Diddy Kong Racing is Better than Mario Kart 64!

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Diddy Kong Racing is a racing game for the Nintendo 64 developed by Rareware. 800,000 copies were ordered in the two weeks before Christmas 1997, making it the fastest selling video game at the time, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
Two of the playable characters would later appear in their own franchise titles. The game was partially intended to introduce these future franchise characters so that gamers would recognize them when these games were released. These games include Donkey Kong 64, Banjo-Kazooie, and Conker's Pocket Tales. This game later had a remake and sequel for the Nintendo DS known as Diddy Kong Racing DS in 2007; it's 10 year anniversary.
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#DiddyKong #DiddyKongRacing #DonkeyKong #Nintendo #NintendoDS

[@PKSparkxxDH]

It does my heart good to hear someone else preach the gospel of Diddy Kong Racing > Mario Kart 64.

[@bfish89ryuhayabusa]

And Perfect Dark > Goldeneye

[@taylo226]

And Banjo and Kazooie is better than super mario 64

[@Darro85]

@@taylo226 Going back to the latter when the 3D All-Stars Collection was released, this is definitely true. Mario 64 has aged badly whereas Banjo-Kazooie is still fun to play 23 years later.

[@erikhendrickson59]

@@taylo226 And Yooka Laylee is.......nevermind :(

[@daserfomalhaut9809]

Mario Kart 64 is not that great. CTR also runs LAPS around it.

[@jorgecds]

100% agree. That Rare team knew how to take Nintendo concepts to the next level. They improved MK64 on every single aspect.

[@kevinmarquez5733]

Mario Kart 64, or the Mortal Kombat trilogy for the nintendo 64?

[@BriefDark]

@@kevinmarquez5733 Both

[@AbbaZaba00]

Thank you. I've been saying this for years. I was actually surprised that the next Mario kart didn't incorporate some of the ideas, like boss races, and an open world(kinda) story mode. Still think a kart racer done in this style could be gold!

[@ronniep9272]

Just like how Banjo Kazoooe was better than Super Mario 64

[@NintendoCapriSun]

I've always been a passenger on the DKR>MK64 Train! This really makes me wanna play it like, RIGHT NOW.

[@Left4Cake]

I thought this was just a fact.

[@quentinparhiala9415]

me to

[@Pixel9-Bit]

As a Mario fan Diddy Kong is better than Mario Kart 64 because this had more than carts, it had a hovercraft to hover water and pilot to fly AND most of all it had a story/adventure mode about exploring and stopping an evil villain. Man, I want a sequel to this game.

[@ThySoulessGamer]

I have beaten this game alot over the years. Unlocking tt is almost a breeze. And I still can't get enough. I wish I could get people to play with me lol

[@poudink5791]

To be fair, that's a very uncontroversial opinion.

[@NicVegas]

I remember getting Diddy Kong Racing for Christmas one year, and being disappointed it wasn't Mario Kart... until I started playing it. My friends and I became obsessed and ended up completing/unlocking everything just because it was so much fun

[@chesspunk489]

Did you complete round 2?

[@ChaoticMeatballTV]

Thank you for providing the funds to R9, he's one of the best buds I've got here on the internet and I really appreciate you supporting his creation.

[@KairuHakubi]

good guy jirard givin back.

[@R9beats]

My brother chaotic thanks for the kind words!

[@lottji]

The man didn’t even leave the link in the desc tho

[@philatio1744]

wholesome :)

[@princeblackelf4265]

@Odin's Messenger It is in the video itself, that is something

[@R9beats]

I can't even begin to thank you enough for the help funding my creative passion and adventure of video making now I feel like king of the web! Thanks everyone at tovg and the gracious viewers who donated to the cause! It's really a dream come true to see all the hard work paying off!

[@stayfaded69]

Hell ya bro good luck in all your endeavors

[@philatio1744]

man, i’m so glad for you!!! congrats on winning the five thousand, and i cannot wait to see your growth in the future!!

[@Falconpeep85]

I’m not crying, you’re crying.

[@stayfaded69]

@@Falconpeep85 I just got dirt in my eye. I yawned too big. A fly hit my eyeball

[@auragleaf02]

Congrats

[@PopADoseYo]

A man of culture. Diddy Kong Racing may not have the Rainbow Road theme, but it has much more and does it better. Better OST, better levels, fun hub world, boss races, little secrets to find (the 4 balloons, the keys, jointventue(coop mode). Finding out there was more to the game after the first Wizpig fight was such a great feeling.

