| Diddy Kong | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Series |
Donkey Kong/Mario |
|
Debut |
Donkey Kong Country (1994) |
|
Console of origin |
Super Nintendo Entertainment System |
|
Species |
Kong |
|
Gender |
Male |
Diddy Kong is Donkey Kong's buddy, "wannabe" nephew, and companion who has gone on countless adventures with him. Diddy is a creation of the British company, Rare Ltd.; however, he has a Nintendo logo on his trademarked red hat, probably because Nintendo owned Rare and the rights to the Donkey Kong franchise at the time. The name 'Diddy' is a slang word used in some parts of northern England for 'small,' as Diddy is. Diddy has gone on many adventures by himself occasionally with his girlfriend Dixie Kong, and has even starred in his own racing game for the Nintendo 64 and later for the Nintendo DS.
Description[]
Diddy Kong shares several traits to a Spider Monkey. He has brown-colored fur, while his face, ears, hands, feet, belly and belly button (in the original Donkey Kong Country he had no visible nostrils or belly button) are exposed, showing Diddy's pale skin. He has versatile feet, and a prehensile tail, which he uses most of the time to hold certain small items or also hang on objects. Diddy Kong's face is somehow similar to Donkey Kong; however, Diddy has big eyes and a less frowned space between the eyebrows, covered in fur, as opposed to DK's. His ears are a bit big, the same size of his eyes. Diddy's eyes are usually depicted as black, although Diddy Kong Racing reveals blue eyes. On the other hand, Super Smash Bros. Brawl gives him brown eyes.
Diddy's clothing consists of a red cap showing the logo of Nintendo on its front, a red Converse shoes and a red tank top, with yellow Stars on it (the details on his clothes were first introduced in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest). In Donkey Kong Country, an alternate Diddy's clothing was a yellow tank top, converse orange shoes and a yellow cap. It appeared when two players wished to play independently. In Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, Diddy Kong appears with another alternate costume as well. In the sequel, Diddy wears a purple costume & converse purple shoes . For the recent edition of Super Smash Bros. series, Diddy has a wider selection of alternate color costumes. In Mario Strikers Charged, Diddy wears armor, protecting him against hazards set in the game. He wears a pair of wristbands, shoulder-pads, and a cuirasse over his tank top to protect his chest. The armor is mainly yellow, but it turns to purple in case that his opponents wear a similar color scheme. Later in Donkey Kong Country Returns, when the Super Guide mode is activated and Super Kong breaks a DK Barrel open, Super Diddy Kong appears. Super Diddy Kong has white fur, a white cap , converse white and blue shoes and a blue tank top.
History[]
Donkey Kong Country[]
Diddy Kong first appears in Donkey Kong Country, as the co-star of the game with Donkey Kong. Here, he is still Donkey Kong's apprentice and an "in-training video-game star". On one night, Diddy Kong is given the task of guarding Donkey Kong's Banana Hoard. However, the Kremling Krew attacks and defeats him, trapping him inside a barrel. After being released, he and Donkey Kong set off across Donkey Kong Island to save the Banana Hoard and drive off the Kremlings. At the end of their journey, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong reach King K. Rool, the leader of the Kremlings, and by defeating him, the two win back Donkey Kong's Banana Hoard.
In this game, Donkey and Diddy Kong share the same basic abilities (jumping, running, cartwheeling, etc.). However, Diddy Kong is weaker than Donkey Kong, unable to jump on enemies such as Krushas or Klumps to defeat them, but DK can. Despite this flaw, Diddy is still faster than him and can jump higher than him. Diddy Kong also carries barrels in front of him, allowing him to protect himself from an enemy, but he cannot throw it as far as Donkey Kong.
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest[]
In Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, the Kremling Krew kidnaps Donkey Kong and sends him away to their own island, Crocodile Isle. K. Rool, who is now Kaptain K. Rool, threatens to permanently hold Donkey Kong prisoner unless he is given the Banana Hoard. Diddy refuses to give it up because he and Donkey Kong took plenty of effort recovering it in the previous game. Diddy and his girlfriend, Dixie, venture through Crocodile Isle and rescue Donkey Kong from Kaptain K. Rool. Near the end of Diddy's Kong Quest, while Donkey Kong is rescued by Diddy and Dixie Kong, Crocodile Isle sinks into the ocean.
