By: Trevor ([email protected])
Big thanks to Thomas Stitt for Hidden Key Information & Cheats

About This Guide:

 Welcome to the Unofficial Diddy Kong Racing Player's Guide. Here, you'll find
 lots of information about Rare's hot racing game - DK Racing. If you'd like
 to see the HTML version of this guide, you can check it out on the web at
 http://rwn.com/games/dkr/guide/ - it's got the same info you'll see in this
 text guide, but with screenshots, sounds, and much more. One other note:
 this guide is to help you through the adventure mode in DK Racing.

Latest Updates:
There is currently a listing of all 4 of the hidden key locations, and what
the challenge levels are like. That is in the levels section. The other
sections have nice basic information about the game, too, so check that out
if you want to learn more about the game.

=====================================================================
                            CONTENTS
=====================================================================

 0..............................................Contents
 1..............................................Gameplay Information
 2..............................................Characters
 3..............................................Items/Weapons
 4..............................................Cheats
 5..............................................*Level Secrets*

Note - Level Secrets includes key locations, and descriptions & tips for
each of the challenge levels. Coming soon will be shortcuts in the levels
to help you improve your racing times.

=====================================================================
                        GAMEPLAY INFORMATION
=====================================================================

Adventure Mode, How it Works:
 If you've ever played Super Mario64, then you know about how the star system
 works. You start out, gain a star or two, then all of the sudden you can
 open up doors to new worlds. From these worlds, you get more stars, and with
 the more stars you get, you can go even further into the game. Diddy Kong
 Racing is very similar to this, but instead of gathering stars, you collect
 gold balloons. You get the balloons by winning races, or just finding them
 in the huge outter world that you start out in. In each of the 4 worlds,
 this is what happens. First, you race against the computer players, and you
 must get first place in every race in order to get another gold balloon.
 Once you've finished first in every race (you can try them over and over as
 many times as you wish), you get to race against the boss of the levels.
 All the bosses are very similar - you race them, and they are usually quite
 a bit faster than you, but by using weapons that are found on the track, you
 can keep up with them, and defeat them. After you beat the boss, you're still
 not finished. You then have to do all the levels again, but this time race
 and collect all 8 of the silver coins on the track. They are usually pretty
 easy to find, none are really hidden so you can't find them. After doing
 this, you race the boss again, and this time the boss is a quite a bit harder.
 After that, there is still one more thing left to do. You must find the key
 which TT has hidden in one of the levels of that main area. The key is always
 hidden VERY well, and it can be very hard to find them. Once you do find the
 key you can just exit out of the level by pausing and returning to the lobby,
 then you will do the challenge for that world.

Here are some terms, and what they mean, and/or how they are done.

Starting Boost:
 In order to get a turbo boost at the start, wait until the word "Ready"
 start fading out and the word "GO" is about to come up. This way, you'll
 get a boost. It is sometimes different with different vehicles, you can try
 for yourself to see what I mean. Typically a blueish flame means you got the
 best boost, and a yellow/orange color means you did get a boost, just not a
 really good one.

Cart Info:
 With the cart, by pressing the Right Shift button (the one on the top of the
 controller), you can make a bit of a wider turn. This is a good thing to do
 if there is a balloon or something else that you want to hit, and it's on the
 outside of the track. Also, while pressing the R button, if you press the B
 button (brakes), your cart will tip up on two wheels and you'll turn much
 sharper. Try your best to say away from water - the cart will get stuck.

Hovercraft Info:
 The hovercraft will take a little getting used to at first because the
 control is a bit looser. By pressing the Right shift button, you'll do a
 little hop. When you're coming into a sharp corner, you'll notice that
 sometimes you'll turn your hovercraft, but you'll just slide. If you do a
 hop, that problem will be fixed. You can go on land or water with the
 hovercraft very easily.

Plane Info:
 The plane controls are similar to a real plane. Pressing up on the control
 stick will make the plane go down. Pressing down will make it go up. By
 holding the Right Shift button down, you can make turns much sharper and
 quicker. If you tap the Right Shift button two times while making a turn,
 you'll do a little loop. If you tap the Right Shift button two times while
 you're just going along straight, you'll do a big backflip.
 

