talking about? Toadette's Kart Chaacter: Toadette Top Speed: 1 Acceleration: 5 Weight: 2 And if a blue go-cart isn't good enough for you, Toadette owns her very own pink version of the Toad Racer. And just like how the Toad Racer has identical stats to the Rattle Buggy, Toadette's Kart has identical stats to the Goo-Goo Buggy. Karts like these are not really made to handle the easier courses, but once you play 150cc or Mirror Mode, the computer opponents get so aggressive with the Items that you'll need to constantly recover--and an acceleration of 5 will ensure you that you can still match wits with the best of them. Koopa Dasher Character: Koopa Top Speed: 2 Acceleration: 4 Weight: 2 What's with all these 2-4-2 Karts? Well, at least, it's the only one that is available at the start, so if you want to jump right into Time Trials, use this one. It's themed on Koopa Troopa himself, with the wheels made of Koopa Shells. Both the wheels and the front are marked with big K's (for Koopa, of course), and the body is an elongated green shell. Pretty narcissistic, but there are more narcissistic Karts. Just like I said above, 2-4-2 Karts are good for any occasion, including Time Trials, and you'll do pretty god on any course in any difficulty. Para Wing Character: Paratroopa Top Speed: 1 Acceleration: 5 Weight: 2 There are three pairs of Karts with one Kart having a 2-4-2 and the other having a 1-5-2. This is the last of those sets, and if you've been reading through everything in order, then I really don't have anything new to say about the Para wing, except that it looks just like the Koopa Dasher, except it's red instead of green, and P's replace K's. If you haven't read through and found the Para Wing as interesting, then here's a review: Bad on 50cc, bad on 100cc, good after that. Bad on Mushroom Vup, bad on Flower Cup, okay on Star Cup, great after that. Turbo Yoshi Character: Yoshi Top Speed: 2 Acceleration: 4 Weight: 3 Because Yoshi is a middleweight, his Karts give a little bit more oomph than the Babies', the Toads', and the Koopas'. He sputters along at the same rate as the Koopa Dasher (and its two counterparts) and recovers as quickly as they do, but the Turbo Yoshi is a bit heavier. This means that he slows down more when he goes off the road, but with good acceleration comes good handling, so if you know the course well enough, you won't find yourself offroad to much while driving the Turbo. By the way, the Kart has a giant Yoshi head on the front and the body themed on Yoshi's body. What an ego... Turbo Birdo Top Speed: 3 Acceleration: 3 Weight: 4 And if you've ever seen the Turbo Yoshi, you should have a perfect view of what the Turbo Birdo looks like. You guessed it--an enormous Birdo head on the front and a body themed on Birdo's body. The scariest Kart in the entire game, it's actually pretty good when you get experienced. Smack dab in the middle in the top two categories, it, like the Turbo Yoshi, is a tad heavier than other Karts with the same Top Speed and Acceleration. This means that it requires even more experience than the Turbo Yoshi, when you can handle higher speeds and worse accelerations without going off the road too much. Koopa King Character: Bowser Top Speed: 5 Acceleration: 1 Weight: 5 Bowser's the heaviest character of all of the racers, so it's natural that he gets he only 5-1-5 Kart in the entire game. It's a freaking tank, with six spiked wheels and a painted image of sharp teeth and angry eyes for headlights underneath the powerful engine. Though it rules in the pure and simple courses of the Mushroom Cup, it's really not recommended for later courses, even his own home course, Bowser's Castle. When you're in the Koopa King, your highest priority, if you want to win, is not to get hit by very many items and staying on the road, if you can do that, you're a surefire winner. The Koopa King leaves very little room for error, though it's ace in Battle Mode, able to push out any other Kart other than another Koopa King. And Piranha Pipes. But you won't see very many of those. Bullet Blaster Character: Junior Top Speed: 4 Acceleration: 3 Weight: 1 With an insane Top Speed and average acceleration, you would not believe that it's the lightest Kart in the whole game until you look at its stats. A very good Kart for novices, it's a far cry from the Kart that Junior's dad owns, since it loses only a bit of speed when you go out of the course, but it has a great Top Speed, so you still get to maintain a fast pace. However, this Kart can't handle large groups of Karts bunched up together, such as at the beginning, since it'll get tossed around like a hacky sack when that happens. Oh, and I almost forgot to describe its appearance: It's a Bullet Bill with two seats and four wheels. A Bullet Bill is a black bullet with an angry face. Wario Car Character: Wario Top Speed: 4 Acceleration: 2 Weight: 4 Wario sent out his purple Cadillac for a stroll for the first time in Wario Land 4, and now, it's back for some beatings. I don't know anything about Cadillacs other than that they're owned by General Motors, but the Wario Car has identical stats with the DK Jumbo. Kind of a large gap between the professional degree between Donkey Kong's and Wario's vehicles, but the DK Jumbo has the edge, simply because the Wario Car is wide. That means you need to find space for it to move in crowded areas. It's also at a disadantage in a battlefield full of shells of all sorts, since the Wario Car will get hit for sure when it's going between two shells as close together as the DK Jumbo is wide. You understand me? Still, this car looks awesome. I'd actually recommend it if you want to win in style. Waluigi Racer Character: Waluigi Top Speed: 3 Acceleration: 3 Weight: 3 What is this Waluigi Racer? It's really hard to describe. Basically, it's a dark purple standard-looking race car with spikes all over it and an inverted "L" on the front. Though you get this pretty far into the game, it has the exact same attributes as Mario's Red Fire, so it's great for beginners. Problem is, you're no longer a beginner if you can get the Waluigi Racer. I guess it's something you can tell people who are playing for the first time during multiplayer. Or if you think your driving shows no weakness or strength. Piranha Pipes Character: Petey Piranha Top Speed: 4 Acceleration: 2 Weight: 5 Oh, I get it...Petey is a Piranha Plant, and Piranha Plants come out of Warp Pipes. yeah. Whatever. This is simply two Warp Pipes stuck to each other. The one on the front has a seat and a steering wheel, and the back one has a gripping bar for the Item User. By the time you get Petey, you should already be pretty good at the game, at least experienced enough to not mind the extreme heaviness of this clunker. You got the same strategy as the Koopa King's: Don't get hit often, and stay on the road. However, because you got better acceleration, and it's slowed down a bit, the Piranha Pipes are pretty good for a much wider variety of courses, but the Koopa King still has the upper hand at the earlier courses. Boo Pipes Character: King Boo Top Speed: 2 Acceleration: 4 Weight: 4 Ugh. The most uncreative Kart in the whole game. Boos don't come out of pipes! They have nothing to do with pipes! Nevertheless, Nintendo gave ing Boo a Kart that's simply a silvery version of Petey Piranha's Kart. However, the stats, like it is between similar-looking Karts, is very different. Boo Pipes is the only Heavyweight Kart that's good at turning and acceleration but bad