[@Davey_Cakes]

We need more "adventure racing" games. Honestly, that'd be something that could set Mario Kart 9 apart. I really hope Nintendo is considering it if they're not straight up considering a new Diddy Kong racing game.

[@KarnageGaming]

Adventure mode in mario kart wont happen. All the other games havent added much. A new didy kong would be great but is unlikely to happen. Rare own the game assets and nintendo own the ip/trademark. So for it to happen nintendo needs to get rare to port it. But the reason its unlikely is because despite the good relationship they have now. Its 1 sided. Microsoft do all the giving nintendo gives nothing back. It would be stuoid if xbox made diddy kong racing without getting to release it on xbox as well. And nintendo wont ever allow that

[@droid4d279]

I would like that separate but also a Mario Kart maker

[@wildgrem]

def the worst part of the Mario Kart franchise is the lack of adventure mode. I chalk it up to pure laziness.

[@courage1363]

Well i think we getting one this March soon

[@ThickpropheT]

How do you feel about Beetle Adventure Racing? One of my all time favorite adventure racing games along side DKR

[@Lorkynn]

Rare were masters at polishing what Nintendo did and making it their own during the the N64 Era. I just know, when me and my siblings wanted to play a racing game, we'd go for DKR for the racing and Mario Kart64 for battles. Would love to see either a sequel or a current gen remaster of DKR.

[@maddogkilla1]

It goes by CTR. When it comes to racing games if that type CTR is top

[@SparkpadArt]

They tried that on the DS. The less said about it, the better.

[@Lorkynn]

@@SparkpadArt Yeaaaah... I didn't even know there was a DS port for the longest time, and I could easily see why I didn't

[@JQ_Unity]

@@SparkpadArt lol. what was wrong with it? had no issue with that DS port. I enjoyed it

[@SparkpadArt]

@@JQ_Unity I dunno, I guess it was a bit lacking in the charm the original game had.

[@philatio1744]

It’s crazy how rare was able to put this together and turn out so good and with much charm. love it to death, by far my favourite kart racing game.

[@TRJ2241987]

One thing I almost never hear anyone bring up is that this was the only Nintendo 64 game, heck maybe the only Nintendo game ever, that had a surprise release. This was the only game I ever remember that wasn't shown in magazines at all until the game was basically a month or two away from hitting shelves. I used to be on top of ALL Nintendo 64 news when I was a kid and I remember my Dad picking me up on a Friday and saying that he saw in a magazine that there was going to be a brand new Donkey Kong racing game coming out in time for Christmas and I told him he didn't know what he was talking about....then we stopped at the supermarket before we came home and I picked up a Gamepro or EGM magazine at the rack and saw the screenshots for the game and was absolutely blown away. Sure enough just a few weeks later and it was already out. I was used to gawking at screenshots in magazines for 12-18 months before finally getting to play games in those days

[@tylernorman8745]

One thing you forgot to mention is how letting go of 'A' before hitting a zipper will give you a better boost and how you can mash 'A' during a race to actually go just a little faster. It's those two hidden mechanics that helped me beat T.T.

[@darcyska]

Diddy Kong Racing is one of my N64 core memories. The levels are so creative, the characters and music is fun, and it's just a racing game that builds into so much more.

[@y_s4021]

One of the best aspects of this game is that it made me want to go outside the tracks and explore. Sometimes it really lead to a new, secret place. the places just felt alive, like real cities and villages and enticed my imagination.

[@MrHaVoKeR]

for a single player experience it certainly is better, but for a casual multiplayer in the house with friends id always go for mario kart, much simpler and straightforward

[@a2pabmb2]

@@MrHaVoKeR Nah man, DKR's battle arenas are where it's at for multiplayer.

