Editing Diddy Kong Racing

{{redirect|DKR|the canceled [[Nintendo GameCube]] follow-up starring [[Donkey Kong]]|[[Donkey Kong Racing]]|the [[Wii]] game referred to as "Donkey Kong Returns" in Japan|[[Donkey Kong Country Returns]]}}

|publisher=Rareware (publication)<br>[[Nintendo]] (distribution)

|release={{flag list|Europe|November 21, 1997|Japan|November 21, 1997|USA|November 24, 1997}}

|languages={{languages|en_us=y|fr_fr=y|de=y|jp=y}}

|genre=[[Genre#Racing games|Racing]], adventure

|ratings={{ratings|esrb=K-A|pegi=3|acb=G}}

|format={{format|n64=1}}

'''''Diddy Kong Racing''''' is a [[Genre#Racing games|racing]]/adventure game developed and published by [[Rare Ltd.|Rareware]] for the [[Nintendo 64]]. Featuring gameplay elements similar to the ''[[Mario Kart (series)|Mario Kart]]'' series, the game includes the use of airplanes, hovercrafts, and cars. The game features a story mode and a multiplayer mode. Most of the game's playable characters besides the titular [[Diddy Kong]] are original characters, though two characters who would go on to be the main characters of their own franchises, [[Banjo]] and [[Conker]], first appeared in ''Diddy Kong Racing'' while their own games were still in development.

''Diddy Kong Racing'' sold 4.5 million copies upon release<ref name="makingof">{{cite|url=www.timeextension.com/features/the-making-of-diddy-kong-racing-the-game-that-overtook-mario-kart|title=The Making Of Diddy Kong Racing, The Game That Overtook Mario Kart|author=Watts, Martin|date=October 8, 2022|publisher=Time Extension|accessdate=May 23, 2024}}</ref> and was recognized by ''[[Guinness World Records]]'' as the fastest-selling game of the time, with 800,000 copies sold before Christmas 1997. The game was even successful enough to become a [[Player's Choice]] title.

According to the instruction manual, the story begins with [[Diddy Kong]] sitting on the porch of his tree house opening a letter delivered by a carrier pigeon. The note reads, "Dear Diddy, Help!!!" The message is from his old friend, [[Timber]], the son of the [[Kong]]s' guests, the Tigers. Diddy reads the note and invites his friends, [[Banjo]] and [[Conker]] to join him in the fight against [[Wizpig]]. Diddy calls [[Squawks]] to deliver the message to his friends. While Diddy is in the jungle, two [[Kremling]]s watch him from behind a boulder. One Kremling, [[Krunch]], suggests they follow Diddy, but the other Kremling ignores him; Krunch eventually follows Diddy Kong.

 

Meanwhile, Timber is trying to calm [[Pipsy]], where she exclaims that she had just seen [[Taj]], who said he would help. [[Tiptup|TipTup]], confused, protests that Taj has been missing for 50 years. Afterwards, the group thinks about the Wizpig face that was carved onto the mountainside overnight and the race courses that were magically sealed. The group knows they need to solve the problem before Timber's parents return. [[Bumper (character)|Bumper]] then concludes the conversation by telling his friend that everybody needs to start practicing. Agreeing with Bumper, Timber and his friends leave, hoping that Diddy Kong does not mention this to Timber's parents; this is where the story leads into the game's own opening, where Taj introduces himself to the player character and explains what they need to do to progress.

 

When the first four worlds are completed, the carving of Wizpig's head on the mountainside opens and allows one of the characters [[Wizpig's First Strike|to race Wizpig]]. After beating him, the group has a party along the beach. However, Wizpig interferes in the party before a spaceship arrives and takes him into space. The lighthouse on the beach transforms into a rocket ship that takes them to [[Future Fun Land]].

