RTTP: Diddy Kong Racing - aka possibly the best N64 kart racer?

[Miscend]

I've got this game on N64. I could never get into it honestly. And it has no sense of speed.

 

[Forkball]

I loved MK64, but I did think this game was better in the N64 days. Maybe now if I sat down and played them both I could decide objectively, but DKR was a very unique spin on the kart racing genre. I'm sad they never made a real follow-up. Apparently Excitebots was originally DKR2 where the racers rode different animals, but it was reworked. I really hope Nintendo comes back to this franchise one day. It's ok to have two kart racers on the same console.

Icicle Pyramid is the best battle map by the way.

 

[zoltek]

Your thread brings back memories, specifically of doing some of the 1v1 races dozens upon dozens of times in order to fully beat the game. This was a great, but seriously difficult in some areas, game. I agree I enjoyed it the most of all the N64 kart racer. Frankly, probably my favorite kart racer of all time.

 

[Iztok]

Possibly. I didn't play it at the time, so I really can't say, MK64 kept us pretty busy.

What worries me more is this apparent dislike of SMK I'm sensing. This saddens me, because it's by far my favourite MK, maybe because it plays completely differently to subsequent entries.
The skill cap is insane on SMK and you could achieve zen like mastery levels unlike anything possible later, in my opinion.

 

[daTRUballin]

Icicle Pyramid is the best battle map by the way.

Click to shrink...

Preach.

 

[IronicSonic]

Best kart/party racing... Of it gen. Second of all time behind Sonic All Star Racing Transformed

 

[Cid]

I think we liked the MK multi-player better. But we've also played DKR 4-players.

MK8 Deluxe on the Switch is really the ultimate kart game now. 1-player, 2-player offline and online, 4-player. It's really fantastic.

 

[Lux86]

Yep, the best kart racer of all time.

 

[thomasmahler]

I love Diddy King Racing. Definitely one of the best N64 games and soooo much better than Mario Kart 64!

 

[Ivellios]

Man i got such good memories of this game, it was truly a masterpiece with a fun single player campaign and even better multiplayer full of variety.

One of the best games of N64 easily.

 

[Yohane]

Loved the adventure. Wish modern Mario Kart had something similar.

 

[PedroPanache]

I have so many fond memories of this game. I played it to death and squeezed every last ounce of content until there was nothing left. And then I played it some more. I enjoy Mario Kart, but the blueprint for a really good single player mode was firmly established in Diddy Kong Racing, and it's a shame the MK series never attempted to build upon Diddy Kong's adventure mode. Brilliant game!

 

[MondoWray]

Phenomenal game. Great memories of myself and as close friend completing this 100%.

Loved the different vehicles and Mario 64 style lobby.

 

[woopWOOP]

The singleplayer mode was big, but I couldn't get into it back then. Bosses being cheating POS pissed me off and I didn't like how I was the only one who had to make these odd turns for the coin challenge. Flying around the overworld was cool tho.
I didn't really like how you controlled the kart and plane either, the latter needing you to hold R for better turns, but accidentally tapping it meant you'd do this completely useless. uncontrollable barrel roll or somersault that had you crashing into the walls 90% of the time.

Despite all that I don't think I disagree. MK64's rubberbanding aged really badly and I'll probably have more fun with the challenges in DDKR today.

 

[JasonV]

I remember loving that winter/Christmas level.

But it wasn't quite as sharp as MK64.

 

[thomasmahler]

I recently replayed and completed Diddy Kong Racing again and whoever has missed out on this gem - give it a go, it still holds up remarkably well thanks to the core gameplay just being totally timeless.

I often wonder why we haven't seen more Kart Racers that copied Diddy Kong Racing's aspects. The tightness of the controls allowed you to absolutely perfect that game. I mean, look at this video:

https://youtu.be/0Ct8n1CClUM?t=636

It's nuts and I love it. Mario Kart has since gone into a direction that I don't really like, the physicsy/bobby feeling of the Karts and all that... not a fan at all. I was always pretty surprised how well of a reception Mario Kart 8 got, which to me is a decent little game, but doesn't come close to the greatest Kart Racers out there (Personally, I think Super Mario Kart still trumps most other Mario Karts due to the level of mastery you can achieve).

I even made a prototype game called Super Turbo Drifters 2 or so years ago that was heavily inspired by Diddy Kong Racing (recently ported it to Switch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGBIMtebixo). Sadly won't be able to finish this one, but I always thought it'd be amazing if we'd finally get a Multiplatform Kart Racer that captures the essence of Diddy Kong Racing :)

 

[Larrikin]

OP you made a mistake in your title. DKR is the best kart racer to date, period.

The multiple vehicles, the skill-focused gameplay, the items as tools to use rather than a broken system designed to even out the field, the track design...hell the music. Even the visuals are just stunning.

I love everything about this game, I end up 100%ing it about once a year. It holds up.

 

[Steeven]

For some reason this game reminds me of unfair challenges. I don't know exactly what those were, could have been the boss levels. Unfortunately I never was able to progress at a certain point in the game.

 

[anexanhume]

Loved the hell out of this game. I remember the thrill of getting TT and then I actually beat one of the developer times they show at the credits with him. I just had a ton of fun with the progression system and would play the MP by myself in addition to with others for the heck of it. Best kart racer I've ever played for sure.

