Diddy Kong Racing DS

Template:Infobox Diddy Kong Racing DS is the Nintendo DS port of the Nintendo 64 game, Diddy Kong Racing. Diddy Kong Racing DS is Rare's first Nintendo DS game. This game uses Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, unlike the original. Due to Rare's move to Microsoft, Banjo and Conker were replaced by Dixie Kong and Tiny Kong. Although developed by Rare, the original game is almost entirely owned by Nintendo save for everything relating to Banjo and Conker, thereby allowing the game to be re-released (alongside Microsoft not currently participating in the handheld gaming market).

Story

Timber and the others running away from Wizpig.

The Kongs agree to help in their fight with Wizpig.

When his parents go on vacation, Timber is left to care for the family island, Timber's Island. Unfortunately, an evil pig wizard, named Wizpig, invades the island and brainwashes Tricky, Bluey, Bubbler, and Smokey to be his lieutenants. Wizpig and his lieutenants begin to take over the island and Diddy and the crew must stop Wizpig and free the control of his lieutenants.

The island's fastest racer, Drumstick, challenges Wizpig to a race, only to disappear without a trace after doing so. In desperation, Timber sends a letter to his friend Diddy Kong on which Squawks brings the letter to Diddy, asking for help. Accepting Timber's plea, Diddy, who calls his girlfriend, Dixie Kong, Tiny Kong, Tiptup, Bumper. Krunch, a Kremling Krew spy sent by King K. Rool, sets off to Timber's Island to take-down Wizpig.

With help from Taj and T.T., Diddy, Timber and co. manage to beat Tricky, Bluey, Bubbler and Smokey in races and snap them out-of Wizpig's brainwashing. Drumstick, who had been turned into a frog by Wizpig, is also returned to normal.

After Wizpig's reluctant minions become defeated, Wizpig is next challenged by Diddy Kong and his friends. After a race, Wizpig is defeated and a victory celebration is held. Unfortunately, Wizpig crashes the party.

Following Wizpig to his home planet, Future Fun Land, Diddy Kong and his friends manage to get past all of Wizpig's challenges and get a rematch with the rocket-riding Wizpig. After another race, Wizpig is beaten and his rocket malfunctions and crashes into a deserted planet and becomes stranded. He also mentions that he shall return sometime.

Returning to Timber's Island, another celebration is held, Wizpig having been beaten with his hold-over on the island gone.

Playable Characters

• 

  Diddy Kong
• DixieDKRDS.png

  Dixie Kong
• TinyKongDS.png

  Tiny Kong
• Tiptup - Diddy Kong Racing DS.jpg

  Tiptup
• 

  Pipsy
• BumperDS.PNG

  Bumper
• Timber.PNG

  Timber
• Krunch.PNG

  Krunch
• DKRDSTT.PNG

  T.T. (unlockable)
• 

  Drumstick (unlockable)
• TajDS.PNG

  Taj (unlockable)
• WizpigDS.PNG

  Wizpig (unlockable)

Stats

Character Stats
Driver	Speed	Acceleration	Handling	Pros & Cons
Diddy Kong	**	***	***	Diddy is a fairly balanced racer, with moderate acceleration and handling. However his speed is slightly below average. He has the same stats as the other Kongs.
Dixie Kong	**	***	***	Diddy's girlfriend, Dixie, shares his stats, with below average speed being her only glaring flaw. She has the same stats as the other Kongs.
Tiny Kong	**	***	***	Dixie's sister, Tiny, shares her stats, with below average speed being her only glaring flaw. She has the same stats as the other Kongs.
Tiptup	*	*****	*****	While Tiptup lacks speed, he has great acceleration and handling. He has the same stats as Pipsy.
Pipsy	*	*****	*****	Although Pipsy's top speed is far below average, she doesn't have any problem reaching it with her high acceleration, and great handling skills. She has the same stats as Tiptup.
Bumper	***	***	**	Bumper has average speed and acceleration, and slightly below average handling.
Timber	***	***	***	Timber is a well balanced racer with all three stats being in the middle.
Krunch	****	**	**	Krunch's top speed is above average, but his poor acceleration and handling could be a problem to unsuspecting players.
T.T. (unlockable)	*****	****	*****	T.T.'s stats are off the charts. With above average acceleration being his worst stat.
Drumstick (unlockable)	****	*****	**	Drumstick's got great speed and acceleration, but his tricky handling could require some getting used to.
Taj (unlockable)	*****	*	*	Taj's great top speed is a trade off for low acceleration and handling. He has the same stats as Wizpig.
Wizpig (unlockable)	*****	*	*	Wizpig has nice top speed and shares the stats with Taj, but his acceleration and handling leave a lot to be desired.