 

After the character completes all the tasks in that world and gets the whole [[T.T. amulet]], [[Wizpig Strikes Back|Wizpig can be faced again]], racing against him in their plane, while he rides a rocket. After winning, Wizpig's rocket short circuits and blasts him into an unknown planet. Once again, the characters celebrate their victory without Wizpig interfering and with the carving of Wizpig's head on the mountainside turned into a golden carving of Taj's head.  

Right before the credits roll, one of Wizpig's spaceships appears, and Wizpig's laughter is heard, leaving the game on a cliffhanger.

[[File:Windmill Plains.png|thumb|left|One of ''Diddy Kong Racing'''s main mechanics is the use of different vehicles. For example, [[Diddy Kong|Diddy]] is riding a [[plane]].]]

''Diddy Kong Racing'' features ten playable characters—eight of which are available by default, and two unlockable—and three different types of vehicles for different terrain: [[car]]s for land, [[hovercraft]]s for water or land, and [[plane]]s for air. Each character and vehicle has different strengths and weaknesses, sometimes in combination. For example, [[Krunch]] normally has low steering, but his steering is higher in a hovercraft due to that vehicle's emphasis on weight.

In the Adventure mode, the player is placed on [[Timber's Island]] and tasked with collecting [[Golden Balloon]]s to access various challenges. There is a total of five worlds that can be accessed from the main Timber's Island hub, and each has four main racetracks, a [[trophy]] championship, a boss track, and—aside from the last one—a special battle minigame. Different vehicles are sometimes required for different tracks, and the player can change them at any time by speaking with [[Taj]], located in the center of the Timber's Island map. Each of the smaller worlds, meanwhile, instead has [[T.T.]] walking around the hub, and he tells the player's progress when approached.

Golden Balloons can be found scattered on Timber's Island or won from races, either from tracks or from Taj on the island. All of the standard tracks have two Golden Balloons available: one from a standard race, and one from completing a [[Silver Coin]] collection challenge. The standard races must be completed first to race the world's boss, who then challenges the player to complete the Silver Coin races; after they are completed as well, the player can rematch the boss for a piece of the [[Wizpig amulet]]. The boss then challenges the player to complete the Trophy Race championship. Each of the first four worlds has a [[Wish Key|key]] hidden in one track that opens a gate to the respective world's battle minigame, which awards a piece of the [[T.T. amulet]].

When all four pieces of the Wizpig amulet are gathered, the player is able to race Wizpig himself to banish him from the island. Upon losing, he throws a tantrum and retreats to his own planet (the final world), and the player must have all four trophies to reach it. To race him again, the player must complete all races and Silver Coin challenges in this last world (itself requiring every Golden Balloon in the game) and collect all four pieces of the T.T. amulet from the Challenge levels. The adventure is complete once Wizpig is defeated here.

 

The game also has a time trial mode, where the player needs to race to beat T.T.'s best times. This is optional in the main game, but it is required to unlock T.T. himself. Additionally, "magic codes" can be used to affect the game in various ways, with one being told to the player after they complete the adventure.

There are 10 playable characters in ''Diddy Kong Racing'', with eight available from the start and two being unlockable. All of these characters except [[Diddy Kong]] debut in this game. Some characters have discrepancies depending on the vehicle they use; [[Tiptup|TipTup]] and [[Pipsy]] have the same speed as Diddy on a car when they have 4 to 10 bananas and have the same speed as Diddy on a hovercraft and a plane, while [[T.T.]] has the same speed and acceleration as [[Krunch]] on a plane.<ref>{{cite|author=William5000000|date=February 25, 2017|url=www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkeqPxKQ_Tk|title=''Diddy Kong Racing'' - Character Stats|language=en|publisher=YouTube|accessdate=April 5, 2020}}</ref> This is the first game to introduce [[Banjo]], [[Tiptup|TipTup]] (later renamed Tiptup), and [[Conker]], three characters who appear in other [[Rare Ltd.|Rare]] games with Banjo being one of the main characters in ''[[jiggywikki:Banjo-Kazooie|Banjo-Kazooie]]'' and Tiptup appearing as a minor character, returning in the sequel ''[[jiggywikki:Banjo-Tooie|Banjo-Tooie]]''. Conker would appear in ''Conker's Pocket Tales'' and would've appeared in ''Twelve Tales: Conker 64'' until it was reworked into the adult-oriented title, ''Conker's Bad Fur Day''. Banjo and Conker would be removed in ''[[Diddy Kong Racing DS]]'', replaced by [[Tiny Kong]] and [[Dixie Kong]] respectively. However, Tiptup still appears in both versions.

