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Diddy Kong Racing DS for Nintendo DS
Diddy Kong Racing DS for Nintendo DS combines kart racing with an adventure on Timber's Island. Wizpig has the island in his grip, and Diddy and his friends try to drive him out. You explore the surroundings, find entrances to tracks and earn Golden Balloons by completing races and challenges. These open new routes. Around the next bend, another race or a secret may be waiting. Diddy, Dixie and Tiny Kong race alongside the island's other inhabitants.
You control karts, hovercraft and planes, so the same racing environment calls for a different approach. On water, you steer through a bend differently from on a road, while in the air you must also watch your altitude. Balloons provide weapons and other aids. The DS adaptation also uses the touch screen for features including a starting boost and drawing your own tracks. You can upgrade vehicles and change their appearance.
The adventure has three save slots on the cartridge. Two to eight players can race wirelessly locally, including with one cartridge through DS Download Play. Everyone needs their own compatible DS system; Multi-Card Play also requires their own copy. Additional systems and cartridges are not included. The original Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection online features ended on 20 May 2014. Local wireless play is separate from that service.
Region and language
Our Nintendo DS games are European editions, unless stated otherwise. This product contains a loose cartridge for the European market. A box is only included if explicitly stated in the product details. We note any different region in the product details. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
Manual
With Diddy Kong Racing DS for Nintendo DS, you receive a loose cartridge. A box and manual are not included unless we explicitly state otherwise in the product details. This is the standard way we supply this copy.
The history of Diddy Kong Racing DS
Rare originally made Diddy Kong Racing for Nintendo 64, where it appeared in 1997. The adventure gave a racing game a freely explorable island as its connecting area. Balloons, locked track doors and encounters with rivals made progress visible outside the races themselves. Rare returned to that approach for Nintendo DS. Nintendo released Diddy Kong Racing DS in 2007; the European release followed on 20 April. It remained a combination of racing and exploration, adapted to a handheld with two screens.
The adaptation added new playable characters and extra tracks alongside the familiar locations. Dixie and Tiny Kong joined the group. Rare also used the DS's distinctive input options: you could draw tracks, create your own player icon and record sounds with the microphone. Preparing a starting boost changed depending on your vehicle. The return to Timber's Island therefore gained its own actions that were not part of the original Nintendo 64 game.
Wireless multiplayer was another important addition. The cartridge supported local play with one or several copies as well as the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service of the time. Nintendo ended that official online service in 2014. Local racing and the solo adventure remain separate parts of this release. Diddy Kong Racing DS thus shows how Rare reshaped an existing console adventure around the capabilities of Nintendo DS.
Similar games for Nintendo DS
Mario Kart DS shares the colourful tracks, items and emphasis on clever overtaking on Nintendo DS. There, you choose races, cups or short driving missions from menus. Diddy Kong Racing DS connects its races through an island you explore and balloons that open new routes. Diddy also switches between kart, hovercraft and plane, whereas Mario Kart DS builds its races around karts on the ground.
Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing likewise brings familiar characters together on Nintendo DS in races with weapons and boosts. Track settings refer to various SEGA games, and each racer has their own All-Star attack. Diddy Kong Racing DS uses one connected island adventure with Wizpig as the opponent. Their similarity lies in the playful competition; the difference is most apparent between separate championships and Diddy's exploration between the track doors.
Like Diddy Kong Racing DS, Race Driver: Create & Race lets you make your own tracks with the Nintendo DS touch screen. In Race Driver, you construct a motor-racing circuit with straights and hairpin turns and also drive on real circuits. Diddy places that creative element in a fantasy world with weapons and several vehicle types. Both let you influence the route, but their settings and driving differ considerably.
Asphalt: Urban GT also offers three-dimensional racing and the chance to challenge opponents through local wireless play on Nintendo DS. You drive real car brands through urban environments and earn money for cars and upgrades. Diddy Kong Racing DS replaces that garage economy with Golden Balloons, island exploration and fantasy characters. Asphalt mainly asks you to read traffic situations and corners; Diddy adds the choice between driving, travelling over water and flying, as well as using collected weapons.
Cars Mater-National Championship also uses recognisable cartoon characters, varied races and alternative routes on Nintendo DS. The cars from Cars welcome international competitors to Mater's racing festival around Radiator Springs. Diddy Kong Racing DS builds its story around freeing Timber's Island and also lets you control hovercraft and planes. Both combine a cheerful world with driving skill, but their characters, vehicles and reasons for opening new races differ.