at Top Speed. This means that if you feel like playing Wario Colosseum or Yoshi Circuit but really want to play as heavy characters, use this Kart. It'll feel just like a Lightweight Kart, except, of course, for the enhanced bullying capabilities and terrible offroad performance. Truly special and unique. It's fitting too, since this is the last Kart you'll unlock in the game, other than the... Parade Kart Character: Toadsworth Top Speed: 4 Acceleration: 3 Weight: 4 Does anybody feel that this Kart is a deviation from the delicate balance the other Karts have? Anyway, this is the same Kart you see Toadsworth driving in the Award Ceremony, minus the stand that the winning racers stand on. But, if its character is Toadsworth, then where is he? Simple: He's not a playable character. He has a kart, but he doesn't compete. He lets any other possible pair do it. That means that the Parade Kart has no preferences to the characters' weights; the Gold Kart can pick up Baby Luigi and Toad as much as it can pick up Bowser and Petey. Because it's so good, I'd recommend it for Time Trials. Strongly. Well, the Koopa King may have the edge in Luigi Circuit and Peach Beach. Just don't use this in multiplayer if everyone agrees to fair play. Driving Techniques TURBO START: Like every other Mario Kart game out there (and many many racing games that copy this idea), you can get a boost right off the bat by pressing A right when the word "START!" appears on the screen. If you swear that you pressed it as "START!" appeared but didn't get the boost, then you're probably presing it too early. It works between the time that the big letters are largest and when they begin to fade out. MINI-TURBO: Easier to do than ever, all you need to do is make a full powerslide in any direction. Once it gets going, tilt the control stick to the other direction to change the sparks flying from your rear wheels from yellow to orange. Tilt it back the other way, and tilt the opposite way again to make the sparks turn blue. Once they're blue, release the powerslide that'll cause your Kart to speed up for a little while. # >>>Items<<< It wouldn't be Mario Kart without the items, now would it? If you have no idea, what made Super Mario Kart revolutionary and every Mario Kart game after that is in the items. Other racing games are a lot more direct; you race around a track (or sometimes just a path). Unless there's a big difference in skill level, you won't be getting ahead or behind in the pack very easily or quickly. In Mario Kart, however, you can literally be in last place during the Final Lap and shoot out to first place in just a few seconds. Just how do these miracle workers work? Well, there's no simplest of simple answer to that. But I can tell you that depending on the item you get, it'll either help you gain some positions or make other players lose them. (It's primarily the latter.) Some are defensive. A few are a combination. For example: ·If you use a Mushroom, you'll become much faster for a second. Hope- fully, you'll pass someone. ·More complicated are the Green Shells. They're practically giant speeding bullets that'll stop the first Kart they hit dead in its tracks. ·Peach and Daisy get access to the Heart Shield. When it's active, the Heart Shield steals the next two Items that come their way. ·The Star works both offensively and defensively. Although it increases your speed to help you go faster, there's more to it: Anyone you touch will spin out, and you'll become unaffected by other people's attacks! Plus, you steal Items from anyone you pass, if you're not already carrying one! But all this only happens until the Star wears off. Secondly, there's actually a handicap to items--characters in positions farther from first place will get more powerful items, such as Lightning Bolts, where players in first or near it will get less powerful items, such as Bananas. Thirdly, (items are really complicated, huh?) if you Slide Attack into someone, you'll be able to snatch the item right from their hands! Provided they have an item and you don't, that is. That means you won't be seeing any more Boos inside your Item Boxes anymore. You don't need to play co-op to steal Items though--a Mushroom or a Star will do the trick. What's an Item Box, you might say? Well, that's where Items come from! They're those strange bluish-purple cubes with the question marks in them you see from time to time on a course. Every single course has them, and they're almost always in groups. When you hit an Item Box and your backseat driver already has an item, the Item Box will do nothing. Speaking of which, there are also twin Item Boxes, which give both the draver and the partner an item! General Items A General Item is an item that anyone can get. That means that you can pick any character you want, and you'll be able to use them. Pretty convenient, huh? If you've played Mario Kart before, you probably don't need to read these, since they're all in every Mario Kart game ever made. But if you don't, it's nice to have a clue as to what's going on! Here's how the system for General Items work: NAME OF ITEM Level: Low-level items show up in high positions and vice versa. First Game: Where the prop first showed up and (what it did.) Use: What it does. Tips: How to use it effectively. --- MUSHROOM Level: Low First Game: Super Mario Bros. (NES; 1985) (Turns Mario and Luigi into Super Mario and Super Luigi.) Use: Increases your speed for a second. Steals you an item from the first Kart you touch, provided that Kart's rear player is holding an item and yours doesn't. Tips: Try using them in crowds to maximize theft in your favor or when you're tailgating a Kart to daze and confuse them. You can also cut corners with the Mushrooms--some pretty big corners, when the game wants you to. TRIPLE MUSHROOM Level: Medium First Game: Super Mario Kart (SNES; 1992) (Allows you to use the Mushroom's Speed Boosts three times.) Use: Allows you to use the Mushroom's Speed Boosts three times. Great that it doesn't change, huh? Tips: Use like a regular Mushroom. Except you get two spares. Just remember to not use your next Mushroom until after the previous one has completely died down. GREEN SHELL Level: Low First Game: Super Mario Bros. (NES; 1985) (Destroys any enemy on contact once kicked. You get one by hopping on a Koopa or Paratroopa with a Green Shell.) Use: Zooms along the ground to explode itno he first person it hits. It can also ricochet off walls. Can also be fired backwards. Tips: Practice makes perfect. Well, it'll never be perfect, since you can never predict when or where your target will turn. It's much faster than a Red Shell, so try some Green Shell sniping now and then. You'll thank them in Battle Mode. Also, try to fire them as parallel to nearby walls as possible, since the last thing you want is one to come back at you. RED SHELL Level: Medium First Game: Super Mario Bros. (NES; 1985) (Destroys any enemy on contact once kicked. You get one by hopping on a Koopa or Paratroopa with a Red Shell.) Use: Seeks out the Kart one position ahead of you and hits it. Tips: The Red Shell will follow the course, much like in every other Mario Kart game (except 64). However, the opponent has to be in front of you to work (or at least farther along in the course). This means it can't do a 180° turn to hit someone behind you, like in Battle Mode for Mario Kart 64. BANANA PEEL Level: Low First Game: Super Mario Kart (SNES; 1992) (Dropped on the track and causes the first person to hit it to