=====================================================================
                            CHARACTERS
=====================================================================

The 8 main characters can be grouped into 3 different categories. They are as
follows:

Lightweight Group:
 Consists of Pipsy and Tip Tup. They've got great handling, very good
 acceleration, but their top speed is not as good as the other characters.
 They can corner much better, though. These characters are usually best for
 beginners.

Middleweight Group:
 Consists of Diddy, Bumper, Conker, and Timber. They are very well rounded
 characters. They've got good handling, good acceleration, a medium top speed,
 and they are somewhat powerful. These characters are usually best for
 intermediate to advanced players.

Heavyweight Group:
 Consists of Banjo and Krunch. These characters are hard to control, and they
 have poor acceleration, but they have very high top speeds, higher than any
 of the other characters. These characters are best for advanced players. If
 you miss the turbo boost at the beginning of the race, it's often times
 takes a long time to catch back up with the other racers.

TT The clock:

 TT is a clock (duh). He helps you out in several ways. If you don't feel
 like racing against all the other racers, and you just want to zip around the
 courses for yourself, then just go up to TT and highlight "Time Trial" and
 use the analog stick (move it right/left) to change from Time Trial to normal
 racing. You can also check up on your status (how many pieces of the amulet
 you have, etc.) TT also hides the keys you have to find in each world, and
 he does a very good job of it, too.

Taj:

 Taj is a genie that will help you change your vehicle, get balloons, and do
 other things. Each time you get a gold balloon, Taj will deliver it on his
 magic carpet. You can also go to him to change your vehicle, and you can
 race him around the island in his "challenges". You can race him with a cart,
 hovercraft, or plane. If you win, he'll give you a gold balloon.
 

=====================================================================
                           ITEMS & WEAPONS
=====================================================================

WEAPONS:
 Weapons are picked up on the track (or in the air with a plane or jump) and
 they are in balloons. A certain colored balloon will have a certain weapon
 in it. Getting 3 balloons of the same color in a row will power up the weapon
 to be even better. If you get two in a row, it powers it up a little bit.
 Here are the color codes for the weapons, and what the power ups do.

Red Balloons, Missiles:
 1 - Single-shot missile
 2 - Heat seeking missile
 3 - 10-shot missile

Blue Balloons, Power Boosts:
 1 - Short Blast
 2 - Medium Blast
 3 - Long Blast

Green Balloons, Oil Slicks
 1 - Oil Slick (makes opponent spin out)
 2 - Mine (makes opponent crash & lose 2 bananas)
 3 - Bubble (suspends oppoenent in air for several seconds)

Yellow Balloons, Shields
 1 - Standard, red shield
 2 - Medium, Blue shield
 3 - Maximum, Green shield

Multicolored Balloons, Magnets
 1, 2, 3 - All the same, they just get more powerful as they go up.
 

=====================================================================
                              CHEATS
=====================================================================

The following cheats are done at the "Magic Codes" options. After you turn the
game on, just go to Options, then to Magic Codes.

Magic Codes:

 BYEBYEBALLOONS   - All the weapons are disabled for the computer
 TOXICOFFENDER    - All balloons are green
 BODYARMOR        - All balloons are yellow
 OPPOSITESATTRACT - All balloons are rainbow
 BOMBSAWAY        - All balloons are red
 VITAMINB         - No limit to bananas
 BOGUSBANANAS     - Bananas reduce speed instead of increase speed
 NOYELLOWSTUFF    - Makes the bananas are useless, they do nothing
 BLABBERMOUTH     - Random character noises are played instead of a horn
 JOINTVENTURE     - Two player adventure mode
 ZAPTHEZIPPERS    - All the zippers will disappear

Getting Drumstik:

 In order to get Drumstik as a selectable character, you must first get all
 the amulet and TT pieces. Once you've done that, and opened up the Wiz Pig
 face, you can get him. Here's how: You go to the main outter world, and go
 look at the frogs that are hopping around the water. One will have little
 red rooster feathers on it's head. Run over it, and Drumstik will appear
 Then you'll be put back in the center of the field. Immediately go to quit
 game, then start a new game and you'll find him between Diddy and Bumper.
 

