DS #0836: Diddy Kong Racing DS (USA)

[Barra]

Just got my 47th balloon
Thanks a lot

 

[xflash]

anybody know what i unlock for beating T.T on all the secret key wish levels?

 

[toolp]

Just got my 47th balloon
Thanks a lot

No problem

 

[toolp]

anybody know what i unlock for beating T.T on all the secret key wish levels?

I just did that myself and I was blown away by the reward!!!

far as I can tell I got nothing

 

[Barra]

To unlock T.T do you need to beat his times on the Mirror levels too?

 

[Pikachu025]

anybody know what i unlock for beating T.T on all the secret key wish levels?


I just did that myself and I was blown away by the reward!!!

far as I can tell I got nothing

If it's anything like the original, you need to get the TT Amulet to fight the final boss.

 

[toolp]

Just got my 47th balloon
Thanks a lot

BTW Is that you that asked a similar question about ballons on gamespot/gamefaqs?

 

[toolp]

For anyone that plays on wi-fi connect, in matchmaking it can take a while to find players but do stick around it does start eventually!!!

 

[Barra]

Yeah, its me

I go to the DKR Forums there quite often along with other members here
Its the 8th most active message boards on Gamespot DS

 

[falcon64z8]

You know this game isn't all that. I played the n64 version as well and Mario Kart 64 was much better than that. And now having played DKR and MKDS on the DS, Mario Kart > DKR.

This game is like the kiddy version of Mario Kart. Some parts of the game is fun, but its weapons, characters, and drifting do not entice me like Mario Kart DS does. When playing some of the races I started to get board, its just not interesting or maybe Nintendo is starting to lose my interest since it the same gameplay over and over again..

 

[GameGeezer]

IMO the adventure part of DKR makes it fun and interesting for a few plays. MKDS would be better on individual and Wifi races if there weren't the snaking and cheats that make it less fun and less competitive.

 

[Arm73]

Hey how about the original review of DDK from the ol' N64 days, and how it was compared at the time with MK64 ?

Here you go:

GameSpot Review 6.6 fair

Gameplay
7
Graphics
7
Sound
7
Value
6
Tilt
6
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Curve: From 0 to 15 Minutes

Tech Info
Diddy Kong Racing probably wasn't supposed to see the light of day for months.

Diddy Kong Racing, Nintendo's big game for the holidays, appeared out of nowhere. At E3 in June, no one even knew it existed. Banjo-Kazooie and Conker's Quest were to be Nintendo's killer games for the fourth quarter. But when it became apparent that neither was going to be ready this year, Nintendo pulled the old switcheroo and opted for Diddy Kong Racing, which, in the grand scheme of things, probably wasn't supposed to see the light of day for months.

As strange as it sounds, Diddy Kong Racing is a cross between Super Mario 64 and Mario Kart 64. It seems that Wizpig, a crazy porker from outer space, has taken over an island and locked away all the island's racetracks. It's your job to regain control of the tracks, beat the boss in each of the four worlds, and ultimately, take on Wizpig himself. The game is structured much like Mario 64. You can wander around in a fairly large world, with four doors, each leading to a lobby for that particular world. For each world, you must place first on each of the world's four tracks, then race that world's boss. The boss race pits you against a giant animal (triceratops, a giant walrus, a squid, and a dragon). Once you've beaten the boss, you must go back through the world's four tracks. Now you have to finish first and collect eight silver coins from the track. Do this, and you get to race the boss again, only he'll be slightly more difficult. Do all that, and you can enter the trophy race and race all four tracks yet again in a grand-prix-style set of races. Sound horribly tedious? It is. Artificially lengthening games by making you do the same thing over and over again is my vote for the worst trend in gaming. But wait, did I mention that after beating Space World, one of the game's hidden areas, you can unlock Adventure 2, and race all the tracks in reverse? It's enough to make a guy scream.

The gameplay on the actual tracks is pretty much straight out of Mario Kart. You can pick up power-ups, shoot the other racers, and drive over zippers that give you a quick speed boost. But driving isn't the only thing you'll be doing. Some tracks (usually water-based tracks) put you in a hovercraft and others require you to fly a plane. But regardless of your mode of transportation, the game is still pretty much the same.

Graphically, Diddy Kong Racing is a pleasure to look at. The tracks are very detailed, and the game moves fairly quickly. There is a fair amount of fog and pop-up, but that's par for the course when it comes to the N64. The sound and music are also good, even if the music gets a bit repetitive.

