In this new feature I take a look back at my beloved gaming diary and the games blowing my mind on this week, in the past. The first entry has us travel back to November 2003 for a (double) dash of karting fun.

12 years have passed since that wonderful day, yet the lush green jungle, gigantic mountains and hair-raising turns still shine bright in the depths of my heart… When I lay in my bed at night I still hear her beautiful voice echo in my mind, the soft calm of night rudely awakened by her brash, confident statement… “Hi, I’m Daisy!”.

Yes, over a decade has passed but time hasn’t faded this beautiful gem. Still as fresh as that magical Christmas morning that I ripped through the wrapping paper and spent quality time with my GameCube (the true meaning of Christmas), Double Dash!! is proof that games can age just as well as a fine wine or Leonardo DiCaprio.

Mario Kart: Double Dash!! made it’s European debut on November 14th, 2003. When I wasn’t listening to Busted or chatting in Cube-Europe, this is where my 12 year old-self would be spending most evenings, and rightly so.

Taking the classic Mario Kart madness and giving the pot a little stir with the addition of dual racers (one driver and one item/dirty look thrower), this Mario Kart felt unique and star-studded. Whilst there were still only 8 racers, the fact that 16 characters were in a race at any time made it feel more chaotic and fun than ever.

But looking back, I do wonder… what was my reaction in 2003?

“Gone are the days of strict entry on the race-track, they’re letting any old beast in now! Birdo, Boo, Petey Piranah, the character roster is a non-stop rollercoaster ride as manic as Wario Colosseum! Items are now an eclectic mix of Chain-Chomps, gigantic Bowser Shells, Bob-Ombs, Blue Shells with wings, Mushrooms are now golden and last for 10 seconds! You no longer just slider around a corner, you Power-Slide! Everything in Double Dash is so exciting, so new, so over-the-top! I can barely breathe! Can you? This title is non-stop, we need another explanation point! Wait, no, DOUBLE (Dash) IT!!”

That was the general feel of Double Dash, if Mario Kart was crazy before then its mentally un-hinged now. No longer held back by the restraints of the SNES or N64, Double Dash allowed the Mario Kart series to run wild and it didn’t stop with the items and characters.

Double Dash was, for me, the first Mario Kart to truly nail the modern formula. Previous titles hold a special place in Nintendo and core-gamers hearts, but it wasn’t until Double-Dash that the series truly opened up for hardcore and casual gamers and turned it into the true party-monster it is now, with its increased use of items, tweaked handling for non Power-Sliders (or filth, as they’re otherwise known) and the ability to have your friend play as the second character on the vehicle instead of in their own kart (for the ultra-noobs).

Double Dash offered the usual 4-player multiplayer for the average Cube user but also did a series first (and last) by allowing a whopping 16-players take to the track thanks to the GameCube LAN adapter if you had enough Cubes, TV’s and willing racers - making the GameCube Mario Kart a multi-player dream.

The courses were fun and imaginative and full of such memorable moments, too. Nothing quite compares to when I first got shot out of our beloved apes big cannon into the distance on DK Mountain, hurtling down in my barrel train with Baby Luigi hanging on for dear life in the back, as we dodged falling boulders and gingerly wobbled past the narrow cliff edge.

The wonderful winding roads of Yoshi Circuit where I spent many evenings perfecting my Power-Sliding skills (and getting a high score for CUBE magazine, though it was tragically topped before the issue went to print!) and the dazzling heights (and blinding lights) of what is still one of the most beautiful Rainbow Road levels the series has conceived will be etched in my mind for eternity (and passed over to The Cloud when I'm gone). 

Battle Mode was also a dream, far surpassing the filthy turd served to us in Mario Kart 8, it retained the beauiful simplicity of the N64 '3 balloons and you're dead' rule whilst adding a few new modes too. It also plays host to Luigi's Mansion, one of the best battle arenas ever conceived, only being beaten by the holy Block Fort of Mario Kart 64. When I win the lottery, be assured that the first purchases on my list will be a bunch of karts, a haunted mansion and a mass supply of bananas. 

Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is a sight to behold, a black sheep of the Mario Kart series, an entry that went wild with new ideas never before possible, before they were refined into the more traditional Mario Kart ideals for later entries. It’s this lack of fear, creative freedom and one-off ideas for the series that set this Mario Kart apart from the rest and makes it the Marmite experience it is. Some love it, some find it a bizarre entry that’s too far from the series roots – I say, this is a perfect example of breaking the mould and going all out with new ideas.

A revelation for the series that pushed boundaries back then and still a joy to play now. If you’re a fan of any of the newer entries then you owe it to yourself to try this, the Super Mario Bros. 2 of the Mario Kart universe. Also, did anyone catch the name of that brunette? I like the cut of her jib.