Diddy's Dash
| Diddy's Dash | |
|---|---|
 Gameplay of Diddy's Dash in the level Hot-Head Hop. | |
| Appears in | Donkey Kong Country 2 |
| Time limit | Five minutes |
| Prize | Points |
- “What happened? Did you get lost?”
- —Cranky Kong, after Diddy loses at a level
Diddy's Dash is a time attack mode in the Game Boy Advance of Donkey Kong Country 2. It is the successor to DK Attack from Donkey Kong Country on the Game Boy Advance. As the name suggests, Diddy Kong is the only playable character. The objective is for him to go through a level as quickly as possible.
Gameplay
In various parts of every level, there is a vertical alignment of stars spanning from the top to the bottom of the screen. This line serves as a checkpoint, so if Diddy takes damage or falls into a pit, he respawns from where the checkpoint is. There is a timer keeping track of how long Diddy has been in the level. However, if Diddy defeats multiple enemies in succession, the timer stops for a couple of seconds. The length in which is stops depends on how many enemies Diddy defeats in succession, with each enemy representing an extra second of the paused timer. DK Barrels are replaced with crates and regular barrels, since Dixie Kong does not appear in the mode. DK Coins and Bonus Areas were removed entirely, although Bonus Barrels and Bonus Area openings are erroneously left intact. The Bonus Barrels simply only slow time, meaning that if Diddy enters into one, he is immediately redirected back into the main level. When Diddy finishes a level, the player's high score is recorded for that level. The player can subsequently race through the level and attempt to beat their best time. The player can only play in levels that they have accessed during the main adventure mode. Boss battles are not available in Diddy's Dash, but are instead done in the main adventure mode, where they are timed and hosted by Swanky Kong for a fee.
Every level has a completion high score of five minutes at first. If Diddy manages to beat all of these times, Cranky Kong reveals a few cheat codes for the player to enter via the Cheats menu: KREDITS, HELPME, FREEDOM, ONETIME, and RICHMAN. He then challenges Diddy to beat his own level times. If Diddy outdoes all of Cranky's best times, Cranky reveals a few cheats: WEAKLING, WELLARD, ROCKARD, and WELLRICH. Cranky's times are as follows:
- Pirate Panic: 00:20
- Mainbrace Mayhem: 00:30
- Gangplank Galley: 00:30
- Lockjaw's Locker: 00:55
- Topsail Trouble: 00:55
- Hot-Head Hop: 01:00
- Kannon's Klaim: 00:58
- Lava Lagoon: 01:30
- Red-Hot Ride: 02:45
- Squawks's Shaft: 01:00
- Barrel Bayou: 01:15
- Glimmer's Galleon: 01:50
- Krockhead Klamber: 01:05
- Rattle Battle: 01:05
- Slime Climb: 01:1
- Bramble Blast: 01:41
- Hornet Hole: 01:40
- Target Terror: 01:27
- Bramble Scramble: 02:00
- Rickety Race: 01:30
- Mudhole Marsh: 01:40
- Rambi Rumble: 01:30
- Ghostly Grove: 01:00
- Haunted Hall: 01:55
- Gusty Glade: 01:10
- Parrot Chute Panic: 02:00
- Web Woods: 01:00
- Arctic Abyss: 01:40
- Windy Well: 02:55
- Castle Crush: 04:25
- Clapper's Cavern: 01:10
- Chain Link Chamber: 01:45
- Toxic Tower: 02:00
- Screech's Sprint: 02:00
- Jungle Jinx: 01:15
- Black Ice Battle: 01:12
- Klobber Karnage: 01:46
- Fiery Furnace: 01:40
- Animal Antics: 03:00
Glitches
Diddy's Dash has several glitches. To perform one of them, the player must input either ROCKARD or WELLARD from the "Cheats" sub-menu, then enter Diddy's Dash and select any level. When the selected level is started, Dixie appears as the other playable character. If Diddy and Dixie change positions, Diddy's icon in the top-right corner does not change into Dixie's icon; it only shifts slightly upward or downward. Though, if the level is restarted while Dixie is in the lead, her icon takes the place of Diddy's. The glitch's effects wear off if the level is exited or completed.
