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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games.
Diddy Kong Racing
Mixed or average reviews
Based on 39 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 17 votes
Read user comments
Rate this game >
Game Info
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Rare, Ltd.
Genre(s): Racing, Driving
Players: 8
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Release Date: February 5, 2007
Summary
A bloated space pig has taken control of Diddy Kong's Island paradise and only you can stop his nefarious plot. Take on this racing challenge as you drive, hover and fly your way across the massive island. This remastered take on a Nintendo 64 classic is sure to rev the engines of adventure racing fans everywhere. Diddy Kong Racing is the first handheld adventure racing game, a genre that lets you visit new locations, talk to interesting characters, advance the storyline and search for hidden secrets - all while engaging other drivers in a series of racing challenges to see who is king of the road. Race Online and in Local Wireless Battles. Drivers can use Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to go online and race against up to seven other players from around the world. DKR also features eight-player single-card download play, as well as multi-card wireless play. Create Your Own Tracks. Wish Race mode gives you complete freedom to design, build, and race on the track of your dreams. Touch Screen control makes building the course a snap, and Nintendo WFC compatibility lets you share your work of genuis with everyone. Retextured and remixed tracks, new characters and racing challenges, brand new levels, improved vehicle control, Touch Screen controls, gamer tag designs and more make this an experience that both newcomers and seasoned vets will love. [Nintendo]
Cheat Codes & Hints: GameSpot Hints & Cheats
Also On The Web: Official Website
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
GameTrailers
Diddy Kong Racing was great back in 1997, and it’s managed to hold up almost a decade later. The added content is nice for those who completely destroyed the original game, and those who’ve never played it will be surprised at its quality, depth, and longevity.
Read Full Review >NGamer UK
Yes, it's a less charming "Mario Kart," but this game is packed with ideas and fantastic racing. [Apr 2007, p.69]
Read Full Review >AceGamez
Though it plays second fiddle to its old rival, Mario Kart, Diddy Kong Racing shows that there is still a place in the gaming world for kart-driving monkeys, plane-flying turtles and hovercraft-steering tigers.
Read Full Review >Official Nintendo Magazine UK
This could have been as good as "Mario Kart DS" but ditching some fun ideas to make room for the new DS-specific content actually drags the whole thing down. [May 2007, p.72]
Gamer 2.0
It is extremely difficult to be shooting things with your stylus and at the same time maintain control of your vehicle; humans were only born to have two hands.
Read Full Review >Nintendo Power
Like its predecessor, Diddy Kong Racing DS has a Mario Kart game to compete with, but also enough unique features to make it a kart-racing contender. [Mar. 2007, p.87]
IGN
Diddy Kong Racing's a good product with some first-generation blues dragging it down. The fantastic online and customization focus offset some of the clunky items that made it into the design...but don't think we're going to turn a blind eye to the stupid stuff.
Read Full Review >Game Informer
None of it has the magic supplied by the much better "Mario Kart," and the game starts feeling less like a drive to the finish and more like a time waster.
Read Full Review >NintendoWorldReport
Despite all of the negative points to the game, the charm that made the original a favorite to many still shines through. As long as you don't start up the game expecting "Mario Kart DS," you'll get lots of fun out of Diddy Kong Racing DS.
Read Full Review >Da Gameboyz
With some good graphics, good sound, and some great multiplayer additions (both off and online) Diddy Kong is only held back by Rare forcing gamers to play the game’s levels over and over to fully complete it.
Read Full Review >Console Gameworld
A solid racer, held back somewhat by the failings of the original Nintendo 64 game that were carried over to this Nintendo DS port.
Read Full Review >Games Master UK
A creditable addition to your DS, but lacks the style and spark of "Mario Kart." [May 2007, p.79]
GamePro
If the controls weren't so frustrating, the game play experience would have been a lot more enjoyable.
Read Full Review >Yahoo! Games
The stylus aspects were better left out, fun is barricaded by a need to complete Adventure mode, and the overall vibe is even more painfully sugarcoated today than it was a decade ago.
Read Full Review >PALGN
Although a few hiccups are met along the way in the form of the touch screen elements, gameplay remains solid enough to keep you playing until the end. Multiplayer is the game’s saving grace.
Read Full Review >NTSC-uk
Diddy Kong Racing DS is still a compulsive challenge and for sheer content and variety, it wins outright. But it’s not a fully convincing reinvention, and equally it’s changed too much to feel like a reassuring old friend.
Read Full Review >My Gamer
A dumbed-down, bastardized version of the N64 hit. All the touch screen control and mini games completely suck to high hell.
Read Full Review >GameSpot
Diddy Kong Racing DS is a decent racer with plenty to do and some interesting new content, but the seemingly endless amount of tasks you must complete to enjoy all of it may irritate anyone who simply wants to race.
Read Full Review >Armchair Empire
Diddy Kong Racing DS ends up being a slightly above average racing game. If you are expecting to find a better time than Mario Kart here, keep looking.
Read Full Review >Wii Brasil
Diddy Kong Racing DS is a good alternative to Mario Kart DS. However, even with all new features, it's not as great as the 64 version.
