We've been playing a lot of Mario Kart Double Dash lately, and are well on our way to unlocking everything. Lately I've been noticing something about the game engine; it will hit you when you're down. If you stay in first place for the first two laps, you better be ready for the vicious onslaught of shells and bananas and bob-ombs. There was one moment when we got hit with a red shell, and before we even stopped tumbling a green shell smacked into us right before Bowser swerves into frame and pushes us clear off the track, only to be brought back up and land on a banana. 1st place to 8th in less than 5 seconds.
Sometimes this happens in real life. Maybe you lose a job. Boom, Red Shell. Then your other job has to close for a few days so you miss a week. Bam, Green Shell. Right as this happens a bill arrives in your mailbox. Shoved off the track. And then- your computer, one of the most expensive things you own (which is also your only other way of making money) breaks down. You just landed on a banana. 1st to 8th.
This is very real and happens to everyone. There isn't a single player on that track that doesn't get royally screwed at some point in the race.
But there is something people don't generally talk about when they go into the whole "life will kick you while you're down" rant.
There are boosts.
What makes Mario Kart Double Dash such a fun game, is that the worse you do on the track, the better items you get. Oh you're in 8th place? Have a golden mushroom. Not doing so well? Here's a Chain Chomp to help you along. The same kind of stuff happens in life too.
We may get hit by those pesky shells and bombs, or even fall off the track completely, but there's always something great waiting for us when we get back on the track.
That's why people keep playing. That's why having those Mario Kart tournaments are so much fun. No one goes home and broods over the fact that they ran into a bob-omb, or ran into a bad mystery box.
They remember laughing with their friends, and how they caught up after being hit while they were down. They remember their friends' ridiculous hollering and victory dances, and the good time it was and how they can't wait for the next tournament.
Those are the boosts life gives you. It may be a hard time for you as far as the world is concerned, but no amount of shells or hits can take away those boosts. They will always be there, and keep coming to you.
(And lucky for us- there is no finish line. The game just keeps going, and the fun continues.)
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