History VideoGame / MarioKartDoubleDash

** [[VideoGame/MarioKart8 While not standardized]], off-road is a recovery stat, being often linked to acceleration; however, other types of characters have this power [[MightyGlacier without forcingly being so quick]] and/or actually being too heavy to be considered "fragile", making it a [[StoneWall defensive]] stat for them.

* NitroBoost: The Mushroom item, as per the series standard, gives a boost when used. Mushroom Bridge and Mushroom City also have a car that dispenses a Mushroom onto the track if someone rams it. The Golden Mushroom, which gives you however many boosts you can get in ten or fifteen seconds, is the Special Item of Toad and Toadette in this game.

* OminousPipeOrgan: There's one in the music from Bowser's Castle and Luigi's Mansion.

** [[ShipLevel Daisy Cruiser]]

** Turbo, being on a line between acceleration and top speed, can be considered a [[SquishyWizard magic]] stat: it is always {{Fragile Speedster}}s' weapon to compensate their low top speed, but it can also be {{Glass Cannon}}s' power to increase their performances on the road; along with the latter, some [[MightyGlacier heavyweight]] vehicles also have this power in ''VideoGame/MarioKartWii'' and are the slowest to start to compensate.

* GlassCannon: The Bullet Blaster (which, fittingly, looks like a Banzai Bill) is the lightest vehicle and the most vulnerable to off-road, but its top speed is comparable to the heaviest karts and it still gets great turbos after drifts. The Green Fire is a more moderate example, having the best top speed of middleweights, but average turbos. It is also the slowest to start in their category and one of their lightest vehicles.

* OneStatToRuleThemAll: While top speed has its importance, acceleration remains the core stat because of the turbos it gives to vehicles. See GlassCannon for further explanations.

* StoneWall: Piranha Pipes and Boo Pipes have the best off-road for heavyweight vehicles and while the former has a good top speed, the latter's acceleration is comparable to lightweights. However, they suck where their counterpart shines and both turbos are mediocre. Waluigi Racer is a moderate example: it is the second heaviest middleweight car with Turbo Yoshi and its off-road is comparable to the lightest vehicles, but its top speed and acceleration are only average and its turbos are mediocre.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mario_kart_double_dash.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:Double the players and twice the dash!]]

See also ''VideoGame/GensouSkydrift'' and ''VideoGame/CrashTagTeamRacing'', two other {{Racing Game}}s with similar tag-team mechanic.

See also ''VideoGame/GensouSkydrift'', another RacingGame with a similar tag team mechanic.

* WealthyYachtOwner: Starting from this game, Princess Daisy owns a luxury cruise ship known as Daisy Cruiser. It has appeared as a race course here as well as in ''VideoGame/MarioKart7'', and can also be seen in the background of other courses from ''Double Dash!!'' onwards.

** In terms of characters, it is the only home console ''Mario Kart'' game where Toad is an unlockable character, though this was most likely done so as not to spoil Toadette's debut. Also, Paratroopa remains exclusive to this game, while Petey Piranha was for nineteen years until his return in ''VideoGame/MarioKartTour''. In addition, until the release of ''VideoGame/MarioKart8'', this was the only game where Daisy is available from the beginning.

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Petey Piranha and Koopa Paratroopa have not appeared in any Mario Kart games since. Hacks of ''Mario Kart Wii'' reveal that they were once considered for inclusion in that game, but since they didn't the absence has been upheld to this day.

** In terms of characters, it is the only home console ''Mario Kart'' game where Toad is an unlockable character, though this was most likely done so as not to spoil Toadette's debut. Also, Paratroopa and Petey Piranha remain exclusive to this game (Though Petey Piranha would show up again in ''VideoGame/MarioKartTour'' nineteen years later). In addition, until the release of ''VideoGame/MarioKart8'', this was the only game where Daisy is available from the beginning

* CanonForeigner: An unusual example that doesn't happen in the main game itself. [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade Saint Elimine]] will appear if you link up the bonus disk to your Blazing Blade copy to get her to give you items.

** Peach and Daisy have the [[HeartSymbol Heart]]. When used, it summons a barrier made of hearts around the vehicle, which not only protects them from up to two weaker items (Spiny Shells, Chain Chomps, and Bob-ombs can bypass this) thrown at them or left on the track, but also makes the passenger pick up the item they were protected from, letting them use it themselves.

** In terms of characters, it is the only home console ''Mario Kart'' game where Toad is an unlockable character, though this was most likely done so as not to spoil Toadette's debut. Also, Paratroopa and Petey Piranha remain exclusive to this game.

Changes from the previous installments include, most noticeably, the fact that players must choose two characters per kart, which means that two players can also play as one kart. And every two characters share a special item that is exclusive to them (save for King Boo and Petey Piranha, who can use any special item). Also unique to this game is All-Cup Tour, which is a fifth cup in which every course must be completed in a random order, always beginning with Luigi Circuit and ending with Rainbow Road. None of these features have been brought back in any other game, though ''Mario Kart 8 Deluxe'' would bring back the ability to hold two items at once. The game consists of twenty characters overall, the highest amount for a ''Mario Kart'' before ''Wii'' had twenty four, which means ten pairs. Eight karts on the track at all times.

[[quoteright:299:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/double_dash.png]]
[[caption-width-right:299:Double the players and twice the dash!]]

* UnlockableContent: Past installments in the series were very humble as far as unlockables go (in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioKart'', the unlockables are the Special Cup and then the 150cc difficulty mode; in ''VideoGame/MarioKart64'', it is just Mirror Mode, known in the game as "Extra"; in ''[[VideoGame/MarioKartSuperCircuit Super Circuit]]'', it's the 20 SNES tracks). From ''Double Dash'' onward, however, the unlockable content has increased in both quantity and variety within each installment, including characters, Cups (including the aforementioned Special), vehicles and, once again, Mirror Mode.

* NintendoHard: Mirror Mode All-Cup Tour gets a special mention.