spin out.) Use: Dropped on the track and causes the first person to hit it to spin out. Tips: Try putting them around the wide areas of turns, especially sharp turns. Or, if you notice an area is especially busy, put them there. On top of the last boost pad on a turn is also extremely nice, if you can time it right. SPINY SHELL Level: High First Game: Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo; 1985) (Stuck onto a Spiny. It's impossible to remove though, since the spikes hurt Mario of he jumps on it.) Use: Seeks out the team in 1st place, hovering above the course at a rapid pace. It can go across jumps, fly through the air, and anything else. It will not stop until it hits the lead Kart. Tips: Unless you're in first place, it's best to use the Spiny Shell as soon as you get it. This is because it has the highest accuracy of any Item by far, and because it strikes the lead player, it makes the entire race a bit closer. Just be careful when it lands, since there's a huge blast radius. STAR/STARMAN Level: High First Game: Super Mario Bros. (NES; 1985) (Causes the user to become invincible.) Use: Increases your speed for a few seconds. During that time, attacks do nothing to you. Anyone you touch will spin out. You can steal items from others when you touch them. Tips: Line yourself up with someone so you're directly behind them, then unleash your Star. Hopefully, they turn when you want them to (or they won't turn at all, if you're on a straightaway). That way, you can steal something else (maybe another Star!). Cut corners as much as you can, since you don't get slowed down by grass/sand/whatever. LIGHTNING BOLT Level: High First Game: Super Mario Kart (SNES; 1992) (Shrinks everybody except the user to half their size and top speed. Shrunken players will get squished if they touch any other racers.) Use: Shrinks everybody except the user to half their size and two-thirds of their top speed. Shrunken players will get squished if they touch any other racers. Tips: If you're playing multiplayer, keep a close look on other people's screens. Release them when someone gets a good item or when the lead player goes over a jump, because this thing will destroy their items and stop them cold! If you're shrunken, don't be afraid of hitting other shrunken players, since the effect is nil, but stay along the sides of the road or wide along turns to minimize the risk of being run over by the big guy. FAKE ITEM BOX Level: Low First Game: Mario Kart 64 (Nintendo64; 1995) (Masquerades as a real Item Box, except it has "Ώ" instead of "?". If someone hits it, it explodes.) Use: Masquerades as a real Item Box, except it has "Ώ" instead of "?". If someone hits it, it explodes. In previous games, they were the same bluish rainbow as every other Item Box, but this time, they're red. Don't let that fool you though--they loko genuine until you come close! Use: Obviously, put them into an Item Box field, preferably one that's arranged in a group rather than a row. Don't try to block shells with them either. Shells go right through them, preventing any check of Fake Item Boxes by Shell. Or, like Bananas, put them on jumps and dash panels (especially dash panels, since they're rainbow and so are Item Boxes) to seriously slow a poor sap down. Special Items In addition to all those items, there are also eight other items. These items are different in that each of them are assigned to each of the pairs that share a Kart. For example, Wario and Waluigi share The Purple Pimp-ernel, so they both get the Bob-omb as their special weapon. (By the way, the special weapons don't have anything to do with the karts.) You acquire Special Items through regular Item Boxes, and getting them is as random as every other item--just hope you get lucky, because every Special Item is quite a bit more powerful than most General Items. FIREBALL Characters: Mario and Luigi Level: Medium First Game: Super Mario Bros. (NES; 1985) (Destroys any enemy that it touches except fire-resistant ones.) Use: Shoots forward just like a Green Shell, except that it will almost immediately split into five and will bounce off walls and along the ground until they hit someone or their time expires, whichever comes first. Tips: It doesn't matter if they're orange or green. These act just like a whole bunch of Green Shells fired at once in five different angles, so it's best to use them on wide and open straightaways, preferably from the beginning. If there are any holes in the track aim away from them, or you'll lose a Fireball or two, or maybe even the entire cluster. You can also fire them behind you, but do that at the end of a straightaway. HEART SHIELD Characters: Princess Peach and Princess Daisy Level: High First Game: Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (Gamecube; 2003) Use: Blocks the next few attacks to come your way for a little while. They can even absorb in other weapons! How's that for a royal treatment? Tips: You should use the Heart Shield as soon as you get it to avoid anyone stealing it from you. The Heart Shield counts as widening your Kart, so give a little extra room for Bananas you don't want to absorb. Shells are fine though, especially Red Shells. The Heart Shield can only be destroyed once it's in effect by a Lightning Bolt, so if you're in the lead, you can even pick up a Spiny Shell to use if someone passes far ahead of you. GIANT BANANA Characters: Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong Level: Low First Game: Donkey Kong Country (SNES; 1993) (When picked up, adds 5 Bananas to your score.) Use: Takes up a lot of space and makes people who touches it slip. If someone hits it, it'll split into a lot of little bananas. Tips: Try to figure out the path that your opponent takes for each lap. Unless they have an eccentric driving style, they're likely to stay along the same spot, whether it's in the middle, towards the left, or towards the right. Put the Giant Banana there. It may stand out, but if you put it on a narrow path or just after a hill, it will be hard to avoid. Also, Giant Bananas split up into three regular Bananas arranged in a neat equilateral triangle--bad for oncoming crowds. And don't forget that it completely destroys Red and Green Shells, so you're basically guaranteed some payback if you lay one when a Shell's close to hitting you. CHAIN CHOMP Characters: Baby Mario and Baby Luigi Level: High First Game: Super Mario Bros. 3 (Nintendo; 1989) (Attacks Mario, but stays tethered to one point. Some go around in circles. Chain Chomps are invincible.) Use: Pulls the Kart along at a higher speed. Anyone who touches the Chain Chomp will get hurt. Tips: There's really no tips to using the Chain Chomp--it's an autopilot! Though it would probably make courses with lots of sharp turns, like DK Mountain, a lot easier. GOLDEN MUSHROOM Charactes: Toad and Toadette Level: High First Game: Mario Kart 64 (intendo64; 1995) (Gives out infinite boosts for up to 10 seconds.) Use: Gives out infinite boosts for up to 5 seconds. Tips: Just mash the X or Y buttons when you feel fit! Just remember that your handling suffers when you're boosting. Try to go aggressive and ram into other people to make them lose their Items, and don't be afraid to use any shortcuts you run across. TRIPLE SHELLS Characters: Koopa Troopa and Koopa Paratroopa Level: High First Game: Super Mario Kart (SNES; 1992) (Allows you to fire up to three shells, either all Red or all Green.) Use: Allows you to fire up to three shells, either all Red or all Green. Tips: