Diddy Kong Racing
Diddy Kong Racing is a racing game for the Nintendo 64 developed by Rareware. It was released in 1997. 800,000 copies were ordered in the two weeks before Christmas 1997, making it the fastest selling video game at the time, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. An enhanced remake of this game for the Nintendo DS was announced at Nintendo's press conference on May 9, 2006. It will be called Diddy Kong Racing DS.
A karting game like Mario Kart 64, DKR also has a distinctive adventure mode. The game features characters from Rare games, some of which had yet to be released at the time of this game's release. Diddy Kong Racing was partially intended to help introduce some of Rare's future franchise characters at an early time, so gamers would recognize them when they appeared in future titles later on.[citation needed]
In Diddy Kong Racing, a player can choose to be in either a car, hovercraft, or airplane. However, certain levels have certain restrictions. For example, in the course "Hot Top Volcano", a player can use an airplane or a hovercraft, but not a car.
Plot
An evil, intergalactic, pig wizard named Wizpig arrives at peaceful Timber's Island and attempts to take it over. The only recourse available to the island's inhabitants is to race Wizpig in an elaborate race that involves cars, hovercrafts, and airplanes. Drumstick, the best racer on the island, failed this challenge and was transformed into a frog by Wizpig's black magic. Other creatures on the island, including Diddy Kong, eventually challenge Wizpig to a race and defeat him. Shortly afterwards, Wizpig left for his home planet, Future Funland. Fearing that Wizpig would again attempt to invade Timber's Island, the islanders travel to Future Funland for a second challenge. As Wizpig loses the second race the rocket he is riding on malfunctions and blasts him to the moon.
Characters
The playable characters who reappear in other games are:
- Diddy Kong the monkey from the Donkey Kong Country series (released in 1994). His abilities are all equal, and he has no advantages nor disadvantages.
- Banjo the bear from the Banjo-Kazooie series (released in 1998). He has low acceleration, and high top speed and is the second fastest racer that's initially available, although he can't turn very well. This is the first appearance of Banjo in any game, before the creation of even the Banjo-Kazooie series (this is due to delays in that game's release date). Kazooie isn't in this game, but she's mentioned in the instruction manual.
- Tiptup the turtle has a high acceleration, a low top speed, and good handling. He also made a cameo appearance in the game Banjo-Kazooie as a choir leader.
- Conker the male squirrel from Conker series (released in 1999). Conker has a low acceleration, and a high top speed, but his turning is slightly below average. Conker is much more innocent in this game than he is in Conker's Bad Fur Day or Conker: Live & Reloaded.
- Krunch is a Kremling (the antagonists of the Donkey Kong Country series) who ends up wrapped up in the effort to kick Wizpig off the island. His clothing style was carried over to several of these enemies in Donkey Kong 64 (released in 1999). He has the worst acceleration and the worst handling, but has a very high top speed and is the 3rd fastest racer.
The other playable characters are:
- Drumstick the rooster, one of the greatest racers on Timber's Island. After Wizpig invaded the island, Drumstick was the first to confront him and was subsequently turned into a frog by a magic spell. Drumstick is a hidden character unlocked by running over a frog with a red crest on its head after getting 4 gold trophies, and 39 gold balloons. He is the 2nd fastest character, and the fastest in the plane.
- Bumper the black male badger. He has a high acceleration, an average top speed, he turns very well and is arguably one of the better all-around choices.
- Timber the orange and black-striped male tiger. He has a low acceleration and a slightly above average top speed, but his turning is slightly below average. Timber was to appear in a game called Timber 64, but it was cancelled.
- Pipsy the yellow mouse. She has a high acceleration, and a low top speed, but she is easy to handle for beginners and professionals alike.
- T.T. was the living stopwatch who helped organize Time Trials. If players beat his records of every track, he becomes a playable character. T.T. is the fastest character in the car and hovercraft, and 2nd fastest in the plane. His initials most likely stand for "Time Trial", "Tick Tock" or "Tick Tick".
