One of the most exciting things about new video game consoles is that it often means that old franchises can experience sequels or reboots that take advantage of the new available hardware. Both Mario Kart and F-Zero are two of Nintendo’s best franchises and are both crazy racing games. Both series have experienced many titles through the years, but the Gamecube was an important console for the series.
The Gamecube featured both Mario Kart: Double Dash and F-Zero GX, two games that push their franchises to unique places. Accordingly, here are 5 reasons why Mario Kart: Double Dash is the best racer on the Nintendo Gamecube and 5 reasons why it’s F-Zero GX.
10 Mario Kart: Double Dash: The Two-Driver Concept
The majority of the Mario Kart titles don’t rock the boat and more or less keep the exact same formula, instead with the focus on new characters and tracks. The Gamecube sequel had a tough act to follow after Mario Kart 64 and it took some risks for better or for worse.
One of the biggest changes in Double Dash is how it allows players to put two characters in their vehicles and really takes advantage of the complex concept.
9 F-Zero GX: Its Speed
If there’s anything that the F-Zero series tries to pride itself in, it’s the exaggerated, ridiculous speed that the races operate at. The Mario Kart games are by no means slow, especially with the help of a mushroom at the racer’s disposal, but F-Zero GX moves at a whole other level.
It’s almost a little disorienting to keep up with the game at first and it takes some time to acclimate to the speed, but for those that are looking for that kind of adrenaline rush then there’s really no substitute for F-Zero GX.
8 Mario Kart: Double Dash: The Diverse Roster And Many Unlockables
Part of the fun in Mario Kart titles is in the collection of entertaining characters that the game pulls together from the corners of Mario’s universe. The Mario Kart games always have a set roster of familiar faces, but Double Dash beefs up the list of characters in some surprising ways. Many of these characters are from the sidelines and it’s a treat to play as them for the first time, but the game also introduces the series’ running obsession with baby versions of characters. Add to that plenty of vehicle customization and Double Dash offers a lot to players.
7 F-Zero GX: Its Connectivity With F-Zero AX
Nintendo has always been a company that likes to experiment with innovation and cross-promotion between products and technology. There was actually an F-Zero arcade game released, called F-Zero AX. Regardless of the arcade game’s relevance in North America, it’s amazing to hear that the Gamecube game could unlock additional content from the arcade title through the use of its memory card. Players even found that a full version of F-Zero AX is actually hidden away on the game’s disc and that the connection between these titles goes even deeper.
6 Mario Kart: Double Dash: Its Battle Mode
The Mario Kart games are always going to be best known for the actual racing and complexity of the tracks, but the series has been careful to include a comprehensive battle mode that caters to another side of competition. Mario Kart: Double Dash benefits from the many different ways that it allows players to wage war against one another and it benefits gamers who aren’t the best at conventional races. F-Zero GX keeps things much more traditional when it comes to its race modes and doesn’t offer as much in that area.
5 F-Zero GX: Its Story Mode
The Mario Kart games can get by on their brand recognition alone and regardless if it’s a good game or not, it’s still probably going to sell a lot of copies. F-Zero has to work a lot harder and so it’s impressive to see it actually incorporate a story mode and complex narrative into this racing game. F-Zero GX is exceptional as a multiplayer racing game, but the mission challenges in its single-player campaign are actually difficult and not made for casual gamers. They require a mastery of the techniques or the customization of vehicles.
4 Mario Kart: Double Dash: Its Use Of Both Classic And Original Tracks
The Mario Kart franchise has been going on long enough that it’s been able to build a level of nostalgia into itself. The games still feature new and innovative track designs, but there have been so many classic courses at this point that there are even entire cups devoted to retro tracks. Mario Kart: Double Dash is late enough into the series that it gets to feature the best of both worlds and it comments on its history in a way that’s just not as possible in F-Zero GX.
3 F-Zero GX: Its Amount Of Unlockables
Racing games should prioritize the actual racing before they should start to worry about extra content and unlockables. That being said, F-Zero GX really strives to pack itself in tons of content for dedicated players. GX has double the amount of characters that Double Dash does and it actually does something with all of them. These characters may not mean as much to the general audience, but they’re at least all diverse with unique backstories. F-Zero GX also includes unlockable cups, tracks, vehicles, parts, new difficulties, and even staff ghosts that can be purchased and then raced against.
2 Mario Kart: Double Dash: Mixing Up The Number Of Laps
Racing titles aren’t the most complex of games and as a result of this, it can be easy for a lot of tracks to blend together or become derivative of the past. Mario Kart: Double Dash tries to fight against this problem by how it gets creative with the number of laps in its courses. Up until this point, tracks have always had three laps, but Double Dash brings levels like Baby Park into the mix that add variety to both the number of laps and their length, which gives the franchise such unpredictability and life.
1 F-Zero GX: The Character Mini-Movies
In racing games, story can be administered in the most basic of ways for racers, but F-Zero GX strives for more and actually tries to use flashy story sequences as a reward for players’ hard work. In the game, each character gets an entertaining movie that reveals their backstory after the completion of their story mode. This goes much further than anything that’s done in Double Dash and it adds an individualized slant and incentive to play as each of these characters, whereas it can feel less warranted in Mario Kart.