Diddy Kong Racing (series)
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Diddy Kong Racing | |
File:DKR.png | |
First installment | Diddy Kong Racing (1997) |
Latest installment | Diddy Kong Racing DS (2007) |
Number of installments | 2 |
Parent franchise | Donkey Kong franchise |
Diddy Kong Racing games have been produced since 1997 with Diddy Kong Racing for the Nintendo 64. It features Diddy Kong and an all-star cast competing in a racing game. It is very similar to the Mario Kart series but features only Donkey Kong franchise characters.
Since its first generation on the Nintendo 64, a long hiatus was caused by Rare's buy-out by Microsoft, and two Diddy Kong Racing games that had been in production had to be canceled. In 2007, a remake of Diddy Kong Racing was eventually released on the Nintendo DS.
List of games
Title | |
---|---|
Cover, original release, and system | Synopsis |
Diddy Kong Racing | |
File:Diddysracing.jpg November 21, 1997 Nintendo 64 |
Featuring ten playable characters (two of which, Banjo and Conker, would later star in their own series) and 25 different racecourses, Diddy Kong Racing was a success receiving the Player's Choice title. The plot of the game's adventure mode involves an evil alien pig named Wizpig taking over Timber's Island. Diddy Kong (upon request from his friend Timber) and his friends go to the island to restore peace and drive Wizpig away. |
Diddy Kong Racing DS | |
File:DKRDS NA box art.jpg February 5, 2007 Nintendo DS |
Years later, after Microsoft bought out Rare, two planned Diddy Kong Racing games had to be canceled. Nintendo and Rare teamed up again to create Diddy Kong Racing DS, a remake of the original with many notable differences, including Tiny Kong and Dixie Kong replacing Banjo and Conker due to copyright issues, and Wi-Fi matches. The remake additionally adds Taj and Wizpig as playable characters. |
Canceled games
Title | |
---|---|
Image, original unveiling, and system | Synopsis |
Diddy Kong Pilot | |
File:Diddypilot.jpg Originally unveiled at E3 2001. Game Boy Advance |
Diddy Kong Pilot was the planned follow-up to Diddy Kong Racing, but instead focusing only on flying and nothing else. Due to Rare being acquired by Microsoft, Rare was already far at work into the game and instead of scrapping it altogether, the game was removed of all Donkey Kong references and was turned into Banjo-Pilot. |
Donkey Kong Racing | |
File:Logo EN - Donkey Kong Racing.png Originally unveiled at E3 2001. Nintendo GameCube |
Donkey Kong Racing is another canceled game, this one focusing on Donkey Kong instead of Diddy Kong. It would feature new Animal Friends such as a gigantic Rambi and a purple Enguarde. It was seen at E3 2001. After the buyout of Rare, the game was soon reworked into Sabreman Stampede for the Xbox 360 but, this iteration of the installment was also canceled. |
Diddy Kong Racing Adventure | |
File:Diddy Kong Racing Adventures title screen.png 2004 Nintendo GameCube |
Diddy Kong Racing Adventure is a rejected pitch made by the Climax Group for a Diddy Kong Racing sequel around 2004.[1] The project was never announced to the public in any capacity and only became known after an amateur video game archivist acquired the prototype and published a video about it in November 2016.[1] Only the demo for their pitch was developed, in around April 2004, running on Xbox hardware as the tools had already been developed at the time.[1] |
Major characters
Protagonists
Character | Brief biography |
---|---|
Diddy Kong
|
Diddy Kong is the titular character of the Diddy Kong Racing series and one of the main protagonists. Upon receiving an urgent letter from his friend Timber, Diddy Kong goes to Timber's Island to help in taking it back from Wizpig. In both released games, Diddy Kong has balanced stats, although he has poor speed in Diddy Kong Racing DS. |
Timber
|
Timber is a tiger and friend of Diddy Kong. After his parents left him in charge of their island, Wizpig appeared and took over. In Diddy Kong Racing DS, Timber, after gathering his friends Tiptup, Pipsy, and Bumper, sends a letter requesting help to Diddy Kong through Squawks. Timber is a balanced character much like Diddy Kong in both released games. |
Taj the Genie
|
Taj is a benevolent blue elephant genie and an ally of Diddy Kong and his friends in the series. He helps the heroes in Diddy Kong Racing and its remake by allowing them to change their current vehicle and giving them Gold Balloons at certain points (such as at the conclusion of a race).
While Taj can be raced during Adventure Mode in both games, he additionally appears as an unlockable playable character in the remake, where he has exceptional speed, but very poor acceleration and handling. These stats are the same as Wizpig's. |
Antagonists
Character | Brief biography |
---|---|
Wizpig
|
Wizpig is an evil alien pig and the main antagonist of the Diddy Kong Racing series. Wizpig is known to have successfully conquered his home planet, transforming it into Future Fun Land. Eventually growing bored with this, Wizpig left his planet to look for a thrilling activity to do on another inhabited planet. He eventually found enjoyment in racing, and it, alongside causing chaos, became one of his favorite things to do.
Wizpig eventually found Timber's Island and took it over. When the skilled racer Drumstick challenged him, Wizpig turned the chicken into a frog. In addition, Wizpig hypnotized Tricky the Triceratops, Bluey the Walrus, Bubbler the Octopus, and Smokey the Dragon into becoming his servants. Ultimately, due to the efforts of Diddy Kong and his friends, Wizpig was driven away from the island and ended up on a desolate planet. In Diddy Kong Racing DS, Wizpig retains his antagonistic role, but also appears as an unlockable playable character. He has the same stats as Taj; exceptional speed, but abysmal acceleration and handling. |
Playable characters
With four Diddy Kong Racing titles, the list of characters that can be found from within these games is quite large. Below is a list of all the characters found in each game.
1 - Early Alpha only
2 - Beta only
3 - Current only
See also
References
- ^ a b c PtoPOnline (November 9, 2016). Diddy Kong Racing Adventure : The Undeveloped Gamecube Racer. YouTube. Retrieved November 11, 2016.