I have felt that my position has been in the minority when comparing DKR to Mario Kart 64. I hope that by posting this I can shift the paradigm to a more objective comparison as opposed to blind nostalgia.
Here are some points that I'll present to you that not only argue for the vast scope of content in the game, but also its superior quality.
I: Scope
1.MORE RACETRACKS: Mario Kart has 16 tracks that are pretty fun. Diddy Kong, however, has 20 tracks. TWENTY. These tracks are just as long and have awesome obstacles such as the drawbridge you can raise in Boulder Canyon.
2.ADVENTURE/PLOT: Not only does Diddy Kong racing have a championship mode (trophy races) akin to the Grand Prix of Mario Kart, but there is an ENTIRE ADVENTURE MODE and PLOT. There is a HUGE hub world which also doubles as a race track (bringing the number of playable tracks in Diddy Kong up to 21). There are balloons, keys, amulets, and trophies to collect.
3.BOSSES: We've already determined that there are more tracks in Diddy Kong Racing as well as a hub world that we can add as a race. In addition to this, we have 5 bosses that you can race on 6 different tracks! This brings our sum total of racing tracks to 27! That makes Mario Kart's 16 tracks look like an UNFINISHED GAME.
4.UNLOCKABLE CHARACTERS: Both Mario Kart and Diddy Kong Racing start you off with 8 playable characters. Diddy Kong Racing then comes and gives you 2 MORE unlockable characters that brings the sum total to 10 and give you an additional goal to work towards.
5.VEHICLES: The variation in vehicles is something that you will not see in Mario Kart. You get one option, karts. In Diddy Kong Racing, you get karts, HOVERCRAFTS, AND PLANES.
6.OTHER: There are CHEAT CODES that you can input and change the content of the game. One of these codes is for a CO-OP ADVENTURE MODE. This was revolutionary, and Mario Kart 64 did not have his feature. It's a shame that Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 8 still haven't caught up to Diddy Kong Racing in this regard.
II. Quality
I know that quality may seem like a subjective comparison, but I hope to give you concrete pieces of evidence that show the skilled craftsmanship of Diddy Kong Racing.
1.TRACK DESIGN: Let's take a Mario Kart track such as Wario Stadium. It's hills, walls, and dirt. That's it. That's the entire track, there's no variation. What about Toad's Turnpike? Cars, roads, more cars and more roads. Rainbow Road? One big rainbow where the second half of the track looks the same as the first. Now let's look at Diddy Kong Racing. In Crescent Island you have a road, then you go into a cave, then you go back to the road, then you go into a PIRATE SHIP, BACK OUT TO THE ROAD, AND THEN INTO ANOTHER DARKER CAVE. Even the simplest level, Ancient Lake, goes from road to DINOSAURS.
2.MUSIC: David Wise, the composer of the Diddy Kong Racing Music, is a genius and the score from each track perfectly MATCHES THE ENVIRONMENT. Snowflake Mountain sounds wintry, Future Fun Land sounds futuristic, and the Boss battles sound intense. Too many Mario Kart scores sound like they just whipped them up and could have used them in any of the tracks.
3.ART AND TEXTURES: Diddy Kong Racing is color-rich and a marvel to look at. Mario Kart has a very unattractive black outline to many objects and too many dark levels where you can't see what's in front of you. If you compare the spooky tracks of the two games (Banshee Boardwalk vs. Haunted Woods), you'll see Banshee Boardwalk is mostly pitched black, hurts your eyes, and is cluttered with choppy pixelated graphics. Haunted Woods is more pleasant to look at and actually possible to race on. You can see how the artists added a reddish hue to the sky and really put work into the buildings, fountains, and generally making the map look good.
So there you have it. Mario Kart 64 was a great first step. Diddy Kong Racing is on another level.
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