Diddy Kong Racing DS
Diddy Kong Racing DS is an enhanced Nintendo DS port of the game Diddy Kong Racing. Diddy Kong Racing DS is Rare's first Nintendo DS game.
Story
When his parents go on vacation, Timber is left to care for the family island, Timber's Island. Unfortunatly, an evil, magic-weilding alien-pig named Wizpig invades the island and, brainwashing Tricky the Triceratops, Bluey the Walrus, Bubbler the Octopus and Smokey the Dragon, begins to take over the island and evicting people like Taj the Genie and Pipsy from their homes.
The island's fastest racer, Drumstick, challenges Wizpig to a race, only to dissapear without a trace after doing so. In desperation, Timber sends a letter to his friend Diddy Kong asking for help. Accepting Timber's plea, Diddy, calling several allies such as Dixie Kong, his girlfriend, Tiny Kong, Dixie's sister, Tiptup, a clumsy turtle, Bumper, down and dirty driver and Krunch, a Kremling Krew spy, sets-off to Timber's Island to take-down Wizpig....
With help from Taj and T.T. Diddy manages to beat Tricky, Bluey, Bubbler and Smokey in races and snap them out-of Wizpig's brainwashing. Drumstick, who had been turned into a frog by Wizpig, is also returned to normal.
His reluctant minions defeated, Wizpig is next challenged by Diddy Kong and his friends. After a long and grueling race, Wizpig is defeated and a victory celebration is held. Unfortunatly, Wizpig crashes the party.
Following the evil alien to his home planet of Future Fun Land, a death-trap amusement park, Diddy Kong and his friends manage to get past all of Wizpig's challenges and get a rematch with the rocket-riding Wizpig. After a tough race, Wizpig is beaten and, his rocket malfunctioning, crashes into a deserted planet and becomes stranded.
Returning to Timber's Island, another celebration is held, Wizpig having been beaten for good and his hold-over on the island gone.
"Alakazam!"
Taj the Genie is the caretaker of the island and will gladly be of assistance and training. Taj wil appear every time a racer gains ten Golden Ballons and will set challenges. He also takes care of rewards and unlockables. Taj will allow you to paint your vehicle for free, but he has a few expensive items in his tent on the center court yard facing the Wizpig statue head. He calls it his "Wishes Menu":
Lakes, Tracks and Automobiles
Key
C = Car
The Car is the standard vehicle of choice in most courses and is easiest to handle.
H = Hovercraft
The Hovercraft swerves in on and off track , and can be argued as the hardest to handle at times.
P = Plane
The Plane is smooth and steady and can be a true vehicle and a nightmare in some senses. Its hard to get back in the running if the racer is hit with a missile or falls fate to a bubble.
- CarBumper.PNG
A standard car
- Diddy-kongHover.jpg
The sluggish Hovercraft...
- Planebumper.PNG
Racing with Planes
Tracks
| Wishes Menu Costs File:Wishes.jpg | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle Upgrades | ||||
| # | Item | Coin Cost | What it Does | |
| 1 | Basic Downforce | 50 | Minor Help in handling and corning of one's vehicle of choice | |
| 2 | Downforce A & Downforce B | Both are 100 | Major improvement in handling and cornering of one's vehicle of choice | |
| 3 | Basic Sprint | 50 | Minor Help in acceleration of one's vehicle of choice | |
| 4 | Sprint A & Sprint B | Both are 100 | Major improvement in acceleration of one's vehicle of choice | |
| 5 | Basic Air | 50 | Minor Help in speed of one's vehicle of choice | |
| 6 | Air A & Air B | Both are 100 | Major improvement in speed of one's vehicle of choice | |
| 7 | Standard Custom | 50 | Minor handling sacrificing for top speed and a custom look | |
| 8 | Custom A & Custom B | Both are 100 | Major speed improvement and a great custom look. Handling is sacraficed and his shrunk down to poor stats. | |
| Unlockables | ||||
| # | Item | Coin Cost | What it Does | |
| 1 | Thunder Cove | 80 | A New Track | |
| 2 | Meandering Mount | 80 | A New Track | |