Be extra careful when you're handling Triple Shells--one hit by almost anything, and you lose all but one! If you hit someone with a Shell, wait until they recover to hit them again to make them lose the most time. Also, if you get Triple Green Shells, fire them from three different angles so two won't cancel each other out. Just remember that you're going to be doing a lot of dodging once you catch up to them. YOSHI EGG/BIRDO EGG Characters: Yoshi and Birdo Level: Medium First Game: Super Mario World (SNES; 1990) (Explodes when it htis a wall or an enemy. Once aimed, the egg will fly in a straight line.) Use: When fired, it will relentlessly home in on enemies. Once it hits some thing, it breaks and three random items will be thrown onto the racetrack. Tips: This weapon can be fired backwards to block incoming Red Shells, just so you'd know. But it's best to save one if you get it in the lead until someone passes ahead of you. However, the Eggs have got to be the most chancey Item in the entire game, all because of the contents that spill out. That Mushroom may cause the victim to make up for losses, or it could shoot you far into the lead! That Bob-omb may be the salt on the wound that you needed, or it could spell the permanent loss of your lead! So try firing it from a decent distance, so you know what comes out, and so you can properly take advantage of it. BOWSER'S SHELL Characters: Bowser and Junior Level: Low First Game: Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo; 1985) (Attached to Bowser.) Use: Behaves just like a Green Shell, rocketing forward (or backwards) and bouncing off walls. The only way to take one out is to avoid it until its ten seconds are up or with another Bowser's Shell or Giant Banana. Tips: Don't ever use a Bowser's Shell on a monkey! They're likely to have a Giant Banana, and do you know what one of those can do to your Shell? Worse than canceling it out; Giant Bananas cause the Bowser's Shell to reverse direction! However, no ordinary Item or Racer can faze the incredible momentum of the colossal carapace, which means that if every racer is lined up in front of you (or behind you, but it's kind of hard to tell without losing your position), it's Bowser time. And that means "say goodbye to your Items, 'cause the back dude is gonna get some major dragging". It may be an optical illusion, but I think the Bowser's Shell moves a tad slower than the Green Shell, so you still need to be a sharpshooter. BOB-OMB Characters: Wario and Waluigi Level: Low First Game: Super Mario Bros. 2 (Nintendo; 1987) (Suicide bombers, to put it simply. When it explodes, it will also hurt nearby enemies.) Use: The Bob-omb can be thrown either backwards or forwards. When it hits the ground, it explodes with quite a blast radius. Tips: Risky, risky. That's why I advise against throwing them forward, except as a last resort. Bob-ombs normally take about three seconds to explode after they land, but if anything disturbs it, KA-BOOM! Anyone caught in the blast radiunm, you included if you're unlucky enough, will get sent flying through the air, the impact identical to that of a Spiny Shell! The effects don't end there--anyone caught in the radius as it's fading away will slip. So, not very effective at taking out people one position away from you. But a real hazard for people two or three places behind. Or, try dropping it like you would a Banana and see if anyone collides with it. Missing in Action These Items have mysteriously vanished from the Item ox selection over the history of Mario Kart. Obviously, Nintendo deleted them because they were too powerful, but don't you wish that they would return? FEATHER Level: High First Game: Super Mario World (SNES; 1990) (Turns Mario into Cape Mario. Cape Mario can fly and swing his cape to attack.) Disappeared After: Super Mario Kart Use: Allows the driver to make a giant jump, over walls if necessary. In short, create your own shortcut. BANANA BUNCH Level: Low First Game: Donkey Kong Country (SNES; 1991) (When picked up, adds 10 Bananas to your score.) Disappeared After: Mario Kart 64 Use: Allows you to drop up to five Bananas on the ground. The remaining Bananas trail behind you and split up if someone hits the line. BOO Level: Medium First Game: Super Mario Bros. 3 (Nintendo; 1989) Disappeared After: Mario Kart: Super Circuit (Boos are invincible ghost-like enemies who paralyze with fear when Mario faces them and stalk Mario when he's facing away. They come in different sizes.) Use: Makes you invisible to other racers. All attacks will go right through you. Boo will also pick a random opponent and steal an item from them, if they have an item. In Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Boo will slow down the player in 1st place if the user isn't in 1st (probably taken from Snowboard Kids). SUPER MUSHROOM/GOLDEN MUSHROOM Level: High First Game: Mario Kart 64 (Nintendo64; 1995) Disappeared After: Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (Early BETA versions) (The Super Mushrooms allow you to boost as many times as you want in 10 seconds.) Use: In Mario Kart 64, they allow you to boost as many times as you want in 10 seconds. Missing in Super Circuit, they returned up until about 6 months before the game's release as Peach's and Daisy's Special Item. Wearing a crown, you could now boost at your leisure by simply holding down X or Y. They then disappeared again, and now, they are confirmed as Toad's and Toadette's Special Item, modified a bit (see above). Item Techniques BLOCKING INCOMING ITEMS: Remember when you were playing Mario Kart 64, when someone had just launched a Red Shell at you, and you would stick the Banana you had to cancel both out? Well, you can't in this game. Sorry. Not my fault. However, if you have one of those items you used to be able to hold onto behind you (that is, the Green Shell, the Red Shell, the Banana, or the Fake Item Box), you can drop it on the road just as the blasted projectile heads you way to cancel them both out. Pretty tricky, but so was the mini-turbo. # >>>Modes<<< Mario Grand Prix Well, it's a racing game. What else would the initials "GP" stand for? I can think of some, actually. Great Power. Go Play. Get Pissed. Glorious Pen. Gifted Pig. But none of them fit better than "Grand Prix". A Grand Prix is a series of races, and after one race is over, the top positions are rewarded with points, which are added to the total. Whoever gets the most points wins. In the case of Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, there are four races per cup, and all but the last-place finisher will earn some points, distributed as the following: 1st place: +10 points 2nd place: +8 points 3rd place: +6 points 4th place: +4 points 5th place: +3 points 6th place: +2 points 7th place: +1 points 8th place: ±0 points You probably need further clarification. Maybe you don't. But if you do, let's take a situation. To begin, as with every other cup, the STAR CUP consists of four courses--Sherbet Land, Mushroom City, Yoshi Circuit, and DK Mountain. Now, let's say that the races are over, and two teams, Bowser/Paratroopa and Toad/Baby Mario, were competing against each other and six other Karts, and they placed like this: Bowser/Paratroopa Toad/Baby Mario Sherbet Land: 8th 1st Mushroom City: 1st 4th Yoshi Circuit: 3rd 2nd DK Mountain: 1st 5th TOTAL 0 + 10 + 6 + 10 = 26 10 + 4 + 8 + 3 = 25 But wait a minute! Bowser and Paratroopa won, and yet they placed last in Sherbet Land. This is an instance of where the