Icicle Pyramid

Icicle Pyramid is the challenge level in Snowflake Mountain in Diddy Kong Racing and its remake, Diddy Kong Racing DS. It is available after being unlocked, but in the Nintendo DS remake, it can only be played in multiplayer mode. The stage can be unlocked by obtaining the Wish Key in Snowball Valley in the original game and by 30 coins in the Nintendo DS version.

During gameplay, racers try to strike down their rivals with items in a ice pyramid of three stories. Every racer's health is represented by bananas; they start out with eight of them, and each hit takes away two of them. This means that if a racer gets hit four times, they are out. The last player remaining is the winner. In the Nintendo DS version the bananas are replaced by four balloons, with one being lost to each hit.

The official Diddy Kong Racing website suggested using Tiptup for this level.

Layout
Racers start the battle on the second floor, which is made up of a tunnel around the perimeter of the area. In the center, racers can drive their vehicles along a solid ice platform to grab Weapon Balloons. If racers fall into the edges of the ice, they will land down into the center of the first floor.

The bottom floor, like the second floor, also has a long tunnel that fills the perimeter of the area. Outside of this tunnel is a large, open area for racers to pass through each tunnel, grab items, or drive back up to the second floor.

The third floor is a small area at the top of the pyramid, and it only has a few Weapon Balloons. It can be reached by taking a curvy route on the outside of the second floor. A thin road stretches along the perimeter of the third floor, and in the center, is a large, gaping hole. Racers that fall down it are taken to the second floor, or possibly the first floor.

In the Nintendo DS remake, each racer starts the battle in a tunnel on the bottom floor.