Bumper (character)
| Bumper | |
|---|---|
 Bumper, as he appears in Diddy Kong Racing DS | |
| Full name | Bumper the badger[1] |
| Species | Badger |
| First appearance | Diddy Kong Racing (1997) |
| Latest appearance | Diddy Kong Racing DS (2007) |
| Portrayed by | Lee Schuneman[2] |
- “Badgers don't stink, no matter what anyone else says.”
- —Bumper, Nintendo Power[3]
Bumper is a badger and one of the playable characters in Diddy Kong Racing and its Nintendo DS remake. He also appeared in various Super Mario media released only in Japan, but this stopped in 2002, when the rights of Bumper were transferred to Microsoft, following their acquisition of Rare Ltd.
He is described across multiple supplemental material to Diddy Kong Racing as a lover of speed, thrills and races. A promotional e-mail by Rare Ltd. in 2004 to promote the release of Conker: Live & Reloaded implied that one of the racers from Diddy Kong Racing had been jailed.[4] An instance on the Rare Ltd. website in 2012 further confirmed that the imprisoned individual in question had been "Bumper the badger".[5] A tweet made by Rare Ltd. in 2021 in response to a joke made by the Super Mario Wiki account on X added that Bumper at some point in time was put on parole, and that he was superficially apologetic for his actions.[6]
History
Concept and creation
An early design of Bumper was shared online by Kevin Bayliss, former Rare graphic and character designer that worked on Diddy Kong Racing.[7][8][better source needed] This early incarnation of Bumper was seemingly colored blue.
Diddy Kong Racing / Diddy Kong Racing DS
Bumper was one of many characters whom Timber contacted for help to stop Wizpig from taking over Timber's Island. Bumper's theme instrument on the character selection menu is a steel guitar. Bumper has average speed, acceleration, and turning abilities. His top speed without bananas is 56.5 mph, like with Conker and Timber. His vehicle color is yellow. Bumper had very few changes in the Nintendo DS remake, such as a more matured voice.
Mario no Bōken Land
Bumper makes a small non-speaking cameo in the Diddy Kong Racing segment of Mario no Bōken Land, titled "Go Go Diddy!". He is shown competing in a race, in his car, in second place.
4-koma Gag Battle
Bumper appears throughout the 4-koma Gag Battle manga adaptation of Diddy Kong Racing.
Mario Artist: Paint Studio
His Diddy Kong Racing artwork appears as a stamp in Mario Artist: Paint Studio.
Unused appearances
A "Dark" version of Bumper would have appeared in the Diddy Kong Racing Adventure, which was a rejected pitch for a Diddy Kong Racing sequel. He would have used mud tornadoes as his special move.
Profile and statistics
Diddy Kong Racing
- Character stats
- Weight: Middle
- Acceleration: 2.5/5
- Handling: 2.5/5
- Top Speed: 3/5
- Vehicle Color: Yellow
- Instruction booklet bio: "(Medium acceleration, medium weight, good handling, medium top speed) Unlike most of his kind, Bumper the badger prefers speed and thrills to a quiet nocturnal lifestyle. He gets even more worked up than his friends when he realizes how much racing and excitement will be involved in the crusade to get rid of Wizpig..."[9]
- Player's Guide: "Recruited by Timber to join the resistance against Wizpig, this burly badger is ready to take on all comers. It’s not just his sense of justice that’s spurring him on, though. He’s in it as much for the sheer thrill of racing as anything else."[10]
- Nintendo Power Volume 103: "Bumper the badger breaks from the time-honored badger traditions of burrowing and sleeping twenty hours a day. This fellow lives for speed. Although all his starts put him in the middle range, he has good handling in every vehicle. With Bumper, you may never need to choose another driver."[11]
- Diddy's Drivers Ed: "Bumper's a light-heavyweight who does well on courses where there isn't a lot of turning required. His handling is slightly better than Conker's, but his acceleration is not as good."[12]
- Nintendo 64 Game Secrets, 1999 Edition: "Trending toward the heavy end of the weight spectrum, Bumper suffers from slightly sluggish handling and lower-than-average acceleration (but not by much). On the plus side, he’s got a higher top speed than any animal but Banjo or Krunch. His added weight and relatively midground attributes make him a good candidate for any Hover race, especially as long as there are no extremely tight corners."[13]
- Rarewhere: "Unlike most of his kind, Bumper the badger prefers speed and thrills to a quiet nocturnal lifestyle, and he gets even more worked up than his friends when he realises how much racing and excitement will be involved in the crusade to get rid of old snout-face Wizpig!"[14]
Diddy Kong Racing DS
- Character stats
- Speed: 3/5
- Acceleration: 2/5
- Handling: 3/5
Gallery
- For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Bumper (character).
Diddy Kong Racing (Japanese commercial)
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | バンパー[?] Banpā |
Bumper | |
| French | Bumper[15] | - |
References
- ^ "Diddy Kong Racing. Nintendo of Australia. Archived February 18, 1999, 06:05:58 UTC from the original via Wayback Machine.
- ^ April 2013. GamesTM Issue 134 ("The 25 Greatest Nintendo Games"). Page 58.
- ^ November 1997. Nintendo Power Volume 102. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 29.
- ^ Conker's Public Address. The Next Level. Retrieved December 3, 2017. (Archived August 4, 2008, 09:49:26 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ Rare Mini-Scribes: May 18, 2012. Retrieved December 3, 2017. (Archived February 10, 2014, 12:13:09 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ RareLtd (October 6, 2021). Oh, Bumper's been a free badger (well, on parole) for a while now and he's superficially sorry for all those bad things he did.. X. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
- ^ TCRF. Development:Diddy Kong Racing. The Cutting Room Floor.
- ^ @render_archive. Some diddy kong racing test renders shared by kev bayliss on tik tok. X. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
- ^ Nintendo (1997). Diddy Kong Racing instruction booklet. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 24.
- ^ Swan, Leslie (1997). Diddy Kong Racing Nintendo Player's Guide. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 6.
- ^ December 1997. Nintendo Power Volume 103. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 15.
- ^ Diddy's Drivers Ed. dkr.com. Archived December 6, 1998, 06:57:14 UTC from the original via Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
- ^ April 7, 1999. Nintendo 64 Game Secrets, 1999 Edition Prima's Official Strategy Guide. Prima Games. ISBN 0-7615-2103-7. Page 36.
- ^ Rarewhere: DKR Cast List. Rarewhere. Archived July 5, 1998, 00:52:50 UTC from the original via Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
- ^ Official Nintendo french magazine N3. Page 25.
