MarioWiki:Featured articles/Unfeature/N1/Diddy Kong Racing

Remove featured article status

 * 1) This article from first glance, looks fine. It has a great opening paragraph that details the game, its reissue, and its canceled successors. I feel the story section could be condensed a little bit since it goes on for quite a while, especially since it's more about the game manual than the in-game story but maybe I'm nitpicking. The characters could use internal stats; they are sourced from a YouTube video and that's not always reliable. For a good example, look at Mario Kart 64 for how to detail that information. Also, I'm told that the stats change when a character is in a plane and hovercraft, so information on how that changes is greatly appreciated. Taj is described as an "Indian elephant" though he just has the accent. "Wizpig is a giant sorcerous pig-man from outer space" is a bit wordy. The vehicle table is okay I guess. I feel in the Tracks and Progression section, instead of putting the image of the bosses' artwork, it's a screenshot of the boss in-game to be consistent with the other levels. The items are nicely described and so are the Weapon Balloons. Likewise, the special awards aren't terribly described. There's even a nice section on the cheat codes. Regional differences are fine too (and that stub template should be removed). The Pre-release and unused content section could use for a better intro; it's a bit jarring it just mentions there is one unused track. The reception section only includes 2 reviews. I'm sure there were more professional reviews for this game. There is a template regarding a lack of media sources which is pretty concerning but not the biggest problem. The references section are actually quite good because they are quite narrow which I like. I would probably remove the Mario Kart: Double Dash!! information since it seems speculative.  However, those are actually small problems compared to my biggest problem, a lack of a detailed gameplay section. In comparison to Mario Kart 64 where there is a section on its gameplay, this is stunningly missing. What is the game like? What mechanics were borrowed from Mario Kart? I'm sure some of its mechanics are in there.  Also, there is not much on this game's multiplayer whatsoever. In other words, this article does not do a good job at mentioning the most important aspects of the game and what distinguishes it from other games. What this article needs is a gameplay section and a section regarding the multiplayer aspects of the game. Then this article can be featured again in my eyes.  There has been a recent attempt to fix some of the issues but there are still some unpolished. As Mario states, there isn't a section on the Time Trials and there are still not some good moment on the page that describes the multiplayer functions. There's also a section missing how the game's controls work.
 * 2) I think the tables need to be reworked overall (Tracks and progression table is not easy to follow, with rows not really guiding my eyes easily; the silver coin challenge being located in the same row as the vehicle compatibility/default parameters), but it's not a problem unique to this page, including featured articles. That being said, the lack of a gameplay section is a glaring omission. It does have similar controls to Mario Kart, but there are many differences: only cars can drift, and those won't grant you speed boosts at all; if you drift too wide you'll spin out. Also letting go of the A-button while boosting gives you a different color and grants a slightly bigger boost (it's mentioned in the article, but it would help to be also written as prose). Final lap doesn't reset the music like in Mario Kart, it just speeds up the song Most of the article does have gameplay discussion such as how item balloons work, but it's basically scattered. Time trial doesn't even get mentioned as a selectable mode despite it being crucial for a character unlock and I think you see it available in the solo mode through the doors. For the multiplayer, you pick up to four people (multiple of each character can't be selected unless it's a cheat iirc), have them race on the tracks; Future Fun Land tracks need to be unlocked. There is a cheat code Adventure Mode with 2 players, but it's restricted to just the races afaik, so no exploring Timber's Island with a friend LOL; not sure about the boss races). There are also Challenge Mode stages which aren't summarized at all in the article, but some of these are balloon battle esque (not all). There isn't much media listed, and the staff section is just a mishmash of content from the list; it would help to at least contextualize these staff members.

Keep featured article status

 * 1) Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) I've gone and addressed most of the above points (esp. the gameplay section), and as for the others, I have some counterarguments to make: -Internal data: I only added that to MK64 because they were the only stats available other than weight class for that game. This one has no such issue. -Progression's car and race unlock layout: There's not really a better way to do that. If, for instance, the unlock was done by column, it would be inconsistent, since some only have one race, Silver Coin challenges only exist for normal tracks, and the second race for bosses is a different thing altogether. -Boss art on progression table: Problem there is the others use a screenshot of an establishing runthrough take, which boss races do not have. I suppose a screenshot of the boss talking to the player character could work? I fail to see how it is a big deal, though. -Descriptions: I'd use the manual ones, but those don't exist for the Island Guardians.