Read Full Review >games(TM)
Nintendo was keen not to force "Mario Kart DS" in a typically DS direction, so we see no reason why Diddy Kong Racing DS wasn’t treated in the same way. [Apr 2007, p.118]
Pocket Gamer UK
A decent multiplayer mode and loads of extras, but let down by poor control and often flawed design.
Read Full Review >Games Radar (in-house)
So in the end you have a fairly decent racer swimming a lake polluted with a metric ton of collectable refuse.
Read Full Review >GameDaily
The whole collection theme grows tiring, with players having to repeat races to find items to proceed. The DS-exclusive enhancements don't help either, and end up being pointless.
Read Full Review >WHAM! Gaming
Fans of the old-school Nintendo 64 version might find a lot to like here, but this standard racing title's reliance on repetition and gimmicky touchscreen controls won't do anything to make you forget Mario Kart DS.
Read Full Review >eToychest
Sure, it's a bit slow compared to Mario Kart, and yes the lion's share of the tracks are fairly forgettable, but the potential is there. However, there is just so much extra flotsam that the game forces you to navigate through to get at even the marginally fun bits that it hardly seems worth it.
Read Full Review >Game Revolution
It's great filler if you need a change of scenery, but still a distant second behind "Mario Kart DS."
Read Full Review >Cheat Code Central
It just doesn't lend itself to the DS. There's no doubt it would have fared much better on the PSP, but just try to convince Nintendo of that.
Read Full Review >Electronic Gaming Monthly
File this under "Why Bother?" [Mar 2007, p.93]
Deeko
A so-so racer that was super fun in 1997, but pales in comparison when stacked up against the plumbers DS iteration.
Read Full Review >1UP
This kart (and plane and hovercraft) racer has received the sort of imperceptible face-lift known as the "enhanced port" treatment. But not enhanced enough, when you could be playing Mario Kart DS instead.
Read Full Review >Detroit Free Press
An enhanced port of a game from 3-D gaming's training-wheel days still is a port.
Read Full Review >Edge Magazine
Rare’s late-‘90s obsession with currencies and unlockables, combined with the new additions to adventure mode, make Diddy Kong Racing feel at times like a maze of conditions and transactions in search of an actual game, and put many of its attractive new features behind bars with no word of how to free them. [Apr 2007, p.87]
Eurogamer
Insipid character and course design married with inherently repetitive gameplay, obsessive collecting and an array of horrible touchscreen features make this feel like a waste of time. It's got plenty of content, and is a perfectly serviceable, occasionally competitive kart racer, but there's not much distinguishing about it.
Read Full Review >Gaming Age
It’s just not as fun to play as "Mario Kart DS." The power-ups aren’t as entertaining, the game runs slower, the characters are generic, and the tracks feel uninspired.
Read Full Review >Extreme Gamer
Collecting balloons, searching an island for an race to compete in, fighting with the awkward controls are all part of Diddy Kong Racing that wasn’t appealing.
Read Full Review >Sydney Morning Herald
Many kids will have fun whizzing around the colourful courses, but some will be frustrated when the difficulty rises sharply after the initial races. The highlight is wirelessly competing against up to eight remote friends.
Read Full Review >GameSpy
Beyond the graphics and design foibles, the difficulty ramps up in an unsettling way, with races going from child's play to infernal bloodsport in the span of a single race.
Read Full Review >Thunderbolt
Exploring an entire island in order to race is tedious in itself. The need to win first place every time forces you to replay a track until you race perfection. The controls are slippery, and the gameplay seems sluggish. The Touch Screen features are poorly implemented. The difficulty, AI competitors, and convoluted mini-games are pathetic at best.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this game is 8.0 (out of 10) based on 17 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Noah W. gave it a7:
Great game but the weapons lack the enjoyability that mario kart has and The bosses can get extremely annoying...but unless you have mario kart, get it.
Sam J. gave it a10:
This game is just as good as Mario Kart. The graphics are not great but the gameplay is extremely enjoyable. Two thumbs up!
Ben M. gave it a10:
This is an amazing game thats really fun. I personally think this game is better than Mario Cart DS even though it has a lower rating because there is an adventure mode and more vehicles. The wifi status of the two games are basically the same. Thanks RARE for the great game!
Kung Fu Furby gave it a2:
I frown upon this game. The game has good gameplay and most of the graphics are good (I disliked Tiny Kong's), but I dislike the vocals! What are you people doing to the vocals!? Those vocals were absolutely terrible! I usually feel OK with games that do poor on the ratings, but games that I have played in the past make me hope that the game is a good port. Well, it is for the graphics, but terrible for the vocals! I knew the originals went in the trash because most of those vocals were terrible! Bumper and Tiny were OK, but the others stunk. Sorry, but this game needs improvements to sound so that it can retain the original N64 spirit.
Thomas M. gave it a6:
This game is essentially a port of the N64 version, with four new tracks, a couple new drivers, and some DS bells and whistles. It's still a fun racer, though the hovercraft is unwieldy due to lack of analog control. It may be an unfair comparison, but Mario Kart DS beats the pants off this.
