Thanks to Hamada for helping with edits.
One of Nintendo’s long running practices is re-releasing their older console games on their handhelds years later, usually adding new features, gimmicks, and problems. This is a practice Rare would eventually adapt, too. The Game Boy Color nabbed an approximation of Donkey Kong Country, the whole Country trilogy hit the Game Boy Advance, and finally the synergistically named Diddy Kong Racing DS graced the Nintendo DS. Of those five titles, reception to the latter stood out, with many bemoaning it as a markedly worse version of the seminal Nintendo 64 spinoff. Since I’ve been revisiting it lately, let’s discuss why.
We’ll mostly focus on Racing DS’s unique intricacies and issues today, the game’s fifteenth anniversary. (Image: Nintendo/Microsoft)
Enough of the core Diddy Kong Racing experience is preserved here. Fundamentally, its story is unaltered: girthy swine Wizpig invades Timber’s Island, so its namesake tiger calls upon his friends to help fend him off. Of course, this resistance includes the accomplished adventurer Diddy Kong (plus the Kremling spy Krunch, who tails him). The regrettable loss of Banjo and Conker is compensated by including four new contestants. Fellow Kongs Dixie and (a questionably redesigned) Tiny are available from the get-go, while Wizpig and local deity Taj are unlockable. “Adventure Mode” and the harder “Adventure Mode 2” return, as do Racing’s three vehicle types: cars, planes, and hovercrafts. All of the first game’s racetracks and items return too, albeit with a few tweaks. Racing’s visuals and score suffer in the Nintendo DS conversion, though not so much as to be distracting.
A bevy of new content is added in DS, sometimes at the expense of the original’s. By collecting coins scattered throughout the overworld and racetracks, players can purchase stuff from Taj’s store. The original game’s Silver Coin Challenges, where you must clear each course in first place with the eight medallions, and battle arenas can be obtained here. Consequently, playing through both is no longer mandatory. Unfortunately, the mirror versions of the Silver Coin Challenges neglect to reposition the valuables as the original did, making them somewhat easier. Attempting to better connect Racing to the greater Donkey Kong universe, four bonus circuits set within the Kongo Jungle can also be bought. They’re welcome inclusions but are nevertheless generic, rarely taking advantage of their setting. Unsurprisingly, DS also let players race online, and it was actually a rather robust affair — certainly more so than Mario Kart DS. Sadly, the termination of the system’s Wi-Fi services render this mode inoperable, so… take my word for it? Oh, and David Wise’s new compositions mesh with his original work, though — barring maybe Strangled Shrine’s theme — are significantly weaker.
Speed boosters and items may be placed strategically, letting players pull off shortcuts. Thankfully, the actual racing is still fun in DS. (Image: Nintendo/Microsoft)
Customization was a focal point for Rare in Racing DS. “T.T.’s Wish Races” lets players design their own racetracks. It’s very limited, only letting you draw the layout and adjust changes in elevation. There’s only one preset aesthetic and song, too. Still, it’s a nifty addition. You can edit emblems, which appear throughout every pre-made speedway. If your favorite character’s voice clips aren’t pleasing to hear, you can record new ones, and you can also tweak your rides’ colors and stats. These features aren’t especially fleshed out or additive, unfortunately.
Now, none of those changes or imperfections are dealbreakers. What ultimately mars this project is how oppressively it relies on the Nintendo DS’s hardware gimmicks. In most kart racers, including Diddy’s last Racing, if you press the A button at the right moment before the race begins, you’ll start with a burst of speed. Here, though? Both the car and plane demand you spin a wheel and steering wheel, respectively, on the touch screen, while you have to breathe into the microphone for the hovercraft. Some upgraded weapons also require using the touch screen, which is also disorienting; shifting your focus between two screens and different control methods is profoundly unintuitive.
Furthermore, DS’s presentation is cheap. Its menus lack personality, and the voice acting (which at least exuded some energy in the original) sounds jarringly unenthusiastic. (Image: Nintendo/Microsoft)
Nothing symbolizes Rare’s fascination with the DS’s gimmicks better than Taj’s mandatory Balloon Touch Challenges, however. During these, you soar across Racing’s original tracks atop Taj’s flying carpet, using the touch screen to pop balloons. Each course tucks fifty away, and if you don’t pop enough, you must retry it. Now, in all fairness, getting a bronze is usually simple, and you only need a gold if you want to fully complete DS. Still, the minigame isn’t enjoyable. The pacing is reminiscent of Eco Shooter, sometimes leisurely strolling around while, more often than not, swerving and panning away erratically. And the touch screen lets this concept down further. Not only will it sometimes fail to register a balloon popping, but using the stylus also controls the camera — and a few balloons are always hidden off the beaten path, meaning you must frequently move it around. Plus, other touchable stuff — coins and trees, for example — litter the tracks. There will be times when DS registers you as touching these and not the balloon floating next to them.
Diddy Kong Racing was a critical and financial success, acted as a pilot of sorts for Banjo-Kazooie and Conker, and even fulfilled Diddy’s character arc, proving he can gracefully carry a game without his iconic mentor. Regardless, Racing remains trapped in legal limbo, only seeing two follow-ups hit store shelves — and this port is the only one to retain the Kong license. It’s especially a shame, then, that this game was Rare’s final hurrah with the property. Had this Racing been less devoted to the DS’s gimmicks, it probably would’ve been okay. Tragically, Rare using this game to experiment with them amounted to very little; 2008’s solid Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise was their final title for a handheld.
Admittedly, I didn’t care for the Silver Coin Challenges, but since you’re still racing during them, at least they’re congruent with the rest of the game. (Image: Nintendo/Microsoft)
Still, things look better for Diddy Kong Racing than they have in years. Nintendo and Microsoft currently enjoy a positive relationship, with the latter getting two fighters — namely Banjo & Kazooie and Minecraft’s Steve — in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Last month, Banjo-Kazooie was re-released on the Switch’s Nintendo 64 app. Most surprising of all, Microsoft and Rare recently released new Diddy Kong Racing merchandise under the new “RareRacers” branding. Whether or not a proper sequel ever releases, knowing the original could potentially grace the Switch is exciting. If it does and you have the Expansion Pack, try it instead.
Altogether, I honestly don’t dislike Diddy Kong Racing DS. I got my money’s worth out of it, and playing a version of Racing on the go — even a compromised one — was fun. (Image: Nintendo/Microsoft)
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