Diddy Kong Racing

Diddy Kong Racing is a game for Nintendo 64. Like the Mario Kart series, Diddy Kong Racing is a racing game, but made use of airplanes, hovercrafts, and wheeled vehicles; it s also the first game of the Donkey Kong Racing series. The game has a story mode, muliplayer modes, and a variety of characters (many from Rare series), such as Diddy Kong, Banjo, Tiptup, and Conker, but strangely, not Donkey Kong.

Story
From the instruction manual:

Diddy Kong sat on the porch of his tree house and curiously tore open the letter. It wasn't often that a message arrived from so far away that it had to be brought in by carrier pidgeon! Eager to find out what it contained, he tugged out the note impatiently and started to read. "Dear Diddy," it began. "Help!!!"

Now this sounds promising, he thought. Things had been all too quiet since those old family friends of Tigers had arrived to spend the summer. And as it turned out, the message was from his old friend Timber, son of the Kongs' guests, the Tigers. The young Tiger had found himself in quite a bit of trouble that, for once, wasn't even his fault. After Diddy Kong read the note through a couple more times, he sat back and gnawed on his finger, his gaze fixed somewhere beyond the early jungle mist.

He'd been asked to help, so his intention to zip off as soon as possible could not be in doubt. The question that preoccupied him now was whether or not he should draft some extra help, just in case...after all, this Wizpig sounded like a pretty mean foe.

Finally, he decided that his friends Banjo and Conker would still enjoy an adventure, even if it turned out that their services weren't needed. So, the young ape dug out a pencil stub from the mess of his bedroom and hopped back into his seat. Whistling for Squawks - his own makeshift carrier pigeon - he began to scribble out a couple of messages of his own.

A few hours later, Diddy Kong was on the first leg of his journey, tearing off at high speed through the jungle. A pair of Kremling spies lurking behind a boulder watched him with suspicion.

"Hey - where you think he go?" asked Krunch. His crony frowned. "Why?" he asked. "What if he go fetch others? Fight Kremlings?" The second Kremling thought about this and then realized what Krunch was about to suggest. "No way. I not go," he said, and turned and bolted into the undergrowth. Krunch rolled his eyes. "Hopeless," he snorted. "I go after him," he bellowed to his cowardly colleague. "You go tell the boss - see what he think of that, huh?" And with that, Krunch lumbered off through the trees, grumpily swatting aside vines as he went.

Meanwhile, Timber was trying to calm the excitable Pipsy so that he could understand at least part of what she was saying. "He said he'd help us!" she squealed, making Bumper and Tiptup wince as the pitch of her voice soared in and out of audible range. "He said he wanted to find a champion to go after that horrible pig once and for all!" "Slow down, Pipsy," Timber urged, trying to make sense of her words without upsetting her. After all, this whole business had been harder on the little mouse than and of them. Wizpig's unwanted intrusion left her family homeless. "Who are you talking about?" Bumper asked curiously. "Taj! The Genie! Pipsy babbled. "He said he'd help! Really, Bumper, he did! I just saw him!" Tiptup blinked. "The G-Genie? B-but nobody's seen him for f-fifty years," he protested. "I know, I know! But I just did, I promise!" Timber frowned, thinking this through. "That means he must have been kicked out of the mountain too," he reasoned. "After all, we've seen what that pig's spells can do..." They all thought of the huge, leering Wizpig face that had been carved into the mountainside overnight. Then they thought of the race courses, the island's pride and joy, which had been magically sealed off. That made them think of Drumstick, their friend and the island's champion racer, who had gone to challenge the intruder to an honorable race and hadn't been seen since. We could really do with Taj's help," Pipsy prompted. "N-No argument there," agreed Tiptup, nodding nervously. Timber scratched his head. "Well, I guess you're right," he sighed, "especially if we're going to get this mess sorted out before my parents get back." "Well, if that Genie wants a champion, I say we all get practicing," Bumper grunted, getting to his feet and snapping down his goggles. "Good plan," Timber agreed. "Come on guys - yeah, TipTup, even you." Help should be on its way soon, but we can't just sit around waiting - let's get out there and do what we can! And let's just hope that Diddy Kong doesn't mention any of this to my parents..."