Diddy Kong Racing is a game that shouldn't have been released for at least another six months. The foul taste left behind by Mario Kart 64 is still too fresh in my mind to accept a game as similar as this, even though this is a much better game than Kart 64 ever was. Also, the game could have used a few more worlds and more tracks, as the repetitiveness of DKR is what ultimately kills it.
By Jeff Gerstmann, GameSpot
Posted Nov 19, 1997 12:00 am PT


Original link : http://www.gamespot.com/n64/driving/diddyk...17&tag=gs.email

That says a lot of the root of this game, and it's not fair to compare it to MKDS !

 

[d4s]

actually, i always liked dkr better than mk. although it was a huge rip-off, it felt much smoother and driving around in the dkr karts and flying around in the planes was so much more fun compared to mk, it felt much more polished than mk64 and smk back in the days.

unfortunately, the game hasnt aged very well and looks even worse on the ds, despite new textures. most of the touchscreen-features feel tacked on and useless. the upgrade feature is nice, but with "air b" enabled, the games difficulty becomes a joke. you have to actually try to loose. i remember that at least T.T.s time trial was challenging on the n64, but not so on the ds.(again, due to the air b)
the new tracks are okay, but dont live up to the original ones.
again, T.T.s time trial ghost challenge is a complete joke with the new tracks. on the second track, he hits a wall head on...

the wish race/track editor is way too limited to entertain for more than a couple of minutes. the A.I. on the wish tracks is so bad that T.T. can hardly take a corner without falling off the track. yep, its that bad.

the remixed tunes sound cool mostly. there are a few problems with the tracks that contain vocals when they are played back faster(last lap).
oh, and the color palettes of the bosses position indicators seem off.

my guess is that rare didnt handle this port themselves.
maybe it was even done by tose.

despite all its flaws, i love this game.
multiplayer mode looks absolutely awesome.
havent had a chance to really test it because of the lack of players.
never had a match with more than one person and usually, it was some noob. if 6-player trophy races work out fine and fair and the cheaters stay out, this could be my new favorite wfc game.

oh, and i noticed the matchmaking screen has 8 slots for players, but the maximum selectable number of players are 6 on wfc. maybe there will be a way for 8player sfc matches in the future?

 

[tjas]

Sow the game was... over hyped? Rare isn't wat it was anymore... oohwel..

 

[Arm73]

Sow the game was... over hyped? Rare isn't wat it was anymore... oohwel..



Well not really, there is a lot of controversy about this title, some say it largely borrowed from MK64, but it definitely improved a lot over its predecessor, like taking it a step further (technologically).
Very different points of view among reviewers, like IGN guy had much more enthusiastic lines for his review:
QUOTEDiddy Kong Racing
At long last, Diddy Kong has finally hit the streets. And we bring you the definitive review.
by Doug Perry


- Diddy Kong Racing is Nintendo's biggest winter holiday release for '97. The game beams with bright primary colors and cute characters, and it screams to be compared with the game from which it originated, Mario Kart 64. Everyone with their head screwed on will do just that, and frankly we're glad. Diddy Kong Racing is an excellent follow-up to the somewhat controversial Mario Kart, improving on all of the game's weaknesses and inventing a few new additions of its own.

Diddy Kong's main drawback is that it's numbingly cute, certainly too cute for its own damn good. It feels almost cynically calculated in its look, feel, delivery, and even, ironically, in its timing. It's Rare's version of Disneyland, just in time for the winter holiday. The game lacks the originality of Rare's Blast Corps, and is deep down, a Mario Kart 64 clone. That said, it's the best kart game we've ever seen.

What's most exciting about Diddy Kong Racing is its consistent, organized, strategic gameplay. All 30 courses (five worlds) are built perfectly into a giant Overworld, and although many of the courses are short, there are lots of objectives besides just straight racing that make them versatile and deep.

For a start, there are boss characters. These are accessed by winning straight races. Success reveals a boss, who is then raced against. Once beaten, the boss grants a second new mission -- a Silver Coin Challenge. Here, you collect the eight silver coins dotted around the track and take first place. And as if that isn't enough, once you've beaten all the bosses, you go back and race them a second time to win pieces of an amulet. This time, the bosses are much, much harder. And then (yes, there's more), you have to beat all of your opponents in a sequential series of races (called the Trophy Race), which later on helps you to seek out new worlds.

This is certainly a big challenge. Helping out is an arsenal of stuff -- power drifts, a cool new Sharp Turn Technique, various weapons, provided by multicolored balloons, and bananas, which actually aid, rather than hurt you. What's more, you have the brilliant addition of two new vehicles, the plane and the hovercraft, each of which are easy to learn, but hard to master.

