Editing Golden Balloon

{{item infobox
|image=[[File:GoldballoonDKRDS.png|150px]]<br>A Golden Balloon from ''[[Diddy Kong Racing DS]]''
|first_appearance=''[[Diddy Kong Racing]]'' ([[List of games by date#1997|1997]])
|latest_appearance=''[[Diddy Kong Racing DS]]'' ([[List of games by date#2007|2007]])
}}
'''Golden Balloons''', also referred to as '''Gold Balloons''',<ref>{{cite|author=Leung, Jason; Pelland, Scott; Shinoda, Paul|title=''Diddy Kong Racing'' Player's Guide|page=18|language=American English|date=1997|publisher=Nintendo Power}}</ref><ref>{{cite|title=''Diddy Kong Racing DS'' instruction booklet|page=11|date=2007|publisher=Nintendo of America}}</ref> are shiny balloons that appear in ''[[Diddy Kong Racing]]'' and [[Diddy Kong Racing DS|its Nintendo DS version]]. They are the game's equivalent of [[Power Star]]s from ''[[Super Mario 64]]''. Golden Balloons are required to access all five worlds and their race courses, each having their own minimum requirement for entry, which is a higher number in later courses and worlds. There are a total of 47 Golden Balloons, 43 of which are awarded by [[Taj]] for either winning at a race, its [[Silver Coin Challenge]] (or [[Balloon Touch Challenge]] in the remake), and the three vehicle races against him, either involving a [[car]], [[hovercraft]], or [[plane]]. The other few Golden Balloons are in [[Timber's Island]] itself, four in the original and six in the remake. Some of them are out of reach when using a certain vehicle, but all of them can be reached using the plane:

*On the bridge that leads to the [[Dino Domain]] hub. It can be reached using any vehicle.
*On a grassy ledge to the left of the stone [[Wizpig]]'s head. It is only reachable using a [[Plane]].
*Hidden in the far left end of the ocean surrounding [[Sherbet Island]]'s entrance. It can be reached using any vehicle.
*Located between two pine trees behind the log bridge and reachable from the river using either a Hovercraft or Plane.
*In a frozen cube on the top of the entrance to [[Snowflake Mountain]]. The stylus must be used to slide the cube down the slopes into the water stream so it melts and releases the balloon onto the shore of the main beach. (remake only)
*Found unburied if the player uses the stylus to draw the balloon to match the carving on the stone wall by the smaller beach. (remake only)

==Race Courses==
The Golden Balloons are needed to unlock the worlds and race courses throughout the game. Unlocking a world automatically unlocks the first course of that world. For courses where two or all three vehicles can be used, vehicles listed in '''bold print''' are the mandated vehicle during Adventure Mode and other vehicles can only be used in a [[Time Trial]] or after the course is completed. The list of the worlds and their courses and the amount needed to unlock them is listed as follows:

{|class="dktable-brown" style="text-align:center"
{|class="dktable-brown" style="text-align:center"
!World and Amount Needed
!Course and Amount Needed
!Vehicles
|-
|rowspan=5|[[File:Dino Domain DKR.png|200px]]<br>[[Dino Domain]]<br>{{DKRbln|1}}
|-
|align=center|[[File:DKR-AncientLake.png|200px]]<br>[[Ancient Lake]]<br>{{DKRbln|1}} (first race)<br>{{DKRbln|6}} (Silver Coin/Balloon Pop Challenge) || '''Car'''<br>Hovercraft<br>Plane
|-
|align=center|[[File:DKR-FossilCanyon.png|200px]]<br>[[Fossil Canyon]]<br>{{DKRbln|2}} (first race)<br>{{DKRbln|7}} (Silver Coin/Balloon Pop Challenge) || '''Car'''<br>Hovercraft<br>Plane
|-
|align=center|[[File:DKR-JungleFalls.png|200px]]<br>[[Jungle Falls (Diddy Kong Racing)|Jungle Falls]]<br>{{DKRbln|3}} (first race)<br>{{DKRbln|8}} (Silver Coin/Balloon Pop Challenge) || '''Car'''<br>Hovercraft<br>Plane
|-
|align=center|[[File:DKR-HotTopVolcano.png|200px]]<br>[[Hot Top Volcano]]<br>{{DKRbln|5}} (first race)<br>{{DKRbln|10}} (Silver Coin/Balloon Pop Challenge) || Hovercraft<br>'''Plane'''
|-
|rowspan=5| [[File:Snowflake Mountain.png|200px]]<br>[[Snowflake Mountain]]<br>{{DKRbln|2}}
|-
|align=center|[[File:DKR-EverfrostPeak.png|200px]]<br>[[Everfrost Peak]]<br>{{DKRbln|2}} (first race)<br>{{DKRbln|10}} (Silver Coin/Balloon Pop Challenge) || Car (N64 only)<br>Hovercraft<br>'''Plane'''
|-
|align=center|[[File:DKR-WalrusCove.png|200px]]<br>[[Walrus Cove]]<br>{{DKRbln|3}} (first race)<br>{{DKRbln|11}} (Silver Coin/Balloon Pop Challenge) || '''Car'''<br>Hovercraft
|-
|align=center|[[File:DKR-SnowballValley.png|200px]]<br>[[Snowball Valley]]<br>{{DKRbln|6}} (first race)<br>{{DKRbln|14}} (Silver Coin/Balloon Pop Challenge) || '''Car'''<br>Hovercraft<br>Plane
|-
|align=center|[[File:DKR-FrostyVillage.png|200px]]<br>[[Frosty Village]]<br>{{DKRbln|9}} (first race)<br>{{DKRbln|16}} (Silver Coin/Balloon Pop Challenge) || '''Car'''<br>Hovercraft<br>Plane
|-
|rowspan=5|[[File:Sherbet Island.png|200px]]<br>[[Sherbet Island]]<br>{{DKRbln|10}}
|-
|align=center|[[File:DKR-WhaleBay.png|200px]]<br>[[Whale Bay]]<br>{{DKRbln|10}} (first race)<br>{{DKRbln|17}} (Silver Coin/Balloon Pop Challenge) || Hovercraft
|-
|align=center|[[File:DKR-CrescentIsland.png|200px]]<br>[[Crescent Island]]<br>{{DKRbln|11}} (first race)<br>{{DKRbln|18}} (Silver Coin/Balloon Pop Challenge) || '''Car'''<br>Hovercraft
|-
|align=center|[[File:DKR-PirateLagoon.png|200px]]<br>[[Pirate Lagoon]]<br>{{DKRbln|13}} (first race)<br>{{DKRbln|20}} (Silver Coin/Balloon Pop Challenge) || Hovercraft
|-
|align=center|[[File:DKR-TreasureCaves.png|200px]]<br>[[Treasure Caves]]<br>{{DKRbln|16}} (first race)<br>{{DKRbln|22}} (Silver Coin/Balloon Pop Challenge) || '''Car'''<br>Hovercraft<br>Plane
|-
|rowspan=5|[[File:Dragon Forest lobby DKR.png|200px]]<br>[[Dragon Forest]]<br>{{DKRbln|16}}
|-
|align=center|[[File:DKR-WindmillPlains.png|200px]]<br>[[Windmill Plains]]<br>{{DKRbln|16}} (first race)<br>{{DKRbln|23}} (Silver Coin/Balloon Pop Challenge) || |Car<br>Hovercraft<br>'''Plane'''
|-
|align=center|[[File:DKR-GreenwoodVillage.png|200px]]<br>[[Greenwood Village]]<br>{{DKRbln|17}} (first race)<br>{{DKRbln|24}} (Silver Coin/Balloon Pop Challenge) || '''Car'''<br>Hovercraft
|-
|align=center|[[File:DKR-BoulderCanyon.png|200px]]<br>[[Boulder Canyon]]<br>{{DKRbln|20}} (first race)<br>{{DKRbln|30}} (Silver Coin/Balloon Pop Challenge) || Hovercraft
|-
|align=center|[[File:DKR-HauntedWoods.png|200px]]<br>[[Haunted Woods]]<br>{{DKRbln|22}} (first race)<br>{{DKRbln|37}} (Silver Coin/Balloon Pop Challenge) || '''Car'''<br>Hovercraft
|-
|rowspan=5|[[File:Future Fun Land.png|200px]]<br>[[Future Fun Land]]<br>{{DKRbln|39}}
|-
|align=center|[[File:DKR-SpacedustAlley.png|200px]]<br>[[Spacedust Alley]]<br>{{DKRbln|39}} (first race)<br>{{DKRbln|43}} (Silver Coin/Balloon Pop Challenge) || Car<br>Hovercraft<br>'''Plane'''
|-
|align=center|[[File:DKR-DarkmoonCaverns.png|200px]]<br>[[Darkmoon Caverns]] <br>{{DKRbln|40}} (first race)<br>{{DKRbln|44}} (Silver Coin/Balloon Pop Challenge) || '''Car'''<br>Hovercraft
|-
|align=center|[[File:DKR-SpaceportAlpha.png|200px]]<br>[[Spaceport Alpha]]<br>{{DKRbln|41}} (first race)<br>{{DKRbln|45}} (Silver Coin/Balloon Pop Challenge) || Car<br>Hovercraft<br>'''Plane'''
|-
|align=center|[[File:DKR-StarCity.png|200px]]<br>[[Star City]]<br>{{DKRbln|42}} (first race)<br>{{DKRbln|46}} (Silver Coin/Balloon Pop Challenge) || '''Car'''<br>Hovercraft<br>Plane
|}

==Gallery==
<gallery widths=180>
Golden Balloon DKR64.png|''Diddy Kong Racing'' sprite
DKR Golden Balloon small.png|''Diddy Kong Racing'' sprite (small)
DKRDiddy1.png|Diddy driving his car while holding a Golden Balloon
Conker3.png|''Diddy Kong Racing'' artwork of [[Conker]] reaching for a Golden Balloon
DKR GoldenBalloon.png|[[Taj]] gives a Golden Balloon to Conker in [[Ancient Lake]]
TI Golden Balloon Location 1.png|The first Golden Balloon of Timber's Island
TI Golden Balloon Location 2.png|The second Golden Balloon of Timber's Island
TI Golden Balloon Location 3.png|The third Golden Balloon of Timber's Island
TI Golden Balloon Location 4.png|The fourth Golden Balloon of Timber's Island
DKRJPNC.png|Golden Balloons in the background of a Japanese ''Diddy Kong Racing'' commercial
RareRacers Spinning Pin Wizpig c.png|Golden balloon pin alongside a [[Wizpig]] pin
</gallery>

==References==
<references/>

{{DKR}}
[[Category:Balloons]]
[[Category:Collectibles]]
[[Category:Diddy Kong Racing items]]