[@theoaremevano3227]

This is the first game I ever finished. (I played as Tiptup too. :D ) I also prefer the item progression and the existence of context with an adventure mode and adventure field. One thing I didn't hear you talk about here that's really worth talking about is the set of cheat codes you can put in that are really worth knowing. I don't know how these were translated across to later versions, so I can't speak for that, but in the N64 cartridge, you can put in the code JOINTVENTURE to play 2 player in adventure mode. The races technically have you competing, but the rewards can come from either of you winning the race, so you're free to work together and tag team against the bosses. Putting in FREEFORALL makes all powerup balloons maximum power, which means watch your butt in those battle arenas. Normally, you can only get level 2 powerups in those, but this bypasses that, and if NPCs get their hands on those 10 missiles, they'll turbo-fire off all 10 in a straight line and insta-kill anything in their path. Lots of fun chaos. XD

[@jesusbnks]

HAHAHAHA DEFINITELY REMEMBER THAT!

[@maddogkilla1]

The first game I finished was Turok

[@vulpes6144]

I have always prefered Diddy Kong Racing more. It feels more fair, that your driving skills mean something while in Mario Kart 64 the "rubberband" effect of the CPU characters can get annoying pretty fast

[@currychips]

MK's AI cheats.

[@battyflaps5410]

The rubber banding i felt was mostly fine but it just had odd moments of bullshit, especially when you look at the map and the one guy at the back super far behind is getting nothing but stars then starts doing like 3x the speed and your like wtfff

[@LunarBloodRose27]

@@battyflaps5410 you can almost match that speed when power drifting with a star, that speed is absolutely nuts and I love it

[@cornjeebus]

19:00 this had me in tears ALSO I just got to the part where you mention the actual game's True End is after the credits and when you unlock Future Funland. that's super on-track for games in the Donkey Kong series (at least in the Donkey Kong Country series)

[@Melissa-tw2gp]

I rented this game so many times at Blockbuster. The music still fills me with nostalgia. I also love that the game has a vaguely eerie and threatening vibe to it? It’s less party, more weirdly intense exploration.

[@Jrum_KnoyZ]

Love this comment . When I was a little kid, that "vague eerieness" meant everything. #Class06

[@Jrum_KnoyZ]

Although 😅 .. My circle played ALOT of the (ice battle) stage with free-for-all missiles 🤷🏾‍♂️ #party

[@knowledgeofhealth7821]

I rentes this enough times that I would have saved money by just buying it

[@nicod19]

Same here

[@battyflaps5410]

yeah it was like pure evil at one part then its nice and colourful, and you can run over a frog xD

[@Morpheel4ever]

The last course i beat T.T. on before unlocking him was Darkmoon Caverns. That speedy boy hugs the drift turns at the very innermost edge of the track. After hours of trying, I finally beat him literally by half a second. I would say unlocking T.T. is one of my greatest gaming achievements.

[@MusicalMatthew]

I find it too funny how different I seem to be. Darkmoon Caverns was my very first T.T. race victory when I was young. Many people I've talked to or many comments I've seen say, like you, that Darkmoon Caverns was the last or hardest. Maybe just because it was my favorite track, both in racing and in music, but that's why I beat it first.

[@Morpheel4ever]

@@MusicalMatthew That is funny, and awesome, too! What track's time trial was the hardest for you to beat?

[@MusicalMatthew]

@@Morpheel4ever That's a tough question, it's been a while since I've truly played the game. But let's see... when I tried to unlock T.T. I feel like any water level that required a hover were probably tough (Whale Bay, Pirate Lagoon, maybe Boulder Canyon) potentially Windmill Plains, possibly Star City or Spacedust Alley. However whichever track that gave me the hardest time, it overall made me a much better DKR racer. Helped me learn how to get efficient with the drifting and positioning for optimal cornering/boost.

[@wildgrem]

Most definitely one of the hardest things in gaming Ive ever done. Goldeneye on 007 mode was up there too.

[@Joaking91]

Half a second is an insane lead!

[@RyanDMcDonnell]

This was my favorite 64 game as a kid. Diddy Kong Racing needs more love! Really hope it gets brought to NSO or even a remaster.

[@PeachBootyPoppin]

The "Celebrate good times. Come on!" bit killed me. I always did the same thing lmao. 🤣

[@mandalorianhunter1]

I'm so glad Diddy Kong Racing came around because it helped inspire Crash Team Racing, which is still one of my favorite racing games of all time.

[@JoakimOtamaa]

To quote Caddicarus: CTFR has familiar characters and not just random ones, I don't wanna play as a mooouse! I still prefer PS1 CTR over Nitro-Fueled, not a fan of Pit Stop or random customization the CPU player uses. I just wanna use basic skins with every game, I'm boring that way.

