| Diddy Kong Racing | |
|---|---|
 North American cover art | |
| Developer | Rare |
| Publishers | Rare (N64) Nintendo (N64 in Japan, DS) |
| Director | Lee Schuneman |
| Producer | Chris Stamper |
| Programmer | Robert Harrison |
| Artist | Kevin Bayliss |
| Composer | David Wise |
| Series | Donkey Kong |
| Platforms | Nintendo 64 Nintendo DS |
| Release | |
| Genre | Kart racing |
| Modes | Single-player,multiplayer |
Diddy Kong Racing is a 1997kart racing game developed and published byRare for theNintendo 64. The game revolves aroundDiddy Kong and his friends' attempt to defeat the intergalactic antagonist, a wizard pig named Wizpig, through winning a series of races. The player takes control of any of the featured characters throughout the game.Diddy Kong Racing features fiveworlds with four racetracks each, and the ability to drive a car, hovercraft, or pilot an aeroplane.
Development began after the release ofKiller Instinct 2 (1996), and was intended to be an adventure game known asWild Cartoon Kingdom in its early stages. As time progressed, the focus of development shifted from aWalt Disney World-influenced racing game to a unique title namedPro-Am 64, in which Nintendo had no involvement. Due to the delays ofBanjo-Kazooie, Rare felt that they needed a strongerintellectual property to attract a wider audience for a game scheduled to release before Christmas 1997, thus making the decision to centre the game around Diddy Kong.
Diddy Kong Racing received critical acclaim upon release. The graphics, audio and gameplay were among the most lauded aspects, while some criticism was directed at the game's repetition. It sold 4.8 million copies since release and stands as the Nintendo 64'seighth best-selling game. A sequel namedDonkey Kong Racing was in development for theGameCube, but was abandoned in August 2002, one month beforeMicrosoft purchased Rare for £375 million. Anenhanced remake for theNintendo DS titledDiddy Kong Racing DS was released worldwide in early 2007; it is the most recent Nintendo-published game to be developed by Rare.
InDiddy Kong Racing, players can choose one of ten characters,[3] who have access to three different vehicles: car, hovercraft and aeroplane.[4][5] The car is an all-round vehicle, but it is the slowest on certain surfaces like sand and water.[4] The hovercraft is designed for both sand and water areas, but lacks in acceleration and manoeuvrability.[4][6] The aeroplane is designed to access aerial areas; it is good at acceleration and manoeuvring, but has the slowest speed.[4] Each racetrack has a set of boosters known as "zippers" that temporarily boost the player's speed, as well as featuring regenerating balloons of various colours that provide power-ups.[7] There are five different types of balloons: red, blue, green, yellow, and rainbow. Red balloons grant missiles to attack racers ahead, blue balloons grant a speed boost, yellow balloons grant shields to protect the player from attacks, green balloons grant deployable traps to delay other racers, and rainbow balloons grant a magnet ability that brings the player closer to the nearest racer.[4][6] If multiple balloons of the same colour are picked up, the power-up is upgraded to a more powerful version.[7] A total of two upgrades are available for each balloon.[6] Additionally, racetracks contain non-regenerating bananas that add to speed when they are picked up. A maximum of ten bananas will improve the speed, but can also be obtained to prevent other players from gaining speed. If a racer gets hit, two bananas are deducted.[8]
In "Adventure Mode", players control the racer of their choice to progress through the story. Players begin in thehub world, which links five interconnected worlds; Dino Domain, Snowflake Mountain, Sherbet Island, Dragon Forest, and Future Fun Land.[4] The worlds are opened up by collecting balloons, except for Future Fun Land, which is unlocked after defeating Wizpig for the first time and rank 1st place in all four Trophy Races of the original worlds.[6] Each world contains four racetracks, an unlockable battle stage and a race against aboss character. If the player defeats Wizpig in Future Fun Land, obtains all amulet pieces and collect all the gold medals, the player will be able to play in a mode called "Adventure 2".[4][7] In this mode, all the balloons change colour to platinum and the tracks are inverted from left to right.[4] The game also features four battle modes which consist of twodeathmatch maps, acapture-the-flag-style battle and a mode which involves opponents capturing eggs.[8] The battle modes are not initially selectable, and must be unlocked by collecting special keys hidden in each of the worlds.[6]
