Sound:  
The music in Diddy Kong Racing seems cheery and high-spirited. All the levels have their own distinct music and it fits this kind of game really well. The sound effects are spot-on and are done well. When you skid around a corner, you'll hear this screeching, skiddy sound effect that makes you feel like you are actually peeling around a corner in a kart. You can even beep your horn which is useless but it's just another little detail that the game game offers. Also, all the racers have their own goofy voices. The funniest one has to be Krunch's voice. Right when you select him he yells out, "Krunch!" In short, the music in Diddy Kong Racing might seem kiddyish but if you let go of all that, you'll start to enjoy it and you'll seem more happy.

Multiplayer:  
DKR features a very cool 4 player multiplayer mode. Four players can compete head on with eachother in the various tracks. Each player can choose from a kart, a plane, or a hoverboat. You can compete in races or you can head on in the various battle modes. Such modes include 2 Mario Kart-esque battles where each player has to seek the other players and blast them. The two other battle modes include objectives. One has each player flying toward a central egg nest. You are supposed to grab an egg then bring it back to your nest. Collect three eggs and you win. This mode is great fun because you can taunt eachother when you steal their egg. Overall, I'd say Diddy Kong Racing delivers a wonderful multiplayer experience, but I think Mario Kart 64 still has the best multiplayer kart-racing experience on the N64.

Gameplay:



In the peaceful homeworld of Timber the Tiger, the evil racing monster, Wizpig, has used his magic to control some of the best racers in the galaxy. Wizpig gave the toughest racers, like Tricky and Bubbler, keys and amulets that lock the portals to Wizpig's palace. To win these treasures from these racers, you must drive in a series of races, astonishingly! Wizpig only wants to race against the best racers, however. The best being the likes of Diddy Kong, Timber, Tiptup, Krunch, Bumper, Pipsy, Banjo, and Conker.



Every racer has their own unique characteristics. For example, Krunch the gator is really fast but he can hardly make a turn without having to slow down. Pipsy has really good handling but she goes slower than Krunch. Some characters are average: Conker and Timber are average racers because they drive pretty fast and handle decently. IF you want to pass some of the harder tracks, like racing Wizpig at the end, you better be using Krunch because he goes the fastest. And you'd better make sure to practice with him so you can turn without a hitch. The racers are easy to control if you take the time to practice with them.

Unlike Mario Kart 64, Diddy Kong Racing is an adventure-style racing game. Before you start the races, you are allowed to choose a racer and then you are transported to the massive overworld with many a place to explore. You can drive around the island, but you need to find balloons to open doors to mysterious worlds where you race other racers. You are rewarded a balloon every time you successfully finish a trick or you can explore the overworld and find balloons there. You'll race in Dino Domain, Snowflake Mountain, Sherbert Island, Dragon Forest, and ultimately a planet in outer space, Future Fun Land. All of the worlds have their own distinct feel, be it a lava world, ice world, etc. Each world contains 5 different race tracks followed by a boss race. After you beat a boss race, you can compete in a Trophy Challenge where you race every track in that world. After each race in the Trophy Challenge you get points on how well you did in that track and at the end of the 5 races it tallies up your total points to decide if you got the trophy for that world.



Just like in Mario Kart, you'll use some very cool weapons to stop the other racers from beating you to the finish line. The weapons/items you'll encounter are magnets, rocket power up balls, bananas, spillable oil, forcefields, and zippers. To grab a weapon, simply run over the appropriate colored balloon. Each balloon has its own unique weapon described above. For example, if you run over a red balloon, you get a power-ball you can shoot at the other racers. But if you get two red balloons without wasting the first weapon, you get a lock-on target powerball. Lastly, if you collect three balloons, you'll get 10 powerballs to shoot off at random! The other colored balloons you collect have the same effect. There are also loads of bananas on the race track and the more you get the faster you go. And if you need a boost of speed, drive over the yellow zippers which send you flying past the competition. Everything is nicely placed on each track, making each race fair for everyone.



DKR doesn't just have karts to drive, mind you. You'll also fly a plane and steer a hoverboat on water. The plane controls just as easily as the kart. To go around corners with ease, Rare added in a special treat. Just hold down the R button to go sideways kind of like a power slide. The plane and the kart have no special learning curve but the Hoverboat does. When you first drive a hoverboat you'll be bouncing around everywhere; missing turns, flipping over, etc. If you take about twenty minutes to practice with the hoverboat you'll enjoy every wet and wild corner.



At first, Diddy Kong Racing seems really easy because you'll be getting first place in the first couple of tracks. But once you get to the boss races and the Trophy Challenges, you'll be having some trouble. After you beat a boss race, you have to re-race every track and collect silver tokens and get first place to beat the track. Then you have to re-race the boss race and collect all the silver tokens while remaining in first place. This game is challenging especially in the silver token courses.

Control:
The controls are simple: Accelerate with the A button, brake with B, use R and B to do a power slide, use Z to fire a weapon, and control the racer with the control stick.

OVERALL:
Overall, I'd say Diddy Kong Racing blends together all the good elements of a kart racer. It features a dozen characters with plenty of cool tracks. If you like kart racing games like Mario Kart 64, you should really pick this game up. If it seems like too much of a kids game, forget all that. Give it a rent and see if it's for you. It's definitely worth your time.

 

The Lowdown on  Diddy Kong Racing Aesthetics: Awesome Control: Very Good Gameplay: Very Good Multiplayer: Very Good Sound: Awesome Innovation: 5/6 Lasting Appeal: 4/6 Overall: Very Good! "A Must-Buy"