Diddy Kong Racing is better than Mario Kart 64. There. I finally said it, and guess what? It feels good. This is an argument I’ve only brought up with close friends, a couple of who completely agree with me. I’ve never taken the opportunity to shut down the notion that Mario Kart 64 is a better game, so allow me to do so with a simple metaphor.  Some would claim Diddy Kong Racing to be a generic soda, while Mario Kart 64 would be the “original” Coke… but to me, the argument is more Pepsi vs. Coke than versus anything generic.

I have long been a supporter of original ideas. I am generally harsh on games that act like they have their own identity, but are really just carbon copies of another idea. I suppose Diddy Kong Racing is a little me-too in a lot of aspects, but there is one characteristic I put above all else – how fun it is. Sure, Diddy Kong Racing is a kart racing game with similar start-up screens, similar play mechanics, and similar weaponry compared to its competition. However, the things it does to expand upon this is what makes it a better, and in my opinion, a more fun game.

First, I love the fact that it’s also an adventure game. While it’s nice to just race on some tracks in Mario Kart 64, I prefer the exploration Rare gave players with the hub world. Having hidden balloons to collect (these are how you progress, for those that haven’t played), secret characters to find, and hidden levels to discover make it much more exciting. If you take the time to collect all the balloons, you have much more freedom in the tracks you play later on in the game. You aren’t forced to a set of levels that you have to complete in a given order. This opens up the gameplay greatly, especially regarding the double-edged sword that is the hovercraft and airplane racing.

Not kart racing. Bold step, or backwards step?

The fact that Diddy Kong Racing expands beyond karts was a bold step, one Rare most likely made to avoid complete comparison and backlash for being exactly like Mario Kart 64. The hovercraft controls are suspect, but completely learnable and enjoyable once you do so. I personally hate the airplane races, but the reason they don’t completely fail for me is another reason I consider Diddy Kong Racing a stronger game – it has better track design. There aren’t many levels that I would call bad (except for Frosty Village. ugh.), but there are handfuls I can remember almost perfectly for how much fun they are to play. I felt like the levels in Mario Kart 64 were much inferior to the ones in Super Mario Kart; Actually, I feel like most of the game is inferior to Super Mart Kart, so maybe that’s the root of the whole problem right there. Anyways, that’s a topic for another day, so let me get back on track (ha!).

The strongest push I can make for Diddy Kong Racing goes back to the adventure game idea. Expanding beyond exploration and a hub-world, Rare set forth to expand upon that even further with the inclusion of unlockable mini-games (hidden keys in each world) and boss battles. The boss battles are one of the best features in the game, which also add to my second favorite feature – the silver coin challenges. Throwing eight silver coins on each track and having you play them again isn’t a cheap tactic, nor is it a pain to replay the levels. The silver coin challenges require skill and mastery of the tracks, and are a reason to keep going back for more. This goes without mentioning the extra unlockables, including a second adventure. The content found in Diddy Kong Racing is not only better, but there’s more of it.

Also, the music. No competition.

This isn’t to say that Mario Kart 64 is a bad game. Just because I find Diddy Kong Racing to be stronger in most regards doesn’t mean I dislike Mario Kart 64. I can admit the battle mode is an incredible amount of fun (but still better in Super Mario Kart), and I love how smooth of an experience it is in the racing department. The characters are all loveable, the track themes work well with the respective game worlds, and you can’t argue that Mario Kart 64 originated most of what Diddy Kong Racing does. However, I consider gameplay to be the most important aspect of any game, and Diddy Kong Racing laps Mario Kart 64 in that area. Calling Rare’s masterpiece generic is a disservice to the great game that it is, and this is why I used the metaphor of Pepsi vs. Coke above. Who prefers which game will all come down to their personal taste – and I’ll be damned if Pipsi Pepsi isn’t better.