{|border=1 style="text-align:center; border:1px solid black; border-collapse:collapse; max-width:1258px; background:wheat"

|-

!style="background:saddlebrown; color:white"|Default characters

|style="display:inline-block; background:peru; max-width:306px" width=100%|

{|class="wikitable dk" border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=4 margin=0 padding=0 style="border:1px solid black; border-collapse:collapse; padding:0px; margin:0px; height:100%" width=100%

!colspan=2 style="background:burlywood; height:64px" align="center"|[[File:Krunch-CSS-DKR.png]]<br><big>{{text outline|{{color-link|orange|Krunch}}}}

!colspan=2 style="background:white; height:250px" align="center"|[[File:Krunch.jpg|294x250px]]

!colspan=2 style="background:burlywood"|Bio:

|colspan=2 style="height:128px"|"''Seeing Diddy Kong rush off so suddenly makes the Kremlings very suspicious, so Krunch goes bounding after him to make sure there aren't any anti-Kremling plots in the works. Diddy Kong, Timber and company don't exactly trust him, but Krunch insists he's only there to lend a hand...''"

!width=50% style="background:burlywood"|Weight group:

|'''{{color|red|Heavy}}'''

|-

!style="background:burlywood"|Vehicle color:

|'''{{text outline|{{color|orange|Orange}}}}'''

|style="display:inline-block; background:peru; max-width:306px" width=100%|

{|class="wikitable dk" border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=4 margin=0 padding=0 style="border:1px solid black; border-collapse:collapse; padding:0px; margin:0px; height:100%" width=100%

!colspan=2 style="background:burlywood; height:64px" align="center"|[[File:Diddy-CSS-DKR.png]]<br><big>{{text outline|{{color-link|blue|Diddy Kong}}}}</big>

!colspan=2 style="background:burlywood"|Bio:

|colspan=2 style="height:128px"|"''Regarded as a hero after all his adventures in Kong country, the young primate is a long-time friend of Timber and doesn't think twice about responding to his call for help. With his family tending to their guests, he even manages to sneak off without their interference.''"

!width=50% style="background:burlywood"|Weight group:

|'''{{color|green|Middle}}'''

!style="background:burlywood"|Acceleration:

|3/5

!style="background:burlywood"|Turning:

|3/5

|-

!style="background:burlywood"|Top speed:

|2.5/5

|-

!style="background:burlywood"|Vehicle color:

|'''{{text outline|{{color|blue|Blue}}}}'''

Adventure Two is played the same as the standard Adventure Mode, but harder. The balloons are silver, the tracks are flipped (very similar to [[Mirror Mode]] in the [[Mario Kart (series)|''Mario Kart'' series]]), and the locations of the silver coins are different, often in hard to reach places. It is unlocked by defeating Wizpig at Future Fun Land in Adventure Mode.

Players can freely play all the race tracks unlocked. Tracks with a Taj symbol are completed tracks, and players can choose any vehicle that is compatible with the track. Tracks with a Wizpig symbol have not been cleared, and players will be unable to play that track at all. The tracks are listed in the order they appear in Trophy Races, not in the order they are unlocked in Adventure Mode. At the start of the game, only the first of the tracks (as ordered by the Trophy Race) can be played from each of the main four worlds.