Graphically, the game is the most spectacular of its kind. All of the glitchy polygons that flickered in a game like Super Mario 64 are gone. Rare has managed to master Realtime Dynamic Animation, which enables polygons to span larger surfaces and to be more flexible than before -- without substantial loss of frames. It should be noted that, just like Goldeneye, the frame-rate is not 30 frames per second, but since the game is so enjoyable, this detail is less annoying. Specular highlighting, light-sourcing, and sweet looking transparencies are used to great effect, all providing the game with a clean, shiny-looking appearance that even the most critical Japanese gamer will look upon with smiling eyes. It must be noted that nearly every object, save a few flowers and shrubs, are polygons. That includes the characters, which move at a smooth frame rate, and perform funny little animation sequences like looking at other characters as they drive by.

In the audio department, the comical voice reactions of the characters is also heart-warming, even if some of the characters are just too damn cute and are certain to annoy older gamers (Pipsy, Timber, Conker stand up and take a bow). The music is charming and dynamic, which is standard to most games, but is somehow more coordinated and well-timed in this game. For instance, driving around the Overworld and choosing characters in the character select menu provides different musical environments. In fact, each character has his or her own music, most noticeable by flipping from character to character in this aforementioned menu. Sound effects are all appropriate and well produced.

Closing Comments
In the end, Diddy Kong Racing is a calculated, copy of a game that Nintendo, not Rare, originated. But as is the case with Rare, the company has that amazing knack for taking an idea and crafting it into something beautiful. Diddy Kong Racing is a deep, colorful game with an overly kiddy feel and look. But after a few minutes, you'll be compelled with subtle details, blissful gameplay and graphics, and the full, rich world that makes Diddy Kong Racing an even better game than Mario Kart.

So it's all up to the person who's writing.
I can say that I enjoyed this game very much on the N64, and it's one of my all time favorites, although I'm ashamed to say I never beat the second Wiz Pig !!
But the sweet revenge time is coming closer on the DS

 

[leetdude_007]

I think my younger family members would enjoy this game. I, on the other hand, am not a fan of this. A nice release, nonetheless!

 

[OSW]

I have to say, being a fan of the original, they didn't wreck this game, but they made some fatal flaws. i havent played much of the game but here are some major ones i'v enoticed.

- Way too easy. Everything is easier than the n64. So much easier its pathetic
- Rocket item has been altered. homing should be before -10- missles not five that is. ability to shoot backwards = nono.
also when you get hit you go waaaay to high in the air and get disadvantages too much.
- Boost item has bad effect. slower boost (on upgrades) and instead of flames they have smoke circles -__-
- Boost pad thingos, on N64 version if u release accerate button when hitting, you will get a slightly different boost.
- Plane controls are a bit dodgy, specifically the use of R Button to make sharper movements, it is a bit clunky and less effective.
- Again R button. Double tap should allow the performance of tricks such as barrel roll and backflip on plane, spin/skid trick on car.
- player stats are a bit messed up.

despite this the game is still a fair choice and in comparison to mariocart, it has some better features but also seems less refined.

In my opinion Rare hasn't released a good game since Microsoft bought them. especially those N64 remakes like conkers bad fur day (should ahve been a classic remake" and now DKDS.

 

[d4s]

- Boost item has bad effect. slower boost (on upgrades) and instead of flames they have smoke circles -__-
- Boost pad thingos, on N64 version if u release accerate button when hitting, you will get a slightly different boost.

the boost item doesnt have a bad effect. you just dont go faster on boosts when you upgrade.
you can see that when racing the T.T. time trials: tracks with lots of boost pads tend to be slightly harder to win because of that.
you dont slow down on boosts when upgrading though.

you also get the faster boost when releasing the accelerate button on the ds version. just turn on the sound and compare.
letting go of the button when hitting a pad will result in a different, jet engine-like noise and you go slightly faster.

 

[OSW]

- Boost item has bad effect. slower boost (on upgrades) and instead of flames they have smoke circles -__-
- Boost pad thingos, on N64 version if u release accerate button when hitting, you will get a slightly different boost.

the boost item doesnt have a bad effect. you just dont go faster on boosts when you upgrade.
you can see that when racing the T.T. time trials: tracks with lots of boost pads tend to be slightly harder to win because of that.
you dont slow down on boosts when upgrading though.

you also get the faster boost when releasing the accelerate button on the ds version. just turn on the sound and compare.
letting go of the button when hitting a pad will result in a different, jet engine-like noise and you go slightly faster.

When i said Bad Effect i meant graphically - sorry. and i'm not sure what exactly you meant with "you just dont go faster on boosts when you upgrade" whether you were agreeing with me or not. to clarify what i was trying to say though is that the upgrades seem to make you gor much faster on n64 than ds.

but thanks for clearing the rest up, its appreciated.

 

[Gim]

hey, im stuck on 46 balloons.. have done the ice one.. can anyone think what the last one might be at all.. very annoying!

thanks