Rank em (taking into account their rarity as well)

In theory, but I'd much rather have a green shell. Double Dash shells are massive and cause a tumble whereas fireballs are small, can bounce over your target, and only cause a spin which keeps like 80% of the target's speed anyway.

chomp is the best one

Chomp is very overrated. You can get knocked out of it with any item and doesn't get you very far quickly like the golden mushroom. In addition, the rollercoaster in Baby Kart, the thing that shows up above the track occasionally that's just supposed to be for aesthetics and have no impact on gameplay, destroys the Chain Chomp due to how big it is.

Fireballs are a decent offense/defense item
Eggs are only good if you hit someone close and then get lucky with picking up a star
Bowser shell is top tier since it forces item dropping if hit by it
Bomb is very good, basically blue shell explosions that you can hold on to in first place
Chomp is god awful
Heart is top tier, its basically more defense from red shells
Golden shroom is for the weak and stupid
Triple shells are top tier
Big banana is the best since you get it often in first place and you can trap many ramps with it

Gold mushroom is the objective best item in the game. Ban Toads because this shit isn't fun when only one person can get it.
Chomp robs you of control and can just kill you for no fucking reason. It could have been good since it makes you faster, but it simply isn't.
Eggs are secret god tier but only because you can get stars in first if you smash them into walls instead of other players.
Fire and shells are all irrelevant. Red shells being the worst since shell homing in Double Dash is garbage.
Big banana is funny, but inconsequential. Bobomb is impossible to aim, but maybe you're a god gamer and can make it work.
Bowser shell is hype and if you get hit in a way that drops it on the course you ruin the map for everyone. It destroys held items too which makes it the best attack item.
Heart is disgustingly strong against specific things. Even if you didn't get the stolen item yourself invalidating 2 attacks would be strong enough.

>people saying Chomp is the best
>lose control
>can't take shortcuts
>can let you go at a sharp turn
>forgetting the chain can be broken early
>you can still be hit by most items

golden mushroom (versus) >> giant banana >> bowser's shell > hearts (versus) > triple reds > the rest.

Golden mushroom is busted in versus because you can get it in 2nd place. Giant banana is top tier in general for multiple reasons: they're the 1st place special item, they clog up narrow areas, they split into more bananas after breaking, and they can act as a powerful short ranged attack against anyone in front of you. Bowser's shell is the best projectile item in the game. Hearts are an amazing defensive item and is much easier to come by in versus. While powerful, triple reds are much weaker in double dash because you'll lose two of them if you get hit and they are held instead of revolving around you.

>Trying to push a narrative that Chomp is shit
Nice try Any Forums, but you won't stop me from using the based Baby Mario/Parakoops duo on the Barrel Train.

what is
>parakoopa/toad barrel train
>parakoopa/toadette barrel train
>parakoopa/bj barrel train
and of course who could forget
>parakoopa/koopa troopa barrel train

Chomp, hearts and golden mushroom.
Honorable mention to the triple red shells.

>parakoopa blowjob barrel train
WOO WOO

:)

In order best to worst:
3 red shells- home in on target, 3 uses allows you to potentially pass 3 racers, good for getting rid of opponent's defensive options while still having shells, gives you 3 defensive options as well
Golden Shroom- great increase in speed, can generally help you pass several racers and steal their items, good for short-cuts
Hearts- sole defensive option for 2 hits, blocks all items and gives you said item, best defensive option
Bowser shell- giant shell that can knock over multiple riders, destroys all items, slows opponents down greatly and removes their items, can hurt you back
3 green shells- similar to red shells without it's ability to home in, harder to hit and can hit you after bounce, still strong defensive tool
Bob-omb- blows up opponents, they get slowed down greatly and lose their items, risky defensive item, large explosion can screw over other drivers but also yourself
Fireball- multi-hit fireballs that bounce in all directions, hits multiple opponents and slows them down greatly, pretty good defensively, good for short range, harder to hit at longer ranges, can hit you back
Chain Chomp- giant chomp destroys most things in it's path, increases speed and can drag you several spots ahead, weak to Bowser shell, bob-ombs, and hearts, can be hit out of chomp from behind, occasional jank can have chomp hit you upon use, not too reliable
Eggs- 1 single homing attack, on hit randomly drops 3 items, depending on placement and what item it is item could help opponent, slightly better red shell
Large banana- spins opponents and spawns 3 bananas, large size makes it somewhat difficult to avoid, hard to aim properly, smaller bananas can screw you over next lap

I was more of a Bullet Blaster guy with Koopa and Toad.

Is Paratroopa actually faster somehow? I thought DD just had weight classes and no character stats.

Would it be possible to balance double karts among standard ones and motorcycles if they were all options in MK9? Double karts meaning two items, of course. I think it would have to be its own mode.

Yeah by giving them the turning and mini-turbos of DD karts while the solo karts have the modern mechanics

Chomp is shit
Best combo is Parakoopa/Bowser Bowser kart
Speed/weight>acceleration if you're good

this
>nail someone
>probably get a star for free too
massive banana is also good because you can get it in first, and bowser shell is just fucking hilarious in baby park

You are correct, just weight classes. Paratroopa is always the first to be picked because they are the ONLY character with triple reds, an item color difference that actually means something and a powerful something at that. From there you have free reign over kart choice and as stated there are 4 other small characters with great items (6 if you think chomp is good) that allow you to choose barrel train (good kart).

But how come he always gets picked for time trials too then?