Taj's Wishes Menu

Taj the Genie is the caretaker of the island and provides assistance to Diddy and his friends. Taj appears every time the player gains ten Golden Balloons and challenges them. He also takes care of rewards and unlockables. Taj allows the player to paint their vehicle for free, but he has a few items in his tent on the center courtyard. He calls it his "Wishes Menu":

Wishes Menu Costs Taj's Wishes Menu main screen
Vehicle Upgrades
#	Item	Coin Cost	Effect
1	Basic Downforce	50	Minor Help in handling and corning of one's vehicle of choice
2	Downforce A & Downforce B	Both are 100	Major improvement in handling and cornering of one's vehicle of choice
3	Basic Sprint	50	Minor Help in acceleration of one's vehicle of choice
4	Sprint A & Sprint B	Both are 100	Major improvement in acceleration of one's vehicle of choice
5	Basic Air	50	Minor Help in speed of one's vehicle of choice
6	Air A & Air B	Both are 100	Major improvement in speed of one's vehicle of choice
7	Standard Custom	50	Minor handling sacrifice for top speed and a custom look
8	Custom A & Custom B	Both are 100	Major speed improvement and a great custom look. Handling is sacrificed and is shrunk down to poor stats.
Unlockables
#	Item	Coin Cost	Effect
1	Thunder Cove	80	A New Track
2	Meandering Mount	80	A New Track
3	Splashdown Pass	80	A New Track
4	Strangled Shrine	80	A New Track
5	Coin Challenge & Coin Challenge Mirror	20	Major part of the Nintendo 64 version, racers race through all the tracks, having to collect eight Silver Coins, and it is required to come in first place to win the challenge.
6	Sp Wish Race (Single Player) & Multi Wish Race (Multiplayer)	50	Race on the player's custom tracks with T.T. as the guide
7	Battle Track 1 (Fire Mountain)	30	One of the original Battle areas in the Nintendo 64 classic, the racer tries to gather three eggs and hatch them from atop a volcano first. (Multiplayer only)
8	Battle Track 2 (Icicle Pyramid)	30	One of the original Battle areas in the Nintendo 64 version, racers tries to strike down their rivals in a huge ice temple. If the racer loses all their bananas they lose.
9	Battle Track 3 (Darkwater Beach)	30	One of the original Battle areas in the Nintendo 64 version, racers try to strike down their rivals in a big dark water lake with small sand island-like platforms. The objective to win is similar to Icicle Pyramid. If the racer loses all their bananas, they lose.
10	Battle Track 4 (Smokey Castle)	30	One of the original Battle areas in the Nintendo 64 version. The objective to win is similar to Fire Mountain. The racer has to fill their chest with Taj Tokens. First gaining ten tokens wins.
11	Billboard Editor	50	The player can fill the racetracks and courses with their own artwork.
12	Sound Recorder	50	The player can record their own sound effects through the touch screen

Balloons

Colored balloons await the racers in normal racing levels. They consist of weapons. Once a player gets up to three, they increase in strength.

Power-Up Tokens are also scattered in every single race track. The player must collect one and can upgrade their balloon strength with just one balloon and set it to maximum power.

File:Globos.gif Balloons
Red
Hit Once	Hit Twice	Hit the Third Time	Power-up Token Upgrade
Missile	5 Semi-Homing Missiles	Homing Missile	Three Circling Rocket Missiles
Blue
Hit Once	Hit Twice	Hit the Third Time	Power-up Token Upgrade
Standard Turbo Boost (Orange Engine Blast)	Powerful Turbo Boost (Light Green Engine Blast)	Extremely Powerful Turbo Blast (Purple Engine Blast)	Autopilot that allows the player three engine boosts and a long lasting shield
Green
Hit Once	Hit Twice	Hit the Third Time	Power-up Token Upgrade
Slippery Black Sludge	Spike Bomb	Bubble	5 Fake Explosive Rareware Coins
Rainbow
Hit Once	Hit Twice	Hit the Third Time	Power-up Token Upgrade
Standard Red Magnet	Strong Yellow Magnet	Strong Green Magnet that pulls the racer towards their rival	A missile that the player can hit anyone the player chooses via the touch screen
Yellow
Hit Once	Hit Twice	Hit the Third Time	Power-up Token Upgrade
Standard Energy Shield	Better Lasting Energy Shield	Longest Lasting Energy Shield	Makes the racer invisible with a long lasting shield

