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Diddy Kong Racing is a racing game developed for the Nintendo 64. While certain elements are similar to the Mario Kart series (specifically Mario Kart 64), there are several key differences. Among them is the offering of the hovercraft and airplane (in addition to the standard kart) on certain race courses.
The game has several features. Among them are Adventure Mode, Multiplayer Mode, and Cheat Menu. Diddy Kong is the only veteran character in the game, as all of the remaining characters were developed by Rare during that time; new characters include Banjo, Tiptup, and Conker. However, it does not feature Donkey Kong. He is away on vacation at the time of the game.
Characters[]
Each character has strengths and weaknesses and should be considered carefully before each race. The HATS (Handling, Acceleration, and Top Speed) attributes determine how well a character corners in tight turns and how quickly he or she reaches his or her maximum speed. 1 is the lowest, and 3 is the highest. The W (Weight) attribute determines how difficult it is to push a character away, with 1 being the easiest and 3 being the hardest. The A (Aggregate) Score is the sum of the HATS and W attributes and is a reference to give a player a more informed decision as to which character to choose. The higher the A Score, the better the character is overall.
Note: The following characters were originally created for this game and its Nintendo DS sequel. They do not subsequently appear anywhere else.
- Pipsy the Mouse
- Drumstick the Rooster
Racers[]
| Character | Bio Descriptions | Han. | Acc. | Top Spd. | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
He is the nephew of Donkey Kong. He appears in this game as one of the playable characters and is a primate. All of his stats are about average and is one of the protagonists. He shares his stats with Banjo and Conker. | 2 | |||
 |
She is the only female character in the game and one of the lightest characters in the game along with Tiptup. She is a yellow mouse and shares the same stats with Tiptup. | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
 |
Drumstick famously lost a race to Wizpig and suffered the fate of being turned into a green frog. He is an unlockable character who is hard to control and has slightly below average stats. Note: Drumstick was originally created for this game and its Nintendo DS sequel. He does not subsequently appear anywhere else. |
1 | 3 | ||
 |
He is a turtle and is one of the lightest characters in the game along with Pipsy. Tiptup is known to have high speed and shares stats with Pipsy. | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
 |
He is a red squirrel in the game and has average stats. He shares his stats with Banjo and Diddy. He later goes on with his own infamous adventures. | 2 | |||
 |
He is a honey bear who appears as one of the racers in the game. He has average stats and he shares these stats with Diddy and Conker. He later goes on with his own adventures. | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
 |
He is a tiger and the one who called all of his friends on an adventure to help free the control of Wizpig off his island. He has average stats on all three parameters. | 2 | |||
 |
He is a badger who appears in the game. He has average speed, but not below average handling and acceleration. | ||||
 |
He is a Kremling who, at first, was sent by King K. Rool to find out what Timber and his friends were up to and was checking out if they were not hatching an anti-Kremling plan. He, however, helps them out. He has poor handling, but fine speed and acceleration. | 1 | 3 | ||
 (unlockable) |
He is a clock who can be unlocked when won against in all of the races in Time Trials mode in every single vehicle possible for that course after obtaining all four pieces of the T.T. Amulet. He has high stats on every single parameter and also gives the player stats and info about their adventure in each world. | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
Other[]
Bosses[]
Courses[]
Dino Domain[]
Location: On the bridge to the right of Wizpig's statue.[]
Balloon number required to access: 1[]
| Track | Golden/Silver Balloons required | Vehicles used in track |
|---|---|---|
| Ancient Lake | 1 (Default)
6 (Silver Coin Challenge) |
|
| Fossil Canyon | 2 (Default)
7 (Silver Coin Challenge) | |
| Jungle Falls | 3 (Default)
8 (Silver Coin Challenge) | |
| Hot Top Volcano | 5 (Default)
10 (Silver Coin Challenge) |
|
Snowflake Mountain[]
Location: Through the snowy log entrance to the right of the bridge leading to Dino Domain.[]
Balloon number required to access: 2[]
| Track | Golden/Silver Balloons required | Vehicles used in track |
|---|---|---|
| Everfrost Peak | 2 (Default)
10 (Silver Coin Challenge) |
|
| Walrus Cove | 3 (Default)
11 (Silver Coin Challenge) |
|
| Snowball Valley | 6 (Default)
14 (Silver Coin Challenge) | |
| Frosty Village | 9 (Default)
16 (Silver Coin Challenge) |
|
Sherbert Island[]
Location: On a small island that's west from the lighthouse.[]
