* Diddy Kong Racing FAQ Part 1 *

* Diddy Kong Racing FAQ Part 1 *
Author: Jdude84
E-Mail: [email protected]
Version: 2.5 (Final)

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Version History

1.0 First release of this FAQ. Mostly Secrets right now...

1.1 Added tips and tricks section, been too busy playing goldeneye, and other
things to update this FAQ. Why goldeneye? of course...i'll be making a FAQ for
that soon..who knows when this FAQ will be next updated...

2.0 Fairly large update, added part 2 to this FAQ, item list, secret balloons.

November 10-12, 1999
2.5 Final version of part one. Just redid the headers, made it look a bit
better. That's all. It's counterpart, part #2 has been updated as well.

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-Contents-
1. Introduction
2. Characters
3. Vehicles
4. Secrets
5. T.T.
6. Drumstick
7. Dino Domain
8. Tips And Tricks

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1. Introduction
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Diddy Kong Racing, is an extremly awesome game, the graphics are good, and the
gameplay is probably the best i've ever seen in a racing game. The story and the
ending is a little...childish...but that's the only thing i see wrong with the
game. If you don't want to know all the secrets about DKR, DO NOT READ ON! But
if you are stuck, or have beaten it allready, go ahead if you'd like. You
definetly do not want to ruin this game, trust me! Oh yeah, the most updated
version of this FAQ can be found at www.gamefaqs.com, Enjoy!

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2. Characters
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There are a total of 8 normal characters, and 2 secret Characters, T.T. and
Drumstick. Below is a listing of all the characters, their abilities, their
weight class, and other useless info.

-----------------
Normal Characters
-----------------

-Tiptup-
Top Speed: Average
Acceleration: Excellent
Steering: Excellent
Weight Class: Lightweight
Tiptup hasn't had his own game yet, and don't expect him too soon, however he
made a apperance in Banjo-Kazooie, yet another game made by Rare.

-Pipsy-
Top Speed: Average(a bit slower)
Acceleration: Excellent
Steering: Excellent
Weight Class: Lightweight
This cute little mouse is a pretty good racer, but as a computer she's a
pushover. Don't expect this mouse to be in any other game soon, starring, or
supporting!

-Conker-
Top Speed: Average
Acceleration: Average
Steering: Average
Weight Class: Middleweight
As you can see conker is an all-around average racer, a good choice for
"rookies". In this game he's just goofing off a bit before he goes off and has
his own game, which should be a great one, but that's a whole different FAQ....

-Timber-
Top Speed: Average
Acceleration: Average
Steering: Average
Weight Class: Middleweight
Well....he has the same stats as Conker, but man, this little tiger sucks, in my
opinion, he is the main character in the plot. Even though Diddy is the main
guy. A good choice for starters, after you get good you'll find yourself
choosing another racer.

-Krunch-
Top Speed: Fast
Acceleration: YUCK, talk about a SLOW starter
Steering: Very Very Very Very Very BAD!
Weight Class: HEAVYweight
>From the bad side, to the good side, Krunch The Kremling has decided to help
diddy and the gang. He is fast once he gets going, but i find he is not that
useful on many courses. Try Drumstick instead of him...

-Bumper-
Top Speed: Average
Acceleration: Average
Steering: Average
Weight Class: Heavyweight
Yuck, don't like this badger, that's all i have to say...move along

-Banjo-
Top Speed: Average
Acceleration: Slow
Steering: Average(A Bit Better)
Weight Class: Heavyweight
The way they made Banjo look in this game is awful! but he is a good racer! In
this game he's warming up for his huge adventure: Banjo-Kazooie and the soon to
be released Banjo-Tooie. Not only is this honey bear good at getting jiggy's,
he's a dang good racer!

-Diddy-
Top Speed: Average
Acceleration: Average
Steering: Average
Weight Class: Middleweight
Well you KNEW i was going to save him for last, of course! doesn't that make
sense? anyway, he's an average racer...you'd think they'd make him a bit better
seeing as it's his game....

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Secret Characters
-----------------

-Drumstick-
Top Speed: Fast
Acceleration: Fast
Steering: Bad
Weight Class: Middleweight
Nothing to say about this chicken, oh yah to access him read the section on how
to get him, DUH!

-T.T.-
Top Speed: Very Fast
Acceleration: Above Average
Steering: Great!
Weight Class: Middleweight
What a speed demon! check out the T.T. section for more info.