[@jonahabenhaim1223]

I still wish there was a Yaya Panda Mod

[@Dragonpikachu1994]

god this game is so special to me, this is the first game me and my brother really tried our hardest to beat, wizpig is a real bastard when you're a kid. I remember going on the internet looking for tips (while thinking the lighthouse turning into a space ship sounded fake lol) and suddenly my brother runs around the corner and says "I beat him". We were so excited by the space stages

[@slick_link7516]

Diddy Kong Racing is the best racing game of all time. I have never enjoyed a racing game as much as Diddy Kong Racing.

[@atdynax]

I remeber renting an N64 with DKR just to play the ice pyramid over and over.

[@luxorcephrenSE23]

It warms my heart to see DKR getting acknowledged!! I was an avid Mario Kart fan on the SNES and was underwhelmed by the N64 iteration. However, DKR saved me the sadness of not having a great kart/plane/hovercraft game on the N64! There is no comparison, DKR is the best of this genre on the N64! Thanks for a great video!

[@battyflaps5410]

I dont know how people like the snes mario kart i really disliked it because it was just so hard to control but mario kart 64 for me was pure gold

[@nickk3077]

I find the history of DK racing games to be very fascinating! It started off with an N64 game that didn’t even feature DK and stared Diddy instead, which was bananas! It was even a crossover before the subsequent games came out! Featuring Banjo before Banjo’s game came out! After, the GBA was gonna get a new DK racing game, but switched to a Banjo racing game, making it the only Banjo racing game and pretty much the only non-adventure game in the Banjo-Kazooie franchise. It’s kinda poetic how Banjo’s start on Nintendo was on a racing game, but ended with a racing game too... kinda. I digress. Along with this, they canceled Donkey Kong Racing for GameCube because RareWare was bought out by Microsoft before anything could come of this. They then made a DIFFERENT GameCube DK racing game, but it used the bongos!! But it came out on Wii instead probably because Nintendo knew that this is a multiplayer game and it’s way less likely that people would own 4 DK bongos than 4 Wii Remotes and Nunchucks, but in this shift, the game became kinda mediocre, which is a shame because the cast here is kinda crazy! I mean Lanky Kong is in the game! They then made a remake of the N64 game on DS, which is such a strange move to make. Why release a multiplayer game on a handheld? It’s just so strange and no one even talks about this game, so I don’t know what the general consensus is with this. Then... nothing... That was the last of DK racing games.. Nintendo used to be on top with all sorts if interesting racing games back in the day like the Excite series, F-Zero, the DK racing games, WaveRace, Mario Kart (obviously), and more, but nowadays there’s barely anything. We have Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, but that was even a remake of a 7 year old Wii U game! Nintendo needs to return to making more racing games!

[@philatio1744]

It just dawned on me DKR might be the only crossover to have characters that were gonna be established in the future. It only turned into a crossover after a full year of it release. Four years if you wanna count conker, too.

[@philatio1744]

I also find it poetic that diddy kong was both the first and last dk racing and never even thought about the whole banjo thing you said. About donkey kong racing: I’ve never played it, so hearing lanky kong is surreal. And yeah, shame we don’t really get racing games by nintendo. I hear people always bring up mk 9 and, while it would be great, having different games with different approaches was more interesting!

[@aclstudios]

Forgot to mention Kirby Air Ride for the other Nintendo racing games! That one is such a classic, even if all the fun is in the non-racer City Trial mode.

[@philatio1744]

@@aclstudios true, totally forgot about it! and funnily enough, it also has a different approach. mario kart is centered in casual fun with chaotic gameplay thanks to random items so everyone an enjoy it. diddy kong racing adds depth to these systems by having a unique item system and different vehicles with different attributes. f zero was a bit more hardcore with its difficulty and much less forgiving. kirby’s air ride centered its gameplay in one button in an attempt to make the gameplay a bit more simple and uses regular kirby powerups. it’s fun to have variety and i appreciate different takes on the same genre.

[@philatio1744]

@@aclstudios personally, i think air ride is fun beyond the city trial mode, though i’d be lying if i said it isn’t the highlight. hell, i’d even love to see it in more games!

[@blueeyeadonishawke2020]

Been looking forward to this video for a long time, and it did not disappoint! Thanks for letting your twitch community be a part of this process.