 

Trophy Races and Challenge levels are also accessible through Tracks mode, however players will always use each track's default vehicle, regardless if a Taj symbol is present.

 

 

During standard races, eight characters travel three laps around the track in the same type of vehicle as each other. Each world has four standard race tracks, and a [[Golden Balloon]] is the prize for winning.

 

 

Silver Coin challenges are much like normal races, except that the eight [[Silver Coin]]s scattered across the track must be collected before winning. For the first four worlds, they are recommended after the boss is defeated the first time and are necessary to rematch them. In Future Fun Land, they are simply done after all the normal races with no boss race in between. As with normal races, a Golden Balloon is earned by beating them.

 

 

 

 

 

The gameplay in [[Darkwater Beach]] is identical to Icicle Pyramid, but uses hovercrafts instead of cars.

In [[Smokey Castle]], players, using cars, complete to gather ten bananas into their respective treasure chest, with only two at a time being able to be carried.

===Taj's challenges===

[[File:DKR TajRace.png|thumb|left|TipTup racing Taj in a plane]]

After the player collects enough Golden Balloons in Adventure Mode, Taj will appear and challenge the player to a race in a specific vehicle. The player has to race Taj, who rides a flying carpet. The racetrack is marked with red flags showing the Nintendo 64 logo and the player has to follow them. If they leave the set track by too far a margin, they will be disqualified. After Taj is beaten, he will reward the player with another Golden Balloon. There are three different challenges and each of them can be repeated at any time after they have been unlocked (the player will only obtain one Golden Balloon per challenge however).  

Hovercraft Challenge is the second of Taj's races and is somewhat more difficult 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 to the finish line.

|style="display:inline-block; background:peru; max-width:332px" width=100%|

{|class="wikitable dk" border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=4 margin=0 padding=0 style="border:1px solid black; border-collapse:collapse; padding:0px; margin:0px; height:100%" width=100%

!colspan=4 style="color:white"|<big>'''1: {{color-link|white|Ancient Lake}}'''</big>

|-

!colspan=4 style="background:white" width=324px height=244px|[[File:DKR-AncientLake.png]]

|rowspan=2 style="background:#BE9966" width=84px height=84px|[[File:DKR Map Ancient Lake.png]]

|-

|[[File:DKR D.png|Default]]

|[[File:Check mark.svg|x27px|Yes]]

!colspan=4 style="color:white"|Unlock requirements:

|colspan=2 height=70px|Default:<br>{{DKR balloons|1}}

|colspan=2|Silver Coin Challenge:<br>{{DKR balloons|6}}

!colspan=4 style="color:white"|Rewards:

|colspan=4 height=36px|{{DKR balloons|2}}, [[File:DKR Wish Key model.png|x32px|key|link=Wish Key]]

 

|style="display:inline-block; background:peru; max-width:332px" width=100%|

{|class="wikitable dk" border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=4 margin=0 padding=0 style="border:1px solid black; border-collapse:collapse; padding:0px; margin:0px; height:100%" width=100%

!colspan=4 style="background:white" width=324px height=244px|[[File:DKR-FossilCanyon.png]]

|colspan=2 height=70px|Default:<br>{{DKR balloons|2}}

|colspan=2|Silver Coin Challenge:<br>{{DKR balloons|7}}

!colspan=4 style="color:white"|Rewards:

|colspan=4 height=36px|{{DKR balloons|2}}

 

|style="display:inline-block; background:peru; max-width:332px" width=100%|

{|class="wikitable dk" border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=4 margin=0 padding=0 style="border:1px solid black; border-collapse:collapse; padding:0px; margin:0px; height:100%" width=100%

