Dash is measure of character's energy. A character gets Dash constantly over time unless it is in state that prevents it, such as knocked down or in sliding motion. Most normal character racing states (standing, running, jumping, skiing, swimming, ...) restore Dash at the same rate. The amount of Dash obtained over certain period of time is not affected by any of character stats and is the same for all characters.
Except for automatic refilling, Dash can be also restored the following ways:
- by Bamping other characters with lower Power stat
- by successful Landing Dash
- by picking up and using Rice Cake item
- by hitting another character with a Capsule Item (trap or missile)
- by picking up Daddy Octopus or Mommy Octopus leftover after corresponding missile
Dash Gauge is the right half of a circle around the character's head displayed during a race and it is full at the start of each race. Dash is displayed in blue color in the gauge. Dash from the gauge is used for dashing - as long as the Dash key is pressed, the character is accelerating up to its Dashing Speed and amount of Dash stored in the gauge is reduced at a constant rate. When the Dash Gauge becomes empty, it starts blinking in red color and if the character continues using Dash, it becomes exhausted and stops running for a while. Dash Gauge has reserve of approximately 1/3 of visible amount of Dash which can still be used while it looks empty.
The time needed for Dash Gauge to refill from empty to full state is 24 seconds. If also the invisible reserve is used, it takes 30 seconds to restore to full state.
When both the character's Rage and Dash Gauges become full, the circle around the character's head starts flashing in rainbow colors singalizing that the character can use Fury. In this state, the Dash storage becomes unusable.