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3. Vehicles
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There are a total of 3 Vehicles in the game, Car, Plane, and Hovercraft, all
have different abilities of course, and the effectiveness depends on which rider
you choose.

-Car-
Steer: Control Stick
Gas Pedal: A
Brake: B
Power Slide: R
Best Rider: T.T.
Your standard car, 4 wheels, etc. pretty simple!

-Plane-
Steer: Control Stick(Up is down, down is up)
Gas Pedal: A
Brake: B
R+Left Or Right: Tight Turn
R+R: Loop
Best Rider: Conker
Not really a new vehicle, but less common than your standard car, this is an
awesome vehicle to drive!

-Hovercraft-
Steer: Control Stick
Gas Pedal: A
Brake: B
R: Hop
R+Left, Right: Quick 180 degree turn
Best Character: T.T. He's fast and somewhat heavy
This is a totally new vehicle, and boy is it fun! this vehicle is a pain for the
lightweights, but for heavier riders, this is an awesome vehicle! Also, it can
go on land just as fast as it can on the water!

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4. Secrets
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Cheat Codes: Below are some useful cheat codes which will make winning much
easier, and some codes will make your racing experience..different..have fun
with these!

BLABBERMOUTH: Horns change to character noises.
BOMBSAWAY: All red balloons
ROCKETFUEL: All blue balloons
TOXICOFFENDER: All green balloons
BODYARMOR: All purple balloons
OPPOSITESATTRACT: All rainbow balloons
ZAPTHEZIPPERS: All Zippers are gone, dang!
FREEFRUIT: you and only you start with 10 bannanas!
NOYELLOWSTUFF: Bananas are gone in multiplayer mode, crap!
BYEBYEBALLOONS: Computer can't use weapons, haha suckers!!!
JOINTVENTURE: Two player Adventure Mode, really cool!
BOGUSBANANAS: Bananas decrease speed, what a bummer!
VITAMINB: even after 10 bannanas, you increase speed!
TIMETOLOSE: The code speaks for itself, the computer is awesome!
FREEFORAL: collect 1 ballon and you get the max power of it, cool!
OFFROAD: Four-Wheel drive, now were talking!
JUKEBOX: Sound test is added to audio options.
DOUBLEVISION: Two people can play as the same racer! can get confusing...heh heh
ARNOLD: with this code even that shrimp pispy is huge!!!!!
TEENYWEENIES: very small characters, it's hillarious to select pispy when you
use this code!
WHODIDTHIS: View credits, how boring!

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5. T.T.
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T.T. is a hard character to get, but it is well worth going through the whole
process to get him! Here is how to get him.....

First of all select time trials, you must now beat the following times on EVERY
course:

Ancient Lake: 1:07.00
Fossil Canyon: 1:37.00
Jungle Falls: 1:08.00
Hot Top Volcano: 1:35.00
Everfrost Peak: 1:53.00
Walrus Cove: 2:10.00
Snowball Valley: 1:13.00
Frosty Village: 1:44.00
Whale Bay: 1:19.00
Crescent Island: 1:39.00
Pirate Lagoon: 1:34.00
Treasure Caves: 1:10.00
Windmill Plains: 2:22.00
Greenwood Village: 1:46.00
Boulder Canyon: 2:11.00
Haunted Woods: 1:22.00
Spacedust Alley: 2:12.00
Darkmoon Carverns: 2:20.00
Spaceport Alpha: 2:16.00
Star City: 2:07.00

Ok, once oyu've done that T.T. will appear on the tracks, now you must beat him
on EVERY track! WHAT? you want the times for that too? you slave drivers....oh
allright here they are!

Ancient Lake: 1:01.28
Fossil Canyon: 1:30.18
Jungle Falls: 1:02.50
Hot Top Volcano: 1:30.71
Everfrost Peak: 1:48.00
Walrus Cove: 2:06.28
Snowball Valley: 1:06.41
Frosty Village: 1:39.40
Whale Bay: 1:13.11
Crescent Island: 1:33.16
Pirate Lagoon: 1:28.56
Treasure Caves: 1:05.63
Windmill Plains: 2:13.13
Greenwood Village: 1:40.61
Boulder Canyon: 2:02.35
Haunted Woods: 1:09.51
Spacedust Alley: 2:06.16
Darkmoon Carverns: 2:12.05
Spaceport Alpha: 2:09.03
Star City: 2:01.45

Ok, now you can use T.T. in any mode!!! he will now be at the character select
screen, simply select him and race! have fun!