The plot ofDiddy Kong Racing is detailed in the instruction booklet.[9] Timber the Tiger's parents go on holiday and leave their son in charge of the island they live on, prompting him and his friends to organize a race. Their enjoyment is interrupted when a sinisterintergalactic pig-wizard named Wizpig arrives at Timber's Island and attempts to take it over after having conquered his own planet. He turns the island's four guardians (Tricky the Triceratops, Bluey the Walrus, Bubbler the Octopus, and Smokey the Dragon) into his henchmen. The only solution available to the island's inhabitants is to defeat Wizpig in an elaborate series of races that involve cars, hovercraft, and aeroplanes. Drumstick the Rooster, the best racer on the island, fails this challenge and is transformed into a frog by Wizpig's magic.[9]
Timber hires a team of eight racers:Diddy Kong, the first recruit;Conker the Squirrel andBanjo the Bear, recruited by Diddy; Krunch the Kremling, Diddy's enemy who follows after him; Tiptup the Turtle, T.T. the Stopwatch, Pipsy the Mouse, and Bumper the Badger, all inhabitants of Timber's island. Aided by Taj, anIndian elephant-like genie residing on the island, they eventually complete all of Wizpig's challenges and confront Wizpig himself to a race and defeat him. Shortly afterward, Drumstick is turned back into a rooster, and Wizpig leaves for his home planet, Future Fun Land.[9] Fearing that Wizpig will again attempt to invade Timber's Island, the islanders travel to Future Fun Land for a second challenge. When Wizpig loses the second race, the rocket he rides on malfunctions and launches him to the moon. However, an additional cutscene reveals Wizpig's spaceship flying through the sky, unscathed.[9]
Nintendo enjoyed the fact that we choseDiddy Kong overDonkey Kong; I think that it was us trying to build on the fact that Diddy was ours, and DK was theirs [Nintendo's].
Development of the game began after the release ofKiller Instinct 2, in which a team was split into makingKiller Instinct Gold for theNintendo 64 and a new racing game for that console.[11][10] During development, the game (initially a prehistoric time-travellerreal-time strategy game) became influenced byWalt Disney World and soon evolved into an adventure game calledWild Cartoon Kingdom and laterAdventure Racers, with which Nintendo had no involvement.[11][10][12][13][14] The game would have allowed the playable characters to wander around outside of their vehicle in a theme park-inspired hub world. Some elements from the game's prehistoric time-traveller phase were retained, including its wooly mammoths. Around this time, Kevin Bayliss and programmer Chris Tilston worked on an adventure game prototype inspired byDisney'sThe Lion King, which had Bayliss' character Timber the Tiger (inspired byKellogg's'Frosted Flakes mascotTony the Tiger's son Tony Jr.,[15]Simba, and a tiger cub that he pet with his girlfriend at the time) clambering around over terrain, which was folded into theAdventure Racers design concept.[16][13][14][17][18] In June 1997, the game was altered toPro-Am 64, an unrelated follow-up to the NES racing gameR.C. Pro-Am.[11][10][12][13][14] According to Lee Schuneman and Bayliss, thePro-Am 64 project had Timber as the main character,[19] and featured three-wheeled trikes in contrast toradio-controlled cars.[11][12] Other characters created for the project included Tiptup the Turtle (whose name was repurposed from a different turtle character in the canceledProject Dream[20]), Bumper the Badger (originally colored blue[21]), Drumstick the Rooster (inspired byFoghorn Leghorn and the chickens fromThe Muppet Show,[22] and originally without overalls[23]), and Krash the Crocodile.[24][25][17][26] A kangaroo character named Roo was planned to be included, but was eventually replaced with Pipsy the Mouse.[27][25] Pipsy's design (initially with pink fur and yellow attire) was a modified version of the main character from the canceled gameAstro Mouse.[28][25][29]
