The Story of Diddy Kong Racing (Documentary)

Hey everyone, here is the story(Documentary) of the loved N64 racing game, made by Rare, Diddy Kong Racing. I hope you all enjoy!
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Music by Stevia Sphere:
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#nintendo #rare #gaming

[@skakirask]

Christmas 1997: I got DKR, Goldeneye, and Pilotwings 64. One of the best Christmases I ever had.

[@LordTechnopants]

Sounds a lot like our Christmas 97. Happy memories to be sure.

[@graytoby1]

I got an N64 with goldeneye parents had just split up this was the panic buy to say we still love You kids. Best Christmas ever

[@mevb]

You don't get Drumstick by defeating Wizpig but unlocking Wizpig's challenge by getting all of the amulet pieces from defeating the lands' guardians, then a frog with a chicken crest and bucks like a chicken will appear in the creek near the Wizpig head in the main area. If you run over it, the frog will turn back to Drumstick and he'll be available for racing.

[@LordTechnopants]

Being a UK 80s teen, owning a ZX Spectrum back then, I was a big Ultimate Play The Game fan. Now in my mid 50s, I have a wall-mounted display cabinet with every Ultimate title in (the Spectrum versions and the unique Commodore 64 games) and can honestly say there is nothing I treasure more in my home. I enjoyed many Rare titles as well, including DK Racing and the Nintendo 64 is probably the console I have the most love for. It's a shame Microsoft took the name in such a different direction, but I have my memories and my nice boxes! Just off for a game of Atic Atac.

[@jaytahoe]

Great video! DKR was one of my top n64 games for sure and you did a great job taking us through its development, excellent documentary!

[@scottvanderven655]

You did such a great job with this. I just introduced my 12-year-old to my N64 and she loves it. Especially Diddykong Racing. Your video was very informative and I loved every bit. Thanks for your dedicated research.

[@pocketofvegetables866]

A surprising rollercoaster of a documentary. I knew nothing about this game before watching, but I found myself rooting for Diddy Kong Racing to be a success after hearing how hard Rare worked on it. It’s such a shame Donkey Kong Racing/Sabreman Stampede, Diddy Kong Pilot, and Diddy Kong Racing Adventure never came into fruition (even if Diddy Kong Racing DS did). The fact Nintendo didn’t purchase Rare is so strange to me Awesome video 😎👍

[@FreakinSweet1987]

It's "Diddy's Kong Quest". As in a play on the word "conquest".

[@nernerman]

The thought of Nintendo buying out Rare is so interesting, and I bet if they would've. Rare would have probably developed other Nintendo IP related games too.

[@benamisai-kham5892]

We'd get a good donkey Kong game again perhaps, and maybe some cool new other properties

[@nernerman]

@@benamisai-kham5892oh yeah, definitely. I wish we could just look into that alternate timeline.

[@Starch1b2c3d4a]

Rare was way past their prime at that point. As evidenced by that Star Fox adventure game...

[@nernerman]

@@Starch1b2c3d4a You know. I've thought the same thing a time or two.

[@BradsGonnaPlay]

@@Starch1b2c3d4a in my mind I go back and forth on that. Part of SFA and the other death rattle games after the buyout not feeling like Rare games was the Nintendo interference and the buyout itself, but then again, not one thing since has been as acclaimed as their 90s catalogue.

[@MethosChannel]

THE best racing game of all time!

[@Crash_Bash_4ever]

CTR>>>

[@joev6049]

@@Crash_Bash_4ever NAAAAAAHHHHHHH stop 🤣 not even close

[@Crash_Bash_4ever]

@@joev6049 much better control, better ADventure mode better battle mode and better characters

[@TriStarr]

I just got this pointed out to me recently, but the title of DKC2 is not "Diddy Kong's Quest", but actually "Diddy's Kong Quest"

[@themanwithsauce]

Yep. Our mans even posted the box of the game showing that yes, it is diddy's kong-quest, and not diddy-kong's quest....

[@moneyball32]

Man Nintendo made so many poor decisions around the GameCube era that they still haven’t recovered from

[@xFuuw]

Like what ?