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6. Drumstick
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Drumstick, is a difficult character to get, he is not as good as T.T. by far,
but he does pretty well in the Hovercraft and Car. He is definetly not good in a
plane, so don't even try to use him in a Plane. Below is the requirements to
access Drumstick:

All of the T.T. Amulet.
All of the Wizpig Amulet.

After you have all of these, go to the overworld, and find the group of frogs.
Find one with a red feather and run over it! You will now be able to use
drumstick, to use him select him from the driver select screen!

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7. Dino Domain
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Dino Domain:
8 Balloons
1 Key
1/4 Wizpig Amulet
1/4 T.T. Amulet
Wizpig Trophy
1 Balloon Needed To Enter

Dino Domain in the first world in the adverture mode, to get there, from the
start, you will need to go directly forward and up the ramp. You need 1 balloon
to get in, luckily for you, there is one balloon on the ramp that your on! You
now have one balloon, so your only choice is to race the ancient lake track,
which you need 1 balloon to enter. you will also find the key in ancient lake,
so let's get it!

Ancient Lake:
This course is easy, to start off, grab the key on the ramp, which is on the
right. Then get back on the course, collect bannanas, and blue balloons. once
you have collected 3 blue balloons in a row, you will have the best boost
possible, if oyu are on a straightaway, activate it and you will rocket into
first! just keep repeating this until you cross the finish line! Taj will now
give you 1 more balloon! Also now a cinema showing the locked door being
unlocked will appear, now you can play the bonus game for this world: Fire
Mountain. But that's later.....now you have 2 balloons, obviously you need to go
into the 2 balloon door, which is Fossil Canyon.

Fossil Canyon:
In this course all you need to do is race, simple enough. Collect either red or
blue balloons, they are the only ones that will help you. And try to get 7-10
bannanas on he first lap, this will increase your speed greatly. If you are way
behind or want to stay ahead of the pack there is a mini-shortcut accross the
water you can use, just hit the zipper and you will rocket across the water,
giving you a 3 0r 4 second edge. at the end of the lap, there are two paths -
left, and right. Go right, you will be able to get a blue balloon, plus it's
much easier to drive. The left way only has a red balloon and is hard to
navigate. Once oyu get 1rst place, Taj will give you your 3rd balloon! Now you
can enter the 3 Balloon door - Jungle Falls

Jungle Falls:
No need to collect bannanas in this course, here is a sure-fire way to get 1rst
place everytime: Hit the first zipper on the left at the start, then collect
the blue balloon up ahead on the right, and hit the zipper to fly across the
bridge, just before you enter the tunnel, use the blue boost to zip through the
tunnel, after you exit hit the zipper directly in front of you and power slide a
bit to keep up your speed. While still sliding, go over the zipper arrow in the
dino skull, you will now be at the end of the lap. repeat this 3 times and you
should almost LAP everyone by the time you cross the finish line! Now Taj will
give you another balloon, you will now have 4. But to enter the last level - Hot
Top Volcano, you need 5 balloons. To get another balloon exit the world, and go
talk to Taj. Have him change you into a Plane, and the head toards the ledge
near wizpig's statue, there will be a balloon there, grab it! you will now have
5 balloons and be able to enter the Hot-Top-Volcano stage! Now fly, or change
back to car if you'd like, to Dino Domain and enter the last stage of the world!

Hot-Top-Volcano:
This level is pretty straight-forward. All you need to do is get a good start,
avoid the walls, and grab 3 blue balloons in a row. once you have them, use them
at the end of the lap. your plane will rocket ahead and you should be well ahead
by now. Do this on all 3 laps, as well as getting bannanas along the way. if you
can, try and hit a few zippers too. Now, you shouldn't have much of a problem
with this course. Once again Taj will give you a balloon once you've beaten the
race, raising your total to 6. Also now the boss door will open, so you can race
the boss. However, don't go in just yet, remember the loced door you opened with
the key? now is the time to enter the door and beat the bonus level- Fire
Mountain.

