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. It makes use of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

Story
When his parents go on vacation, Timber is left to care for the family island, Timber's Island. Unfortunately, an evil, magic-wielding 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 evict people like Taj the Genie and Pipsy from their homes.

The island's fastest racer, Drumstick, challenges Wizpig to a race, only to disappear 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 Dixie Kong, his girlfriend, Tiny Kong, Dixie's sister, the clumsy turtle Tiptup, the down and dirty Bumper, and Krunch, a Kremling Krew spy, sets off to Timber's Island to take-down Wizpig.

With help from Taj and T.T., they manage 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. Unfortunately, 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, though he swears a return.

Returning to Timber's Island, another celebration is held, Wizpig having been beaten with his hold-over on the island gone.

Beating the Pig Wizard
Once the player has collected 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 anyone brave enough to enter his domain. A simple, but effective strategy against Wizpig is to simply hit the zippers he was nice enough to leave lying around the track.

The second race with Wizpig is a little more complicated, with no zippers around to help, the player need to rely on their strategy, and balloon grabbing abilities. It should be noted that Wizpig's rocket is already pretty buggy, as hitting it will not only slow the racer, but also Wizpig. Missiles are less effective on the pig as they would be against other racers, so it may be better to simply collect Blue Balloons. Keep a distance from the pig, and watch out for his space ship's gun.

"Alakazam!"
Taj the Genie is the caretaker of the island and will gladly be of assistance and training. Taj will appear every time a racer gains ten Golden Balloons and will challenge the racers. He also takes care of rewards and unlockables. Taj will allow the player to paint their vehicle for free, but he has a few expensive items in his tent on the center courtyard. He calls it his "Wishes Menu":

Balloons
Colored balloons await the racers in normal racing levels. They consist of weapons. Once a player gets up to three they will increase in strength.

Power-Up Tokens are also scattered in every race Track. Collect one and the racer can upgrade their balloon strength with just one balloon and set it to maximum power.

Car
The car. Plain and simple, four wheels and a seat. It is the easiest vehicle to steer, but it restrained to staying on the road, being slowed down slightly when driving off road, and slowing to a crawl when in water. It is limited to only being able to use zippers on the ground. The car is a good vehicle for beginners. It can be used in 18 of the 24 race tracks. In Adventure mode it is used the most, being used on 12 of the tracks. It is used against Tricky and Wizpig, during his first race.

Plane
The plane. This vehicle is slightly harder to control than the car. However, the plane isn't restricted to having to use the road, which enables it to cut corners inaccessible to cars. There are also many tracks which have paths only usable by the plane, many of which are slightly harder to access with some sort of reward, such as a balloon or power up token. The plane is not restricted to any zipper, being the only vehicle able to use all three types, and the only vehicle which can use airborne zippers. It can be used in 15 of the 24 race tracks. In Adventure mode it is used in 5 races, and against Smokey and Wizpig in his second race.

Hovercraft
The hovercraft. This vehicle is probably the hardest one to control, however, it isn't hindered by driving off road or in water. The hovercraft's ability to use the road, makes it usable alongside the car most of the time, while its ability to drive over water enables it to use shortcuts on some tracks. Getting good with this vehicle could give an advantage when racing others in cars. This vehicle can use zippers on the ground, or in the water, making it more versatile than the car, but less so than the plane. It can be used in all 24 race tracks. Despite this, in Adventure mode it is only used on the 3 tracks where there are no other options, (Whale Bay, Pirate Lagoon, and Boulder Canyon). It is used against Bluey and Bubbler.

Zippers


Zippers help vehicles Turbo Boost around corners on race tracks. They have red and yellow stripes and stand out from whatever track the racer is playing. By letting go of the gas while driving over/through a zipper, the racer can get an even larger boost.

Types of Zippers

 * The Car Zipper is flat on the ground and easy to get a good boost off of. Despite the name, all three vehicles can access it.
 * The Plane Zipper is found in the air and is a circle shape. The plane is the only vehicle that can access it. If the racer attempts to get the boost at an angle the boost will lag and be a big time consumer
 * The Hovercraft Zipper is found it water and is a triangle shape vertex that allows for easy boosting and weapon advantage strategy making. Planes can also get a boost off it

Taj's races and challenges
Taj will race and train the racer in many areas aside from selling the player 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 success 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 racers will receive their first golden balloon
 * Hovercraft Race - Before the racer goes to beat Tricky 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 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 after popping them can gain a rank (Bronze, Silver, and Gold)

Once the racer gets the bronze or higher, 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

Trophy Race
Trophy races are Grand-Prixes where the racer is pitted against an advanced computer group and races them in the area's 4 tracks in order, in an attempt to win the most amount of points. Jostle with the computer racers' places in the races, which vary in each track, so winning one or two races will pretty much secure the racer a gold trophy.

