Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is a
racing game developed and published by
Nintendo for the
GameCube and the fourth entry in the
Mario Kart series. It was released in November 2003 worldwide, being released in Japan first and later being rereleased as a
Player's Choice title in Australia and New Zealand. The game, while retaining many aspects of the previous
Mario Kart games, such as selecting a
Super Mario-franchise character as the player's driver and the familiar item-based weaponry that the series employs, introduces a feature that is unique to this entry in the
Mario Kart series: the two-person karts, hence the title of the game. Two characters handle a single kart, where one character drives and the other uses items, and they can switch positions at any time if necessary. This is the only game in the franchise where two players can play cooperatively in one kart, with each player handling a single character, though the option to play in separate two-person karts for each player is still available. In addition, the game introduces
Special Items, items that are exclusive to a pair of characters. The game is one of the few games to take advantage of LAN Mode via the
Nintendo GameCube Broadband Adapter, which allows up to sixteen players to participate in a single race.