[@moneyball32]

@@xFuuw not buying Rare, using mini-discs instead of DVDs which made it more expensive for developers, weird controller that was uncomfortable for many genres, art style for many of their games, launch titles, etc., etc.

[@ccrico9925]

@@moneyball32 isn’t the controller considered one of the best controller designs?

[@moneyball32]

@@ccrico9925 for smash bros. specifically, yes. For adaptive triggers, yes. For everything else, no. There’s a reason the industry has settled on designs that are all based off the XBOX 360 controller. It’s the most comfortable and you can play any genre. Playing shooters or fighting games on the GameCube was a pain in the ass.

[@DeadofWinter321]

Most would 100% disagree with you.

[@sammyramos4121]

I was 8 years old when DKR came out and I and my brother's and friends loved it. So many good memories with this game is a shame that the Nintendo Switch still haven't bring DKR back so we can play it again.

[@k7j007]

I love super Mario cart and Mario cart 64. They can never be replaced, but I think Diddy Kong racing was the better game.

[@matthewlane170]

Shame Nintendo never bought Rare and lost them to Microsoft. Rare and Nintendo both have seemingly never recovered from this

[@cannibalisticrequiem]

In what way? Nintendo is doing just fine as a company. If their working relationship with Rare was so great, they would've opted to buy the majority of shares in the company, but they didn't. The only ones who've never recovered from this are Rare and Playtonic. The last original game Rare put out was Sea of Thieves ten years ago, and Rare fanboys never gave Playtonic a chance because Yooka-Laylee was somehow "too much like Banjo-Kazooie" but "not enough like Banjo-Kazooie", and they dismissed Impossible Lair altogether because it was an even further departure from the collect-a-thons of old.

[@stickyrick1939]

hold on hold on HOLD ON, at 8:30, Diddy KONG'S Quest? every TRUE Donkey Kong fan KNOWS it's Diddy's KONG Quest. lmao all jokes aside, loving the vid!

[@spinninglink]

I remember Nintendo had some competition where they wanted people to submit their best racing times on DKR, and you had to take a photo of your TV and prove that you got that time. Being a kid, I of course thought I was just the absolute best at DKR and submitted my photo. lol never heard back from them, but it is what it is. I had tons of great times playing DKR, both alone and with friends. I'll still randomly put on some songs from it!

[@Robert_D_Mercer]

I miss old nintendo power stuff like that. Gaming was just a hobby for alot of people. NIntendo back then felt like they were creating for a hobby, not a business.

[@tylermccurry403]

The biggest crime is that Rare wasn't able to do games for all the characters. Ah well. At least Banjo and Conker got their due.

[@herrmajestat]

A game I can always return to.

[@XpRnz]

Same here man, i even listen to the soundtrack from time to time just for the feels.

[@xFuuw]

Planing to purchase a n64 just so i can play the banjo games and thjs lmfao

[@herrmajestat]

@@xFuuw I did the same, and also added Paper Mario, Mario Party 1, Super Smash Bros and Yoshi’s Story to the nostalgia library!

[@MrJimmy527]

Characters: Diddy Kong (Blue), Bumper (Yellow), Timber (Green), Pipsy (Pink), Tiptup (Cyan), Conker (White), Krunch (Orange), Banjo (Turquoise), Drumstick (Red) and T.T. (Silver)

[@personalemail9187]

such an amazing game !! weird how Nintendo didn’t purchase rare

[@XpRnz]

Rare was already falling apart, alot of their big talents left and it already wasn't the same.

[@EdouardMulheim]

I hope I live to see the day when another DK racing game is released.

[@andysixxlett2632]

Donkey Kong Barrel Blast for Wii exists…

[@MrCharrrles]

@@andysixxlett2632 donkey kong barrell who?

[@chiebukachibee-zoraedu]

Rare: Nintendo's best 2ND party developer.

[@timothysowell3450]

Wow that was great! Now I have to look at more older N64 Games that I never knew existed. Thank You! I kind of wish Nintendo would buy Rare. But there has been talks since 2019 that Nintendo was trying to acquire the rights to the Banjo-Kazooie license and series, but Microsoft deeply refused to sell them off, even though they did not use the character since Nuts and Bolts. Since 2007. Great Video though.