[@mathewcawthon3960]

Man! One of my favorite games of all time! I stumbled upon this as a random buy as a kid, but the progression, challenges, and secrets of this game had me hooked! So many feels watching your completionist journey. Let's get a switch port!

[@coreymyers5321]

It might be kinda subtle, but I think Jirard likes Diddy Kong Racing more than Mario Kart 64.

[@philatio1744]

omg, i think you might be right! Can’t believe i almost missed that.

[@Keithhaskins]

You’re crazy… literally no evidence in the video that what you say is true.

[@toddpacker4683]

Waiting for someone to take whoosh

[@EdinMike]

Diddy Kong Racing was the first game I got with my N64 I was going to get Mario 64 but I played DKR at a department store and fell in love with it. It holds a special place in my heart and takes me back to being 10 years old again.

[@zwelgje4798]

Love the review, this was one of my first games I ever bought and completed it many times back in the days. One detail I really loved is that everytime you finish the game they show a random cheatcode at the end of the credits, one of them will unlock multiplayer adventure (jointventure). This was before using the internet to look things up was really a thing.

[@RanCossack]

An exceptional episode as always, Jirard. Though I can't help but wonder, where's all the love for the true star of the show, Bumpa? He's such a household name, I'm surprised you didn't mention him at any point. Lookin forward to the next episode, keep up the great work. The end of New Game Plus is nigh my friends.

[@jinopostigo7987]

love Jirard's passion for games and paying it forward to other budding creators. Still waiting for a Star Ocean Completionist episode.

[@Omegamario]

Oh my goodness yessss, it's great to see this game once more back on the channel. I was there when the original episode was being done and streamed, so much fun and if I remember, I even tweeted Rare about it and they loved it :D. Congrats on winning King of the Web from it my guy and then paying it forward to another creator, you are a fab being Jirard :D

[@powergannon]

I absolutely loved Diddy Kong Racing. The game had so much content, I’d almost always pick it over Mario Kart

[@erik3371]

I feel your comment about being old and better at it, I finished the game, finally a few years ago and a few years after my father died he beat me all the time in the 4x5 standard courses, it sounds lame but I did it his memory. We always played this game when I was a kid, and even back then he said "can't we download more courses?" I never got to the space world. I didn't know it existed, I cried finishing this game.

[@Str8UpEnt]

Please do Iggy’s Reckin Balls! For the love of GOD! PLEASE complete this awesome N64 racing gem! It gets no love or mentions ever! Thanks for being such an awesome content creator too!

[@fredericmartin6056]

I've played this game alot when I was young, it's fun earing people mentioning his existance! It was a lot of fun, such an original game!

[@SmoreBread]

I honestly thought it was a fever dream

[@zacheray]

Wow, never expected to see this get repped. Amazing game, and soundtrack

[@CatsLilaSalem]

I never come across someone talking about this game, but is was so strange and yet so fun for me as a child

[@blackm4niac]

It's an interesting racing game but the latter tracks are just awful if you ask me

[@WarLycan36]

12:50 I remember hearing this on Twitch when he was editing this, and I was crying laughing 😂

[@Clbull118]

Reminds me of Game Grumps' impression of Mr Wilson from Dennis The Menace "DENNIS! I'M GONNA GIVE YA FIVE ACROSS THE ASS!"

[@mAcroFaze]

Diddy Kong Racing will ALWAYS hold that special place in my heart. It's the first game I ever received and played with my N64 that one Christmas morning decades ago, and both that memory and gaming as a whole are in so many ways what shaped me into who I am today, hell, it's most likely a strong reason why I'm even watching this channel and this video at all! So thanks for revisiting this game and giving it the attention it truly deserves :D

[@jamesprimmer355]

I read the manuals as well! There was a very long drive between my town and the city that had a Walmart so I had nothing to do twice a year (when I completed a grade in school ((when my dad had a good year at work)) and when I had a birthday) when we got to buzz over to the city to get me a new GameBoy Advance game! Nice to see someone mention a manual!

[@xXAkirhaXx]

Thank you for putting DKR on the map. I had so much more fun completing DKR than I did with Mario Kart. They were both good, but DKR really awarded you for completing everything.

[@The_Ostrich]

That was never a debate, everyone already knew that.