Adventure Mode
In adventure mode, the player must find a number of golden balloons. In order to find them, they must win races. After they win all the races in one of the five worlds, they will race a boss, and if the enemy is beat, the player will be given the challenge of collecting eight coins in each course and then win. If the player completes the challenge, they will face the boss again. If they win, they will get a piece of the Wizpig Amulet and the boss will tell them to try the Trophy Race.

After having all four pieces of the Wizpig Amulet, the stone Wizpig head will open and the player can race Wizpig. In order to beat him, the player must go over every zipper - missing one will cause them to lose no matter what. After beating him, the playable characters will have a party along the beach. However, Wizpig crashes the party and chases everyone. Afterwords, a spaceship then comes and takes him into space and the credits will then roll, and a message will come up and say "The End?" If the player continues playing, the lighthouse on the beach will turn into a rocket and will take them to Future Fun Land. After they complete all their tasks in that world and get the whole T.T. Amulet, they will face Wizpig again, except this time in their airplane. After winning, Wizpig's rocket short circuits and blast him into a planet (Or possibly the moon).

Keys are also hidden in each world (except world 5) and if found, the player can play special battles against CPUs or friends.

Adventure Two Mode
Adventure Two is played the same as Adventure One, however, the tracks are backwards, making them harder to get used thus making it much harder than the first adventure. This mode is very similar to Mirror Mode in the Mario Kart series.

Tracks Mode
Here the player can freely play all the race tracks they have unlocked. They can also race T.T, unless he has already become playable character.

Stats

 * Diddy Kong
 * Weight group: Middle
 * Acceleration: 3/5
 * Turning: 3/5
 * Top Speed: 3/5


 * Tiptup
 * Weight group: Light
 * Acceleration: 5
 * Turning: 4
 * Top Speed: 2


 * Pipsy
 * Weight group: Light
 * Acceleration: 5
 * Turning: 5
 * Top Speed: 1


 * Bumper
 * Weight group: Middle
 * Acceleration: 4
 * Turning: 2
 * Top Speed: 3


 * Conker
 * Weight group: Middle
 * Acceleration: 2
 * Turning: 2
 * Top Speed: 4


 * Timber
 * Weight group: Middle
 * Acceleration: 2
 * Turning: 2
 * Top Speed: 3


 * Banjo
 * Weight group: Heavy
 * Acceleration: 1
 * Turning: 2
 * Top Speed: 5


 * Krunch
 * Weight group: Heavy
 * Acceleration: 1
 * Turning: 1
 * Top Speed: 5


 * T.T.
 * Weight group: Middle
 * Acceleration: 5
 * Turning: 4
 * Top Speed: 5


 * Drumstick
 * Weight group: Heavy
 * Acceleration: 1
 * Turning: 3
 * Top Speed: 5

Vehicle
There are three different vehicles:


 * Car- A simple to control vehicle that is used in many races.
 * Hovercraft- The hardest vehicle to control. They are shown to be very powerful and can ride through fire.
 * Plane- Planes are used the least often out of the vehicles. They are much easier to control if the player holds the R button while driving. They can also do stunts on these.

Vehicle Colors
Each character has different colored vehicles:


 * Diddy Kong - Dark Blue
 * Pipsy - Pink
 * Bumper - Yellow
 * Tiptup - Light Blue
 * Timber - Dark Green
 * Banjo - Light Green
 * Conker - White
 * Krunch - Orange
 * Drumstick - Red
 * T.T - Silver

Areas

 * Key


 * C = Car
 * H = Hovercraft
 * P = Plane

First Wizpig Battle
Once the racer gets all the pieces of the Wizpig Amulet, he/she can fly up into the newly opened mouth of the Wizpig Head in the courtyard of the Island and race against Wizpig.

Challenges
The player will have to race Taj the Genie in three different races. Each race uses a different vehicle. After winning a race, the player will be awarded a balloon. They can only get three balloons from Taj.

Car Challenge
The Car Challenge is an easy race done in a car. This race goes around a dirt road right in front of Dino Domain and reaches into a tunnel. This should be very easy for the player because of Taj's slow movement.