Fire Mountain:
The object of this level is to succesfully hatch 3 eggs in your characters nest,
which is easier said thean done. Starting off, get an egg from the center and
place it in your next, hopefully it will hatch. After that you need to take un-
hatched eggs from your OPPONENTS nests, i would take eggs from the one that has
the most so far. Keep doing this until you hatch 3 eggs. If another player is
about to hatch their 3rd egg, make sure you go steal it, even if you need to
protect your eggs. The key to beating this level is: Place egg in nest, protect
egg with missles, steal opponents eggs, repeat! Have fun beating this one! after
you beat the level you will get 1/4 of the T.T. Amulet! Now go enter the boss
door!

Dino Domain Boss:
This guy is easy, he's just a fat triceratops who can't run, or do anything
else, get a rocket start, then just grab blue balloons, only this time use just
a single boost, not a powered up one. There is also a shortcut here, on the
winding part of the mountain, there will be some bushes on the left, slide into
them and you will enter a straight tunnel! this shaves off TONS of time, so make
sure you take this shortcut. After that, just hug the wall so you don't fall off
and you should have him beat easily! After winning, you won't get anything.
However, the boss will tell you to beat the silver coin challenge, which is now
accessible. The silver coin challenge is the same levels, only you must get all
8 silver coins, AND get 1rst! Now let's go back to Ancient Lake to start off the
silver coin challenge!

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8. Tips And Tricks
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2X Speed Burst
Whenever you hit a zipper of any kind, or use any Speed Burst item, let go of
the Accelerate button before you use the item or hit the zipper. The boost
should be twice as powerful.
Submitted by Drew Ressler

Adventure 2
To play the second adventure, make your way to Space World (see below) and beat
Wizpig again. You'll now have a new option called ADVENTURE 2. In this mode you
have to collect platinum balloons and all the adventure tracks will be reversed.
Submitted by Bryan Meason

Beating Wizpig
To beat Wizpig the first time, make sure you're using Bumper and start the race.
You have to hit every zipper on every lap; if you miss more than one you can't
win. Remember to let off the gas right before you hit the zippers for added
boost! If you hit all the zippers and get that extra boost you'll beat him with
ease!

Beating Wizpig the second time is actually easier than the first if you're using
Diddy Kong. First, turbo start and immediately grab the first blue ballon, use
it right away and stay low. (It is very important to make all the turns, without
hitting the sides of the walls and caves.)

Second, grab the first red ballon (low route) then the second, giving you a heat
seeker. You should be close behind him, fire away and fly high. The high route
gives you a turbo boost going into the caves; use it immediately (it is possible
to pull into first going into the caves.)

As soon as you're in the caves, get the first blue ballon on the left, use it
and stay low, this should definately boost you in front of wizpig. Stay low and
don't worry about any other ballons until you see the Shield ballon on the left.
Make sure you get it, you will need it to make it through Wizpig's chamber. Use
it as soon as the space ships start shooting. If done correctly, you will stay
in front of wizpig the rest of the race.

For the second and third laps, get only the blue ballons as before, avoid all
red ballons, and make sure you get the shield ballon, he normally will never
pass you once you pull ahead, as long as you don't hit walls. If he does pull
ahead, you will only need one red ballon, then you should be able to pass once
again.
Submitted by The Game Dr and [email protected]

Different Sky in Star City
Usually, the sky in Star City is red, but this trick makes it blue. First go to
the magic code screen and enter the code "doublevision". Now (if you have two
controllers) select the same character and start racing in Star City. The sky
will be blue instead of red.
Submitted by Scott Kusner ([email protected])

Hidden Gold Balloon
This works best with the hover car. In the lobby, go thru the waterfall to enter
the snow-covered place. Continue down the river untill you go thru a small
doorway. As soon as you go thru the doorway, head rihgt onto the grass. Keep
going untill you get to a ramp. Go up the ramp and there should be a golden
balloon.
Submitted by [email protected]

Key Locations
Dino Domain key:
This key is located in the track called "Ancient Lake". When you start, go
straight. Look straight ahead, you can see the key located on a ramp right in
front of you between two Stonehenge-like monuments

Snowflake Mountain key:
This key is located in the track called "Snowball Valley". When you start, don't
go. Just make an immediate left and go through the path in the mountains. Then
take another right and you should see the key in an alcove in the side of the
mountain.

Sherbert Island key:
This key is located in the track called "Crescent Island". When you start, take
the left path. After the second zipper, lead left even more, into the water. Go
and look at the side of the mountain straight ahead. There should be an alcove
with the key in it.