| 3 | Splashdown Pass | 80 | A New Track | |
| 4 | Strangled Shrine | 80 | A New Track | |
| 5 | Coin Challenge & Coin Challenge Mirror | 20 | Major part of the N64 original, the racer races through all the tracks, collecting 8 silver coins, and it is required to come in first place to win this challenge. | |
| 6 | Sp Wish Race (Single Player) & Multi Wish Race (Multiplayer) | 50 | Race on your custom tracks with T.T. as your guide | |
| 7 | Battle Track 1 (Fire Mountain) | 30 | One of the original Battle areas in the N64 classic, the racer tries to gather three eggs and hatch them from atop a volcano first. (Multiplayer only) | |
| 8 | Battle Track 2 (Icicle Pyramid) | 30 | One of the original Battle areas in the N64 classic, the racer tries to strike down their rivals in a huge ice temple. If the racer loses all their bananas they will lose. | |
| 9 | Battle Track 3 (Darkwater Beach) | 30 |
One of the original Battle areas in the N64 classic, the racer tries to strike down their rivals in a big dark water lake with small sand island-like platforms. The objective to win is similar to Icicle Pyramid, if the racer loses all their bananas they will lose. | |
| 10 | Battle Track 4 (Smokey Castle) | 30 | One of the original Battle areas in the N64 classic. The objective to win is similar to Fire Mountain. The racer has to fill their nest with silver coins instead of bananas. | |
| 11 | Billboard Editor | 50 | The racer can fill the racetracks and courses with their own artwork. | |
| 12 | Sound Recorder | 50 | The racer can record their own sound effects through the touch screen | |
| Timber's Island Areas | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dino Domain | ||||
| # | Track | Balloon Amount | Silver Coin Challenge Balloon Amount | Types of Transportation Available |
| 1 | Ancient Lake | 1 | 6 | C, H , P |
| 2 | Fossil Canyon | 2 | 7 | C , H , P |
| 3 | Jungle Falls | 3 | 8 | C , H , P |
| 4 | Hot Top Volcano | 5 | 10 | H , P |
| 5 | Boss - Tricky the Triceratops | 5 or more once all 4 are beaten | 10 or more once all 4 are beaten | C |
| Snowflake Mountain | ||||
| # | Track | Balloon Amount | Silver Coin Challenge Balloon Amount | Types of Transportation Available |
| 1 | Everfrost Peak | 2 | 10 | H , P |
| 2 | Walrus Cove | 3 | 11 | C , H |
| 3 | Snowball Valley | 6 | 14 | C , H |
| 4 | Frosty Village | 9 | 16 | C , H, P |
| 5 | Boss - Bluey the Walrus | 9 or more once all 4 are beaten | 16 or more once all 4 are beaten | C |
| Sherbet Island | ||||
| # | Track | Balloon Amount | Silver Coin Challenge Balloon Amount | Types of Transportation Available |
| 1 | Whale Bay | 10 | 17 | H |
| 2 | Crescent Island | 11 | 18 | C , H |
| 3 | Pirate Lagoon | 13 | 20 | H |
| 4 | Treasure Caves | 16 | 22 | C , H , P |
| 5 | Boss - Bubbler the Octopus | 16 or more once all 4 are beaten | 22 or more once all 4 are beaten | H |
| Dragon Forest | ||||
| # | Track | Balloon Amount | Silver Coin Challenge Balloon Amount | Types of Transportation Available |
| 1 | Windmill Planes | 16 | 23 | C , H , P |
| 2 | Greenwood Village | 17 | 24 | C , H |
| 3 | Boulder Canyon | 20 | 30 | H |
| 4 | Haunted Woods | 22 | 37 | C , H |
| 5 | Boss - Smokey the Dragon | 22 or more once all 4 are beaten | 37 or more once all 4 are beaten | P |
| Future Fun Land | ||||
| # | Track | Balloon Amount | Silver Coin Challenge Balloon Amount | Types of Transportation Available |
| 1 | Spacedust Alley | 39 | 43 | C , H , P |
| 2 | Darkmoon Carvern | 40 | 44 | C , H , |
| 3 | Spaceport Alpha | 41 | 45 | C, H , P |
| 4 | Star City | 42 | 46 | C , H , P |
| 5 | Boss - Wizpig | --- | 46 or more once all 4 are beaten | P |
Beating the Pig Wizard
Once Collecting the various amulets from Tricky, Bluey, Bubbler and Smokey, the Wizpig statue head's mouth will open and inside the opening Wizpig awaits to race. By letting the gas go on the various zippers, the racer can be sure of an easy win, but missing the zippers could cause them to lose the win.
