History YMMV / MarioKartDoubleDash

** The frantic nature of ''Double Dash!!'', notably the avalanche of items which get thrown at you and the unique physics of the karts compared to previous and following installments, either gives the game a unique charm or makes it absolutely unplayable.

** The meme of "Getting pelted by every item at once" is often associated as starting as early as ''VideoGame/MarioKartDS'', but it actually came from this game. Part of the reason is that it was this game and ''DS'' that had the AI be much more {{spiteful|AI}}. In this game's case, it also didn't help that having two characters per kart meant doubling the amount of items that would be flung every which way.

** "'''[[NoIndoorVoice HI, I'M DAISY!]]'''"[[labelnote:Explanation]] Daisy shouts this particular line when switching characters mid-race and when winning first place, and it's really, '''''really loud''''', and became legendarily annoying among fans. This is the only game in which she says this line, but in spite of this, practically anything referencing Daisy online will inevitably bring this line up as if it's her catchphrase, and has resulted in the dialog also haunting Daisy in every game onward, no matter what context she appears in.[[/labelnote]]

* SugarWiki/AwesomeArt: One of the many praises this game still gets up to this day is how visually appealing the art style is, even when compared to future title like ''VideoGame/MarioKartWii''. Sure the models may be very low poly and cheaply made, and the lighting can be a bit too shiny and flat in some places, but the environments are bustling with personality and charm with bold, vibrant colors filling up every turn. Even the menus look really visually appealing, with their bright neon colors and colorful backgrounds.

* BrokenBase: The whole "crew of two" mechanic. Either it's one of the most innovative features to be introduced to the entire ''Mario Kart'' franchise and needs to make a return, or it's one of the worst aspects about ''Double Dash!!'' and it's a good thing it has yet to be brought back. [[TakeAThirdOption There are also those]] who were completely indifferent to the whole mechanic, but there have been some debates among fans of the first two camps on if the feature should or should not return in a future entry.

** Petey Piranha had ''Double Dash'' as his only playable appearance in the series for decades, yet remained a popular character among fans of the series since then. [[TheBusCameBack His comeback]] in ''Tour'' and ''8 Deluxe'' was praised for this precise reason.
** Diddy Kong was a very popular addition to the series in this game, as he originated in the Creator/{{Rare}}-made ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'' series. Like Petey Piranha, his comeback in ''Tour'' and ''8 Deluxe'' was welcomed.
** Despite not being as efficient as the Bullet Bill, the Chain Chomp item still has its fan because of how ''erratic'' it is and the chaos it causes after it's unleashed.

** [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade Elimine]], saint of ''Mario Kart''[[labelnote:Explanation]]Elimine is one of the eight legends in Elibe's lore, yet the only time she ever appeared in physical form is in a bonus disc issued with preorders of ''Double Dash!!''. Here, when having a copy of ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade Blazing Blade]]'' linked to the [=GameCube=], she grants the player bonus items that normally wouldn't be found in-game, before vanishing off. Because of this, she became the butt of jokes to most ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' fans [[NeverLiveItDown as she was only remembered for appearing in a]] ''[[NeverLiveItDown Mario Kart]]'' [[NeverLiveItDown game of all things, let alone a bonus disc of one]]. The meme saw a resurgence when she finally made her actual debut in the ''Fire Emblem'' franchise with ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes Heroes]]'' in January 2022 as an Astra Mythic Hero.[[/labelnote]]

** Petey Piranha had ''Double Dash'' as his only playable appearance in the series for decades (until ''Tour'' and ''8 Deluxe'' brought him back), yet remained a popular character among fans of the series since then.
** Diddy Kong was a very popular addition to the series in this game, as he originated in the Creator/{{Rare}}-made ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'' series.

* GrowingTheBeard: Fans are divided as to whether or not it was this game, ''VideoGame/MarioKartDS'', or ''VideoGame/MarioKart64'' when the series ''really'' grew the beard. In particular, this is when the series grew the beard in making the AI actually pose an actual threat to the player in terms of items, as well as introducing/reintroducing many fan favorite characters that have since become staples of ''Mario'' spinoffs.

* BreakoutCharacter: Toadette. ''Double Dash'' was her first-ever appearance in the series, and she was initially only created because Toad needed a partner, and she was unlockable (meaning she's mostly absent from most of the game's promotional materials). Despite this, she quickly became popular among ''Mario'' fans in general and would eventually go on to feature in the mainline series as a playable character come ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRun'', ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosU Deluxe'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosWonder''.

* BreakoutCharacter: Toadette. ''Double Dash'' was her first-ever appearance in the series, and she was initially only created because Toad needed a partner, and she was unlockable (meaning she's mostly absent from most of the game's promotional materials). Despite this, she quickly became popular among ''Mario'' fans in general and would eventually go on to feature in the mainline series as a playable character come ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosU Deluxe'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosWonder''.

* GrowingTheBeard: Fans are divided as to whether or not it was this game, ''VideoGame/MarioKartDS'', or ''VideoGame/MarioKart64'' when the series ''really'' grew the beard. In particular, this is when the series grew the beard in making the AI actually pose somewhat of a threat to the player in terms of items, as well as introducing many fan favorite characters that have since become staples of ''Mario'' spinoffs.