 

[TheYanger]

I think calling 30fps with dips "garbage" is a little hyperbolic. SMK runs at 60fps, but it's not even real 3D. This is why SMK is kinda divisive. It doesn't look or play anything like SMK64.

Click to shrink...

30 fps with dips in a fast racing game with muddy graphics, when every other game in the series runs twice that, is garbage. It's not like minor dips either, as I recall. I haven't touched it in ages, but even when it was new it felt like mud to me.

 

[chalkitdown]

Best single-player kart racer ever. Very important to emphasize Single player, though as the multi-player doesn't hold a candle to MK64's. I can't for the life of me figure out why Nintendo didn't copy the adventure mode structure from DKR with subsequent Mario Karts.

Adding story modes to genre's that normally didn't have them is all the rage nowadays (FIFA, Mortal Kombat etc) so maybe Nintendo will finally get it done with Mario Kart 9.

 

[Deleted member 21601]

They need to make A Diddy Kong Racing 2 happen on Switch. Or add a Single player campaign to a Mario Kart game.

 

[ZeoVGM]

It was absolutely better than MK64. No question.

But it has been topped a number of times since: Crash Team Racing, Sonic & Sega Racing (perhaps both of them), Mario Kart 8.

 

[ZeoVGM]

They need to make A Diddy Kong Racing 2 happen on Switch. Or add a Single player campaign to a Mario Kart game.

Click to shrink...

I personally believe that we've seen the final Mario Kart and that the DLC was a testing ground for the text game in the series -- Super Smash Kart.

But along with that, I would love to see an adventure mode with it. If anything, the idea of everyone's worlds converging could be great for a story mode.

 

[1000% H]

I always liked the item system. Choosing between burning a lower level weapon right away or saving it up until you could snag another balloon or two was a nice twist compared to something like Mario Kart with its pure randomness.

 

[Br3wnor]

Never got into MK64 but Diddy Kong Racing was one of my all time favorite N64 games. Played the SHIT out of it for months, such a fun game.

 

[Champion]

Anyone remember those DKR2 rumors that were popping up out of nowhere a few summers ago?

It still hurts.

 

[daTRUballin]

One thing that I still don't understand is all the hate for DKR's multiplayer. I thought it was pretty fun? When people say it doesn't hold a candle to MK64's multi, are they just talking about the battle modes then? And even then, DKR's battle modes were pretty interesting and unique, like Fire Mountain and Smokey Castle. The regular versus mode in DKR is basically the same as MK64, so I don't see how DKR can be compared to it negatively in regards to the versus mode. Unless someone prefers MK64's maps or something.

I'm not saying DKR's multi is better than MK64's, but I'm just saying it's good and deserves some more appreciation probably.

 

[bionic77]

MK64 multiplayer was better than DKR.

DKR's single player was obviously way ahead though.

I had both and they both had different strengths. But MK64 was still being played long after DKR was collecting dust.

 

[enigmatic_alex44]

Mario Kart didn't become a good series until Double Dash.

Diddy Kong Racing absolutely won that generation, although there are arguments in Crash Team Racing's favor too.

 

[Leo]

It definitely holds up better nowdays than MK64.

 

[Edwardo]

Awesome game. We bust it out every once in a while for a few games.

 

[Salty Rice]

Loved Diddy Kong Racing back then.

Played Mario Kart 64 and Diddy Kong Racing a lot with friends.

But it was also a really solid solo game. Still remember these asshole bosses being hard as hell.

 

[TheBeardedOne]

What's perhaps most impressive is how they not only nailed kart racing, but also hovercraft and plane racing.

 

[Indelible]

I always liked Diddy Kong Racing more than Mario Kart 64, the adventure mode was some of the most fun I had on N64. I honestly don't think I have enjoyed a kart racer as much since.

 

[reKon]

It is and anyone who says otherwise is wrong, GG.

 

[Mistle]

I always thought the idea of a kart racer with an overworld, story and bosses was killer. I wish they'd give it another attempt.

Considering MK for Switch was just a port, maaaybe Retro could be working on it? >_>

 

[nib95]

I was literally just thinking about this two days ago. I actually preferred Diddy Kong Racing to Mario Kart. It's such a terrible shame that they never released a proper sequel. What a gaming loss.

 

[indigo blue]

What a throwback. I won this game on Video and Arcade Top 10 as a kid (studio partner lol). I preferred it waaaaaay more compared to MK 64

 

[King Dodongo]

Still don't know how some fellas could say with a straight face that they preferred mario kart 64 over this. More content, better graphics music etc etc. Also Drumstick is the best character. (I hate T.T..with burning passion)

 

[V23]

Such a good game, I loved everything about it:

- Driving around the hub world blew me away back then
- The choice of vehicles that would open up new routes on tracks
- Stacking power ups (one shot > heatseeking missile > ten shots)
- Searching for the different keys on tracks without using any guides
- Playing that battle mini game on the ice arena hundreds of times
- Having my mind blown when I randomly discovered the green boosts when messing around, months after I started playing

Not sure if it's heavily influenced by nostalgia but it really was a gem.

 

[DarthSontin]

MK64 felt like a great series of tracks.

DKR felt like a lived-in world that could be explored. It was better for that alone.

Plus, it is one of the best Christmas games ever.

 

[chalkitdown]

Plus, it is one of the best Christmas games ever.

Click to shrink...

The fucking GOAT right here.