Diddy Kong Pilot (2003)

Diddy Kong Pilot is the name of a canceled Game Boy Advance racing title starring Diddy Kong and other Donkey Kong characters racing against each other in Planes. This build was entirely redone from the original version, before finally becoming Banjo-Pilot in 2005.

History
No information regarding this build of Diddy Kong Pilot was publicly known until October 3, 2011, when a former Rare employee, with the pseudoym "Transparentjinjo", posted a gameplay video on YouTube. According to its title, the game's build date was "February 19, 2003". About a month later, the game leaked onto an unrelated Rare fansite.

Gameplay
Diddy Kong Pilot has a few modes, including the Grand Prix-type mode "Cups", a Time Trials, or even the Cranky's Challenge mode, in which the player's goal is to obtain Banana Coins placed around the course. The multiplayer option is crossed out and cannot be accessed. Diddy Kong Pilot features three different teams: Team Kong (consisting of Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, Donkey Kong, and Funky), Team Kritter (consisting of Kritter, Klaptrap, Klump, and K. Rool), and Team Cranky, whose only member is Cranky Kong; he even appears in all four character slots. The player can unlock the Kremlings by finishing every cup, and Cranky if the Kremlings win against the Kongs from all of their cups.

If the Kremlings finish the Cups mode, the title screen is restyled to "Kremling Pilot", and shows a lava temple-based area. If Cranky finishes the mode, the title screen is restyled to Cranky Kong Pilot, which shows a scenery of the open sea and an Enguarde jumping out on occasion. In the character selection for Team Cranky, Cranky is featured in all four character slots.

The options menu has six selectable options, most of which are related to debugging: "Language", "Sound", "Secret", "Multiplayer Weapons", "Ghost", and "Clear Scores". The Language option is highly unfinished, and is shown to have four other options, aside from English: French, Spanish, German, and Italian. The only text translated into German are the options from the title screen and options menu. The other languages use the same, default English text for a placeholder.

Despite having no relevance to sound, the Sound option redirects the player to an incomplete initials menu. After entering three characters, the rotating character input goes to the number 5. If the player presses while the number is highlighted, they are sent back to the options menu.

The Secret option unlocks everything in the game. The Multiplayer Weapons option shows a replay of the cutscene from the most recent defeat in a dogfight match. Despite its title, the Ghost mode has no relevance to Time Trial ghosts, and instead displays the victory photo of a team. The team displayed in the photo corresponds to the current title screen. The last option is Clear Scores, which erases all of the game data.

Items

 * K-O-N-G Letters: Collectibles that were later replaced with Musical Notes in Banjo-Pilot.
 * Pink Buzz(es): Homes onto the nearest opponent. They are either featured in a set of one or three.
 * Blue Buzz: The equivalent to a Spiny Shell from the Mario Kart series.
 * Zingers: Can be dropped behind by racers as an obstacle for other racers to crash into.
 * TNT Barrel: Can be used as a nearby weapon for opponents tailed behind the player, and also boosts them greatly.
 * Wrench Barrel: Allows the user to other racers temporarily and make them dizzy, or for their opponent to fall down the sky during a dogfight. CPU opponents cannot use this item.
 * Rambi the Rhino: Grants temporary invincibility, like a Star from the Mario Kart series

Klaptrap Cup/Dixie Kong Cup

 * Steamy Swoop: Jungle-themed stage with Donkey Kong's Treehouse in the background
 * Plain Pursuit: Desert-themed stage where Expresso makes a cameo
 * Chilly Length: Ice-themed stage with whales in the background
 * Magma Spurt: Lava-themed stage with a golden K. Rool statue in the background

Kritter Cup/Diddy Kong Cup

 * Shore Strife: Beach-themed with DK Isle in the background, and Enguarde as an Easter egg.
 * Jungle Jostle: Jungle-themed
 * Temple Heat: Lava-themed
 * Wild Wilderness: Wilderness-themed

Klump Cup/Funky Kong Cup

 * Frosty Feud: Ice-themed
 * Vine Rush: Jungle-themed
 * Speedy Show: Lava-themed
 * Reef Encounter: Beach-themed

K. Rool Cup/Donkey Kong Cup

 * Lava Dispute: Lava-themed
 * Frantic Beach: Beach-themed
 * Prairie Dash: Prairie-themed
 * Icy Passage: Ice-themed

Glitches
Diddy Kong Pilot went considerably far in development, although it remains somewhat unpolished. The most notable bug is the continuous loop of a loud sound effect, which occurs when the player goes through a zipper just before a Buzz crashes into them. Another bug is during the Cranky Kong Pilot title screen, where it shows the Klaptrap Cup having a trophy before Cranky participates in it. Another bug always shows a "22" in the top-left corner of the Options menu.

Trivia

 * The options menu of Cranky Kong Pilot title screen shows construction girders from the Donkey Kong arcade game.
 * A spelling error appears when the player loses at a dogfight: the text reads "YOU LOOSE" instead of "YOU LOSE".
 * The generic Kritter in the game bears far more resemblance to Krunch than a typical Kritter.