Balloon number required to access: 10[]
| Track | Golden/Silver Balloons required | Vehicles used in track |
|---|---|---|
| Whale Bay | 10 (Default)
17 (Silver Coin Challenge) |
|
| Crescent Island | 11 (Default)
18 (Silver Coin Challenge) |
|
| Pirate Lagoon | 13 (Default)
20 (Silver Coin Challenge) |
|
| Treasure Caves | 16 (Default)
22 (Silver Coin Challenge) |
|
Dragon Forest[]
Location: Under the 2nd waterfall from the left of Wizpig's statue.[]
Balloon number required to access: 16[]
| Track | Golden/Silver Balloons required | Vehicles used in track |
|---|---|---|
| Windmill Plains | 16 (Default)
23 (Silver Coin Challenge) |
|
| Greenwood Village | 17 (Default)
24 (Silver Coin Challenge) |
|
| Boulder Canyon | 20 (Default)
30 (Silver Coin Challenge) |
|
| Haunted Woods | 22 (Default)
37 (Silver Coin Challenge) |
|
Future Fun Land[]
Location: Access via the lighthouse (which is secretly revealed to be a rocket).[]
Requirement: Must complete all the Trophy Races from the last 4 courses & beat Wizpig (the first time).[]
| Track | Golden/Silver Balloons required | Vehicles used in track |
|---|---|---|
| Spacedust Alley | 39 (Default)
43 (Silver Coin Challenge) |
|
| Darkmoon Caverns | 40 (Default)
44 (Silver Coin Challenge) |
|
| Spaceport Alpha | 41 (Default)
45 (Silver Coin Challenge) |
|
| Star City | 42 (Default)
46 (Silver Coin Challenge) |
|
Reception[]
The game received critical acclaim upon release. The game version holds an aggregate score of 89% at GameRankings based on 20 reviews[1] and 88 at Metacritic based on 15 reviews.[2]
| Aggregator scores | |
|---|---|
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | 89%[1] |
| Metacritic | 88/100[2] |
| Review Scores | |
| Publiciation | Score |
| AllGame | 4.5/5[3] |
| Edge | 9/10[4] |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 9/10[5] |
| GameSpot | 6.6/10[6] |
| IGN | 8.4/10[7] |
| N64 Magazine | 90%[8] |
| Next Generation | 4/5[9] |
| Nintendo Life | 8/10[10] |
The graphics and gameplay were the most praised aspects of the game. Some critics noted how it minimised pop-up without resorting to the use of distance fog.[5][11] Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot disputed this, saying that the game has both pop-up and distance fog in amounts comparable to the average Nintendo 64 game. He nonetheless stated that the game was a "pleasure to look at" and praised the detail of the tracks.[6] Doug Perry of IGN heralded the visuals as the most "spectacular of its kind", and praised Rare's ability to master dynamic animation through enabling polygons to span larger surfaces without loss of framerate. Furthermore, Perry stated that the game's technical achievements were enough to leave "even the most critical Japanese gamer [to] look upon with smiling eyes".[7]
Although Crispin Boyer opened his review of the game for Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) with the warning "Don't dismiss this out-of-the-blue racer as a Mario Kart 64 clone",[5] most reviews compared the two games. Gerstmann suspected Nintendo of rushing Diddy Kong Racing to market in order to fill a quarter left vacant by delays of other Nintendo games, and argued it was much too soon after Mario Kart 64's debut to release such a similar game.[6] Other critics, including Boyer's EGM co-reviewers, focused on Diddy Kong Racing's perceived superiority to Mario Kart 64.[4][5][7][9] Dan Hsu of EGM said it "beats Mario Kart 64 in every department", particularly mentioning the superior balance and level designs.[5] Edge praised the adventure and progression aspect of the game, stating that the game's single-player mode is "everything Mario Kart 64 should have been."[4]
The character designs met with a variety of opinions. EGM's Shawn Smith praised the characters as "hilarious".[5] Next Generation, by contrast, said the character designs are "pathetic and obvious, molded from the same cookie cutter as Banjo-Kazooie and Conker", noting the formulaic use of anthropomorphic animal characters and the simplistic application of each animal's characteristics to gameplay.[9] Perry felt that the vocals of characters in the game were "heartwarming" and "comical", while also stating that "some of the characters are just too damn cute and are certain to annoy older gamers."[7]
Overall assessments of the game were mostly positive. GamePro gave it a 4.5 out of 5 for sound and a perfect 5.0 in control, graphics, and fun factor, calling it "a feverishly fun Nintendo 64 racer that combines elements of Mario Kart 64, Wave Race 64, and Pilotwings 64 into one spectacular game."[11] EGM named it "Game of the Month", with its four reviewers lauding the challenging gameplay and numerous objectives to tackle.[5] Gerstmann instead counted the latter as the game's greatest weakness, arguing that having to repeatedly play through the same courses with slightly different objectives makes the game excessively repetitive. He concluded that the game is far better than Mario Kart 64, but the repetitiveness "ultimately kills it."[6] Next Generation fell more in line with the majority, remarking that the combination of racing and adventure elements works well, and that "Diddy Kong Racing shows Rare's pure craftmanship, displaying keen subtleties that eventually win players over."[9]