[@almighty1984]

8:30 Took me years to realize it's actually Diddy's Kong Quest

[@killerspartan666]

The fact we never got a donkey kong racing is a crime

[@GianaLuna]

This was exceptional! To be super honest, I clicked on this mostly as a joke because I have an inside joke with my friends about how much I hate Diddy Kong Racing. There's a select few games I'm good at, and racing games aren't in that category, so I get my ass kicked trying to play this. I've never beaten the game. I've almost had a custom shirt made so many times that says "F**k Diddy Kong Racing". Your documentary warmed my cold little heart, and I have more respect for the game than before. I truly wonder what kind of magic would have been created if Nintendo bought Rare. It's a question of the ages. Great job!!

[@MrJamesDiamond]

It’s Diddy’s Kong Quest not Diddy Kong’s Quest. It’s a play on the word Conquest.

[@0happyhippohat0]

Cool video! Just wanted to add that I think the Disney kart racers Rare made after Diddy Kong Racing deserve a mention in this timeline as well. I know it's a different IP, but Nintendo commissioned Rare to make them based on the success of DKR, and they certainly share some DNA with it.... Mickey's Adventure Racing (GBC) mixed the overworld exploration aspect of DKR with the gameplay of RC Pro Am (pretty fun). Mickey's Speedway (N64) was a fun kart racer based on the Diddy Kong Racing engine; imo it actually refined the handling a bit and felt great to play, but the tracks were bland and the overall game felt a bit lacking in content (plus it only had 2 player split screen rather than the 4 player in Diddy Kong for some reason). If I recall correctly they got it out the door in about 6 months, and it shows unfortunately, but it's still worth playing and somewhat overlooked. Difficult to find a copy now though. Banjo-Pilot completely passed me by at the time as I didn't have a gba, saw a copy in my local game shop a couple of years ago and was baffled because a: I didn't know it existed and b: it was bonkers expensive lol.

[@PlanetAaron02]

Thank you for taking the time to make this video

[@HI-pi1er]

Loved every second of this doco . Miss been a kid in the 90’s what a time to be a gamer

[@leonclark39]

You should do a series like this about N64 games. Great video 👍🏽. Also this game was so fucking hard!

[@courtneylachance002]

I still am a fan of the original dkr and hope someday they release the beta version of it because that looked amazing

[@courtneylachance002]

Also I hate the remake version

[@jeffreywilliams8499]

My first and favorite childhood video game when I got my Nintendo 64 game console when I was a little kid

[@andrewoldham3675]

My personal theory as to why Nintendo never bought Rare is because there was probably some behind the scenes disagreements between certain decisions both companies made. Starting with Rare, people seem to forget that Conker's Bad Fur Day was originally developed as another Super Mario 64/Banjo-Kazooie style cartoony family friendly platformer. When it got muted response at E3, Rare made the decision to cancel the planned version and make it an adult themed comedy game with inspiration taken from South Park. This decision was revealed in the April issue of Nintendo Power that year, and so many people assumed it was an April Fool's Day joke, but when Conker's Bad Fur Day was revealed, Rare revealed they weren't joking and made a game that was destined for the M-rating. Granted, Rare had already made an M-rated game for the Nintendo 64 (Perfect Dark) but that was planned to be M-rated from the start. Nintendo still agreed to publish the game ultimately, but refused to advertise it in Nintendo Power, and the only advertisement it could get was on late night TV with more adult content, such as Adult Swim or Comedy Central. While a great game and beloved cult classic, circumstantial evidence suggests that Nintendo felt somewhat betrayed by Rare for making that radical change for Conker, and while it was indeed scummy that Nintendo pretty much sabotaged any chance that Conker's Bad Fur Day had of being successful in sales, I can kind of see why Nintendo didn't want to be associated with it. That would be like asking Disney to publicly associate themselves with something like South Park or BoJack Horseman. On Nintendo's end, though, they're not completely blameless either. Star Fox Adventures was originally developed as an original IP called Dinosaur Planet, before Shigeru Miyamoto had Rare adapt it into a Star Fox game so that Fox McCloud could be the main character. From what interviews I have read about it, Rare was NOT HAPPY with this mandate, and may have thought it was Nintendo's way of getting back at them for the Conker's Bad Fur Day debacle. This leads me to believe that both of those incidents caused Nintendo and Rare's relationship to be so strained, that it led to Nintendo declining to acquire them fully. It's a shame, too. Nintendo acquiring Rare outright is one of the biggest what-ifs in gaming history.