Vehicles

Car

The car is the most basic vehicle with four wheels and a seat. It has simplest handling, but it can only stay on the ground, being slowed down slightly when driving off road, and goes extremely slow when used in the water. It is limited to only use zippers on the ground. The car is a beginners vehicle. It can be used in eighteen out of twenty four race tracks. In Adventure Mode, it is used the most, being used on twelve of the tracks. It is used against Tricky and Wizpig, during their first matches.

Plane

The plane is slightly trickier to control than the car. However, the plane isn't restricted to having to use the road, which enables it to cut corners inaccessible to cars such as the pathway to Snowflake Mountain. There are also many tracks which have paths only usable by the plane, many of which are slightly harder to access with some sort of reward, such as a balloon or a Power-up Token. The plane is not restricted to any zipper, being the only vehicle able to use all three types, and the only vehicle which can use airborne zippers. It can be used in fifteen out of twenty four race tracks. In Adventure Mode, it is used in five races, and against Smokey and Wizpig in his second race.

Hovercraft

The hovercraft has possibly the trickiest to control. However, it isn't hindered by driving off road or in water, although it can skid on roads. Its ability to drive over water enables it to use shortcuts on some tracks. The boat can use zippers on the ground, or in the water, making it more versatile than the car, but less versatile than the plane. It can be used in all twenty-four race tracks. Despite this, in Adventure Mode it is only used on the three tracks being Whale Bay, Pirate Lagoon, and Boulder Canyon. It is used against Bluey and Bubbler when raced against.

• CarBumper.PNG

  A standard car

• Planebumper.PNG

  Racing with Planes

• 

  The sluggish Hovercraft

Zippers

File:Zippers.png

From Left: the Car Zipper, the Plane Zipper, and the Hovercraft Zipper

Zippers help vehicles Turbo Boost around corners on race tracks. They have red and yellow stripes and stand out from whatever track the racer is playing. By letting go of the gas while driving over/through a zipper, the racer can get an even larger boost.

Types of Zippers

• The Car Zipper is flat on the ground and is fairly simple to get a good boost from.
• The Plane Zipper is found in the air and is a circle shape. The plane is the only vehicle that can access it. If racers attempts to get the boost at an angle, the boost lags and becomes a big time consumer.
• The Hovercraft Zipper is found in water and is a triangle shape vertex that allows easy boosting and weapon advantage strategy making. Planes can also get a boost on it.

Tracks

Name	C	H	P
Dino Domain
Ancient Lake
Fossil Canyon
Jungle Falls
Hot Top Volcano
Snowflake Mountain
Everfrost Peak
Walrus Cove
Snowball Valley
Frosty Village
Sherbet Island
Whale Bay
Crescent Island
Pirate Lagoon
Treasure Caves
Dragon Forest
Windmill Plains
Greenwood Village
Boulder Canyon
Haunted Woods
Future Fun Land
Space Dust Alley
Darkmoon Caverns
Spaceport Alpha
Star City
DK Island
Thunder Cove
Meandering Mount
Splashdown Pass
Strangled Shrine
Boss Races
Tricky the Triceratops
Bluey the Walrus
Bubbler the Octopus
Smokey the Dragon
Wizpig - Race 1
Wizpig - Race 2

Key C = Car P = Plane H = Hovercraft Abbreviations in bold denote the vehicle required to be used when racing in Adventure Mode.