Each Trophy varies in appearance to the area it's associated to. By winning trophies the sign by the lighthouse near Sherbet Island will fill up with Wizpig's face. Once all 4 Wizpig faces are accounted for, the racer can blast to Future Fun Land after they defeat Wizpig in his first race. The fifth and final trophy race must be completed before Wizpig can be defeated, this is the only time a trophy race must be completed before the boss is defeated.

Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Mode
Diddy Kong Racing DS has six player maximum online racing challenges. If the racer unlocked the various online options from Taj, the'll have the ability to do as follows:

Single Race
Single race allows 2, 4, or 6 racers compete in one track at a time. A track is selected by each racer, and a randomizer randomizes the vehicle and track the racers use and play on. Then to the left of their usernames is a colored circle, which indicates their mark on the track. Their character icon is kept hidden from online activity.

Trophy Race
Trophy Races of the four main areas are available and a trophy Race of Jungle Japes with the four new tracks. In a grand-prix styled event the racers race through the four tracks in sequence, and whoever gains most points wins.

Battle Tracks
Once at least one Battle track is unlocked, 2-4 racers can battle on the four tracks of the original N64 Classic.

Multi-Game Racing
If at least two Diddy Kong Racing DS games are owned, the racers can race with every Multiplayer option available. Their icons are also visible.

Download Play
The entire basis is based on the racer who owns the game and the other racers who do not own the game must do whatever the one with the game wants. Options aren't limited, but the paint of the racer's vehicle is set to the default color of yellow and so are the gameless racers. Also, the icons aren't visible.

Differences Between Versions
Along with its several new features Diddy Kong Racing DS has several notable differences between it and the original Nintendo 64 version. These differences include:

T.T.'s Wish Tracks
T.T. is the major host of the adventure (second to Taj). T.T. is imprisoned in a locked door in every area because Wizpig had kidnapped him. To open the doors, the racer needs to find hidden keys (one in every area) to unlock the door and race T.T. on a custom track. If the racer beats T.T., a piece of the T.T. Amulet is won and T.T. wanders the lobby. During these custom races, T.T. guides the racer in the first three. However, it's really his custom track. For the final one, the racer makes their own, short or long. Once the racer gets all the T.T. Amulets, T.T. is freed and announces he's a playable character if the racer can beat his staff ghost in single race trials.

T.T. Keys Track Locations

 * Dino Domain
 * Ancient Lake


 * Snowflake Mountain
 * Snowball Valley


 * Sherbet Island
 * Crescent Island


 * Dragon Forest
 * Boulder Canyon

Once all four amulet pieces are won, the player can compete in the second race against Wizpig, providing they have also won every race, boss challenge and trophy.

Music
A couple of levels have different musical scores than their N64 counterparts:


 * Ancient Lake - A bit less heavy metal and a bit more jungle-like.
 * Jungle Falls - A new score with it's name sung into it "jungggggle, a-jungle falls". (Sounds like "diddyah, diddy-a-kong".) The old music from Jungle Falls was moved to the credits.
 * Hot Top Volcano - The refrain is slightly less danger-type and slightly more ground-pounding.
 * Snowball Valley - A little more of a jolly music tone, less childish like the N64 counterpart
 * Pirate Lagoon -A more tropical background tone than the hip pirate-like music in the original.
 * Treasure Caves - Less ground-pounding than the original's music, and a more tropical feel.
 * Windmill Plains -Instead of sharing its music with Greenwood Village, the DS version has more country-style music.
 * Darkmoon Caverns - A pinch less of a danger-type music and a pinch more space-type.
 * Spaceport Alpha - More space-type music quality.
 * Spacedust Alley- Has the old Spaceport Alpha music. In the original, it shared its music with Star City.

References to Other Games

 * Diddy Kong Racing- It is simply a remake of this game.
 * Donkey Kong Country- The tracks Thunder Cove, Meandering Mount, Splashdown Pass and Strangled Shrine seem to be based off the jungle levels in this game.
 * Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest- In the track Boulder Canyon, when inside the castle the music from Castle Crush plays.