[@Kurayamiblack]

18:51 Oh god, I felt that HARD. It's like, my mind always put those exact words into the song every time I heard it but I was never consciously able to recognize the words. This is the first time in my life that I ever had this connection in the front of my mind and it's mind blowing that after all these decades, I both never AND always made this connection at the same time

[@crushingvictory]

There's a few things that got missed like the fact you could do the main campaigns in co-op (which does remove 2 coins in all of the silver coin races, most notably the one hidden in the tree in Greenwood Village and the one in Crescent Bay that's on a steep cliff), cheats available for almost every aspect of the game from having upgraded weapons to removing the boosts and balloons to even improving the AI by enabling the rubber banding [WHICH IS OFF BY DEFAULT!] and the better AI used for the TT races, and hidden shortcuts for alternate vehicles (like the small tunnel in the waterfall in Frosty Village) !

[@lLarceny]

I remember feeling super accomplished finishing this game as a kid. Definitely took some skill.

[@Signas7]

This game was the first game I ever listened to a soundtest for. that's how good the music was. Thank you "jukebox" code!

[@GamesTuesday]

You bring up being better since you're more experienced, this is something me & my buddies talk about all the time. As we've replayed games even from a few years back & having a better understand has made more than a few games much much easier.

[@kevinkerkhoff6670]

Love the attention to detail in the mirror mode. Not only is the track mirrored the coins are too

[@Mythki11er]

Never loved a racing game like this one. One of my first n64 games as a kid. Almost completed it, and i don't even like racing haha

[@file.exe404proxynotfound5]

I absolutely love DKR and have always preferred it over MK64. The passion seen here makes wish I can go back and play the game at my grandma's house one last time. And lastly, the ending had me laugh and cry at the same time. Kudos Jirard-sama!

[@Verick.]

Diddy Kong Racing will always have that special place in nostalgia heaven for me. Ready to go w/ Tip Tup in Crescent Island!

[@skafrenzy5iron]

I absolutely love this game. Great review! One thing that might been worth talking about are the secret codes that pop up in the credits after beating the game. "teenieweenies" shrinks all the characters and makes it so much easier to take corners faster. TT + Small characters is easy mode

[@newageBoundhippie]

wish they'd used a few of DKR's killer songs instead of a few of the far too many remixes of the DKC jungle music in Smash......such an underrated soundtrack

[@BerserkerNosaj]

I loved the airplanes in this game, and my favorite mode was the steal the eggs with an airplane mode!

[@guymanjoni]

I remember as a kid thinking that once i beat Wiz Pig the first time, that was it. Boy that feeling when the light house opens up space world (whatever its called), makes me nostalgic. Glad I’m not the only one with great memories of this game.

[@erikhendrickson59]

1:21 My dude's been waitin' 10 years to make this proclamation on the show!

[@UltimateGamerCC]

i would honestly love to see a sequel to DKR, Microsoft owns Rare so they can get the job done if they really wanted to, and who wouldnt want Mario Kart style gameplay with Rare characters, locales and items? the DK Crew could reunite for the most part and be joined with Conker, Banjo and so much more.

[@dagreatzoink5559]

Perhaps but Diddy Kong is owned by Nintendo, I’d say Nintendo and Microsoft join forces and make a DKR and the Nintendo one has Exclusive Nintendo characters while Microsoft has exclusive Xbox characters. Same game but with some different characters to make em stand out.

[@Roflcrabs]

I hate to be a pessimist but it would be an abomination. Did you see Nuts and Bolts?

[@officertom6751]

As much as I like Mario, I still have to admit that Diddy Kong Racing is actually better than Mario Kart 64. In the end Diddy Kong Racing just has more to offer than Mario Kart 64.

[@mandalorianhunter1]

And Crash Team racing surpassed both

[@philatio1744]

Mario Kart can be better as a casual, party game. As Jirard said, its chaotic nature makes everyone play on equal grounds, but DKR has more to offer, it’s just such a good game. It has a ton of replay value and strategy.

[@philatio1744]

@@mandalorianhunter1 i’ve never played it, really been wanting to try it on the ps1.

[@mandalorianhunter1]

@@philatio1744 go try it, its one of my favorite games of all time.

[@philatio1744]

@@mandalorianhunter1 will do! looks really fun.