[@AaronH9111]

You know you're theory kinda makes sense because what other reason or reasons why Nintendo would not purchase Rare in light of all the amazing games they made on the N64 Still to this day I've been salty that Nintendo didn't buy Rare and just let them go because they've never been the same since and it's sad to be honest really, though we really don't know what exactly happened behind closed doors but something obviously must have

[@hlavco]

One thing to note is that Conker's Bad Fur Day wasn't really shown off at E3 '97. Back then, it was a different game called Conker's Quest or Twelve Tales. The game was re-tooled into Bad Fur Day sometime after the release of Banjo-Kazooie, when Rare started receiving criticism for making too many cutesy animal games. Conker was my favorite in Diddy Kong Racing, and I was really looking forward to Conker 64. I was disappointed by the new voice and personality he was given after the re-tool, even if the game was funny. Another small correction: Your paraphrasing of Wikipedia's character list makes it sound like all of the racers live on Timber's island, but Diddy, Banjo, Conker, and Krunch do not.

[@ConservativeSatanist666]

I just found and bought Diddy Kong Racing today. I haven't played it since I was a kid. I'm listening to this as I play 😁

[@AaronH9111]

that's awesome :) lol

[@YTPremiumWatch]

Grateful for this 🙏

[@bla2772]

Idk if you do it on purpose but you got hella summoning salt vibes I love it

[@themanwithsauce]

Loved the documentary. Definitely a trip down memory lane. A recommendation for a future dive, or if you ever update/add on to this one - you briefly mentioned that this game was originally going to be "Pro-Am 64". But you never once mentioned that Rare had made one of the most popular racing series on the 8-bit systems with R.C. Pro-Am. The first one was infamously tough, but it had a system where you would change vehicles by collecting the letters to spell Nintendo over the course of several tracks. The sequel had a whole upgrade system and 4-player multiplayer. I know it isn't related to the kongs, but it shows how the team at Rare had a lot of experience making good racing games, including ones with multiplayer. Heck, I'd argue RC Pro-Am 1 and 2 influenced the mario kart series an awful lot more than Nintendo would care to admit....

[@vsriotact]

I always preferred the fun racer over the simulator style games. DKR, Mario kart and f-zero on the N64 are still some of my favourite racing games

[@joev6049]

Nintendo not securing a relationship with Rare during the GameCube era is one of the worst things to happen in videogame hirtory

[@Robert_D_Mercer]

It's wild right? Lmao year old comment, but man. We all felt this xD

[@NasonVSRG]

Whenever I figured out you could get a mega boost by letting go of gas before you engage a boost it was GAME OVER for WIZPIG

[@FairlyGeeky]

Loved this, well done! Gret video

[@XpRnz]

A perfect game, that topped Mario Kart any day. The amount of fun and adventure they managed to put into this game.. is very Rare.

[@Starch1b2c3d4a]

lol, no

[@XpRnz]

@@Starch1b2c3d4a lol, ok

[@OldBenKenobi2318]

It may be better than the first 3 Mario Kart games but that’s about it. It’s also better than Tour.

[@XpRnz]

@@OldBenKenobi2318 Yeah i meant Mario Kart 64 at the time, no contest imo.

[@khit007]

5:10 gotta love it when someone starts a whole new company to avoid a takeover of their old company and then they sell the company to the people that are the reason they started a new company.... Jeff Gerstmann Vibes

[@mattbattaglia4694]

That intro music was so dummy fire I got insanely hype for the vid

[@elcangri9554]

My favorite racing game what a shame 51% ownership all they had to do was get half & even in payments for their such successful relationship but than came Microsoft & ruined everything even Banjo Kazooie, I don’t know what Nintendo executives were smoking at that time to let such a unique & talented company go like Rare, great video I learned so much more about this amazing game

[@TBoneTony]

RAREWARE fan since the 90s and was there when DKC2 was released on the SNES but I only had a GameBoy at the time so I got DKL2. Loved that game and RARE was the fourth Gaming Company I knew after Nintendo, Atari and SEGA.