Mario GP is a bit more merciful--you don't need to always place 1st in every (or any) race to win. But it ensures your victory over the GP if you do. Besides, computer players almost never mix their positions up this much, and very often, you'll encounter "bully" characters who will place the best out of the computer players for every race, just to make it harder. But as long as you beat them more than they beat you, you're pretty safe. Time Trials Some people play Mario Kart to blast some CPU with their favorite racers and items. Some (most) people prefer to race agaisnt their friends and rain some Lightning on them. But there is a select few who don't play the game to shoot Shells or bob Bob-ombs--those few want to play it to MASTER it. Those guys play it religiously, day in and day out, and each time they play, they get a little bit better. But they don't play Mario GP or Quick Run--they play Time Trials. What is Time Trials? The real definition is "a race held so that each car is driven one at a time, with the winner being the one with the fastest time". That would be downright drab in Mario Kart, ANY of them, so Nintendo tweaked the definition for their games a little bit (which apparently caught on in every other racing game after Super Mario Kart, barring Snowboard Kids 2, which didn't HAVE this mode). What is it, gosh darn it already? It IS basically a solo race, but it's actually the place where you do your best, and your best records will be saved. Provided you have a GCN Memory Card. You are equipped with two Mushrooms (one per character) to use at any time before you begin the most skilled run you've ever had. Need further clarity? Here's an example: Jimmy, our Mario Kart: Double Dash!! gamer, has raced Time Trials in Mushroom City for the first time as Waluigi and Peach. Here are his (not-so) marvelous times: Lap 1: 0' 40" 649 Lap 2: 0' 36" 366 Lap 3: 0' 40" 387 ----------------- Total: 1' 57" 402 Since the game records one Best Lap time and the first lap is the fastest, "0' 55" 649" would be recorded. And the five best total records appear under Best Times, so "2' 49" 402" appears in the 1st slot. So Jimmy's records will look like this: MUSHROOM CITY Best Times 1st 1' 57" 402 Waluigi and Peach-Heart Coach 2nd --' --" --- --- and --- 3rd --' --" --- --- and --- 4th --' --" --- --- and --- 5th --' --" --- --- and --- Best Lap: 0' 36" 366 Waluigi and Peach-Heart Coach Now suppose some time has passed, and he's raced on Mushroom City five times, and now his records look like this: MUSHROOM CITY Best Times 1st 1' 53" 295 Koopa and DK-Koopa King 2nd 1' 55" 825 Wario and Luigi-Wario Car 3rd 1' 57" 402 Waluigi and Peach-Heart Coach 4th 2' 00" 820 Yoshi and Birdo-Turbo Yoshi 5th 2' 06" 959 Baby Mario and Junior-Goo-Goo Buggy Best Lap: 0' 33" 931 Wario and Luigi-Wario Car Using Bowser and Daisy, Jimmy managed a time of 1' 56" 286 and a Best Lap of 0' 37" 654. Where do these fit? It's all comparing numbers (and I'm ignoring the Karts, because I don't have enough room to fit everything in): MUSHROOM CITY Best Times 1st 1' 53" 295 Koopa and DK 2nd 1' 55" 825 Wario and Luigi Jimmy's time goes here because 56 3rd 1' 56" 286 Bowser and Daisy <-seconds is between 55 seconds and 4th 1' 57" 402 Waluigi and Peach 57 seconds. 5th 2' 00" 820 Yoshi and Birdo <-BM and Junior's time got removed. Best Lap: 0' 33" 931 Wario and Luigi /\ The Best Lap remains unchanged because Jimmy didn't outdo it. If you're not interested in trying for the fastest you can possibly get with your own personal ability, don't do it. Time Trials is only for that purpose. Oh, and getting course ghosts, which mirror your every move to the best record you got for a course. Introduced in Mario Kart 64, you could transfer the data to another game, where other players can see how their skills stack up with yours! There were two ghosts available for the Controller Pak in Mario Kart 64 and up to ten per game, four exchangeable via Game Link Cable in Mario Kart: Super Circuit. But here, if you hoard Memory Cards, you can have as many as you want! How sweet is that? STAFF GHOSTS Speaking of ghosts, remember the ghosts the staff gave you in Mario Kart 64 if you pulled off a good score on Luigi Raceway, Mario Raceway, or Royal Raceway? Well, they're back--and this time, they exist in every single course! The criterion is the same: Get a certain full race time equal to or better than the set amount. Then, you'll unlock the Ghost! The times you need and the Ghosts' times are on the table below. (They'll be repeated in the courses section for your convenience, rest assured.) NOTE: The Kart that the Ghosts drive on belongs to the first character name mentioned. MUSHROOM CUP Required Time Ghost Time Drivers Luigi Circuit 1' 29" 1' 26" 3 Mario & Luigi Peach Beach 1' 23" 1' 20" 4 Peach & Daisy Baby Park 1' 14" 1' 11" 1 BMario & BLuigi Dry Dry Desert 1' 53" 1' 50" 8 Yoshi & Birdo FLOWER CUP Mushroom Bridge 1' 34" 1' 31" 5 Koopa & Paratroopa Mario Circuit 1' 44" 1' 41" 4 Mario & Luigi Daisy Cruiser 1' 55" 1' 52" 2 Peach & Daisy Waluigi Stadium 2' 02" 1' 59" 7 Wario & Waluigi STAR CUP Sherbet Land 1' 26" 1' 25" 9 BMario & BLuigi Mushroom City 1' 53" 1' 50" 7 Koopa & Paratroopa Yoshi Circuit 2' 02" 1' 59" 9 Yoshi & Birdo DK Mountain 2' 15" 2' 12" 6 DK & Diddy SPECIAL CUP Wario Colosseum 2' 24" 2' 21" 1 Wario & Waluigi Dino Dino Jungle 2' 03" 2' 00" 9 DK & Diddy Bowser's Castle 2' 47" 2' 44" 7 Bowser & Junior Rainbow Road 3' 19" 3' 16" 5 Mario & Peach How many can you unlock, let alone beat? The one for Dino Dino Jungle is notoriously hard. Versus I remember from Mario Kart 64, when you'd choose Versus, Mario would say "Versus!?", which was pretty strange. I don't know why they called this "Versus", since there are much better words to describe this mode under (such as "Multiplayer"!) Basically, what you do is you get some friends over to play Kart. This is considered by almosy every Kart player to be the best of the modes available, and Mario Kart: Double Dash!! offers even more options for Versus than ever! Some get pretty (did I say pretty? I mean really awfully for God's sake) expensive though. Versus (Basic) Players: 2-4 Race in a track of your choice against others with no computer players. Everyone else has to either follow along or get into a heated conflict. Multiplayer GP (Basic) Players: 2 It's just like the regular Mario GP, except someone else can join in. Versus (Basic Co-op) Players: 4 New to racing games, one player controls one character, and the other player controls the other character. Players are obviously divided into teams of two and race in the track everyone agrees on without any computer players. In order to switch tasks, both players on a team must hit the Z button at the same time, and to powerslide, both must hold down R at the same time. You can steal Items from other backseaters in Co-op if you're in the back by pressing L when next to another Kart. Also, not explained in the instruction manual or in the Pause screen, the driver can press the X or the Y button to hand the backseater an Item, as long as the guy in front has the Item and the back person doesn't. Mario GP (Basic Co-op) players: 2 or 4 It's just like regular Mario GP, except it's done in Co-op. What's new to talk abotu in this one? LAN I never heard of it until news broke out about this game supporting it, but LAN stands for Local Access Network. Of course, that doesn't really explain anything until I learned what it is. Apparently, you can acquire a LAN cable at most places where