The second Wizpig race will be Wizpig's undoing. From the start, his rocket is a little uneasy and get too close, it will act as a missile and the racer, with Wizpig, get set back. By collecting as much blue balloons as possible and zipping away from the rocket-jet pig, winning should not be doubtful. Unfortunately, his spaceship is too far good of aim and can easily set you back real far when the racer gets to that part. A good blue balloon should zip them past the notorious ship.
Other Balloons
Taj's races and challenges
Taj will race and train the racer in many areas aside from selling you unlockables and helping them customize their car. He usually rides his Magic Carpet or stands in awe as the racer fulfills Taj's own wish. In return for the racers sucess in the challenge he'll give them a balloon.
Taj Challenges
- Car Race - Once the racer starts their game, they race Taj around in a circle with the car, following the black and white tokens. This is an act of training and their first golden balloon
- Hovercraft Race - Before the racer goes to beat Trixy again , the racer races Taj with the hovercraft around the island, following the tokens
- Plane Race - After Dino Domain is beaten , The racer races Taj in a Plane around the island following the tokens in a similar pattern to the Hovercraft race.
- Blowing out the Torches challenge - After Bubbler is defeated , Taj orders the racer to blow out the 9 torches on the island in 60 seconds.
- Taj Token Tussle - The racer races taj to roam around the island for ten Taj Tokens by following the arrows to their temporary locations. The first to ten tokens wins.
Balloon Pop Challenge
After the area's major boss is defeated (except Future Fun Land's) , they order the racer to get at least a bronze balloon in each of their four tracks. By using the Stylus , racers can pop the golden balloons scattered over each track. 50 Gold balloons are in each, and popping them can gain a rank (Bronze , Silver, and Gold)
Once the racer gets the bronze or up , the racer will receive a golden balloon for their first win at the challenge.
Rank amounts
- Dino Domain
- Bronze - 24 balloons
- Silver - 34 balloons
- Gold - 50 balloons
- Snowflake Mountain
- Bronze - 34 balloons
- Silver - 40 balloons
- Gold - 50 balloons
- Sherbet Island
- Bronze - 40 balloons
- Silver - 45 balloons
- Gold - 50 balloons
- Dragon Forest
- Bronze - 40 balloons
- Silver - 45 balloons
- Gold - 50 balloons
- Future Fun Land
- Bronze - 40 balloons
- Silver - 45 balloons
- Gold - 50 balloons
Differences Between Versions
Along with it's several new features Diddy Kong Racing DS has several notable differences between it and the original Nintendo 64 version. These differences include:
- Taj the Genie is now found in a tree surrounded tent, he also no longer has a face plate on Timber's Island, due to the Nintendo DS limited texturing abilities.
- The in-game racing map has been simplified, also bananas are no longer in the game, having been replaced by coins.
- Due to their ownership by Microsoft, Conker and Banjo have been replaced by Tiny Kong and Dixie Kong.
- This version features a cut-scene to the storyline unlike the other version.
- The voices of almost all the characters have changed to the point where it sounds like almost everyone has somewhat British-sounding accents. Also, Tiny Kong looks radically different in this game then she does in Donkey Kong 64, looking much older.
- Wizpig and Taj the Genie can be unlocked and played as in this game, whereas they were unplayable characters in Diddy Kong Racing.
- Jungle Falls , Snowball Valley , Pirate Lagoon , Treasure Caves , Windmill Plains , and Spaceport Alpha have new background music. Spacedust Alley now has the old Spaceport Alpha music. The old music from Jungle Falls was moved to the credits.
- Four new tracks, Thunder Cove , Meandering Mount , Splashdown Pass , and Strangled Shrine were added to the game.
- Planes can no longer do barrel rolls or loops and cars can no longer be selected in Everfrost Peak. Also, Tricky the Triceratop's track is altered and much easier.
- At the end race with the second Wizpig challenge, if the racer gets too close to Wizpig , his rocket starts to malfunction and they both are hurt. This gives the reason of his later rocket-failure when he's beaten, unlike in the original, where he, for no reason, gets shot to the moon.
- The cut scenes are less impressive and duller, making a real Diddy Kong Racing fan wanting the cut scenes they've known for the past 10 years.
Aside from these differences the game remains relatively the same in gameplay, adventure mode and multiplayer mode also remain basically unchanged.
Playable Characters
- Diddy Kong
- Dixie Kong
- Tiny Kong
- Timber
- Bumper
- Tiptup
- Pipsy
- Krunch
- Drumstick (unlockable)
- T.T. (unlockable)
- Taj (unlockable)
- Wizpig (unlockable)