WithBanjo-Kazooie being delayed until the summer of 1998, the team was adamant for a release of anAAA video game in time for 1997's Christmas season. With the change in release schedule, some at Rare felt thatPro-Am 64 did not have a strong enoughintellectual property. Thus Rare changed the licence to featureDiddy Kong. According to Lee Musgrave, Rare chose to use Diddy Kong rather thanDonkey Kong, and Nintendo "enjoyed" the decision. Once the intellectual property was changed, the team were left to adapt the visual aesthetics of the game and packaging before it could be released.[10][30] Krash was slightly altered to be a Kremling, and was renamed "Krunch".[24][17] Musgrave recalled that the ultimate goal of the game was to make it "run as fast" asMario Kart 64, which proved difficult during development as the latter game utilised 2D character sprites whereasDiddy Kong Racing used fully 3D models. Musgrave later attributed the success of the overall project due to the "small team" of 14 people who worked on it.[10] In an October 2012 interview, Musgrave said that Timber would have been the main character ofPro-Am 64 had the intellectual property forDiddy Kong Racing not been conceived.[31] Two of the characters who featured inDiddy Kong Racing, Banjo the Bear andConker the Squirrel, starred in games (Banjo-Kazooie andConker's Bad Fur Day, respectively) which were unveiled to the public beforeDiddy Kong Racing, at the June 1997Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), but ultimately not released until afterDiddy Kong Racing.[32][33] Rare stated that they chose not to exhibitDiddy Kong Racing at E3 because of the proprietary animation technology used in the game.[33]
The game's soundtrack was composed byDavid Wise.[34] The soundtrack was first released in Japan on 1 April 1998, with 42 tracks,[35] while a version of the album was released in Europe with the same number of tracks.[36] For its United States release only 16 tracks were featured. The disc itself was specially shaped in the form of Diddy Kong's head, which was unplayable in certain CD players.[34] The sound effects were created byGraeme Norgate.[37] Voices were provided by Kevin Bayliss (Bubbler, Wizpig),[38][39][40][41] Johnni Christensen (Tiptup, Smokey),[42][39]Eveline Novakovic (Pipsy),[43][44] Keith Rabbette (Bluey),[39] Lee Ray (Drumstick, Taj),[39][45] Lee Schuneman (Bumper),[46][11][12]Chris Seavor (Conker),[47] Dean Smith (T.T.),[46][11][12][48] Joe Stamper Jr. (Timber, Kid Background Voices),[44][41][49] Kimberly Stamper (Kid Background Voices),[41][49] andChris Sutherland (Diddy Kong, Banjo, Krunch, Tricky).[50][51][44][39]
Due to most of the Nintendo 64's planned 1997 Christmas season line-up being delayed until 1998,Diddy Kong Racing became the main Nintendo 64 release for the holiday shopping season, and a majority of Nintendo's $200 million advertising budget for the entire year was allocated to promoting the game.[52] The game had a $20 million marketing budget in North America.[53]Diddy Kong Racing also held the distinction of being the only game in the North American Christmas season line-up for which development was contracted by Nintendo; the other two first-party Nintendo 64 games in the line-up,Bomberman 64 andMischief Makers, were both licensed from Japanese third-party publishers.[54]
| Aggregator | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| DS | N64 | |
| GameRankings | 67%[56] | 89%[55] |
| Metacritic | 63/100[58] | 88/100[57] |
| Publication | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| DS | N64 | |
| AllGame | 4.5/5[59] | |
| Edge | 9/10[60] | |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 9/10, 8.5/10, 9.5/10, 9/10[61] | |
| GameSpot | 6.7/10[62] | 6.6/10[7] |
| IGN | 7.1/10[64] | 8.4/10[63] |
| N64 Magazine | 90%[65] | |
| Next Generation | 4/5[68] | |
| Nintendo Life | 7/10[67] | 8/10[66] |
The game received critical acclaim upon release. The Nintendo 64 version holds an aggregate score of 89% atGameRankings based on 20 reviews[55] and 88 atMetacritic based on 15 reviews,[57] whereas theNintendo DS remake received a score of 67% at GameRankings based on 42 reviews[56] and a score of 63 at Metacritic, based on 39 reviews.[58]Diddy Kong Racing sold approximately 4.5 million copies worldwide;[10] which included 3.78 million copies sold in the United States and PAL regions,[69] and 653,928 copies in Japan.[70] At the 1999 Milia festival inCannes, it took home a "Gold" prize for revenues above €15 million in theEuropean Union during the previous year.[71] It stands as the Nintendo 64'seighth best-selling game,[70] and broke one million units sold in the United States within three weeks of its release.[72][73]
