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Diddy Kong Racing
Text Review
There’s no way around it. Diddy Kong Racing is the sweetest game I’ve ever played.
I know what you’re thinking. “Sweet,” you might mentally muse, “I like sweet games. That sounds pretty sweet.” But when I write that Diddy Kong Racing is easily the sweetest game I’ve ever played, I’m using the term in a much more literal sense than you’re assuming. See, when I say Diddy Kong Racing is sweet, I’m literally referring to the sticky saccharine gloop from which this game must’ve coalesced. It’s almost nauseatingly adorable, a sugary and colorful racer featuring lots of furry animals with really big eyes and shiny round noses.
Honestly, if a Diddy Kong Racing cartridge had glided by Gene Wilder on a conveyor belt in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, it wouldn’t have surprised me. This game is that sweet, and more so than an Everlasting Gobstopper, it makes you want to brush your teeth afterward.
Developed by Rare and released during the 1997 holiday season, Diddy Kong Racing is essentially a Mario Kart clone. It features the same mascot-based kart racing as Nintendo’s series, making the comparisons as obvious as they are legitimate, yet as recycled as Rare’s game may seem, Diddy Kong Racing also distinguishes itself with a few innovations. Unlike Mario Kart, Rare’s racer is built around a much more coherent and ambitious single-player mode complete with different worlds, boss battles and, absurd as it may be, a story.
There’s an evil pig and a walrus named Bluey. I’d go into detail, but I’d vomit.
Obnoxiously cute as the premise may be, it comes together for an extremely cohesive and strategic single-player experience. The game’s 30 tracks span five worlds linked by a hub-like overworld, and as you successfully complete races and tasks ranging from the imposing boss races to silver coin challenges and trophy races, you’ll unlock new worlds and racetracks. It’s an impressive improvement over Mario Kart’s lackluster single-player offering, and provided you can stomach its overwhelming cuteness, Diddy Kong Racing is more enjoyable, too.
At least, it is if you’re playing solo. When it comes to multiplayer fun with friends, Rare’s offering just can’t match the immense lasting appeal provided by Mario and company.
What it lacks in multiplayer, however, it makes up for in other areas. Diddy Kong Racing is much better looking than Mario Kart 64, featuring plenty of then-advanced visual techniques which really bring the game to life. The game animates wonderfully, and although the intense colors and cute character design may be tough for some to swallow, they look fantastic. The addition of a plane and hovercraft as selectable vehicles also adds gameplay depth to the package where other kart racers—Mario Kart 64 included—come up much shallower.
Despite the gameplay depth and visual flair, however, I can’t help but wonder if a kart racer really needs to be this focused on single-player. This kind of game should be even better with friends, but regrettably, the opposite is true of the otherwise excellent Diddy Kong Racing.
Play it, most definitely. But when your friends are over, play Mario Kart instead.
- Derek Buck
I know what you’re thinking. “Sweet,” you might mentally muse, “I like sweet games. That sounds pretty sweet.” But when I write that Diddy Kong Racing is easily the sweetest game I’ve ever played, I’m using the term in a much more literal sense than you’re assuming. See, when I say Diddy Kong Racing is sweet, I’m literally referring to the sticky saccharine gloop from which this game must’ve coalesced. It’s almost nauseatingly adorable, a sugary and colorful racer featuring lots of furry animals with really big eyes and shiny round noses.
Honestly, if a Diddy Kong Racing cartridge had glided by Gene Wilder on a conveyor belt in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, it wouldn’t have surprised me. This game is that sweet, and more so than an Everlasting Gobstopper, it makes you want to brush your teeth afterward.
Developed by Rare and released during the 1997 holiday season, Diddy Kong Racing is essentially a Mario Kart clone. It features the same mascot-based kart racing as Nintendo’s series, making the comparisons as obvious as they are legitimate, yet as recycled as Rare’s game may seem, Diddy Kong Racing also distinguishes itself with a few innovations. Unlike Mario Kart, Rare’s racer is built around a much more coherent and ambitious single-player mode complete with different worlds, boss battles and, absurd as it may be, a story.
There’s an evil pig and a walrus named Bluey. I’d go into detail, but I’d vomit.
Obnoxiously cute as the premise may be, it comes together for an extremely cohesive and strategic single-player experience. The game’s 30 tracks span five worlds linked by a hub-like overworld, and as you successfully complete races and tasks ranging from the imposing boss races to silver coin challenges and trophy races, you’ll unlock new worlds and racetracks. It’s an impressive improvement over Mario Kart’s lackluster single-player offering, and provided you can stomach its overwhelming cuteness, Diddy Kong Racing is more enjoyable, too.
At least, it is if you’re playing solo. When it comes to multiplayer fun with friends, Rare’s offering just can’t match the immense lasting appeal provided by Mario and company.
What it lacks in multiplayer, however, it makes up for in other areas. Diddy Kong Racing is much better looking than Mario Kart 64, featuring plenty of then-advanced visual techniques which really bring the game to life. The game animates wonderfully, and although the intense colors and cute character design may be tough for some to swallow, they look fantastic. The addition of a plane and hovercraft as selectable vehicles also adds gameplay depth to the package where other kart racers—Mario Kart 64 included—come up much shallower.
Despite the gameplay depth and visual flair, however, I can’t help but wonder if a kart racer really needs to be this focused on single-player. This kind of game should be even better with friends, but regrettably, the opposite is true of the otherwise excellent Diddy Kong Racing.
Play it, most definitely. But when your friends are over, play Mario Kart instead.
- Derek Buck
So RAD it hurts!
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