Edge famously awarded Mario Kart: Double Dash on the Gamecube a mediocre five out of ten when it reviewed the game back in 2003. The publication has now decided to take a look back at some of its more controversial reviews to see whether or not they were right to dish out such harsh scores. Here’s what they have to say about Mario Kart: Double Dash.

What we said: “There are 16 courses on offer, and one of them is a ten-second dodgem track…  even if you are the best karter in the country, you still cannot guarantee anything. It is often an acceptable game, an average one. The co-operative mode, in which one player drives and the other throws stuff, is neat, though mostly redundant given that most pairs will prefer to drive a kart each. Mario Kart isn’t a racing game any more. It is a party game, and anyone buying it for anything more than frantic, foolish, social fun will grow tired of being cheated very quickly indeed.” [5]

What we got wrong: That ten-second dodgem track, Baby Park, is Mario Kart at its brilliant, chaotic best; if you thought a blue shell up the backside with the finish line in sight was as maddening as Mario Kart gets, try spending the final lap weaving in and out of banana skins only to be hit by a green shell that’s been bouncing around the course since lap one. The co-op mode served one Edge spouse as a gentle introduction to a series that had always appealed from afar but frustrated in the hands.

What we got right: Few would contest that Mario Kart - on Nintendo’s home consoles at least – is now more party game than pure racer. It remains, by some distance, the worst game in the series, with no real sense of speed and, Baby Park aside, some lacklustre track designs.