[@ChrisWhittleston]

Oh man, what a flashback! I remember countless hours on that last Whizzpig stage as a kid, eventually needing my younger brother to finish it - total humiliation. I also held the UK record for Haunted Woods for a couple of weeks - still have the magazine 😂

[@ismokemadherb4677]

Completing this as a child was like beating Sekiro ,it what so hard and overcoming the challenge was euphoric. Keep up the Awesomeness here and at G4TV

[@Embracedempathy]

I've always thought Diddy kong racing was better too!! 😂😂

[@emmettturner9452]

I enjoyed the second quest WAY more than the first, so this was always a “complete” for me.

[@bio2189]

Had this on the DS as a kid and have lots of nostalgia for it, especially the customization options that came with the DS version, you could draw on your car and record your own sounds! Recently re-bought it, can't wait to replay! I never actually beat Wizpig and never got to the Space world

[@willspeakman2461]

@ 19:12. I remember when I was a kid driving into that sign and finding a secret space level. Now im older I think it was just a dream but i probably spent hours trying to find that level by driving into that sign again.

[@thomashernandez6536]

I LOVED this game as a kid. This and Lego racer. Those were the two racers I had for the N64 back in the day. :')

[@willmorris8334]

Diddy Kong Racing actually takes skill to beat. Mario Kart is luck-based.

[@LittleDemonInside]

This game's theme song gets stuck in my head every once in a while and I haven't played it since I had a N64 around twenty years ago. Super fun and catchy tune.

[@ryanmeade6742]

I played Diddy Kong Racing for the first time yesterday and about 2 hours in I put my controller down and said this is better then any Mario kart game and I couldn't believe it cause I had played MK for years! Preach the Diddy gospel completionist!

[@reven8683]

This game was more then My childhood but also a brand new beginning of a certain bear and squirrel who went there separate ways to have there own grand adventure and you'll know the rest. Real pity that any of the other characters outside of Diddy didn't get there own stand alone game afterwards.

[@philatio1744]

i would just love to see what kind of game TT would have been in. coulda been the best clock simulator ever

[@coreymyers5321]

That savoring “hiss” was hilarious!

[@erodiumminer]

I remember some years ago at a convention I asked you what your favorite episode was, and you said the Diddy Kong Racing episode because of the process of making it. Amazing game, I remember always picking Timber and my sister picking Conker :)

[@igotbit9454]

This was the best cartoon racing game ever made. There was so much content on it. Plus racing the bosses and the story was so fun. Ah the memories.

[@NightmareKnight7]

Jirard: "IT'S BETTER THAN MARIO KART 64!!!" Gamers with taste: *NO LIES DETECTED*

[@ExzellenteRetroNerdAction]

Totally agree! The Story Mode is much better than the cups. And the point that you got tracks for planes of the tiny hoverboards makes it so more varied than Mario Kart!

[@RonstoOSRS]

All that had to happen to convince me was the music starting at 2:13. Ahhh. the memories.

[@carprincess]

Watching this video makes me wonder if I still have my N64 booklet. I remember skimming through them as a kid when I bought games, but I definitely don't remember that entire story. I only remember the bits and pieces that were explained in-game. The volcano level by the way, has a banging soundtrack, but when I was a kid, it freaked me out sooooo much!

[@ArchsagePent]

My two cents on the MK64 vs. DKR: MK64 is an easier game to just pick up and play. The tracks are straight forward (you don't need to watch on-screen arrows to avoid getting lost) and the controls aren't that complicated with only karts to work with. I had more non-gaming friends during those years and because of its simpler nature, it was easy for them to get a grasp on MK64 in short amount of time. DKR has a bunch of unique tracks and having the three vehicles is pretty interesting, but when you only have a couple of hours with your buddy before his mom gets off work, you want to actually play instead of having the other person struggle to get a handle on the controls of a hovercraft when you could both be having fun racing around Moo Moo Farm.

[@everythingisbizzaaaaaro3694]

Loved this game. Being able to play as Conker was dope.

[@WH250398]

you could really conquer the tracks with him

[@philatio1744]

man, i love conker. hope we get the conker’s twelve tails beta! one of my most wanted betas along earthbound 64.

[@MutchGames]

Love this video Jirad! I'm currently bringing diddy kong racing to life as part of a Mario Kart life course.