The graphics and gameplay were the most praised aspects of the game. Some critics noted how it minimisedpop-up without resorting to the use ofdistance fog.[61][74]Jeff Gerstmann ofGameSpot disputed this, saying that the game has both pop-up and distance fog in amounts comparable to the average Nintendo 64 game. He nonetheless stated that the game was a "pleasure to look at" and praised the detail of the tracks.[7] Doug Perry ofIGN heralded the visuals as the most "spectacular of its kind", and praised Rare's ability to master dynamic animation through enabling polygons to span larger surfaces without loss of framerate. Furthermore, Perry stated that the game's technical achievements were enough to leave "even the most critical Japanese gamer [to] look upon with smiling eyes".[63]
Although Crispin Boyer opened his review of the game forElectronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) with the warning "Don't dismiss this out-of-the-blue racer as aMario Kart 64 clone",[61] most reviews compared the two games. Gerstmann suspected Nintendo of rushingDiddy Kong Racing to market in order to fill a quarter left vacant by delays of other Nintendo games, and argued it was much too soon afterMario Kart 64's debut to release such a similar game.[7] Other critics, including Boyer'sEGM co-reviewers, focused onDiddy Kong Racing's perceived superiority toMario Kart 64.[60][61][63][68] Dan Hsu ofEGM said it "beatsMario Kart 64 in every department", particularly mentioning the superior balance and level designs.[61]Edge praised the adventure and progression aspect of the game, stating that the game's single-player mode is "everythingMario Kart 64 should have been."[60]
The character designs met with a variety of opinions.EGM's Shawn Smith praised the characters as "hilarious".[61]Next Generation, by contrast, said the character designs are "pathetic and obvious, molded from the same cookie cutter as Banjo-Kazooie and Conker", noting the formulaic use of anthropomorphic animal characters and the simplistic application of each animal's characteristics to gameplay.[68] Perry felt that the vocals of characters in the game were "heartwarming" and "comical", while also stating that "some of the characters are just too damn cute and are certain to annoy older gamers."[63]
Overall assessments of the game were mostly positive.GamePro gave it a 4.5 out of 5 for sound and a perfect 5.0 in control, graphics, and fun factor, calling it "a feverishly fun Nintendo 64 racer that combines elements ofMario Kart 64,Wave Race 64, andPilotwings 64 into one spectacular game."[74]EGM named it "Game of the Month", with its four reviewers lauding the challenging gameplay and numerous objectives to tackle.[61] Gerstmann instead counted the latter as the game's greatest weakness, arguing that having to repeatedly play through the same courses with slightly different objectives makes the game excessively repetitive. He concluded that the game is far better thanMario Kart 64, but the repetitiveness "ultimately kills it."[7]Next Generation fell more in line with the majority, remarking that the combination of racing and adventure elements works well, and that "Diddy Kong Racing shows Rare's pure craftmanship, displaying keen subtleties that eventually win players over."[68]
In a retrospective review, Andrew Donaldson ofNintendo Life stated that the game was visually "incredibly vibrant" and "captivating" for a game of the early Nintendo 64 era.[66] Scott McCall ofAllGame acknowledged its only shortcoming was its "excessive" amount ofclipping, although he admitted it was not "unbearable". He praised the wide range of audio in the game, including its voice acting and soundtrack; he heralded the music as "interesting" and "fitting" to its race tracks, also considering it superior to that ofMario Kart 64.[59] Donaldson criticised game's presentation as too "cutesy", especially in terms of the characters' voices. However, he praised the "upbeat" and "catchy" soundtrack, saying that each track had its own unique tune to suit the distinct environment.[66] In 2009,Official Nintendo Magazine ranked the game 79th on a list of the greatest Nintendo games of all time.[75]
EGM namedDiddy Kong Racing "Racing Game of the Year" at its 1997 Editors' Choice Awards.[76]Diddy Kong Racing was awarded with "Console Racing Game of the Year" by theAcademy of Interactive Arts & Sciences in1998, beatingMario Kart 64,Moto Racer andNASCAR 98.[77]
After the release ofDiddy Kong Racing, Rare began development on a sequel namedDonkey Kong Racing for theGameCube, which featuredDonkey Kong as the titular character. A pre-rendered CG video of the game was shown atE3 2001, which displayed a parody of the speederbike scene fromReturn of the Jedi.[78] According to Lee Musgrave, the game featured a uniquemechanic which involved riding on animals rather than driving vehicles. The player could switch between different types of animals mid-race; larger animals could destroy obstacles, whereas smaller ones allowed more manoeuvrability.[78] Development ofDonkey Kong Racing was cancelled when Nintendo turned down the opportunity to purchase its remaining 51 percent stake in Rare,[78] and the developer was bought out by Microsoft for £375 million in 2002.[79]