=====================================================================
                           LEVEL SECRETS
=====================================================================

Just a note about the keys - Once you find a key, you don't have to continue
racing, you can just pause, then go to "return to lobby" and it still knows
you found the key.

DINO DOMAIN:

Key Location:
 The first key is in Ancient Lake. It's before the first turn, and after the
 first set of balloons you come across. Off to the right there are a few
 little stone structures, and one of them is a small ramp with Rare's stylized
 "R" logo on it. At the top of the small ramp, there is the key.

Challenge Level:
 This challenge level is called Fire Mountain. The object is to hatch as many
 dino eggs as you can. You're racing with 3 other computer characters. If you
 don't hatch as many as they do, you'll lose. Right from the start, swoop down
 and pick up an egg. Fly over the little area with your face on it, and press
 the Z button to drop the egg off. After doing this, go steal an egg out of
 another player's spot. You can only steal the egg if it has just been dropped
 off though. An easy way to tell if the egg is stealable (is that a word?) is
 if the little egg icon below the person's name is flashing, you can take it.

SNOWFLAKE MOUNTAIN:

Key Location:
 In the Snowflake Valley stage, right from the starting point, steer sharply
 to the left. There is a little path that you can follow, and at the end there
 is a very small place in the ice where it's located. I know that description
 was pretty week, but if you go there, you'll see what I mean.

Challenge Level:
 This challenge level is called Icicle Pyramid, and while it's fairly easy to
 beat, it's really fun. All you have to do is kill the other people, or just
 avoid being killed until they're all dead. Each player starts out with 10
 bananas, and whoever loses all 10 dies. Remember that getting each time
 you're hit or you run into a mine, you'll lose 2 bananas, and same goes
 for the other player's too. I'd reccomend that you use rockets to kill the
 other players. Try to power them up to be a heat seeker if you can, it will
 be much easier.

SHERBERT ISLAND:

Key Location:
 The key is in Crescent Island, and I really reccomend that you use the
 Hovercraft to get it, although if you don't have the Hovercraft, you can use
 the cart too, you'll just have to go through some deep water, and it takes
 a while. This is where the key is : Right from the start, you have the choice
 of going right or left. Go on the left path, and as it comes to an end, keep
 going left (yes, into the water). You'll go through a bit of water, then
 you'll find a little chip of this rock taken out, and inside it will be
 the hidden key. You should be able to get this in a few seconds if you use
 the Hovercraft.

Challenge Level:
 This one is called Darkwater Beach. It's just like the one from the snow
 level, but it is in the water and on beaches. You just need to kill everybody
 else before you're killed... that's it.

DRAGON FOREST:

Key Location:
 This is by far the toughest one to find. It might be a little hard to explain,
 too, so please read the whole description carefully, and pay attention. It is
 in Boulder Canyon. Just go through the course like you normally would, then
 when you come to the wooden bridge, start slowing down. You'll come to a
 little area where you'll see a golden bell, and a blue balloon in front of
 it. Get the blue balloon, and let the balloon reappear and get it again, and
 again so you have a full boost (the little icon should have a purple flame
 color on it). Go forward a little bit (just past the bell), then turn around.
 Get right underneath the bell, and it should start ringing. Stay there until
 you see the wooden bridge raise up, like a draw-bridge. As soon as it raises,
 use your power boost to shoot up it. If you did it right, you'll be launched
 onto the ledge. The key is right in the center of the ledge, along with some
 bananas on the side. You might need to tap the R button a few times to keep
 the hovercraft from falling off the ledge. Whew, that was a long one!

Challenge Level:
 This one is very fun. It's called Smokey Castle, and it is a little bit like
 the Dino Domain challenge level, Fire Mountain. This one, however, you
 collect bananas instead of eggs. You're racing to 10 bananas. Each player
 has his or her own treasure chest, and bananas are scattered throughout
 the track. You go and collect them, and bring them back to your treasure
 chest. The nice thing is that nobody can steal them once they are there.
 You can only hold two bananas at a time, so you'll have to make about 5
 trips back and forth. There are plenty of weapons on the track, so watch out
 for missiles. However, you can use missiles on the opponents, and it's very
 helpful. It's always fun to nail another player just as they are carrying
 two bananas back to their treasure chest : )