The 1997 kart racer game Diddy Kong Racing was a popular go-to for the Nintendo 64 system. A recently released video has uncovered new information about a secret unfinished sequel to the racing classic.

In a world of arcade-style racing games, Diddy Kong Racing was a cut above most. The Mario Kart-esque gameplay was memorable for its solid levels, colorful characters and option to operate a car, hovercraft, or plane when racing other vehicles. Two sequel games were in the works by game developer Rare, Diddy Kong Pilot and Donkey Kong Racing, intended for Nintendo’s GameCube. After the company’s financial troubles caused it to be acquired by Microsoft in 2002, Rare’s progress on these games were abandoned. A sequel was far from industry’s mind from that point on.

This seemed to be the case until recently, footage surfaced online showcasing another Diddy Kong follow-up titled Diddy Kong Racing Adventure. Video game archivist Andrew Borman was the first to release the footage on his YouTube channel “Past to Present Online”. In a breakdown format, Borman’s video detailed background information and gameplay details that would have been a part of the game.

It’s revealed that developer Climax Studios had wanted to pursue a sequel back in 2004 and had put together a demo of their proposed game as a pitch to Nintendo. Climax appeared to be well-suited to the task, having created many successful action racing games for the GameCube up to that point.
Adventure would have played similar to the to the original game, with a fair amount of differences. For one, the demo has Diddy Kong riding around on a large rhinoceros, suggesting that large animals would be included as an added vehicle type.

Another change Climax wanted to implement was an emphasis on the single-player mode, with further attention placed on exploration. New areas would have a central character associated with it and this character would be unlocked in multiplayer after completing local challenges.

So what do you think? Was riding a rhino a pretty cool addition? Do you think a Diddy Kong sequel would be as well-received as the original? Will the number of released Diddy Kong games ever outnumber the unreleased ones?

Leave your comments in the area below and check out these other Nintendo-related articles!

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