After the buyout, Rare took what had been done withDonkey Kong Racing and created a prototype for theXbox which expanded into anadventure game similar to the original setup ofDiddy Kong Racing.[79] Musgrave stated that the concept was essentially "built from scratch" and featured a limited multiplayer version at one point.[78] The concept was in development over 18 months and evolved from being an animal-orientated racing game to anopen-world game withTamagotchi-style features, in which nurturing animals was a "key mechanic".[78] By this point,Donkey Kong Racing had evolved intoSabreman Stampede, part of Rare'sSabreman series.Sabreman Stampede was set for release on theXbox 360, but was cancelled due to a lack of focus and Rare's unfamiliarity with the hardware.[78][79]
Aside fromDonkey Kong Racing, two other sequels toDiddy Kong Racing were in development. One, namedDiddy Kong Pilot, with planes as the only vehicle, was planned for a release on theGame Boy Advance. Originally announced alongsideDonkey Kong Racing at E3 2001, the game becameBanjo-Pilot after Nintendo sold their share of Rare to Microsoft.[80] At the time of its announcement, the game featured the ability to play using a tilt function as well as a D-pad, and contained at least five tracks.[81] The other, titledDiddy Kong Racing Adventure, was a rejected pitch made byClimax Studios for the Nintendo GameCube around 2004. The project was never announced to the public in any capacity, and only became known after a video game archivist acquired the prototype and published a video about it in November 2016.[82]
As Timber was bypassed as the main character inDiddy Kong Racing, Rare's next game was planned to keep Timber as the main character, according to Kev Bayliss. This game was originally planned asDinosaur Planet for the Nintendo 64, with Timber as a time traveller to a prehistoric period and gameplay similar toThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, but over time, they found it better to replace Timber with wholly new characters. This game becameStar Fox Adventures for the GameCube at the suggestion of Nintendo.[83]
Diddy Kong Racing DS is aNintendo DS remake ofDiddy Kong Racing. Developed by Rare and published by Nintendo, it was released in February 2007 in North America, and April in Europe and Australia. This version received enhanced visuals and framerate in addition to touchscreen functions andRumble Pak support forforce feedback. Four newDonkey Kong themed racetracks were included in the remake, along with several modifications to the soundtrack. Banjo and Conker were replaced byTiny Kong andDixie Kong, while new playable characters Taj and Wizpig were also added. The DS version also features new modes which allow the player to create their own racetracks, customise their game through recording character voices and drawing player icons, and an online multiplayer function.[84] The battle modes were restricted to multiplayer only, with the custom racetracks replacing them in Adventure Mode. The game was met with mixed reviews upon release, with critics asserting that the new additions were "gimmicky" and the touchscreen controls felt "horribly sensitive".[3][84]
In the game's opening sequence, the sound of children laughing can be heard when the Rare logo is displayed. Thisstock sound effect is part of a library calledThe Premiere Edition Volume 1 released by sound producer and distributor The Hollywood Edge for use of stock sounds in media. Although it had been used previously in various films and television shows, this sound effect has come to be commonly referred to as "theDiddy laugh" due to its association with the game.[85] According to Kevin Bayliss, the team got the idea to include a laughing sound effect in the opening after seeingTeletubbies, which had just begun airing at the time. They askedTim Stamper's children, Joe Stamper Jr. and Kimberly Stamper, to laugh and sing in their new sound booth. The Stamper children's laughter was used alongside the original sound effect.[41][49]
I think however, I did stick 'Krash' into DKR, as I wanted a bad guy in there. He wasn't really a DK character, just a quick 'croc-character' based on the Kremlins I guess, who looked cool in the car, plane and hovercraft - so I left him there!
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