Great Games Revisited: Diddy Kong Racing (N64, 1997) - News
by Joseph Trotter , posted on 12 July 2011 / 5,917 Views
Once upon a time (1997 to be precise) Rare were arguably the greatest development house in the world. Developing purely for Nintendo, they had rode a wave of critical and commercial success through the 90s, spearheaded by their mastery of Silicon Graphics and the first-class Donkey Kong Country series, which reached its zenith with the ground-breaking Goldeneye 007. After this, they produced a string of classic N64 games, including Banjo-Kazooie, Jet Force Gemini, Donkey Kong 64 and Perfect Dark.
During this golden age they only developed one racing game, but what a game it was. Funnily enough, that game is Diddy Kong Racing, for those who aren't fans of reading titles. Equally surprisingly, the game involves Diddy Kong and his various Rare/Nintendo buddies, although he is not the main protagonist. That honour belongs to Timber the Tiger; he and his friends are racing on his parent's island when the evil Wizpig comes from space to take over their race-tracks.
After turning the island's four protectors into his henchman, he then turns the island's best racer, Drumstick, into a frog. Realising that they must beat the courses to have a chance of removing Wizpig, Timber recruits seven racers to help: Diddy Kong, Banjo, Conker (before he became a debauched teddy killer), Krunch, Tiptup, Tipsy and Bumper. Along with Timber, these are the original roster of characters; T.T. and Drumstick become available upon completion of the single player 'campaign.'
Frankly, none of that actually matters, nor is it going to rival Heavy Rain in the drama stakes. Originally developed as an RTS, it then received adventure elements, which explains the open-world hub, before eventually evolving into a kart racer. Many suspected that DKR was clutching the bumper of the successful Mario Kart series, and granted, it did share many similarities with its illustrious fore-bearer, but it also offered many individual features which allowed it to stand tall on its own four wheels.
As previously mentioned, the open-world hub was new for the genre (and hasn't oft been repeated), and, despite being a limited world, it offered challenges of its own which suitably broke up the action. The hub also housed Taj the camp genie-elephant, a particularly cheery bloke who offered you races around the island against him on his magic carpet. From there, you could enter four sub-hubs, which house themed races i.e. snow, medieval, water and 'plain' (beginner courses).
This is all well and good, but a racing game must always be judged on what happens on the track. Uniquely, DKR gives the option of three different types of vehicle: car, hovercraft, and plane. Whilst all handle differently, there is no real advantage of one over the other except for personal preference (I tend to go for the plane; it's just a bit cooler). Fourteen years after its release (anybody else feel old?) it still plays remarkably well, although it can feel slow compared to contemporary racers, and some of the races don't have the longevity, interest or freshness which the battle mode possesses.
The single player is good fun, with the meagre story a good incentive for continuation; you can only unlock new areas through collecting gold balloons by winning races, which brings it in line with Super Mario 64. This style of progression is much more involving than Mario Kart-esque tournaments and offers something genuinely different. Scattered around the courses are different coloured balloons which give you different powers, ranging from rockets to boosts and magnets. The more balloons you pop of the same colour the more powerful the ability becomes until it reaches the third level, and which point it becomes super-powered. Boost pads around the track allow for tactical manoeuvring, and although tracks aren't not always the most imaginative, the short-cuts and hidden areas mean that incentive is their to shave seconds off your time.
Like any good karting game, much of the skill was in utilising the drift-and-boost move; a well judged boost can be the difference between winning and losing. Races often got very frantic very quickly, and when you fall behind it is very, very difficult to catch up. After having not played the single player for a while (I tend to stick to the multiplayer with friends) I had a go earlier and was suitably thrashed by the computer repeatedly. I'm yet to decide whether it was because the game is difficult or I have become rubbish. I suspect it is the latter
The battle modes were a multiplayer highlight, and involved fighting, collecting, or both. In one, players in planes race inside a volcano to hatch three eggs in their nest, stopping others from stealing their eggs whilst trying to sabotage their rival's nest. In another, players must fight around an ice fort, trying to deplete their enemies' health down to zero (symbolised by a banana count). DKR fully took advantage of the added multiplayer capabilities of the N64; its stellar and substantial modes coupled with the quirky, addictive style are the main reasons why it is still a highly popular cult title today.
The gaudily bright graphics lend well to the cheery atmosphere, and although they sometimes suffer from fade and fog issues everything is clear and concise, with a very unique character (unlike Shadowman, which is still a nightmare) and the tell-tale early 3D blocky features. The real highlight though was the music. Composed by David Wise, who has also worked on Donkey Kong Country and Viva Pinata among others, the tunes were incredibly happy and bubbly, and even today stay closeted in the back of your mind ready to burst forth and annoy the hell out of you.
DKR was highly praised upon release, and still attains a score of 88% on Metacritic (which, as Jake Weston taught us last week, puts it somewhere between 'aye' and 'HELL YEAH!'). Alas, a 'real' sequel was not forthcoming. Donkey Kong Racing, the Gamecube sequel, was outright cancelled upon Microsoft's purchase of Rare in 2002, and although a port did eventually find its way onto the DS, it was met with a mixed reception. For all the 'gritty reboots' that a series often receives, I do miss the innocence of an age when it was still ok to put animals in karts and pelt them around a track designed to give epileptic fits to music so sweet that you can feel your ears rotting.
But maybe that's just me.
P.S. I love the intro so much that I had to include it. Takes me back.
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my favourite kart racer period
I'm a Dane, and I cared a LOT about the battle mode.
Darkwater Beach and Icicle Pyramid remain some of the most fun I have ever had with any group of friends.
To me, this will always be one of the very, very best racing games ever. ^^
I have to say this is one of my all-time favorite. My siblings and I would spend hours on the plane battle game with eggs, just messing around.
ther's any chance this game has a sequel someday?
It was going to have one. You can still catch the trailer for "Donkey Kong Racing" for GameCube on YouTube.
Rare was sold off and only made StarFox Adventures for GC, but some of the design documents lived on, and became Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, which was canned and revived on Wii as the less-than-awe-inspiring Donkey Kong Jetrace.
Too bad all in all, but now you know.
It was going to have one. You can still catch the trailer for "Donkey Kong Racing" for GameCube on YouTube.
Rare was sold off and only made StarFox Adventures for GC, but some of the design documents lived on, and became Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, which was canned and revived on Wii as the less-than-awe-inspiring Donkey Kong Jetrace.
Too bad all in all, but now you know.
That was a great game. The story mode is what Mario kart 54 should be.. fresh, funny, great characters and very entertaining.. love it!! For me much better than Mario Kart 64
AMAZING game! wiz pig was so hard!
LOVED this so much
And now I have to find a way to play it :(
Donkey Kong Country series, Killer Instinct, Diddy Kong Racing, Banjo-Kazooie, Goldeneye, Perfect Dark were by far the best Rare N64 games released during the Rare golden era 1994 to 2000.
One of the best games i have played! Actually, of all the games i sold, this was the one that was painful for me to sell it! I really loved playing it alone or with my brothers. We always had a blast!
me too
