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Diddy Kong Pilot (2003 Alpha) - Game Boy Advance

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Diddy Kong Pilot (2003 Alpha) - Game Boy Advance

Complete · box + cartridge

€29.95
  • Platform: Game Boy Advance
  • Language: English
  • Original year: 2003
  • Edition: Complete · box + cartridge
Take to the skies with the Kongs in this unreleased 2003 alpha build of Rare's cancelled aerial racer. Originally developed for the Game Boy Advance and later reworked into another project, this leaked prototype lets you finally play an early version of a game that never reached store shelves. A fascinating piece of gaming history for collectors and fans of the Donkey Kong universe. ✨ Features: • Playable 2003 alpha prototype of a cancelled GBA flying game • Tilt and fly through colourful courses with the Kong crew • Arcade-style aerial racing built around speed and aerobatics • A rare look at an unreleased build of gaming history 🎮 Language: English · 📦 Edition: Complete (box + cartridge, in protective case)

Diddy Kong Pilot: The Kong Racer Rare Rebuilt as Banjo-Pilot

Diddy Kong Pilot was announced by Rare at E3 in May 2001 as a Game Boy Advance follow-up to Diddy Kong Racing, with planes in place of karts and a release pencilled in for March 2002. It slipped. Reports from the time describe Nintendo worrying about quality and internal politics pulling the project in different directions. Then Microsoft bought Rare in September 2002, the Donkey Kong licence was no longer available, and the game was rebuilt around Banjo-Kazooie characters. It finally shipped as Banjo-Pilot in January 2005 in North America and February 2005 in Europe.

The Kong version might never have been seen again, but in October 2011 a former Rare employee posting as "Transparentjinjo" put up gameplay footage on YouTube. The playable ROM followed on 5 November 2011.

At a glance

  • Based on: Rare's cancelled GBA racer Diddy Kong Pilot
  • Created by: Rare
  • Released: never officially; the build surfaced in 2011
  • Genre: Aerial kart-style racing
  • What sets it apart: the last form of the game that still starred the Kong cast

What this build contains

The build is dated 19 February 2003, about five months before Microsoft filed a trademark for "Banjo-Pilot". It is much more than a tech demo.

  1. Three campaigns, each tied to a team and difficulty: Team Kong for beginners, Team Krem in the middle and Team Cranky for experts.
  2. Cups with boss dogfights, plus Time Trial and a Cranky Challenge in which you race Cranky Kong and gather six coins.
  3. Sixteen race tracks, with barrels, Zippers, target balloons and KONG letters that grant extra retries.
  4. An unlockable twist: finishing as Cranky renames the title screen "Cranky Kong Pilot".

Rough edges that make it interesting

It is unfinished. The voices are placeholders recorded in late 2002, the language option is mostly empty, and multiplayer only works over a link and is glitchy. A boss-loss screen even misspells "lose". Banjo-Pilot later swapped in Banjo-Kazooie voices, re-themed the courses, dropped the tilt controls and changed the cup scoring.

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