Dragon Forest key:
This key is located in the track called "Boulder Canyon". Get to the part of the
track where you see a bell hanging from the ceiling. Power up your speed burst
to level 3 (get three blue balloons). The turn around and face the bell from the
"wrong way" then hit the bell. The drawbridge in front of you should raise. Use
your level 3 speedburst and speed up the raising drawbridge and get the key.
(Make sure its a 2x burst, and be sure to jump right when you reach the top of
the bridge!)
Submitted by Bryan Meason, Drew Ressler and The Game Dr

Play as Drumstick
To play as Drumstick, find all of the amulets, the WizPig and the TT amulets.
Once you've done this, go to the main feild where you usually start and go over
to the frogs by the water. Find the frog with a little red bird on it's head and
run over it. Drumstick will appear and you can now race with him whenever you
want.
Submitted by Chris Cassaro

Shortcuts
Fossil Canyon: This one is obvious. At the fork in the road, take a left. It's a
bit shorter and safer.

Dino Domain Boss: This shortcut is on the boss of Dino Domain (the triceratops).
About halfway up the mountain, after the place where you go past a large pillar
on the right with two balloons, you should see some bushes on the right. Behind
them is a tunnel that will almost assure that you'll win.

Frosty Village 1: In the part where you go past several large pillars, go either
left or right off-road. You must make use of the three Zippers of both paths.

Frosty Village 2: You must use the hovercraft to take this shortcut without
losing speed. Near the end, you'll see a large outcropping with three ledges on
it on the right, surrounded by a lake. Underneath it is a tunnel. Go through it.

Snowball Valley 1: Like Fossil Canyon, take the left path at the fork. It's
faster.

Snowball Valley 2: The other shortcut is not really a shortcut. Instead, you
must grab one of the shield power-ups before the snowball area. Use it to sail
right through the snowballs and gain some ground over your snowball-dodging
opponents.

Crescent Island 1: Right before the tunnel at the beginning, you'll see a path
on the left. Follow it to get a magnet balloon and get ahead.

Crescent Island 2: Using the hovercraft, go left around the pirate ship to find
a shorter tunnel.

Crescent Island 3: Or, you can go on the ship and go on the right path next to
the tunnel. Then hop right to go through the hole.

Crescent Island 4: The last shortcut here is found after the pirate ship. On the
final turn before the end, make a powerslide/hop right to go around the pillar
on the right. It's a great way to win at the last second(and it contains a
Silver Coin).

Whale Bay: Use the whale near the beginning to jump over the pirate's ship and
get a magnet power-up and jump ahead of you foes. Pirate's Lagoon: Near the end,
use the Zipper to jump the ramp and get a Turbo power-up.

Windmill Plains: Go through the windmills at the beginning. Both of them contain
a Zipper and a Magnet power-up.

Boulder Canyon: In the area after the indoor waterfall, you will see a red
balloon on the left and a green one on the right, leading to the rest of the
track. But grab the red one and you'll find a hidden tunnel behind it. It
contains two coins and is shorter.

Greenwood Village: Near the beginning, you'll go through a village area. You
should see a well. Hit the brakes as you approach it and drive over it. You
should fall down to a tunnel with a Zipper in it. This is the shortcut.

Haunted Woods: At the fountain in the village area, take a right. It looks
longer, but it gets you to the tunnel a bit faster (and it contains a Silver
Coin.)

Sherbet Island Boss/Boulder Canyon: In both of these races, you should gain some
speed if you hop over the logs with the hovercraft at the right angle. Be
careful, if you go at the wrong angle, you'll crash into the log and lose speed!

Star City: Choose the Airplane, then go into Star City and look for the N64
railway train. Follow it for a shortcut. Note: Do NOT hit the train, or else it
will go slower.

Alternatively, continue going straight when your in the glass room. When you
exit fly high. Look for the Rareware sign (the letter R) and go right through
it.
Submitted by Chris Evans and SP-115 ([email protected])

Space World
To visit Space World, you must beat WizPig and get all of the Trophies and
Amulets. Once you've done that, go to the sign by the lighthouse and honk at the
sign near it. The lighthouse will transform into a rocket and into space.
Submitted by The GameDr

Turbo Boost
After the announcer says "Get Ready" and the words start to disappear at the
start of a race, press the A button. You will get a turbo boost. This helps
dramatically in your racing success!
Submitted by Chris Evans

- Check Part Two For The Rest Of This FAQ! -

©1999 Jdude84