Hovercraft Challenge
The Hovercraft Challenge is the second of Taj's races and is a tad harder than the Car Challenge. The track is mostly in water and begins next to the bridge which leads to Dino Domain. In the race the player will hover into a waterfall that is on the far east of the river. Here, they will be in a cave leading to Snowflake Mountain and eventually fall down two small waterfalls taking them to the ocean. Going east will take the player back on shore where they need to go through a small tunnel leading them to the finish line.

Plane Challenge
The Plane Challenge is considered to be the hardest of Taj's three races and a plane is used in it. This race begins at the same place where the Car Challenge begins. From the start the player must fly up to the tunnel leading to Snowflake Mountain and then move east, going over a long river. From there, the player must glide to the beach and go east again. After going through a small tunnel, the player should end up at the finish line.

Item Balloons
During the challenges on the different race tracks throughout the game the player can find these Item Balloons on the track. Similar to the Item Boxes of the Mario Kart series, these objects will give the player an Item when they break them. There are five different types of Item Balloons, each with a unique colour and a specific type of Item. A special feature of the Item Ballons is their upgradability, meaning that the player will receive stronger items if they collect more balloons of one colour. An item can be upgraded two times, making a total of three items obtainable from one type of balloon.


 * Red Balloons
 * 1: One rocket
 * 2: One homing missile
 * 3: 10 rockets
 * Blue Balloons
 * 1: A weak powered orange turbo
 * 2: A moderately powerful blue turbo
 * 3: A very powerful purple turbo
 * Green Balloons
 * 1: An oil slick
 * 2: A mine
 * 3: A bubble
 * Purple Starred Balloons
 * 1: A weak barrier lasting around 7 seconds
 * 2: A strong barrier lasting around 10 seconds
 * 3: A very strong barrier lasting around 15 seconds
 * Rainbow Balloons
 * 1: A yellow magnet that attracts the closest opponent
 * 2: A red magnet that has a longer range for attracting the closest opponent
 * 3: A green magnet that attracts the opponent and pulls him/her backwards

Golden Balloons
Golden Balloons are the key items in the game. The player must collect them to unlock different courses. After winning a race, Taj will give the player one Golden Balloon. There is a total of 47 balloons total and 43 balloons which are given in races.

Hidden Golden Balloons

The player will come across four hidden Golden Balloons throughout the overworld in the game:


 * The first one is right in the entrance to Dino Domain.
 * The second is to the left of the stone Wizpig's head.
 * The third is in the ocean behind Sherbet Island's entrance to the left.
 * The last balloon is behind two trees east of Snowflake Mountain's entrance, next to a waterfall.

Bananas
Bananas are scattered a over every course. By collecting them, the player is able to increase the top-speed of his or her vehicle. While a single banana doesn't make much of a difference, more of them can help to improve the vehicles performance in a race. The top-speed of the vehicle will increase with every collected banana, until the banana counter reaches ten. After that, the bananas won't affect the player any further.

Additionally, bananas play a key role in the battle games of Icycle Pyramid, Darkwater Beach, and Smokey Castle, since they are required in a specific way to win the game. They act as the player's life gauge in the first two games, and they need to be collected and stored in a treasure chest in the last game.

Zippers
Zippers can be used to give the player an extra speed boost. They are found in every track. Letting go of the A button before hitting one will make the player go slightly faster.

Types of Zippers
Each vehicle has a different kind of zipper:


 * The Car Zipper - A zipper that's flat on the ground and easy to go over with cars and hovercrafts. Planes can also go on these, but the player must be very low to the ground for it to completely work.
 * The Hovercraft Zipper -A zipper only found in water with a flat bottom. Planes can also go through these.
 * The Plane Zipper -Unlike other zippers, the plane zipper is in the air. The only vehicle that can go through this is the plane itself.

