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Diddy Kong Racing (1997)

Rare

Nintendo 64

3.81 from 1263 ratings

2284 members have it in their collection · 22 playing now · 222 backlogged · 124 wish listed

How long? Main story 21h · with extras 15h · 100% 7h (from 7 logged playthroughs)

Diddy Kong Racing is set on Timber's Island and revolves around Diddy Kong and his friends' attempt to defeat the intergalactic antagonist, a wizarding pig named Wizpig, through winning a series of races. The player can take control of any of the featured characters throughout the game. Diddy Kong Racing features five worlds with four racetracks each, and the ability to drive a car, hovercraft, or pilot an aeroplane.
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Details

Developers
Rare
Publishers
Gradiente, Nintendo
Genres
Racing
Themes
Action, Comedy
Franchises
Banjo & Kazooie, Donkey Kong
Series
Diddy Kong Racing, Donkey Kong Country
Event
Nintendo Spaceworld '97

Release dates

  • Nov 21, 1997 (Full Release) (Japan) Nintendo 64
  • Nov 21, 1997 (Full Release) (Europe) Nintendo 64
  • Nov 24, 1997 (Full Release) (North_America) Nintendo 64
  • Dec 1997 (Full Release) (Brazil) Nintendo 64

Related

Remakes

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Featured in lists

1990's Games by Roach · 140 games · 2
Gremlin's favorite Games of all time by Gremlins_Grotto · 49 games · 0
Played + Completed (Main Story) by Teh_Cheat · 99 games · 0
Nintendo 64 by KiingShady · 76 games · 0
Neo's Y2K Collection by NEOL1NK · 88 games · 0
GOTYs 1977-2025 by shinespark · 132 games · 0

Rating distribution

5 stars
297
4 stars
522
3 stars
357
2 stars
77
1 star
9
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Community All Reviews Statuses

RandomArc

Status RandomArc Nov 30, 2025

This one is going back on the backlog, maybe never to come back off it, and it's all because of this guy 😡 Holy cow is this game tough! I've gotten past the controls not having same level of precision as modern kart racers, but the jump in challenge for each world as you progress from the Initial Races -> …

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This one is going back on the backlog, maybe never to come back off it, and it's all because of this guy 😡 Holy cow is this game tough! I've gotten past the controls not having same level of precision as modern kart racers, but the jump in challenge for each world as you progress from the Initial Races -> Boss Race 1 -> Silver Coin Races -> Boss Race 2 -> Trophy Races...is just crazy.

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0 Comment Permalink
TheBeautifulEric

Status TheBeautifulEric Mar 30, 2025 Completed

I was really looking forward to playing this because I've heard for years that it's much better than MK64. I do agree, I think it's better than MK64. The 3 different vehicle types is kind of crazy for 1997 and they add a lot of variety. I will say I don't like using the hovercraft or plane all that much, …

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I was really looking forward to playing this because I've heard for years that it's much better than MK64. I do agree, I think it's better than MK64. The 3 different vehicle types is kind of crazy for 1997 and they add a lot of variety. I will say I don't like using the hovercraft or plane all that much, but they do make it feel fresh for a kart racer and I love them as options. I like the silly, goofy cast, the level variety, and the robust single player content. Adventure mode is pretty similar to Crash Nitro Kart where you're playing the same tracks under multiple conditions then facing a boss. I found the bosses particularly hard. I think I even joked that Rare must have been trying to cause childhood trauma with how hard the game got at times. As much as I enjoyed my time with the game, I got burnt out from having to do each track at least 5 times for story completion + unlocking characters. I might do Adventure 2 down the line, but probably not right away. I wish Mario Kart had more single player content like its competitors used to, but I think I'd prefer MK DS's mission mode over an adventure that felt like a lot of padding.

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1 Comment Permalink
Atag

Status Atag Jan 6, 2024

Screw this track, but also screw every other track

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Probably one of the hardest kart games I've ever played. The steering is really responsive yet I seem to miss all the pickups. I even impressively drift between the pickups when I really need one. The soundtrack is bop after bop though and I'm actually enjoying how challenging the game is!

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Screw this track, but also screw every other track

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Probably one of the hardest kart games I've ever played. The steering is really responsive yet I seem to miss all the pickups. I even impressively drift between the pickups when I really need one. The soundtrack is bop after bop though and I'm actually enjoying how challenging the game is!

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7 Comment Permalink
Atag

Status Atag Jan 2, 2024

Help

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Side note: how on earth do you get the 5th egg to do the last race in the beginning section?

6 Comment Permalink
Please...callmeYork

Status Please...callmeYork Apr 27, 2020

I picked up a Tribute 64 controller so I could mess around with some old n64 games. It is a little too small and cramped, but otherwise still preferable to my old busted controllers.

This is a game we never owned growing up. The only racing games we had were Star Wars, Ridge Racer and F1 (then eventually Mario Kart …

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I picked up a Tribute 64 controller so I could mess around with some old n64 games. It is a little too small and cramped, but otherwise still preferable to my old busted controllers.

This is a game we never owned growing up. The only racing games we had were Star Wars, Ridge Racer and F1 (then eventually Mario Kart 64 many years later). I have vague memories of playing it at friends' houses.

It is pretty solid. The racing itself is a lot of fun, though very difficult compared to MK64. The other racers have an ability to consistently hit the boost pads, so you really need to learn the tracks and perfect your racing tehnnique.

I am not a big fan of Rare's kitchen sink game design. Driving around a hubworld to choose races was probably very ambitious, but it mostly annoys me, and I can't say I was a fan of the boss races. There is definitely a lot of content, and they deserve a lot of praise for providing three different vehicle types (kart, plane and hovercraft) that all feel great while controlling very differently.

Still, this is a neat game, and I imagine the multiplayer is a lot of fun.

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3 Comment Permalink
PixelSlayers

Status PixelSlayers Jun 17, 2019

Join us for another episode of Manual Mania, as we explore the manual to Diddy Kong Racing for the Nintendo 64!

3 Comment Permalink