Diddy Kong Racing was released in Christmas 1997 during
Rare’s golden era of game development on the SNES and N64. It went head to head
with Mario Kart 64 in the EU, and brought a lot of new ideas to the kart racing
sub-genre. Its main selling point was the ability to race in karts, planes and
hovercrafts.
Surprisingly it has a story! Timber the Tiger’s parents have
gone on holiday, leaving the island to be raced on with his friends. All is
well until the evil Wizpig invades, turning the island’s guardians into his
minions. So begins Diddy Kong and his racing friend’s adventure to defeat
Wizpig by completing a series of races.
The island acts as an over world for all the tracks in the
game. Which are split into four themed zones, with four tracks each. Also there
are several secrets to discover by exploring, and it’s used for three bonus
races against Taj the genie. Taj can be summoned at any time to change you
vehicle, this usually means asking for a plane as it’s the best vehicle to
navigate the island.
The over-world improved the game. You weren’t just selecting
some random track from a list. And they all thematically make sense in the
context provided by the over-world. The tracks are locked behind numbered doors,
until you collect enough balloons to enter.
To earn balloons, you have to win the available races. Once
you beat all four tracks in a zone, you get to race against the boss! Each boss
is a special track that provides a difficult challenge. Navigating past
dangerous obstacles and squeezing through tight gaps, whilst trying to avoid
being squashed.
For winning, you get to replay all the tracks to earn more
balloons. But this time with the added task of collecting eight silver coins on
your way to victory. This unlocks a rematch with the boss, with the difficulty
significantly increased. Completing everything for a second time unlocks the
race against Wizpig to save the island.
Most tracks are designed to be used by multiple vehicles.
This gives you a lot of options in multiplayer. Each player can individually
choose whether they want to race in a kart, plane or hovercraft. The same choice
is available in time trial, but the adventure mode is limited to a specific
vehicle for each track.
The only problems with the game were the tricky controls and
a lacking character line-up. My friends always preferred Mario Kart 64 because
it was easier to pick up and play. I was the only person that could handle the
heavy characters in Diddy Kong Racing. This left my friends fighting over the two
light characters that were the easiest to play. The hovercrafts were
particularly difficult to control. They handle like ocean liners. You have to
plan your turn several seconds in advance and sacrifice all your momentum.
Diddy Kong was the only character in the game that anyone
had heard of. The rest of the line-up included Timber, a stoned Tiger whose
eyes will stare into the depths of your soul. Drumstick, a giant chicken who
looked like a rejected KFC mascot. Krunch, an enemy form Donkey Kong Country 2.
Plus the first appearances of Banjo and Conker, who would go on to get their
own very successful games. Conker was such an innocent squirrel in this game.
It surprises me that over worlds and bosses haven’t been
used in kart racers since. They provide a lot of extra fun content; offering
the player more than just Grand Prix’s and time trials. The choice of vehicles
also added a lot of replay-ability. I personally hope these ideas will make a
comeback in the future, maybe in the next Mario Kart?
