Weapon Balloon

File:Globos.gif

The five types of Item Balloons.

An Item Balloon is a type of balloon in Diddy Kong Racing and its Nintendo DS remake, Diddy Kong Racing DS. As their name suggests, Item Balloons grant the racers with items to attack their opponents with when touched. Many Item Balloons appear in every course in the game. When touched, the balloons break and disappear for a short amount of time, but appear soon after for another player to grab.

Item Balloons come in five different colors: Red, blue, yellow, green, and rainbow, and the type of item given by them depends on their color. For example, Green Balloons give the player an oil slick, while Blue Balloons give them a speed boost. Additionally, balloons of the same color can be hit multiple times to earn powered up versions of the items earned from them. However, if a balloon of a different color is hit, the weapon from this balloon replaces the previous item, downgrading it. In the DS version of the game, this is changed so that the previous item is not changed when a balloon of a different color is hit, and the balloon instead simply breaks.

Items Given by Balloon

Note that some balloons give different weapons in the DS version. Also note that Power-Up Token upgrades are exclusive to the remake as well.

Red Balloon
Number of Balloons	Weapon (Nintendo 64 version)	Weapon (Nintendo DS version)
Upgrade 1	One normal missile that can only fire forwards	One normal missile that can only fire forwards
Upgrade 2	One homing missile	Five normal missiles
Upgrade 3	10 normal missiles	One homing missile
Power-Up Token Upgrade	None	Patroller Missile

Blue Balloon
Number of Balloons	Weapon (Nintendo 64 version)	Weapon (Nintendo DS version)
Upgrade 1	A small speed boost	A small speed boost
Upgrade 2	A bigger speed boost	A bigger speed boost
Upgrade 3	A large speed boost	A large speed boost
Power-Up Token Upgrade	None	Boost Vortex

Green Balloon
Number of Balloons	Weapon (Nintendo 64 version)	Weapon (Nintendo DS version)
Upgrade 1	An oil slick or gas cloud	An oil slick or gas cloud
Upgrade 2	A land or floating mine	A land or floating mine
Upgrade 3	A bubble trap	A bubble trap
Power-Up Token Upgrade	None	Trickster Mine

Yellow Balloon
Number of Balloons	Weapon (Nintendo 64 version)	Weapon (Nintendo DS version)
Upgrade 1	A weak shield	A weak shield
Upgrade 2	A stronger shield	A stronger shield
Upgrade 3	A powerful shield	A powerful shield
Power-Up Token Upgrade	None	Hide-me Shield

Rainbow Balloon
Number of Balloons	Weapon (Nintendo 64 version)	Weapon (Nintendo DS version)
Upgrade 1	A weak, yellow magnet	A weak, yellow magnet
Upgrade 2	An advanced, red magnet	An advanced, red magnet
Upgrade 3	A powerful magnet the pulls opponents towards the player	A powerful magnet the pulls opponents towards the player
Power-Up Token Upgrade	None	Magna Missile