Retrospective reviews[]
Andrew Donaldson of Nintendo Life stated that the game was visually "incredibly vibrant" and "captivating" for a game of the early Nintendo 64 era.[10] Scott McCall of AllGame acknowledged its only shortcoming was its "excessive" amount of clipping, although he admitted it was not "unbearable". He praised the wide range of audio in the game, including its voice acting and soundtrack; he heralded the music as "interesting" and "fitting" to its race tracks, also considering it superior to that of Mario Kart 64.[3] Donaldson criticised game's presentation as too "cutesy", especially in terms of the characters' voices. However, he praised the "upbeat" and "catchy" soundtrack, saying that each track had its own unique tune to suit the distinct environment.[10] In 2009, Official Nintendo Magazine ranked the game 79th on a list of the greatest Nintendo games of all time.[12]
Accolades[]
EGM named Diddy Kong Racing "Racing Game of the Year" at its 1997 Editors' Choice Awards.[13] Diddy Kong Racing was awarded with "Console Racing Game of the Year" by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences in 1998, beating Mario Kart 64, Moto Racer and NASCAR 98.[14]
Fan Reception[]
WatchMojo has ranked Diddy Kong Racing in the following categories, at the #12 spot in their "Top 20 Greatest Nintendo 64 Games Of All Time" list countdown in 2021,[15] the #7 spot in their "Top 10 Nintendo 64 Multiplayer Games" list countdown in 2016,[16] the #9 spot in their "Top 10 Donkey Kong Games" list countdown in 2016,[17] the #2 spot in their "Top 10 Kart Racing Games" list countdown in 2016 (right behind Mario Kart 64),[18] the #8 spot in their "Top 20 Greatest Racing Games of All Time" list countdown in 2021,[19] and at the #11 spot in their "11 Awesome Kart Racers That Aren't Mario Kart" list countdown in 2020 on their gaming channel MojoPlays.[20]
Trivia[]
- Diddy Kong was originally developed by Rare as a newer version of Donkey Kong Jr. for the 1994 SNES game, Donkey Kong Country.
- In 2007, a remake called Diddy Kong Racing DS was released for the Nintendo DS. Much like Super Mario 64 DS, it featured new gameplay elements and a plethora of additions over its predecessor.
- In the remake, Dixie Kong and Tiny Kong replace Banjo and Conker due to the latter characters now being owned by Microsoft.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Diddy Kong Racing for Nintendo 64". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 5 December 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Diddy Kong Racing for Nintendo 64". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 9 November 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 McCall, Scott (1997). "Diddy Kong Racing review". AllGame. Archived from the original on 10 December 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Diddy Kong Racing". Edge. No. 53. Future Publishing. Christmas 1997. pp. 84–85.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 "Review Crew: Diddy Kong Racing". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 101. Ziff Davis. December 1997. p. 191.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Gerstmann, Jeff (19 November 1997). "Diddy Kong Racing review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 21 July 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Perry, Doug (24 November 1997). "Diddy Kong Racing review". IGN. Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- ↑ Ashton, James (Christmas 1997). "Diddy Kong Racing". N64 Magazine. No. 10. Future Publishing. pp. 32–47.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 "Cute in Overdrive". Next Generation. No. 37. Imagine Media. January 1998. p. 143.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Donaldson, Andrew (25 June 2011). "Diddy Kong Racing review". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 2 July 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Johnny Ballgame (December 1997). "Nintendo 64 ProReview: Diddy Kong Racing". GamePro. No. 111. IDG. pp. 130–1.
- ↑ "80 - 61 ONM". ONM. Archived from the original on 23 February 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
- ↑ "Editors' Choice Awards". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 104. Ziff Davis. March 1998. p. 88.
- ↑ "Console Racing Game of the Year 1998". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- ↑ Reynolds, J. (2021, November 24). Top 20 Greatest Nintendo 64 Games Of All Time. WatchMojo.
- ↑ Humphries, F. (2016, February 24). Top 10 Nintendo 64 Multiplayer Games. WatchMojo.
- ↑ Gordon, B. (2016, February 9). Top 10 Donkey Kong Games. WatchMojo.
- ↑ Hvorup, K. (2016, February 2). Top 10 Kart Racing Games. WatchMojo.
- ↑ Richardson, T. (2021, February 2). Top 20 Greatest Racing Games of All Time. WatchMojo.
- ↑ Richardson, T. (2020, October 11). 11 Awesome Kart Racers That Aren’t Mario Kart. WatchMojo.