Which is to say: too many.
The same goes for other popular series.
Smash Bros. And the answer is nearly always the same: the first one you played.
My first Pokemon game was Silver.
You guessed it SoulMelee.
But Mario Kart bucks the trend, for me at least.
The first time I ever set my tyres down on the track of Mario Circuit wasMario Kart DS.
And then I played Mario Kart 8.
The absence of Funky Kong is almost unforgivable, but Nintendo soon rectified that.
The same goes for Super Smash Bros.
But its not myfavouriteMario Kart game.
), I went to university.
Ocarina of Time, The Wind Waker, and Majoras Mask were first up.
We played some Metroid and helped rid Luigis Mansion of its pesky ghost problem.
But mostly we played Smash Bros. Melee and Mario Kart: Double Dash.
Credit: SwitchUp YouTube
I could recite a dissertation of fond memories from this too-short year of gaming in our shared basement.
Double Dash was our bread and butter.
But Double Dash adds so much to the action.
The second character, the second item, the animations of having your tag team of driver and thrower.
Thats why I love it dearly.
But its also perfect for the Switch 2.
Credit: SwitchUp YouTube
Firstly, youve got the naming convention.
A sequel and a sequel.
Double Dash on the Nintendo Switch Double, perhaps?
Switching between your two characters could form some kind of console-name pun a la 1-2 Switch.
Mario Kart: Double Dash 2: Switch Em Up, anyone?
Okay, Im stretching there.
But how do you follow up Mario Kart 8 Deluxe?
Mario Kart 9 wouldnt work, how do you better perfection?
So you have to make the follow-up unique.
Adding a gimmick, such as a second driver, is perfect for that.
Double Dash is the perfect answer.
Multiplayer will definitely be a strong component of the game, so lets look there first.
But could Nintendo change that up for a modern audience?
Could the double-driver gimmick offer more opportunities for a Zelda-esque reinvention of the series?
We could have a host of new power-ups for new character combinations.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe didnt reinvent the wheel, it perfected it.
Make it a hexagon, give it a rainbow sheen.
Or add another driver.
The failure of the Wii U set the Switch up for massive success.
The Switch 2 can’t run that playbook.
