futurehog retro blog - Diddy Kong Racing!

Unlike Mario Kart, bananas are good. They are speed bananas.

An interesting concept when buying pre-owned cartridge games (other than that they actually work) is that you inherit the saved states from the previous owner. I have no idea who these people are or when the save games were written in to the memory. Maybe it was a week, a month, a year, or a couple of decades. Inheriting the successes and failures of a complete stranger that you shared a common interest in, all be it in different centuries. Acquiring second-hand cartridges feels far less of a risk than gambling on old disc-based games that have been scratched to hell. So far I've never had a cartridge in my possession that has failed. For all the flack Nintendo endured over their decision to stick with carts, you have to hand it to them - they were built to last.

My trusty N64 still works flawlessly after all this time. Many years of active use followed by many years spent in a cupboard, aided by the absence of moving parts, it's a reliable relic these days. Post-SNES, Nintendo have always opted for weird. The GameCube, Wii, Wii U; all just a little bit strange when held up to the light against their Sony and Microsoft rivals. The NX I am sure will be no different. Confuse your Playstations and your X-boxes but you always know when you're playing a Nintendo. You can find several Rare games on X-Box Live, however DKR is unfortunately not one of them.

I went the wrong way.

Two items arrived in the post. Diddy Kong Racing and WWF: No Mercy. Having played neither of these during the glory days of the N64, the sudden urge to play these games stems from no particular place at all other than a little too much spare time in the evenings now my young daughter has indulged in the fine art of sleeping.

The first thing you realise when trying to play retro games on a modern television is that they don't quite look as good as they should. But nostalgia is not to blame here. Even up to 2005, video games were designed with CRT televisions in mind, and this can result in less-than-perfect results and can ruin the retro experience for some. With the aid of a scart connection and a bit of fiddling with the display settings, I am getting over it.

Visual issues aside, Diddy Kong Racing plays like a dream. Drifting like a motherfucker, this game feels very much like Mario Kart with slightly furrier protagonists. It does not venture far from the DNA of Mario Kart, and it never tries to pretend. DK racing focuses on a single player campaign, unlocking tracks as you find more and more swag to get you through the doors in to new worlds. The game even boasts the debut of much-loved Banjo, minus Kazooie. This was the first time we saw him in Nintendo land, pre-dating his own outing in his full debut Banjo-Kazooie.

The planned sequel, Donkey Kong Racing, was in development for the GameCube but never materialised, although the trailer can be found on YouTube. It looks fantastic, and had it not been for Microsoft purchasing Rare this gem of a game would have had the sequel it deserved.