[@thewilhelmscream7912]

Thank you for highlighting one of the most underrated gems from my childhood...John Goodman as Fred Flintstone. :)

[@RaFaPilgrim]

Was the title meant to be controversial? Because it’s legit just the truth

[@TheTodStar]

I didn’t play much of Diddy Kong Racing growing up, but I can see that it’s better than Mario Kart 64. The fact that Banjo-Kazooie is coming to the Switch gives me hope that Diddy Kong Racing will eventually follow...

[@philatio1744]

that would literally be a dream, mannnn. add funky kong and add it as a selling point in the back of the box.

[@bodavidson2804]

Played this through multiple times. Love it to bits 🥰

[@fjames69]

Diddy Kong Racing was my first game on N64. Really brought back some childhood memories with this one.

[@ryanharris6788]

I loved diddy Kong racing. Reminds me of the Christmas it came out

[@philatio1744]

i didn’t play at release, but as a child in the early 2010’s, but i still love it to death. i spent a ton of the time on this title and brings so much nostalgia.

[@michaeluy114]

congrats one of the hardest games ever. I hated the silver coin challenges and some of the boss races so I just quit.

[@xyphor317]

My brother got DKR for me for Christmas. I adored it. Loved flying the most.

[@substructure8165]

Diddy king Racing was my first N64 game really takes me back...one of the best racing games i ever played...so much memorys

[@Norweeg]

This is one of the best retro racing games ever made. I’ll never forget the day I beat the game. It was during a tough time in my life and that game helped me escape a tough divorce my parents were going through.

[@GamingBroductions]

For as long as I can remember I’ve been shouting this game’s praise and saying how it’s better than Mario Kart 64 to all my friends, some of which agree. I’ve been doing my part to fight the good fight so it’s great to see others carry on in spreading the gospel as well

[@PrismOpal64]

Some of my happiest childhood memories revolve around playing Diddy Kong Racing with friends at daycare. Good times, simpler times. Even the soundtrack makes my heart ache with nostalgia. 😭

[@elijahj.alfred6632]

This was my second favorite game of all time on the DS next to Fossil Fighters Champions. I played through it so many times... I can't believe I didn't know there was a Nintendo 64 version. Man...The soundtrack is so nostalgic. And it STILL slaps.

[@willmorris8334]

Diddy Kong Racing is better than Mario Kart period.

[@wrymehexin3885]

Quite frankly I respectfully… agree of course

[@captainseg]

This game needs to be on the Switch with the online service

[@GM1440_]

25:45 that gamer focus, I live for it 😂 so in the zone you have to take a second to register that you actually won

[@Squishydew]

One of my top 10 games of all time. I'm 30 now and still go back to it every couple of years for a playthrough. Hot tip: Try snowboard kids as well. its great.

[@SharpEdgeSoda]

Hell yeah Bumper in the thumbnail. In my ideal Timeline, Nuts and Bolts is an original IP starring Bumper so no one, deservedly, hates on it for not being a real Banjo game. I always got the vibe that DKR was supposed to be it's own IP. Just read the manual and you get a story about Timber more than Diddy. Rare has some sort of wierd deal with abandoning it's original IPs to shove other characters into it. For better or worse.

[@philatio1744]

to be fair, i feel nuts and bolts isn’t a great game. It’s definitely serviceable, but is far from perfect though it being a banjo game just amplified the negative side of the arguments. I feel however, had it been a bumper game, probably nobody would be talking about it today.

[@dingle2987]

I just realized the TT trophies in Nuts & Bolts are an homage to this game.

[@philatio1744]

@@dingle2987 i found out thanks to antdude, also a few days ago, and feel very dumb as a result.

[@cleibergustavosoaresrodrig990]

This game deserve more love. Also the port on DS was great, despite of touch gimmicks

[@WH250398]

That's what I played years ago. I might actually track down a n64 copy. Are they the same game, or is the ds version different like Super Mario 64?

[@BassPlayerUnderGrace]

I agree. Diddy Kong Racing was my jam as a kid. But I always felt like the game wasn't finished all the way. Every zone had keys to find except for the last zone. Yet the last zone had what I considered a key hiding place in the last zone, right behind the starting line of one of the levels. As a kid, I always thought I was missing something because a key never appeared there.

[@TBoneTony]

Funny fact, this game here was a hint towards StarFox Adventures. Timber the Tiger was supposed to have his own adventure, but then Sabre became the main character of Dinosaur Planet and then Fox McCloud and StarFox crew were put into the game just a few years before it was eventually released on the Nintendo Gamecube.