they sell Gamecubes and use it to plug multiple Gamecubes together, much like a Gamy Link Cable for a Game Boy. Then, you take an equivalent number of TVs and copies of the game to play, and voila! You can play with an obscene number of people in a single match. It's like playing online, except everyone's within audible range of each other! In the case of Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, the maximum number of Gamecubes is four. And there is also one other condition that may make you mad: character selection is random. However, one way to get around this problem is to see which controller is handling which Kart (or character in Co-op). Then, each player can pick up the controller with their favorite character. Unless, of course, someone's favorite is paired up with someone else's favorite. But that can happen without random character select. Versus (LAN) Players: 2-8 This is just like Basic Versus, except you can play with lots and lots of people. How sweet will that be? Multiplayer GP (LAN) Players: 2-8 Now you can relive your favorite Cup in Mario GP, except everyone's actually alive. You and your friends may get rather impatient out of playing four courses in a row though. Versus (LAN Co-op) Players: 2-16 16 players? That's crazy! You know what that means, right? There will be eight Karts out on the track, each controlled by a tag team of two! If you like to yell and argue a lot while playing multiplayer (and if you're really rich and social), then this mode is for you. All five people out there with four Gamecubes, four TVs, 16 controllers, and 4 copies of MKDD are recommended to gather lots of people and play. Who knows? Maybe there will even be tournaments using LAN... Multiplayer GP (LAN Co-op) Players: 2-16 Now this will be just insane. 16 players, all participating in a Mario Grand Prix in competition of the most points? You can tell it'll get hectic. Nothing more to say though. Battle Mode This is one of the many high points of the Mario Kart series, and it is also another innovative idea invented by the very creative Nintendo. Where in regular races, you would use your items to help you win, Battle Mode takes the item usage to the extreme: As the name suggests, you will actually battle each other, and as you may expect, you accomplish what you're doing by means of items. This concept was so successful that entire games have been based on drivers knocking each other silly with all kinds of weapons, such as Cel Damage. In the case of Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Nintendo has expanded it into three ways to play. They are Balloon Burst, Shine Thief, and Bob-omb Blast. For information about the Battle Mode arenas, look to the next section. BALLOON BURST The tried and true classic will, hopefully, never fade away from the Mario Kart horizons. This time, it has assumed the name of Balloon Burst. Just in case you've never played Battle Mode before, each player is given three balloons. You lose a balloon if you get hit, and if you're left with no balloons, you lose. This time, however, you can steal balloons like you would an Item. You can't have more than three balloons at once though, so don't try to hoard! SHINE THIEF This is basically a strange combination of Capture the Flag and Tag. Hey, it rhymes! Instead of the flag, you got a Shine Sprite (one of those weird sun things in Super Mario Sunshine). The first to nab the Shine Sprite will set off a timer counting down from 60 seconds. Whoever has the Shine Sprite when the timer goes to zero is the winner. How do you take the Shine Sprite away? Simple: You hit the person with the Shine Sprite. I guess I'd recommend this for quick matches, since it's pretty fast-paced. I haven't quite worked out how the timer gets re-adjusted each time the hine gets lost, but there is probably something about how long the previous player held on to it. BOB-OMB BLAST And last, but not least, Wario and Waluigi take a back seat to their own Special Item in Bob-omb Blast. Here, your only Items are Bob-ombs, but you're getting them wholesale--five at a time! You've got a meter, and you fill up one Star each time you blast someone sky-high with your explosives. If you get hit, you lose a Star. The first person to fill up all five Stars on their meter is the winner. An all-out offensive strategy is to stock up on the explosives and find a target to lay Bob-ombs in a line next to them. By the time they see it, they won't have anywhere to go. A defensive strategy is to surround yourself with your own Bob-ombs, since they can't hurt you. Anyone who gets near will pay. Yet another strategy is to aim carefully. Its quick but inaccurate. The strategy you use is all up to you. >>>Tracks<<< Well, it's about time, huh? This is the real meat of the FAQ, since the tracks are basically most of the game. You've got the most varied set of courses yet for a Mario Kart game, maybe even with Mario Kart: Super Circuit. Your clasic racetracks are back, with the suffix "Raceway" tossed out and the word "Circuit" welcomed back. You've also got your obligatory ice, desert, lava, beach, and jungle levels. Rainbow Road is back and better than ever, mixing elements from all of the previous Mario Kart. There are even courses with themes you never thought would be racetracks, the first half of the game alone involving an amusement park and a cruise liner! You'll get to pick your difficulty by speed class. The speed difficulties are grouped into four divisions: 50cc, 100cc, 150cc, and Mirror. The higher the number, the bigger your engine is and the faster your Kart will go. The faster it goes, the less control you'll get, and the more experienced the racers will be. Also, 50cc and 100cc feature themed opponents: Each racer is paired up with their partner in their own Kart. But once you reach 150cc, they're going to be mixed up, which means they can be holding a greater variety of Special Items. Things get extremely hectic once you reach the Mirror Mode--it's not an engine class, but all of the courses will be flipped horizontally, like what you would see through a mirror. In addition, the courses themselves (at least, the racecourses) are divided into four groups of four. The first one is the Mushroom Cup, traditionally used as an introduction for the first few courses and the last one as a comprehension test. (And boy, does Dry Dry Desert in this game serve as a comprehension test!) The second is the Flower Cup, represented by a Fire Flower. This is where the tutorials end, and you're on your own. They're pretty merciful though. The Star Cup marks the third set for each Mario Kart game (except for Mario Kart: Super Circuit, where the Lightning Cup went between the Flower and Star Cups.) Star Cup courses tend to be favorites among both beginners and experts, because its difficulty is pretty tough but still reasonably smooth. Finally, the Special Cup, secret to every game except Mario Kart 64, represents the cruelest courses. They are designed to make you lose, and the computer players know exactly what they're doing. Also, you got Rainbow Road as your final reward (the last course of the Special Cup) for a job well done. To make life easier, here are the courses and their Cups in a table. MUSHROOM CUP FLOWER CUP STAR CUP SPECIAL CUP ------------------------------------------------------------------ Luigi Circuit Mushroom Bridge Sherbet Land Wario Colosseum Peach Beach Mario Circuit Mushroom City Dino Dino Jungle Baby Park Daisy Cruiser Yoshi Circuit Bowser's Castle Dry