[@emarskineel]

I always played as bumper and I always picked the hovercraft. I didn’t care if it made sense. Loved this game so much

[@vivthevov]

This deserves way more views

[@jarotdacarot]

Very underated video

[@coreybookman5823]

Who ever came up with the silver coin challenge in the team must of been going through a terrible divorce

[@socman002]

Great vid!

[@showcase0525]

47:50 - when you watch so much electronic music you mistake that the video ended and the music was about to play.

[@co2_os]

Let's go the legend id back with a documentary

[@LunNightMoonLight]

I loved diddy kong racing as a kid

[@Red_Eyed]

Yooo!!!! I fucking loved this game so much! I can honestly say I played it more than Mario Kart at the time. Hahah. I was hooked.

[@camrsr5463]

Musgrave has a face that matches his name.

[@TBoneTony]

Conker's game at E3 in 1997, was called Twelve Tales of Conker.

[@davidvkimball]

Great video! Really enjoyed this.

[@hunterphille1280]

Man, I bought this when it came out and my pals and I played the hell out of it. I still my copy

[@714DOPEBOY]

I’ve been waiting for this 🥲

[@ProfessorWess]

Loved the video. Only thing bothering me is that you called the sequel to donkey Kong, "donkey Kong - Diddy Kongs quest." But it's Diddy's Kong Quest", as in conquest :p. Sorry I'm nitpicking haha

[@TBoneTony]

To be honest, the only game close enough to being a Diddy Kong Racing spiritual successor, is Sonic and SEGA All Stars Racing Transformed (Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed) That game had the ability to race from Car to Plane to Boat via certain Transforming Rings that make your vehicle change depending on the track and there was Track Changes after each lap. My younger family members loved Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed and I think that is perhaps the best spiritual successor to a Diddy Kong Racing sequel.

[@keithcastillo5434]

diddy kong racing is the only kart game I enjoyed. Mario kart each one is boring after just 1 hour of playing it. Mario kart has no hook diddy kong does have a hook.

[@tristand1243]

that was a long hour.. but i watched it. had no idea someone else tried diddy kong racing! that would've been cool. The most we will get from the game is it'll be on Nintendo Switch N64 expansion pack.

[@karnotik]

They were a SECOND PARTY developer at the time of the N64.

[@tomwatson1]

we almost got Command n conquer type diddy kong game? that woulda been sick

[@xprincexofxsavagesx]

Tiptup is the best, homie.

[@derekcaldera]

Let’s just hope they put this on the Nintendo Switch.

[@cookie80088]

i had this on the DS and i was obsessed

[@thegamingchannel7110]

ya boi knowing dam well that next year there's gonna be a comment with the names of all the 296 N64 games

[@LieseFury]

a lot of people misread diddy's kong quest because they don't realize it's a pun on conquest

[@HollowRick]

Clearly just Americans 😂

[@rga1605]

I remember I played the DS game for, like, an hour and gave up. There was something misssing from the original that I can't pinpoint what...

[@stevenwright6533]

Not even the main topic of the video but Banjo-Pilot doesn't make much sense like Grunty is alive but Banjo-Tooie characters are present. Sad we missed on Candy's first playable role (who knows when it'll be her first, maybe never)

[@gonzoGnostalgic]

39:01 - You listed 'Options' as a gamemode. I don't know if this was how it was written in your source, but it's good to look out for that sort of mistake when transcribing information from your sources into your script, and to make a judgement call as a scriptwriter on whether or not the original source made a mistake and correct it yourself.

[@TBoneTony]

Being a RARE fan, I followed the progress of the legendary developer from the Nintendo Gamer Mags from the UK to get as close to the original source of information. (64 Magazine and N64 Magazine both from the UK) Followed RARE from the DKC2 all the way to StarFox Adventures and even got a XBox 360 just to get Kameo Elements of Power that was one of the last RARE games to still have that Nintendo magic before Microsoft's team of "marketing experts" ruined everything for the UK developer.

[@ProdByDzul]

okay I remember playing Jetpack on DK64!!

