Hovercraft
- This article is about the vehicle from Diddy Kong Racing. For Funky Kong's similarly-named vehicle from Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, see Hover Craft.
Hovercrafts are one of the three usable vehicles in Diddy Kong Racing and Diddy Kong Racing DS, the other two being cars and planes. Their main attribute is the ability to float across bodies of water, including lava due to their immunity to burn, and they can jump and go across ice that is too bouncy for cars. The hovercrafts are the default vehicle of those stages, which are the main theme of Sherbet Island. It is the only hub world where the character drives around in a hovercraft. These vehicles can be driven in every stage, except for some boss fights and battle stages. In the Nintendo DS remake, players can initiate a Rocket Start by blowing into the DS's microphone.
In the original Diddy Kong Racing, every character's hovercraft had its own color, just like cars and planes. In Diddy Kong Racing DS, every character's hovercraft is yellow by default, though the player can change its color and add more customization options to it from Taj's Wishes Menu. The colors in the original version are as follows:
Hovercrafts are a usable vehicle in every course. However, they are only used as a default vehicle in three courses, two from Sherbet Island and one from Dragon Forest. The player races in a hovercraft during two boss races, against Bluey and Bubbler; it is the only vehicle that is not used in a race against Wizpig. Darkwater Beach is the only Challenge Level where racers ride in hovercrafts.
| Course | Availability | Default vehicle | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dino Domain | |||
| Ancient Lake | 
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| Fossil Canyon |
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| Jungle Falls |
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| Hot Top Volcano |
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| Boss level: Tricky Challenge |
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| Challenge Level: Fire Mountain |
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| Snowflake Mountain | |||
| Everfrost Peak |
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| Walrus Cove |
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| Snowball Valley |
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| Frosty Village |
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| Boss level: Bluey Challenge |
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| Challenge Level: Icicle Pyramid |
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| Sherbet Island | |||
| Whale Bay |
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| Crescent Island |
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| Pirate Lagoon |
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| Treasure Caves |
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| Boss level: Bubbler Challenge |
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| Challenge Level: Darkwater Beach |
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| Dragon Forest | |||
| Windmill Plains |
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| Greenwood Village |
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| Boulder Canyon |
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| Haunted Woods |
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| Boss level: Smokey Challenge |
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| Challenge Level: Smokey Castle |
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| Future Fun Land | |||
| Space Dust Alley |
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| Darkmoon Caverns |
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| Spaceport Alpha |
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| Star City |
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| Wizpig | |||
| Wizpig's First Strike |
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| Wizpig Strikes Back |
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Gallery[edit]
Artwork[edit]
Aerial view of a hovercraft
Diddy Kong
TipTup
Tiptup
Conker
Timber
Characters driving in hovercrafts
Early hovercraft and car designs
Screenshots[edit]
Diddy Kong Racing
Diddy Kong Racing DS
Diddy Kong Racing DS icon
Trivia[edit]
- In the original Nintendo 64 version of Diddy Kong Racing, while the inflatable body is 3d, the fan and the engine parts of the hovercraft in-game are pre-rendered sprites, similar to the racers in Mario Kart 64. The wheels on cars also function this way.