Dry Desert Waluigi Stadium DK Mountain Rainbow Road BATTLE MODE ----------------- Cookie Land Nintendo Gamecube Block City Pipe Plaza Luigi's Mansion Tilt-a-Kart And finally, the key for the Tracks section: NAME Position: This is basically a way to keep track of how far into the guide you are. Not much else. There'll be the name of the Cup (Mushroom, Flower, Star, or Special) followed by its sequence within the Cup (1, 2, 3, or 4). Course Highlight: There's something special in every course. Sometimes, there's more than one. Whatever it is will go here, just in case it catches your interest. Course Difficulty: This is going to be on a three-point scale--Easy, Medium, and Hard. Bear in mind that they're only based on my experiences; your style of play is different than mine. 50cc Difficulty: On a scale from 1 to 10, 1 being the easiest and 10 100cc Difficulty: being the hardest, these four categories get ranked 150cc Difficulty: individually by engine size. Typically, they get harder Mirror Difficulty: as you advance. Laps: Shortly and simply, the number of Laps in Mario GP and in Recommended mode in Versus. It's usually 3. Time to Beat: You need to get better than this time in order to get the privilege to see the Staff Ghost at work. Staff Ghost Time: You need to do better than this time if you hope to dethrone the staff ghost. World Record: The best score on record. (Taken from MarioKart64.com.) My Record: My personal record for a standard-length race. Your Record: This will always read "__' __" ___". Don't bother asking me to put it in if it's better than mine; this is for you to print out, if you feel like it, and write down to compare records. World Lap Record: The best lap time on record. (Also taken from there.) My Lap Record: My personal record for one lap in the course. Your Lap Record: __' __" ___ Don't bother sending me stuff for this either; it's also all up to you for comparison's sake. The map goes here. It'll be in pretty bad ASCII. ••=main route (shown on the map) ··=alternate route (usually a shortcut) ^^, <<, >>, vv=start/finish line ?=Item Box !=Dash strip/Booster/Zipper (the thing that lets you go faster for a bit) 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.=points of notes (look to the text below) All other symbols will be explained underneath the course map. MUSHROOM CUP My 50cc Record: 8' 54" 695 (40 Points) Your 50cc Record: __' __" __ (__ Points) My 100cc Record: 7' 46" 742 (40 Points) Your 100cc Record: __' __" __ (__ Points) My 150cc Record: 6' 57" 817 (40 Points) Your 150cc Record: __' __" __ (__ Points) My Mirror Record: 6' 48" 861 (40 Points) Your Mirror Record: __' __" __ (__ Points) Welcome to Mario Kart! If this is your first time visiting, I would recommend that you head to the Mushroom Cup first. The courses here are pleasing to the inexperienced, and there is not a single spot you can fall off, save Peach Beach. The turns are gentle, and there is plenty of room for error. To the left, you can see Luigi Circuit, the course built by Luigi near his new mansion. You can also see Peach Beach on the horizon, on sunny Isle Delfino. Should you visit there, watch out for the quick tides and Cataquacks! To the left, you can enjoy some attractions at Baby Park. It features Kamek's Magic Show, a roller coaster, and even some familiar faces. Watch out for shells coming your way over there! Finally, should you wish to walk across the sands, Dry Dry Desert features Pokeys, pyramids, and pits. Don't let the quicksand whirlpool or the migrating dust devil get you! LUIGI CIRCUIT Position: Mushroom 1 Course Highlight: Two-Way Torso Course Difficulty: Easy 50cc Difficulty: 1 100cc Difficulty: 2 150cc Difficulty: 7 Mirror Difficulty: 9 Laps: 3 Time to Beat: 1' 29" Staff Ghost Time: 1' 26" 3 World Record: 1' 18" 196 Martin Cesar My Record: 1' 26" 978 Your Record: __' __" __ World Lap Record: 0' 25" 424 Frederic Billaudel My Lap Record: 0' 28" 275 Your Lap Record: __' __" ___ •8!•• !• •! •• •• •• • •• •• vv •• •• ??· • •7 · • •• · •• •• · •• •• · •• ••· !!••· •••• •••6 •••• •••• ••5?? ??•• ••••• •••• •••• 1 ·••••• · ••••• · •••••• ·oo •• 4• o·oooo• •• ·ooo•• !! · 2 •• •• · •• •• · •• •• ??•• •• ·• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• !• •• •• •! •• •• ••• ??! !•••3 ••• ••!••• 1. If you got a Mushroom, cut the grass in front of the path (through point 1 on the map) if you're playing in anything except 50cc to shave more time off the shortcut than usual. Oh, did I not explain about the shortcut? To the right of the circle of sand is a thin asphalt path that lets you skip the right turn after it. It's not worth much, ad the Chain Chomp will more than likely seriously get in your way, but every little edge counts. And in 50cc, the path there, well, isn't there. You need to turn right, just like everybody else. 2. If you're taking the shortcut or are staying too close to the edge of the course, Chain Chomp will leap at you when you get near. However, it will stop before you reach it, so keep a close eye on it to make sure you drive around it. 3. As you're going around the long turn on the bottom, you're better off doing lots of Mini-Turbos on the inside edge than following the series of Dash Panels along the edges. In fact, at higher difficulty levels, this is exactly what computer opponents do. 4. If you're playing Mario GP, watch out as you approach this spot. There will probably be racers going in the opposite directions, and if head-on collisions wasn't recommended enough to avoid, these guys are usually carrying powerful stuff. Don't get caught in them! 5. Because people are going both ways, this is a great spot to shoot any kind of projectiles, especially Fireballs or Bowser's Shells. They'll probably hit someone. 6. I wouldn't recommend taking the shortcut, since it's right after a hill, so it's very hard to see. However, if you have a Mushroom, try to get a good idea of where it'll be and boost across the grass to reach it. It's much more worth it this way. 7. Try leaving a Banana or a Fake Item Box near this set of Item Boxes. The blind turn right before it will keep the landmine hidden until it's too late! 8. This curve, like the one on the bottom, is more efficiently executed with a series of tight Mini-Turbos than following the Dash Panels. PEACH BEACH Position: Mushroom 2 Course Highlight: Cataquacks; Tides Course Difficulty: Medium 50cc Difficulty: 1 100cc Difficulty: 3 150cc Difficulty: 9 Mirror Difficulty: 10 Laps: 3 Time to Beat: 1' 23" Staff Ghost Time: 1' 20" 4 World Record: 1' 11" 979 Bart Savelkouls My Record: 1' 20" 392 Your Record: __' __" __ World Lap Record: 0' 23" 028 Bart Savelkouls My Lap Record: 0' 26" 482 Your Lap Record: __' __" ___ ••••• 2•?••• •••• ••• •• 1• • • •3 • •· • • · • • · • •• · • •• · • •• · • •••• · • •••• · • •••• · • •• · • • · • 4• · • • ! • • ?? • • ^ • ··· ··• •• ····· 8?? • ••• ····· ··• •••• ··· • ••••• ·· • ••••• · • •••••• · • ••••• • ••• ? 5• ? ?? ? •• ? •• ? •••••• 7 ••••••• • • •• • • • • 6• •• • • • ••• • •••••••• 1. This is a pretty tricky turn, despite its gentle facade. Try to do a Mini-Turbo here, and you'll end up kissing the palm trees. Don't power- slide at all, and you'll slow down significantly. So, what should you do? Stay on the left side of thr track as you approach the turn. Do a Mini- Turbo, and head back to the left part again, so you can be prepared for another Mini-Turbo. 