Timber's Island Areas
Dino Domain
#	Track	Balloon Amount	Silver Coin Challenge Balloon Amount	Types of Transportation Available
1	Ancient Lake	1	6	C, H , P
2	Fossil Canyon	2	7	C , H , P
3	Jungle Falls	3	8	C , H , P
4	Hot Top Volcano	5	10	H , P
5	Boss - Tricky the Triceratops	5 or more once all 4 are beaten	10 or more once all 4 are beaten	C
Snowflake Mountain
#	Track	Balloon Amount	Silver Coin Challenge Balloon Amount	Types of Transportation Available
1	Everfrost Peak	2	10	H , P
2	Walrus Cove	3	11	C , H
3	Snowball Valley	6	14	C , H
4	Frosty Village	9	16	C , H, P
5	Boss - Bluey the Walrus	9 or more once all 4 are beaten	16 or more once all 4 are beaten	H
Sherbet Island
#	Track	Balloon Amount	Silver Coin Challenge Balloon Amount	Types of Transportation Available
1	Whale Bay	10	17	H
2	Crescent Island	11	18	C , H
3	Pirate Lagoon	13	20	H
4	Treasure Caves	16	22	C , H , P
5	Boss - Bubbler the Octopus	16 or more once all 4 are beaten	22 or more once all 4 are beaten	H
Dragon Forest
#	Track	Balloon Amount	Silver Coin Challenge Balloon Amount	Types of Transportation Available
1	Windmill Plains	16	23	C , H , P
2	Greenwood Village	17	24	C , H
3	Boulder Canyon	20	30	H
4	Haunted Woods	22	37	C , H
5	Boss - Smokey the Dragon	22 or more once all 4 are beaten	37 or more once all 4 are beaten	P
Future Fun Land
#	Track	Balloon Amount	Silver Coin Challenge Balloon Amount	Types of Transportation Available
1	Spacedust Alley	39	43	C , H , P
2	Darkmoon Cavern	40	44	C , H
3	Spaceport Alpha	41	45	C, H , P
4	Star City	42	46	C , H , P
5	Boss - Wizpig	---	47	P

Other Balloons

Taj's races and challenges

File:Hellofriend.PNG

Taj, after his respectable defeat.

Taj races and trains the racer in many areas aside from selling the player unlockables and helping them customize their car. He usually rides his Magic Carpet or stands in awe as the racer fulfills Taj's own wish. In return for the racers success in the challenge he gives them a Golden Balloon.

Taj Challenges

• Car Race - Once the racer starts their game, they race Taj around in a circle with the car, following the black and white tokens. This is an act of training and racers receive their first Golden Balloon.
• Hovercraft Race - Before the racer goes to beat Tricky again, Taj races the racer with the hovercraft around the island while following the tokens.
• Plane Race - After Dino Domain is completed, the racer races Taj in planes around the island following the tokens in a similar pattern to the Hovercraft race.
• Blowing out the Torches challenge - After Bubbler is defeated, Taj orders the racer to blow out nine torches on the island in sixty seconds or a single minute.
• Taj Token Tussle - The racer races Taj around the island for ten Taj Tokens by following the arrows to their temporary locations. The first to ten tokens wins.

Balloon Pop Challenge

File:Balloonchallenge.PNG

The Balloon Challenge count screen where the racer can keep track of how many Balloons they've popped so far.

After the area's major boss is defeated (except Future Fun Land's), the boss orders the racer to get at least a Bronze Balloon in each of their four tracks. By using the Stylus, racers can pop the Golden Balloons scattered over each track. Fifty Gold Balloons are in each, and after popping them can gain the rank Bronze, Silver, or Gold.

Once the racer gets the bronze ranking or higher, the racer receives a Golden Balloon for their first win at the challenge.

Rank amounts

• Dino Domain

Bronze - 25 balloons

Silver - 35 balloons

Gold - 50 balloons

• Snowflake Mountain

Bronze - 35 balloons

Silver - 40 balloons

Gold - 50 balloons

• Sherbet Island/Dragon Forest/Future Fun Land

Bronze - 40 balloons

Silver - 45 balloons

Gold - 50 balloons

Trophy Race

File:Trophyrace.PNG

Diddy Races in a Trophy Race in Windmill Plains.

Trophy Races are Grand-Prix races where racers race each other in the area's four tracks in order, in an attempt to win the most amount of points. The racer must jostle with the computer racers' places in the races, which vary in each track, so winning one or two races secures the racer a gold trophy.

