Retro Review: Diddy Kong Racing

In 1997, two significant kart racing games were released for the Nintendo 64. Mario Kart 64 came first, and it proved to be a fun experience, especially with multiple players. However, the overall experience was a bit limited, with sixteen tracks and only eight characters. That same year, Rareware would release a superior racing game to the popular system, starring the lovable monkey Diddy Kong. The game, entitled Diddy Kong Racing, would prove to be an amazing experience, and would become Rare's best racing game of all time. It had a ton of variety, lovable characters, loads of challenges, and plenty of non-stop fun. I shall now tell you more about this excellent racing game.

There is actually a story involved here: Wizpig, an intergalactic swine, has come to our world and invaded an island where its inhabitants love to race. Timber the tiger was charged with protecting the island while his parents were off to visit the Kongs, but with Wizpig around, a lot of trouble has occurred in a hurry. Some residents have been hypnotized, others have been kicked out of their homes, and Drumstick the rooster, the island's best racer, has gone missing. Timber decides to summon help from his old friends, and they soon arrive, ready to help the young tiger free his island from Wizpig's control. With the aid of Taj, the elephant genie, the team bands together to prove who among them is worthy of racing Wizpig and banishing him from our world forever. Yes, the story is not really all that special, but at least it serves its purpose.

Initially, you get to race as one of eight different characters. Naturally, Diddy is among the drivers, as is a Kremling named Krunch (who joined the group not because he has decided to turn to the good side, but because he wanted to ensure that they were not planning to attack the vile reptiles). Some future Rare stars made their debut here; namely, Banjo the bear (who would make his starring debut in Banjo-Kazooie the following year), Tiptup the turtle (known for his cameos in the Banjo-Kazooie series), and Conker the squirrel (back when he was a family friendly character, before Rare decided to give him a Bad Fur Day). The remaining three characters-Timber the tiger, Pipsy the mouse, and Bumper the badger-would ultimately become one-shot characters apart from being featured in the DS remake of the game. Some characters such as Pipsy and Tiptup are lightweight and make navigating the game's twenty courses a virtual piece of cake, while other drivers such as Krunch are so heavy that it is an accomplishment to finish the race at all, let alone getting a first place victory.

Winning first is the order of the day in the game's story mode, which has you using one of the eight drivers in order to participate in a series of challenges that will ultimately lead to the race against Wizpig. In each of the game's five worlds, you will race on four tracks, each with its own set of challenges. The object is to place first in the race, which is not always a simple task. However, you can pick up weapons to help you slow down your opponents significantly. You can fire missiles, drop oil slicks, and even use magnets to pull them closer to you. These weapons can be powered up to give you an advantage over your challengers. Additionally, you can pick up bananas to gradually increase your speed and use zippers to get ahead of the crowd. Place first on the course and you will win a golden balloon. You will need these precious balloons to unlock more challenges as you progress through the game.

What makes Diddy Kong Racing stand apart from other racing games is the variety of vehicles that it offers. Of course, you get to ride in a car, which can perform power slides but can slow down quite a bit when it is off the track. Then there is the hovercraft, which works best on the water and can bounce and pivot. Lastly, you can hop into an airplane and perform loops and barrel rolls. Each course has its own default vehicle, but in most cases, after you beat the track you can select the vehicle you want to use and see what new secrets you can discover. This gives the game a sense of variety that future Rare racing titles failed to accomplish, but the variety does not stop there.

In addition to the normal courses, there are races that pit you against one of Wizpig's servants (actually hypnotized residents of the island). These races can be challenging as the bosses tend to get a head start and leave obstacles in your path. Win these races and you will have to return to the normal tracks again, this time for the Silver Coin Challenge. Here, you will need to collect eight silver coins and place first in order to win another golden balloon. However, this is often easier said than done, as the coins can be found off the beaten path, sometimes so much so that you may end up losing a lot of time while trying to pick them up. If you do win these challenges, you will then need to race the boss again, this time dealing with more obstacles and the boss' increased speed. Beat the boss a second time, and a piece of a special amulet, which will eventually allow you to race Wizpig, will be yours.

As if all this were not enough, Rare also threw in some fun mini games that you can unlock and play. The catch is that you will first have to locate the key hidden in each world. When you do open these mini games, you can take on such challenges as shooting down your opponents in an icicle pyramid and bringing eggs to nests and ensuring that they hatch. Also, you will occasionally race Taj to improve your driving skills and win more balloons. Lastly, there are special grand prix races where you take on all four of a world's courses in succession. Win more points than anyone else here, and you win a gold trophy, which will also become a key item late in the game. What other secrets await you as you play the adventure mode? I will leave that up to you to find out for
yourself.

If you wish to take a break from saving the island from Wizpig, you can take on the Tracks mode, where you can race on any track that you have unlocked in the adventure mode. A single player can either race on a course against opponents for fun, or tackle the time trial and attempt to set new records. If up to three friends join him or her, then they can participate in a multiple player race that is fun and frantic. This mode gives the game a lot of replay value, which is sure to last long after the story mode is finished.

The adventure mode is not very long, and experienced players can beat it in a few hours' time. However, it does have some tough challenges that may take players a lot of tries to beat. Once these tasks are defeated, the automatic saving ensures that you will not have to repeat them. Other solid features include the sheer variety of tracks, features, and vehicles, which make the game less of a Mario 64 clone and more of a unique game. The controls are tight, the replay value is high, and you get the sense that the familiar Rare charm is here in all its glory. The company would craft a solid game out of Mickey's Speedway USA (though that game was far more of a Mario 64 clone than this game was) and a disappointing game out of Banjo-Pilot, but they would never again recreate the magic that Diddy Kong Racing had to offer.

For its time, the graphics were decent, yet by today's standards, they look like a polygon mess. There is also quite a bit of slowdown, though nothing that makes the game unplayable. Rare would create better graphics in future Nintendo 64 titles, and this game offers a mere glimpse of what was to come. Faring better is the sound, with music that is catchy and sticks with you long after you turn off the game. There is even a fair amount of voice acting, including some perfect lip syncing in spots. Given that the game was released four years before Conker's Bad Fur Day, which would use a lot of accurate lip syncing, this is quite an accomplishment for its time. The voice acting itself is flawless, with voices that fit each character perfectly.

The Nintendo 64 version of Diddy Kong Racing has become a bit tough to find twelve years after its release. The game is well worth tracking down, however, as it offers more racing action, and more variety, than Mario Kart 64 could offer. Its seems to be a bit underrated compared to other Nintendo 64 games created by Rare, but do not let that stop you from playing this awesome game. It has never been surpassed by Rare's later racing titles, and given the company's act of going downhill since they stopped making Nintendo 64 games, there may never be a better racing game to come from them. Be sure to give Diddy Kong Racing a go, and I think you will find that it truly is one of the best racing games in existence.