Smokey's Course

Smokey's Course (referred to simply as Smokey the Dragon by the game's website) is the boss course of Dragon Forest, the twentieth race course overall and the fourth overall boss stage in Diddy Kong Racing and Diddy Kong Racing DS. It is an aerial race against Smokey, which features the player racing in a Plane. Smokey's Course is set in a grassy valley, with a series of cavern tunnels and a few windmills. This course is opened after all the courses of Dragon Forest have been cleared. Like the previous boss race, Bubbler's Course, this stage is done in three laps.

During the race, Smokey will try to slow down players by spitting fireballs at them. If the players manage to win against Smokey, they can re-challenge him once they complete every Silver Coin Challenge and have collected 38 Golden Balloons. On his second challenge, Smokey spits a greater number of fireballs at the racers than in the first race. Because of the increased amount of fireballs, along with the many tight spaces and obstacles around the course, avoiding them can be quite a challenge for some racers. The official DKR website suggested racing as Timber on this track.

The beginning of the stage is set on a large field leading into one of these tunnels. Inside of the tunnels, there are several poles that can easily get in a racer's way. A few Item Balloons are also present in here to attack Smokey. The other end of this long tunnel is in another small field. A large windmill is in the center of this field, containing a blue Item Balloon inside of it. The entrance to the next tunnel is to the left of this. The tunnel is rather short, and it leads back onto an open field. The main obstacle in this open is area the trees, which can slow down players is run into. Another tunnel can be found at the end of this field. Once the player enters, they should find some more poles in their way, as well as a few more Item Balloons. Outside of this tunnel is yet another field filled with trees. The trees must be avoided at all cost to defeat Smokey. At the end of the field is one last small tunnel. Going through this empty tunnel, players can find the finish line just ahead.