!colspan=4 style="color:white"|Unlock requirements:

|colspan=2 height=70px|Default:<br>{{DKR balloons|3}}

|colspan=2|Silver Coin Challenge:<br>{{DKR balloons|8}}

!colspan=4 style="color:white"|Rewards:

|colspan=4 height=36px|{{DKR balloons|2}}

 

|style="display:inline-block; background:peru; max-width:332px" width=100%|

{|class="wikitable dk" border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=4 margin=0 padding=0 style="border:1px solid black; border-collapse:collapse; padding:0px; margin:0px; height:100%" width=100%

!colspan=4 style="background:white" width=324px height=244px|[[File:DKR-HotTopVolcano.png]]

|colspan=2 height=70px|Default:<br>{{DKR balloons|5}}

|colspan=2|Silver Coin Challenge:<br>{{DKR balloons|10}}

!colspan=4 style="color:white"|Rewards:

|colspan=4 height=36px|{{DKR balloons|2}}

 

|style="display:inline-block; background:peru; max-width:332px" width=100%|

{|class="wikitable dk" border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=4 margin=0 padding=0 style="border:1px solid black; border-collapse:collapse; padding:0px; margin:0px; height:100%" width=100%

|rowspan=2 style="background:#BE9966" width=84px height=84px|[[File:DKR Map Tricky the Triceratops.png]]

|colspan=2 height=70px|First:<br>All four default races complete

|colspan=2|Second:<br>All four Silver Coin Challenges complete

!colspan=4 style="color:white"|Rewards:

|colspan=4 height=36px|Wizpig amulet piece

|style="display:inline-block; background:peru; max-width:332px" width=100%|

{|class="wikitable dk" border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=4 margin=0 padding=0 style="border:1px solid black; border-collapse:collapse; padding:0px; margin:0px; height:100%" width=100%

!colspan=4 style="background:white" width=324px height=244px|[[File:DKR-FireMountain.png]]

|-

|rowspan=2 style="background:#BE9966" width=84px height=84px|[[File:DKR Map Fire Mountain.png]]

|width=80px|[[File:Car DKR art.png|76x38px|Car|link=Car]]

|width=80px|[[File:DKR Hovercraft.png|76x38px|Hovercraft|link=Hovercraft]]

|width=80px|[[File:DKR Plane.png|76x38px|Plane|link=Plane]]

|[[File:X mark.svg|x27px|No]]

|[[File:X mark.svg|x27px|No]]

|[[File:DKR D.png|Default]]

|-

!colspan=4 style="color:white"|Unlock requirements:

!colspan=4 style="color:white"|Rewards:

|colspan=4 height=36px|TT amulet piece

!colspan=3 style="color:white"|Rewards:

|colspan=3 height=36px|Trophy

 

 

 

|style="background:cornsilk"|A snowy, Christmas-themed area. It is accessed from the frosty northeast corner of Timber's Island and requires two balloons to enter.

 

|style="display:inline-block; background:peru; max-width:332px" width=100%|

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|-

|rowspan=2 style="background:#BE9966" width=84px height=84px|[[File:DKR Map Everfrost Peak.png]]

|width=80px|[[File:Car DKR art.png|76x38px|Car|link=Car]]

|width=80px|[[File:DKR Hovercraft.png|76x38px|Hovercraft|link=Hovercraft]]

|width=80px|[[File:DKR Plane.png|76x38px|Plane|link=Plane]]

|-

|-

 

!colspan=4 style="background:white" width=324px height=244px|[[File:DKR-WalrusCove.png]]

|-

|rowspan=2 style="background:#BE9966" width=84px height=84px|[[File:DKR Map Walrus Cove.png]]

|-

 

|rowspan=2 style="background:#BE9966" width=84px height=84px|[[File:DKR Map Snowball Valley.png]]

|width=80px|[[File:DKR Hovercraft.png|76x38px|Hovercraft|link=Hovercraft]]

|width=80px|[[File:DKR Plane.png|76x38px|Plane|link=Plane]]

|colspan=4 height=36px|{{DKR balloons|2}}, [[File:DKR Wish Key model.png|x32px|key|link=Wish Key]]