Each Trophy varies in appearance to the area it's associated to. By winning trophies the sign by the lighthouse near Sherbet Island fills up Wizpig's face. Once all four Wizpig Amulets are accounted for, the racer can blast to Future Fun Land after they defeat Wizpig in his first race. The fifth and final trophy race must be completed before Wizpig can be defeated, this is the only time a trophy race must be completed before the boss is defeated.

Multiplayer

Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Mode

Diddy Kong Racing DS has six player maximum online racing challenges. If the racer unlocked the various online options from Taj, they have the ability to do as follows:

Single Race

Single race allows two, four, or six racers to compete in one track at a time. A track is selected by each racer, and a randomizer randomizes the vehicle and track the racers use and play on. Then to the left of their usernames is a colored circle, which indicates their mark on the track. Their character icon is kept hidden from online activity.

Trophy Race

Trophy Races of the four main areas are available and a trophy Race of Jungle Japes with the four new tracks. In a Grand Prix styled event, the racers race through the four tracks in sequence, and whoever gains most points wins.

Trophy Race Point Comparisons
	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th
TR 6 Players	9	7	5	3	1	0
TR 5 Players	9	7	5	3	1	---
TR 4 Players	9	7	5	3	---	---
TR 3 Players	9	7	5	---	---	---
TR 2 Players	9	3	---	---	---	---

Battle Tracks

When battled at least once, a Battle Track is unlocked, two-four racers can battle on the four tracks of the original Nintendo 64 version.

Multi-Game Racing

If at least two Diddy Kong Racing DS games are owned, the racers can race with every Multiplayer option available. Their icons are also visible.

Download Play

The entire basis is based on the racer who owns the game and the other racers who do not own the game must do whatever the one with the game wants. Options aren't limited, but the paint of the racer's vehicle is set to the default color of yellow and so are the gameless racers. Also, the icons aren't visible.

Differences between versions

Along with its several new features Diddy Kong Racing DS has several notable differences between it and the original Nintendo 64 version. These differences include:

DKR - DKRDS
Differences
#	N64 Version	DS Version
1	Banjo and Conker were among the selectable characters.	Due to Nintendo losing the licensing for these characters (and also that Conker would no longer fit in with the game's theme), Dixie and Tiny replaced them.
2	Taj has a face plate in the center grove of the island where a racer could honk a horn and summon him.	Taj now owns a tent and is summoned by honking or tapping it with the stylus.
3	Bananas were a source of speed. Collecting ten total achieves maximum speed, and getting hit by a weapon would make the racer lose two bananas.	Rare Coins take the bananas' place and the racer can collect them to buy some unlockable stuff from Taj.
4	Wizpig and Taj are non-playable major characters.	Wizpig and Taj are playable once unlocked.
5	Tricky's track was spiraled mountain with a shortcut near the middle.	Tricky's Track is shorter and trickier to fall off.
6	Tricky's second boss round has falling trees.	Tricky's second boss round has no falling trees and is much easier.
7	For the second Wizpig challenge, Wizpig's rocket malfunctions for no apparent reason in the closing segments.	At the end race with the second Wizpig challenge, if the racer gets too close to Wizpig, his rocket starts to malfunction and they both are hurt.
8	Cutscenes are elaborate and each character has unique voices and music.	The cutscenes are less impressive and simpler, and the characters have changed voices so that they sound almost alike (except for T.T.'s which sounds identical to the Nintendo 64's release).
9	After a boss is defeated two times, Taj's face replaces Wizpig's on the boss door.	Once the boss is beaten, the door does not change. There is also a third challenge that uses the Touch Screen.
10	T.T. has great speed and acceleration, and an above average handling.	T.T. has great speed and handling, and an above average acceleration.
11	Four random prize balloons float in certain parts of the island for the racer to fly into and collect easily.	The four balloons are now at a price: each has a little touch challenge for the racer to fulfill to get the balloons.
12	The racer's computer-controlled foes are randomized and different. The unlockables are present in various races.	The basic computer foes stay the same. Computer foes vary from character to character (EX: If the racer's T.T., Tiptup won't be a computer-controlled foe in a race for some reason).
13	There are four battle stations after the player gets a hidden key in one of the four tracks in the world and if the racer wins the battle stages, they get a balloon from Taj and a piece of the T.T. Amulet	The player may receive a part of the T.T. Amulet by racing in a Wish Race, three of which have preset designs.
14	Planes can barrel roll and flip.	Barrel rolls and flips are absent.
15	Krunch has a skull on the back on his jacket.	Due to the limited graphical resolution, the skull is no longer drawn.
16	Magic Codes were a part of the game.	There are no longer any Magic Codes.
17	Walrus Cove has ice that makes a racer bounce back on the track.	Ice is replaced with water.
18	Everfrost Peak could have the racers in cars.	Cars are a removed choice on this track as the ice has changed to water.
19	Wizpig's laugh is present in many places in the game.	Wizpig's laugh is gone.
20	Sometimes a boss gives players a head start.	Only Bluey in both races and his extra challenge, Tricky in his first race, and Smokey in his extra challenge, give head starts.
21	Bubbler shoots bubbles in his second race.	Bubbler shoots bubbles and spike bombs in his second race, making it more challenging for a racer.
22	Smokey leaves few fireballs in his first race and many in his second.	Smokey has an easier second race with fewer fireballs. The first race has none at all.
23	Two Red Balloons make a homing missile and three make ten missiles.	Two Red Balloons make five Semi-Homing Missiles while three make a Homing Missile.
24	Yellow balloons with purple stars have three icons that indicate their power shield in this order : a red and yellow circle, a star, and a lightning bolt.	The first and last icons are reversed.
25	Diddy says "Diddy Kong Racing! Press start." on the title screen.	Diddy says nothing on the title screen.
26	The character is controlled with the analog stick	The character is controlled with the D-pad, although the 3DS slidepad acts as an analog stick of sorts.
27	Taj has a stereotypical East Indian accent.	Taj's stereotypical accent is removed, being replaced with a softer, British-Indian accent.

