Diddy Kong Racing (Nintendo 64)

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Description

It's an island takeover when the evil space wizard, Wizpig, discovers Tiger Island! After the islands prized racetracks become sealed up, Timber Tiger contacts his friend Diddy Kong to help him reclaim the racetracks and save the island before his parents return. Along for the ride are the Kremling spy Krunch, Bumper Badger, Banjo (prior to meeting Kazooie in Banjo-Kazooie), pre-sweary Conker, Tiptup Turtle, and Pipsy Mouse.

Diddy Kong Racing is a racing game with similarities to Mario Kart 64, in that you race with a variety of cheery racers while using weapons. However, the similarities end there. DKR includes an adventure mode, which features bosses, an overworld to explore, many hidden secrets, the addition of hovercrafts and planes, and a unique way of racing called the "Silver Coin Challenge". In this mode, in addition to coming first, you must also find the eight Silver Coins deviously hidden throughout the courses (some in alternate paths).

The game also features a strategic method of using weapons. Each colored balloon on the track matches a specific weapon, and collecting the same type of balloon multiple times in a row powers it up (to a maximum of three times). This gives the player the choice of snatching every balloon available and using it immediately, or storing the existing weapon, and using a more powerful version of it later.

Up to four players can compete in the races, but in order to play new tracks, they must first be unlocked in the single player game. There are also four battle modes of play - two standard deathmatch maps, a capture-the-flag style battle where you must nab eggs and hatch three of them in your home nest, and another where you must be the first to return ten bananas to your treasure chest (with the limitation of only being able to hold two at any one time).

Screenshots

Promo Images

Trailer

Alternate Titles

• "RC Pro-Am 64" -- Working Title
• "ディディーコングレーシング" -- Japanese spelling
• "디디콩 레이싱" -- Korean spelling

Part of the Following Groups

• Animals: Cats
• Animals: Primates (monkeys or apes)
• Console Generation Exclusive: Nintendo 64
• Donkey Kong games
• Genre: Kart racing

User Reviews

One of my most favorite video games of all time!	BlueWind SSK (30)
Terrific single player game, awesome tracks and graphics, but a boring multi-player	Anthony Bull (26)
A cool Mario Kart type racing game!	darthsith19 (70)

Critic Reviews

Electric Playground	Nov 24, 1997	10 out of 10	100
Total! (Germany)	Nov, 1997	1 out of 6	100
64 Power / big.N / N Games	Dec, 1997	95 out of 100	95
Video Games	Nov, 1997	95 out of 100	95
Consoles Plus	Jan, 1998	94 out of 100	94
Nintendo Land	2003	94 out of 100	94
Joypad	Jan, 1998	93 out of 100	93
GamesCollection	Aug 20, 2010	8.5 out of 10	85
Nintendo Life	Jun 25, 2011		80
Retro Game Reviews	Dec 23, 2018		80

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Trivia

Characters

The playable characters who appear in other games are:

• Diddy Kong the monkey from the Donkey Kong Country series (first released in 1994).
• Banjo the bear from the Banjo-Kazooie series (first released in 1998).
• Tiptup the turtle from the Banjo-Kazooie series.
• Conker the squirrel later appeared in various games.
• Krunch is a Kremling, who are the antagonists of the Donkey Kong Country series. His clothing style was carried over to several of these enemies in Donkey Kong 64 (released in 1999).

Tricky the triceratops is a non-playable boss character whose origins are later explored in Star Fox Adventures (released in 2002).

Cut content

In Space Port Alpha, just before the finish line, there's a small alcove in the wall that the player can drive into and appears to have no use. Initially, this was going to hide the key for Future Fun Land's T.T. Challenge / Multiplayer Level. However, the level was removed for whatever reason, so the key was no longer needed.

Development

In its very early stages, Diddy Kong Racing was going to be a next-generation update to the popular RC Pro AM series which appeared on the NES, Game Boy and Genesis.

Legal issues

The legalities of Diddy Kong Racing were open for debate when Rare was bought by Microsoft in 2002. In 2007, Diddy Kong Racing DS was released. It appears that Rare owns Banjo and Conker, who were replaced with Dixie Kong and Tiny Kong. All other characters seem to have gone to Nintendo, even Tiptup although he appeared in Banjo-Kazooie.

Awards

• Electronic Gaming Monthly
  • December 1997 (Issue 101) - Game of the Month

Information also contributed by Ben K, gamewarrior and MegaMegaMan.

Related Web Sites

• DKR World (Diddy Kong Racing website with MP3s, character profiles, racing strategies and shortcut locations.)
• Wikipedia: Diddy Kong Racing (article in the open encyclopedia about the game)