2. You'll notice a Warp Pipe here. if you travel into it, you'll emerge from another Warp Pipe directly overhead. I don't know what it's for, but you can trick people into going in there to lose time. 3. It doesn't show it on the map, but here, the course splits up. I would strongly recommend against taking the left path, since it'll stay submerged most of the time, causing your speed to be reduced down to near zero. Take the right path, unless the tide is high and lowering when you enter. 4. The more you drive into the water, the slower your Kart goes. The trick here is to stay out of the water as much as possible while still taking the inside lane. Easier said than done: the tides cause the path you should take to vary from lap to lap. The trick here is to drive along the foam (white stuff), looking closely before you dive in to see if the water is receding or rising and driving accordingly. 5. Here, you'll see a pink rock formation. I've seen some strange words on this rock seen from above, to say the least, but it's just supposed to be an arch. It's best to drive underneath it if you're taking the right path and around it if you took the left path. 6. Watch out for the last few cataquacks here! Taking a straight line through the three turns after the pink rock is possible, but the Cataquacks are right no that line! Stay to the left of them until you think you're good, then try going between them. 7. Watch out! These Item Boxes are dancing to the beat of the music! Or something. Stay somewhere in the middle, because you're most likely to get an Item here (unless you're playing without Items, such as in Time Trials, of course). Once you get an Item, switch to the other guy if he or she is empty-handed. You'll more than likely get another Item if you don't touch the steering wheel. 8. For some reason, there are two double Item Bozes behind the fountain in Delfino Plaza. (At least, I think it's Delfino Plaza.) Don't ever bother to get them, at least for practical purposes. Not only did you already have an Item Box set two seconds ago, but you're also going to run into one in a few seconds anyway. BABY PARK Position: Mushroom 3 Course Highlight: Minisculinity; Shell-Friendly Interior Course Difficulty: Hard 50cc Difficulty: 2 100cc Difficulty: 2 150cc Difficulty: 10 Mirror Difficulty: 10 Laps: 7 Time to Beat: 1' 14" Staff Ghost Time: 1' 11" 1 World Record: 1' 06" 844 Frederic Billaudel My Record: 1' 14" 481 Your Record: __' __" __ World Lap Record: 8" 941 Frederic Billaudel My Lap Record: 10" 273 Your Lap Record: __' __" ___ ••••• ••••••••••••• •••• •••• •••5 •••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ??? ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• 1 vvv ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• •4• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ??? ••• ••• ••• •••• ••• 2••• ••• •••• •••3 ••••• ••••• ••••• ••••••••••••••••• •••••••• 1. One thing that's unique about Baby Park is that it's a simple oval, which got more than a few negative responses from serious gamers. Another is that it's the shortest course in the game by far, about the same length as a Super Mario Kart course. In fact, a few experts have broken eight seconds in a lap! It's also the course that would take a skilled gamer the shortest to complete, even though it's set at seven laps. BUT...the most interesting thing of all is that Shells, whether they be Green, Red, or Bowser's, can pass directly through the middle. This means staying on the inside won't help a lot, and after a minute, it's going to look like a war zone. Be careful! This course is deceptively dangerous! 2. The turns in this simple and short course are deceptively tight--you are going to lose more time Mini-Turboing directly through the turn than simply tightly powersliding. Save the Control Stick torture at about point... 3. ...where the turn begins to die down and you're save to Mini-Turbo again. 4. It's okay to Mini-Turbo on a straightaway. They're more than wide enough to be executed here, if you think you're good. Do one to the left so you don't run into the right wall so easily. 5. And finally, do steps 2 and 3 here. It's not that hard if you know how to Mini-Turbo. DRY DRY DESERT Position: Mushroom 4 Course Highlight: Quicksand Whirlpool, Tornado, Pokeys Course Difficulty: Hard 50cc Difficulty: 3 100cc Difficulty: 5 150cc Difficulty: 7 Mirror Difficulty: 8 Laps: 3 Time to Beat: 1' 53" Staff Ghost Time: 1' 50" 8 World Record: My Record: 1' 57" 931 Your Record: __' __" ___ World Lap Record: My Lap Record: 39" 063 Your Lap Record: __' __" ___ •?••••• ••?• ••••? •••2•• ••• ••••••?• •• •• ••• ••• •• ••• •• 8• •• •• •• 3• •• •••• ••••• •• •• •• ?? ••4•• •• ••••••••• •• ••••///•••• •• •••/////••• 1 ^^ ••••///•••• •• ••••••••• •• ••••• •• 5• •• ?? •• •• •9 ••••••• ••••• •• •7 ••••••••••••••?•• •• •• •••• •••••••••••••••••••••• •• •• ••••••?••••••••••••••••••••••• •• •••••?••••••••••••••••••••••••?•••••6•••••••• •••••••••?•••••••••••••••••••••••• ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• •••••••••••••••••• •••••• •••••• 1. The first thing you'll probably notice is that the start and finish line is surrounded by what may be the widest start/finish gate in the whole game. This is because Dry Dry Desert is completely open. Don't get any false impressions about heading out to the middle and going in small circles though; a lap only counts if you follow the map, even though you can see the entire course from certain points. 2. Be careful if you're not playing split-screen! Anyone who tries to cut corners here will be punished by Pokeys! You know, those weird spiky yellow stacks with a face. There IS one exception though: If you have a Mushroom, feel free to go straight from this point on the map. Each time you go off the track, there will be a collapsed stone column that will act as ramps, allowing you to catch some major air and get to the next leg of the desert in only three or four seconds. 3. If all has been going well, you should run into that infamous tornado around here. It starts off behind the quicksand pit and travels in the opposite direction as the racers. And, if anybody's curious, it takes about four minutes for the tornado to complete one lap of Dry Dry Desert. Just remember to avoid it, or it'll send you flying into the air and crashing down completely itemless! You should be able to see the tall dust devil from quite a distance away, but it can get you by surprise, especially if it's behind something tall. Oh, and one last thing: it goes AROUND the entrance gate, so don't worry about it getting in the way of the finish line. 4. This gets beginners every time. I always thought that it was kind of obvious that a quicksand trap should be AVOIDED, but apparently, most people don't. Anyway, the /'s on the map denotes the area of the quick- sand pit, as it's marked with a darker color on the map in the game. Both the left and the right will get you to the next part of the course in about the same time, but I'd recommend steering to the right as you enter, since the next turn will be a right. Of course, if you have a Star, you can just barge straight through the pit unfazed by the giant ant lion that lurks at the bottom. Oh, and it's best to stay completely out of the pit, on as light of sand as you can. 5. Congratulations! You're out of the quicksand obstacle. You might want to give yourself a pat on the back, but you shouldn't. Not only becuase you'll have to pass by the pit three times in a race, but you're going to be seeing a whole army of Pokeys right afterward! If it's not Time Trials and you have a shortage of Items, try aiming for right between the two P