"Much more than a Mario Kart clone."

Hmmm, I wonder why I waited so long to write a Diddy Kong Racing review? I mean, it was my first N64 game. For a time, I didn't like this game as much as Mario Kart, but then I looked back, and I realized DKR did some things much better than MK. So, let's take a look:

GRAPHICS 8/10

Bright, colorful worlds, happy, go lucky characters, and spiffy vehicles. I've seen better graphics, but DKR is well beyond average. However, some tracks really look fantastic.

GAMEPLAY and DESIGN 9/10

Standard kart racing? Heck no! Think Mario Kart, Mario 64, Pilotwings and Waverace. THATS Diddy Kong Racing.

Beat a race, get a golden balloon. Use your balloons on he overworld to open new worlds and tracks. Beat he boss, earn stuff. Go back and collect Silver Coins on the tracks AND get first place, and beat the harder boss. Do that in all five lands. It goes well beyond racing, my friend.

Like MK, Diddy and co can collect items to use on the other racers. The items missiles, oil, a power boost can be upgraded by running over the same colored item balloon.

DKR isn't confined to race cars. You take control of a hover boards and airplanes as well. Which vehicle you choose determines which character you use, some of the time. Try to use the sensitive hovercrft with the smallish Pipsy, and you'll have a hard time controlling it. However, us the heavy weight Krash, and you'll have the best control for the hovercraft.

Controlling the planes are a blast. Once I spent a half a hour exploring the Overworld with it.

SOUND 9/10

How did Rare manage to make happy, bouncy music sound really, really cool? Heck, they did it with Banjo-Kazooie after this, I guess.

Character voices, on the other hand, can get REALLY annoying. All those ''yipees!'' and ''oh nos!''....Oh well.

REPLAY VALUE 9/10

Just beating the game is a challenge in itself. Trying to unlock the secret character by completes a track in a limited amount of time is will keep you busy.

GRIPES

Yes, the game is hard... unless you use the booster trick. If you release the gas when you use a booster, then you go 1.5 times as fast. And, unlike Mario Kart, the other races don't keep up with you. So you might literally go the entire race without seeing anybody.

OVERALL 9/10

Diddy Kong Racing is a great kart racer. My only problem is, if you know that booster trick, it makes the game much easier. But does that really matter, not really. The tracks are still fun to play, and you don't HAVE to use the trick. If you can get over the cuteness, 9it's the second cutest game for the 64, in my opinion) then DKR will keep you entertained. (Like all Rare games do!)

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/16/00, Updated 11/09/02