[[The other non-playable characters are:
- Tricky *Bluey )
- Bubbler *Smokey
- Taj
- Wizpig
None of these characters have appeared in any other Rare or Nintendo games to date, although Taj was scheduled to appear in a GameCube sequel, Donkey Kong Racing. The game was aborted when Rare was bought by Microsoft in 2002, although it is rumored to reappear as an Xbox title called Sabreman Stampede. A portable sequel to the franchise, Diddy Kong Pilot, was also in development, which would have seen the return of Krunch. It too was redesigned following Rare's buyout as Banjo Pilot, which only stars Banjo and characters from his franchise.
Courses
There are 4 main courses in each of the 5 worlds, plus a trophy race, in which players race through all 4 tracks, earning points depending on how well they place.
Dino Domain
- Ancient Lake
- Fossil Canyon
- Jungle Falls
- Hot Top Volcano
- Tricky the Triceratops
- Ancient Lake: Silver Coin Challenge
- Fossil Canyon: Silver Coin Challenge
- Jungle Falls: Silver Coin Challenge
- Hot Top Volcano: Silver Coin Challenge
- Tricky the Triceratops: Rematch
- Battle Stage: Fire Mountain
- Trophy Race
Snowflake Mountain
- Everfrost Peak
- Walrus Cove
- Snowball Valley
- Frosty Village
- Bluey the Walrus
- Everfrost Peak: Silver Coin Challenge
- Walrus Cove: Silver Coin Challenge
- Snowball Valley: Silver Coin Challenge
- Frosty Village: Silver Coin Challenge
- Bluey the Walrus: Rematch
- Battle Stage: Icicle Pyramid
- Trophy Race
(Of note that the fact the music being played is Mario Kart 64's theme from Choco Mountain in Snowball Vally & Everfrost Peak,with a different tune and notes.)
Sherbet Island
- Whale Bay
- Pirate Lagoon
- Crescent Island
- Treasure Caves
- Bubbler the Octopus
- Whale Bay: Silver Coin Challenge
- Pirate Lagoon: Silver Coin Challenge
- Crescent Island: Silver Coin Challenge
- Treasure Caves: Silver Coin Challenge
- Bubbler the Octopus: Rematch
- Battle Stage: Darkwater Beach
- Trophy Race
Dragon Forest
- Boulder Canyon
- Greenwood Village
- Windmill Plains
- Haunted Woods
- Smokey the Dragon
- Boulder Canyon: Silver Coin Challenge
- Greenwood Village: Silver Coin Challenge
- Windmill Plains: Silver Coin Challenge
- Haunted Woods: Silver Coin Challenge
- Smokey the Dragon: Rematch
- Battle Stage: Smokey Castle
- Trophy Race
Future Fun Land
- Spacedust Alley
- Darkmoon Caverns
- Star City
- Spaceport Alpha
- Spacedust Alley: Silver Coin Challenge
- Darkmoon Caverns: Silver Coin Challenge
- Star City: Silver Coin Challenge
- Spaceport Alpha: Silver Coin Challenge
- Wizpig
- Trophy Race
Battle Stages
There are several battle stages, each of which must be unlocked by obtaining a hidden key from each world:
- Dino Domain: Fire Mountain - The objective is to hatch three dinosaur eggs. Players take eggs from the volcano in the center of the arena to their nest, which is identified by a picture of their character. When an egg is dropped in a nest, it will eventually hatch. Unhatched eggs in other player's nests can be stolen. As such, players have to defend their nests as well. The hidden key is in Ancient Lake.
- Snowflake Mountain: Icicle Pyramid - The objective is to survive. Collecting red balloons will give the player missiles, which can be shot at opponents. Each player gets 8 bananas, and each shot takes 2 away; players are knocked out when they lose all 8, with the last remaining player the winner. There are also yellow baloons, which provide a shield, as well as the green balloons which drop obstacles that will also take away 2 bananas if hit. The hidden key is in Snowball Valley.
- Sherbert Island: Darkwater Beach - The same objective as Ice Pyramid, but on the water and small areas of land. The hidden key is in Crescent Island.
- Dragon Forest: Smokey Castle - Similar to Fire Mountain, players must take bananas to their chest, which is identified by a picture of their character. Players can only carry 2 bananas at a time, and must put them into the chest by passing near it. Players can steal bananas from their adversaries by shooting them, but they can be shot too. Once bananas have been placed on a chest, they cannot be stolen. The hidden key is in Boulder Canyon.
