Golden Balloon
| Golden Balloon | |
|---|---|
 A Golden Balloon from Diddy Kong Racing DS | |
| First appearance | Diddy Kong Racing (1997) |
| Latest appearance | Diddy Kong Racing DS (2007) |
Golden Balloons, also referred to as Gold Balloons,[1][2] are shiny balloons that appear in Diddy Kong Racing and its Nintendo DS version. They are the game's equivalent of Power Stars from Super Mario 64. Golden Balloons are required to access all five worlds and their race courses, each having their own minimum requirement for entry, which is a higher number in later courses and worlds. There are a total of 47 Golden Balloons, 43 of which are awarded by Taj for either winning at a race, its Silver Coin Challenge (or Balloon Touch Challenge in the remake), and the three vehicle races against him, either involving a car, hovercraft, or plane. The other few Golden Balloons are in Timber's Island itself, four in the original and six in the remake. Some of them are out of reach when using a certain vehicle, but all of them can be reached using the plane:
- On the bridge that leads to the Dino Domain hub. It can be reached using any vehicle.
- On a grassy ledge to the left of the stone Wizpig's head. It is only reachable using a Plane.
- Hidden in the far left end of the ocean surrounding Sherbet Island's entrance. It can be reached using any vehicle.
- Located between two pine trees behind the log bridge and reachable from the river using either a Hovercraft or Plane.
- In a frozen cube on the top of the entrance to Snowflake Mountain. The stylus must be used to slide the cube down the slopes into the water stream so it melts and releases the balloon onto the shore of the main beach. (remake only)
- Found unburied if the player uses the stylus to draw the balloon to match the carving on the stone wall by the smaller beach. (remake only)
Gallery
Diddy Kong Racing sprite
Diddy Kong Racing sprite (small)
Diddy driving his car while holding a Golden Balloon
Diddy Kong Racing artwork of Conker reaching for a Golden Balloon
Taj gives a Golden Balloon to Conker in Ancient Lake
The first Golden Balloon of Timber's Island
The second Golden Balloon of Timber's Island
The third Golden Balloon of Timber's Island
The fourth Golden Balloon of Timber's Island
Golden Balloons in the background of a Japanese Diddy Kong Racing commercial
Golden balloon pin alongside a Wizpig pin
