By perfection I don't mean that the franchise is perfect. There is always room for expansion, no matter how good the game and/or series may be. For instance, I'm sure they could add new gameplay modes, characters, etc., but all of that would be just gravy. However, these additions, to me, are definetly worth the upgrade, and the new depth and innovation added by the character-swapping system makes a huge difference when it comes to gameplay.

Is Mario Kart: Double Dash!! overly new and original? Of course not. Is it a revolution of the Kart Racing genre? It's arguable. Is it a fun as hell game? You bet. The impression I received from IGN's review is that the reviewer is mad that Nintendo didn't add a whole lot, and evidently, it takes more to entertain someone these days. I don't remember playing much more than Battle Mode, 2-player, and Grand Prix in the original. These three gameplay modes kept me entertained for more than one hundred hours. Now, what do we have in DD? All of these, and their formulas, as far as I can tell, are more refined than ever. While yes, they are relatively the same, the key changes to the gameplay should give the series the extra "burst" of innovation that will keep us playing for just as long as the original.

I don't deny that the game may not be as magical as its previous installations, but as long as the game is fun, has good controls, decent graphics/framerate, and a good sound selection, I'm hooked, and Double Dash seems to contain all of these. I really don't know. Perhaps people simply need an overpowering orgy of choice (which of most won't be used for more than half an hour) to be fully satisfied.