- Future Fun Land does not have a battle stage.
If the player beats Wizpig in Future Fun Land and obtains the amulet pieces and gets all of the gold medals, the player will be able to play in a mode called Adventure 2. In this mode, all of the balloons will be silver and the courses will be mirrored, meaning that they are flipped from left to right. The silver coins are in different locations in each track.
Future Fun Land's Battle Stage
Future Fun Land is the only area in Diddy Kong Racing to not have a battle stage. However some believe it was possible one was planned\made. It may not have been added to the game due to time contrants, memory contrants, or the fact that the game didn't need it (by the time the player enter Future Fun Land, he already has all 4 parts of the T.T. Amulet). However, in Spaceport Alpha, to the direct right of where the starting line is, there is a keyhole in the wall, suggesting that a battle stage may have been planned but was scrapped at the last second.
Weapon balloons
Throughout the courses, players can find balloons. There are five different kind of balloons, each containing different weapons or items. When a balloon is collected, the item can be used immediately, or the player can wait for another balloon with the same colour. When they pick up a second balloon of the same colour, the item will be upgraded. A third balloon of the same colour will upgrade the item to its maximum level (with the exception of the battle stages which allow only the 2nd upgrade; subsequent balloons will do nothing, in some courses with the green balloon only the 2nd upgrade mine will appear). Below is a listing of items and the upgrades.
- Red Balloons: Missiles - These are offensive weapons that can be shot at opponents. The 2nd upgrade gives the player a homing missile, and the third upgrade gives 10 regular missiles that can be replenished with one balloon if not all used up.
- Green Balloons: Dropper- Obstacles that can be dropped behind the player to obstruct opponents. The default green balloon is an oil slick (or cloud of green dust in the air), the 2nd upgrade is a spiked mine, and the third is a bubble which will stop the player for several seconds.
- Blue Balloons: Speed Boost - These give the player a speed boost just like a Zipper. Upgrades simply give the boost more power. Using these ballons without holding the acceleration button also increases the effectiveness of these balloons.
- Yellow Balloons: Shield - These will give the player shields to protect them from missiles or droppers. Upgrades make the shield last longer.
- Rainbow Balloons: Special - A magnet attack, which will attract the player towards the targeted opponent or pull him back in the case of the third upgrade.
Legal ambiguities
The legalities of Diddy Kong Racing are now open for debate due to the situation involving Rare and Nintendo. Nintendo retained the rights to Diddy Kong and Krunch, while Rare owns Banjo, Tiptup (he had a cameo appearance in Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie), Timber (he was to have a game, Timber 64, which was later cancelled) and Conker. The ownership of the other characters is unknown, although most assume that they are in Rare's possession. Tricky is the biggest mystery, as his younger self became a character in Nintendo's Star Fox series, while the older version that was in DKR may belong to Rare. With the release of Star Fox: Assault, it appears that Tricky and all characters from Dinosaur Planet now belong to Nintendo, as the planet and a grown-up Tricky appear in that game.
Sequels
Originally, two sequels to DKR had been planned; Diddy Kong Pilot and Donkey Kong Racing. Diddy Kong Pilot eventually became Banjo Pilot, a game based on Rare's Banjo-Kazooie. Donkey Kong Racing was scrapped, although rumors have surfaced that the cancelled Sabreman Stampede, a game believed to be based on Donkey Kong Racing, is to be released on the Xbox 360.
At E3 2006, Rareware announced they were developing an enhanced port of Diddy Kong Racing for the Nintendo DS, entitled Diddy Kong Racing DS. [1] Another racing game, DK Bongo Blast for the Wii, was also being developed.
Other Taglines
- "A Wild Racing Adventure!"--Cover Line
- "One if by Air, Two if By sea, Three by Road"--Tagline in 1998
See also
External links
- Donkey Kong Racing screenshots and videos on GameSpot
- Template:GameFAQs
- Diddy Kong Racing at MobyGames
- DKR World
- DKR HQ
- Diddy Kong Racing Hotel Resort
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