Keys
There are four keys hidden throughout the adventure mode of the game. Getting them can unlock 4-player battle stages. There is one in each of the four regular worlds:


 * Dino Domain- Course: Ancient Lake - The player must go up a nearby ramp to get the first key.
 * Snowflake Mountain- Course: Snowball Valley - The player will find the second key to the left of the finish line.
 * Sherbet Island- Course: Crescent Island - At the start, the player should take the left way at the split and go into the water and Search to find the key.
 * Dragon Forest- Course: Boulder Canyon - The player must race until they get to the bridge and hit the bell. Then listen for a ring, turn 180 degrees, and the bridge should rise. The player must make sure they have the maximum power-ups with the purple star balloons. As the bridge is rising, the player must boost themself up and over the jump. They should be on a platform where they can can obtain the key.

Battle Stages
Battle Stages are special challenges that can be found throughout the four main worlds of the game. Each of these worlds have one Battle Stage matching the theme of the world and they can be unlocked by finding Keys throughout certain race tracks. By winning on a Battle Stage, the player obtains a part of the T.T. Amulet. Each battle stage is different in its appearance and the task it offers to the player.
 * Dino Domain- Course: Fire Mountain- On fire mountain the players goal is to get three eggs into their nest and waiting for all of them to hatch. They can get eggs from the middle of the course, or steal it from opponents. However, once the egg is hatched, it may not be stolen. The player can hit their opponents with weapons to make them drop their eggs. This battle is played in a plane.
 * Snowflake Mountain- Course: Icicle Pyramid- To play in this battle, the player must simply hit their opponents with weapons in a three-story pyramid. If a player gets hit four times, they will be out of the battle and lose. The last person standing wins. This is played in a car.
 * Sherbet Island- Course: Darkwater Beach- This one is played the same way as Icicle Pyramid, but takes place on a beach. It is played in a hovercraft.
 * Dragon Forest- Course: Smokey Castle- The goal in Smokey Castle is to find ten bananas throughout the course and be the first one to bring them to their own treasure chest. However, the player can only hold two bananas at a time. The player can also hit their opponents to make them lose bananas. This is played in a car.

Trophy Races
When the player manages to defeat an area boss twice and receive a piece of the Wizpig Amulet, he/she can compete in that area's Trophy Race. If the player manages to finish all four races and be placed in 1st place, he/she receives a gold trophy; silver for 2nd, and bronze for 3rd.

All five areas have a Trophy Race, but Future Fun Land's is only accessible after the player completes the second Wizpig race.

Diddy Kong Pilot
Rare planned to make a Diddy Kong Pilot, but the game ended up canceled. It was supposed to be for Gameboy Advance and Many Kongs were set to be playable, including an unnamed hillbilly Kong. It was replaced by Banjo Pilot.

Donkey Kong Racing
Rare and Nintendo also planned to make Donkey Kong Racing for the Nintendo Gamecube. However, this game was also canceled. Very little had been revealed about it, but Animal Buddies were supposed to appear.

Diddy Kong Racing DS
Finally, a remake for Nintendo DS was released, Diddy Kong Racing DS. Although a recopy, it featured more characters, tracks, and some different challenges. Some music had also changed.

References to Other Games

 * Donkey Kong Country- The introduction to the story found in the instruction booklet has an opening on Donkey Kong Island the setting of this game, also Squawks is mentioned.
 * Mario Kart 64- This game came out a short time before Diddy Kong Racing and it seems that Diddy Kong Racing was likely inspired by it, and it has been mentioned that it's popularity rivaled that of Mario Kart 64.

References in Later Games

 * Donkey Kong 64- All Kritters in this game are physically similar to Krunch.
 * The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages- Another island called "Crescent Island" appears.
 * Diddy Kong Racing DS- A remake of Diddy Kong Racing.
 * Super Smash Bros. Brawl- There is an event in which the player must fight 15 small Diddy Kongs on a Mario Circuit stage and the little description is "What's the matter? Did he lose a race or something?" possibly a reference to Diddy Kong Racing.
 * Banjo-Kazooie- Banjo returned in this game.
 * Conker's Pocket Tales- Conker returns in this game.
 * Banjo-Tooie- An answer to a question in a quiz near the end is Diddy Kong Racing.
 * Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts- Another character named T.T. appears.
 * Sabre Wulf- In this other game by Rare after completing the story Sabre Man is given a camera and has to take photos of certain areas, he finds these by clues given to him, one of the clues is Jungle Falls.