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble![]
Diddy Kong is captured in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, and Dixie Kong and Kiddy Kong must save him. Diddy and Donkey decide to go vacationing in the Northern Kremisphere, planning to return to Donkey Kong Island in a few days time, but the duo never comes back. Dixie, worried about the two Kongs, decides to venture to the Northern Kremisphere to search for them with her baby cousin Kiddy Kong. After Dixie and Kiddy defeat Baron K. Roolenstein they discover that KAOS, K. Rool's stand-in leader for the Kremling Krew, contains Diddy and Donkey. It seems K. Rool has abducted Diddy and Donkey for the purpose of using their brain energy to power KAOS. After being rescued Diddy and Donkey goes back to Donkey Kong Island while Dixie and Kiddy defeat the Kremling Krew.
Donkey Kong 64[]
Diddy reappears in the Nintendo 64 game, Donkey Kong 64. In the beginning of the game, King K. Rool, attempts to attack Donkey Kong Island to seek revenge. However, K. Rool's weapon, the Blast-O-Matic is damaged after K. Rool's Ship crashes into a small island. To buy time to repair his weapon, K. Rool steals Donkey Kong's Banana Hoard and kidnaps several Kongs, with Diddy being one of them.
Diddy is eventually freed from captivity in Jungle Japes by Donkey Kong early on in his journey. From then on Diddy aids Donkey and the other Kongs with shutting down the Blast-O-Matic and getting rid of King K. Rool by collecting red bananas and coins and using his abilities gained from Cranky, as well as his electric guitar from Candy and his popguns from Funky. Eventually K. Rool is defeated by the Kongs in a wrestling match. The method for defeating him permanently involves a plan by Funky and Candy, which Funky brings a shoe gun to kick him out of the ring.
Donkey Kong Country Returns[]
Diddy Kong appears in the Wii game, Donkey Kong Country Returns and the 3DS remake Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D. He is the first Kong to notice the Banana Hoard being stolen by animals that are hypnotized by the Tiki Tak Tribe, and attempts to pursue them to retrieve it. However, Diddy fails, and he is presumably shoved into a barrel. In it, he and Donkey Kong go on another quest to reclaim the Banana Hoard, which has been stolen by the Tiki Tak Tribe by hypnotizing the animals on the island. After defeating Tiki Tong, he and Donkey Kong get the Banana Hoard back from the Tiki Tak Tribe. Diddy can also be controlled in this game by a second Wii Remote, and his jetpack can be used.
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze[]
Diddy Kong appears as one of the playable characters in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. He can be found inside barrels marked with a blue "DD". He retains his ability to use his jetpack to hover as well as the Peanut Popgun from Donkey Kong Country Returns. When using the Kong POW with Diddy, all enemies are turned into red Extra Life Balloons.
Abilities[]
In almost every appearance he makes, Diddy Kong has been shown to be very quick and nimble to offset Donkey Kong's great strength. As a result, Diddy has more trouble defeating larger enemies. In many games he has appeared, such as in Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong 64, he is able to use his cartwheel to attack opponents, but also to jump farther in Donkey Kong Country. Diddy is shown to have a strong skull;in Donkey Kong Country Returns, after defeating Tiki Tong, he brings the moon down with just his head.
While teamed up with Dixie Kong during the events of Donkey Kong Country 2, Diddy is able to pick up his partner and throw her to high areas or enemies. He can also throw her at collectibles that float above pits.
In some games, Diddy Kong can also use his Jetpack to fly to hard-to-reach areas. However, in Donkey Kong 64, this Jetpack is only given to him after entering a Kong Barrel, and it can only be used in certain areas. During the time Diddy Kong uses his Jetpack, he is also equipped with Peanut Popguns, which allow him to defeat or stun distant enemies and activate switches. During Donkey Kong Country Returns, Diddy can use his Jetpack in order to carry Donkey Kong over pits. Additionally, in Donkey Kong 64 he is able to use his tail to attack enemies or use it as a spring to reach higher areas. In the same game, he can use his special dashing ability to ram into gongs and other objects. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, he is able to combine his Jetpack and Peanut Popgun for his final smash. He can also perform Wild Moves in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast.
In Mario Superstar Baseball, Diddy Kong, with his good running stat, also possess the ability to climb on walls and catch balls that are otherwise fair. He also has Super Catch ensuring that he does not fumble any routine fly balls. His pitches and batting involve curving the ball in the shape of a banana. This ability is also present in Mario Power Tennis. In Mario Striker Charged, Diddy displays some natural abilities such as summoning a beam of light that subdue his opponents into the sky and psychic abilities during his Mega Strike.
Diddy Kong is capable of juggling, which he does in Donkey Kong Country 2 if he does not move for a while. Also, his artwork for Mario Super Sluggers portrays him juggling three baseballs. Just like Dixie in Donkey Kong Country 2, he is also capable of playing an electric guitar in Donkey Kong 64, which he uses to solve puzzles and destroy surrounding enemies.