T.T.'s Wish Tracks

File:Ttwishtracks.png

T.T. instructs the custom track feature.

T.T. is the major host of the adventure (second to Taj). T.T. is imprisoned in a locked door in every area, due to Wizpig kidnapping him. In order for the player to open the doors, they must find hidden keys (one in every area) to unlock the door and race T.T. on a custom track. If the racer defeats T.T., a piece of the T.T. Amulet is won and T.T. wanders the lobby. During these custom races, T.T. guides the racer in the first three. However, it's really his custom track. For the final one, the racer makes their own, short or long. Once the racer gets all the T.T. Amulets, T.T. is freed to walk around the lobbies like in the original game and announces he's a playable character if the racer can beat his staff ghost in single race trials.

T.T. Keys Track Locations

• Dino Domain

Ancient Lake

• Snowflake Mountain

Snowball Valley

• Sherbet Island

Crescent Island

• Dragon Forest

Boulder Canyon

Once all four amulet pieces are won, the player can compete in the second race against Wizpig, providing they have also won every race, boss challenge and trophy.

Music

A couple of levels have different musical scores than their Nintendo 64 counterparts:

• Ancient Lake - A bit less heavy metal and a bit more jungle-like.
• Jungle Falls - A new score with its name sung into it "jungggggle, a-jungle falls". (Sounds like "diddyah, diddy-a-kong".) The old music from Jungle Falls was moved to the credits.
• Hot Top Volcano - The refrain is slightly less danger-type and slightly more ground-pounding.
• Snowball Valley - Instead of sharing its music with Everfrost Peak, the DS version has more jolly music.
• Pirate Lagoon - A more tropical background tone than the hip pirate-like music in the original.
• Treasure Caves - Less ground-pounding than the original's music, and a more tropical feel.
• Windmill Plains - Instead of sharing its music with Greenwood Village, the DS version has more country-style music.
• Darkmoon Caverns - A pinch less of a danger-type music and a pinch more space-type.
• Spaceport Alpha - More space-type music quality.
• Spacedust Alley- Has the old Spaceport Alpha music. In the original, it shared its music with Star City.

Reception

The game received average reviews,Game Rankings gave it a 67/100 and Metacritic gave it a 63/100.

Staff

Main article: List of Diddy Kong Racing DS staff

References to Other Games

• Diddy Kong Racing - It is simply a remake of this game.
• Donkey Kong Country - The tracks Thunder Cove, Meandering Mount, Splashdown Pass and Strangled Shrine seem to be based off the jungle levels in this game.
• Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest - In the track Boulder Canyon, when inside the castle the music from Castle Crush plays.