* SelfImposedChallenge: Getting 160 points on All-Cup Tour in either 150cc or Mirror mode is brutal due to its length, which has the player get first place on all sixteen Grand Prix tracks [[MarathonLevel in one go]], without breaks, retries or checkpoints. Together with the [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard computer racer AI]], which already dumps a barrage of item-assaults (including Spiny Shells, of course) your way if you pull too far ahead in 1st place too often, and the pairs of AI racers are completely randomized and thus the variety of special items you can get pelted with increases significantly. Getting denied this achievement [[DownToTheLastPlay on Rainbow Road]] is a good way to receive a noise complaint from your neighbors.

* BreakoutCharacter: Toadette. ''Double Dash'' was her first-ever appearance in the series, and she was initially only created because Toad needed a partner - not to mention that she was unlockable, meaning she's mostly absent from most of the game's promotional materials. Despite this, she quickly became popular among ''Mario'' fans in general and would eventually go on to feature in the mainline series as a playable character come ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosU Deluxe'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosWonder''.

** Plenty of characters got this upon being playable in this game, such as Petey Piranha and Toadette, the latter of whom made her debut here.

** Koopa and Paratroopa's special items are triple red and green shells, items that anyone can get in the other ''Mario Kart'' games, but in this game they have exclusive access to them. The Chain Chomp might be powerful, but it doesn't come close to the BoringButPractical "more things to throw at the enemy / destroy oncoming projectiles with".

** Plenty of characters got this upon being playable in this game, such as Petey Piranha and Toadette, who made her debut.

** In ''VideoGame/MarioKart64'' and its GBA successor, ''Super Circuit'', the Blue Shell worked like a red shell, but can hit every driver in front of the one who threw it and finished with the one in the first place; this game, however, marks the debut of the (much more hated) flying version of the item, that only hits the first-place driver with an explosion that takes five to ten seconds to recover. By the time the first-place driver is back on track, the second-place driver is likely to have already surpassed them, and usually said second racer is the only one taking any advantage of the weapon. It took Nintendo two more games (''Mario Kart DS'' and ''Mario Kart Wii'') to either realize the mistake themselves or to notice the item's infamy among fans before reverting the item to its non-flying form (while still exploding when hitting the head racer) in ''VideoGame/MarioKart7''.
** The inclusion of Baby Mario and Baby Luigi has become this, with fans bemoaning that (even in ''Mario Kart 8 Deluxe'') there are several characters slots taken up by baby characters.

** The meme of "Getting pelted by every item at once" is often associated as starting ''VideoGame/MarioKartDS'', but it actually came from this game. Part of the reason is that it was this game and ''DS'' that had the AI be much more {{spiteful|AI}}. In this game's case, it also didn't help that having two characters per kart meant doubling the amount of items that would be flung every which way.

* GrowingTheBeard: Fans are divided as to whether or not it was this game, ''VideoGame/MarioKartDS'', or ''VideoGame/MarioKart64'' when they ''really'' grew the beard. In particular, this is when the series grew the beard in making the AI actually pose somewhat of a threat to the player in terms of items.

** On one of the promotional websites for the game, Lakitu mentions that although he's been in every single Mario Kart game, he's never been a racer. Since ''VideoGame/MarioKart7'', he's an unlockable character.
** The name of one track in this game is '''Peach Beach'''. ''VideoGame/SenranKagura'' eventually released a game called '''Peach Beach''' Splash. Naturally, callbacks to this track began cropping up once people realized this.

** "'''[[NoIndoorVoice HI, I'M DAISY!]]'''"[[labelnote:Explanation]] Daisy shouts this particular line when switching characters mid-race and when winning first place, and it's really, '''''really loud''''', and became legendarily annoying among fans. This is the only game in which she says this line, but in spite of this, practically anything referencing Daisy online will inevitably bring this line up as if it's her catchphrase, and has resulted in the dialog also haunting Daisy in every game onward, no matter the context she appears in.[[/labelnote]]

* OlderThanTheyThink: Thought "WALUIGI TIME" debuted in ''Webcomic/BrawlInTheFamily''? TOO BAD! It was first said in this game. In addition, [[BeamMeUpScotty Waluigi has never said the "TOO BAD!" part]].

** Having two characters per kart brings with it a problem not seen in any other ''Mario Kart'' game. Your second driver (the one that throws items) can get incapacitated if you get caught in an explosion, or very bad crash. Worst case is, [[TheDragAlong they get dragged along]] for up to 10 seconds screaming and yelling, leaving you [[ControllableHelplessness completely unable]] to attack or defend against other racers.
** If either of your characters is holding multiple items at once(Triple shells, triple mushrooms), getting spun out will cause them to drop all but one of the items. It makes sense since both partners are only holding items with one hand but it doesn't make it sting less to be lagging behind, get something decent and then immediately get the rug pulled on you because you hit a banana or ran into an obstacle on the track. Even more infuriating in the case of mushrooms since they end up littered on the track for anyone to use.
** Unlike most other games in the series, you cannot drag items behind you for defense. Items are always held in-hand by the characters, forcing you to react quickly if a red shell approaches and pray you're not in the middle of a turn.
* SelfImposedChallenge: Getting 160 points on All-Cup Tour in either 150cc or Mirror mode. It is brutal due to its length, which has the player get first place on all sixteen Grand Prix tracks [[MarathonLevel in one go]], without breaks (barring pausing), retries or checkpoints. Together with the [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard computer racer AI]], which already dumps a barrage of item-assaults (including Winged Blue Shells, of course) your way if you pull too far ahead in 1st place too often, and the pairs of AI racers are completely randomized and thus the variety of special items you can get pelted with increases significantlly. Getting denied this achievement [[DownToTheLastPlay on Rainbow Road]] is a good way to receive a [[AtomicFBomb noise complaint from your neighbors]].