If you had a Nintendo 64 growing up, we bet you had Mario Kart 64. This was many people’s first Mario Kart game, and the rest is history.
Of course, you can play it on the Switch thanks to the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack. Alongside Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart: Super Circuit (both on NSO too) and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, that’s four different Mario Kart games on one system.
But — in the lovely Alex Olney’s words — “the best Mario Kart game isn’t on Switch”, and he wants to talk about it. Mario Kart wasn’t the only kart racer on the N64, oh no. Rare also had a slice of the pie with the fantastic Diddy Kong Racing, which marked the debut of many iconic Rare characters including Conker, Banjo, and Tiptup.
“But wait, Diddy Kong Racing isn’t Mario Kart!” We know, we know. But it’s absolutely inspired by it and, arguably, might well beat Mario Kart 64 at its own game. How? Well it has a full-fledged adventure mode, planes and hovercrafts as well as karts, and delightful music.
The game has been stuck on N64 since its release (no, the DS version didn’t happen — you can’t make us remember it), and we think it deserves a chance on the Switch. If Banjo-Kazooie and GoldenEye 007 can make the jump, surely Diddy and friends can pull up at the start line?
Listen to Alex wax lyrical about Diddy Kong Racing over on our YouTube channel, and let us know what you think of this wonderful game in the comments.
If you had a Nintendo 64 growing up, we bet you had Mario Kart 64. This was many people’s first Mario Kart game, and the rest is history.
Of course, you can play it on the Switch thanks to the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack. Alongside Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart: Super Circuit (both on NSO too) and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, that’s four different Mario Kart games on one system.
But — in the lovely Alex Olney’s words — “the best Mario Kart game isn’t on Switch”, and he wants to talk about it. Mario Kart wasn’t the only kart racer on the N64, oh no. Rare also had a slice of the pie with the fantastic Diddy Kong Racing, which marked the debut of many iconic Rare characters including Conker, Banjo, and Tiptup.
“But wait, Diddy Kong Racing isn’t Mario Kart!” We know, we know. But it’s absolutely inspired by it and, arguably, might well beat Mario Kart 64 at its own game. How? Well it has a full-fledged adventure mode, planes and hovercrafts as well as karts, and delightful music.
The game has been stuck on N64 since its release (no, the DS version didn’t happen — you can’t make us remember it), and we think it deserves a chance on the Switch. If Banjo-Kazooie and GoldenEye 007 can make the jump, surely Diddy and friends can pull up at the start line?
Listen to Alex wax lyrical about Diddy Kong Racing over on our YouTube channel, and let us know what you think of this wonderful game in the comments.