[@_Braised]

Great video! Learned a lot about those could-have-been sequels. Just a few things though: Rare wasn't a 3rd party developer, they were a 2nd party developer part-owned by and producing games exclusively for Nintendo. As well as Conker and Banjo, Rare also showed off Goldeneye at the '97 E3. Drumstick is only turned back into a Rooster after you run over the frog he's turned into. Cannes is pronounced 'Cuhn', not 'Canes.' You forgot to mention DKR got into the Guinness World Records as the fastest selling game of all time. Lastly, the ZX Spectrum is pronounced ZED-EX spectrum, not Zee. British product, British English.

[@Schwarzorn]

Well, if people say Dragon Ball Z as Zee despite it specifically writing out the British pronunciation of the letter in the logo, and pronouncing it as such in the show, ads, interviews, and vocal albums, then I guess Zee Eks is fine too, for consistency of incorrectness.

[@Schwarzorn]

Also, to add to your list, it's *Diddy's Kong Quest* (as in "conquest"), not *Diddy Kong's Quest.*

[@_Braised]

@@Schwarzorn People say that because the English Dub was licensed by an American company, so of course they would say it the American way. Technically someone else could buy the rights and dub it as Dragon Ball Zed and that would be correct as well.

[@Schwarzorn]

@@_Braised But Funimation is (or "was" now) an import company. If it's "correct" to say it their way, then it's correct to say Zee Eks Spectrum if an American heard that from the importer they bought the computer from regardless of what's correct in the origin country.

[@_Braised]

@@Schwarzorn why are you so hell bent on crapping all over the people that originally created something? Just say it properly and show a fraction of respect for their work already

[@TWHowl]

Interesting how shitty Nintendo were with rare about a sequel being made when it was rare‘s character, Diddy, that was popular, not DK Jr.

[@FaceFacie]

I still feel the frustration of trying to beat the boss in diddy konk racing . I tried hundreds of times i couldn’t believe it when I finally won

[@DaStarrchild]

Ahhhhhhh my childhood Christmas 1997

[@Umbrella2]

This game is joyous!

[@mightyshockwave1993]

I'm surprised to hear that the animal-caretaking-heavy racing prototype didn't eventually morph into Viva Pinata. I wonder if the existence of that project influenced the greenlighting of VP.

[@g77222]

They should of teamed up with the makers of burnout - Criterion Games or now EA games.

[@zach.0]

Does any part of this story explain why they decided to give the characters the worst turning handling in any racing game ever?

[@warrioroflight99]

32:53 daaaaamnnnn

[@renakunisaki]

Did any of the Rare prototypes ever get out to the public?

[@tristand1243]

damn a whole hour?! I shall watch it =)

[@dangerouslydazzling]

How many hours I spent on this game....gee

[@julianmitchell5776]

It’s not called diddy kongs quest . It’s called diddys Kong quest …. Like conquest

[@comfyasf]

Just gotta call it out. The subtitle of DKC2 is not "Diddy Kong's Quest" But "Diddy's Kong Quest"

[@skelleytor]

That game is so good !

[@johanneshaukanes4531]

Diddykong racing havent come to swich yet. :( I hope someone makes DK Racing 2 Personally I see Sonic and allstar racing transformed as diddykong racing 2. And it was very fun! Looks like Crash Team Racing nitro fuled did survive best. They even got an exelent remaster. I don't have Playstation 3 4 or 5 so havent tried it yet.

[@TheGunmanChannel]

Sorry to be 'that guy', but you made a small error, it's "Diddy's Kong Quest" not "Diddy Kong's Quest'

[@BigOEntertainmentYT]

Its all good, I said it wrong and made the error, my bad. Thanks for the comment 👍

[@TheGunmanChannel]

@@BigOEntertainmentYT the only reason I noticed is because I thought it was Diddy Kong's Quest my whole childhood until I played it recently, I was mind blown lol.

[@HollowRick]

Hearing Zee X spectrum just sounds wrong to me being British 😂

[@catarenatucker2781]

KILLER INSTINCT GOLD😍😍😍😍

[@themanwiththechips3168]

Incredible video

[@salesiteisina7098]

The japanese of nintendo was jelly of rare, thats why the didnt buy rare.

[@orsonzedd]

Best racing game or bestest?

[@noahgray4620]

Bestester