Created by Rareware, he first appeared in 1994's Super Nintendo platform video game Donkey Kong Country.
Diddy Kong is a young monkey who appears as Donkey Kong's sidekick, though has recently turned into a star of his own. In the first game, to humor him, Donkey Kong put him in charge of guarding his banana hoard at night. However, neither of them expected a siege by King K. Rool's Kremling Krew, and as such, Donkey Kong's entire banana hoard was stolen and Diddy was forcibly stuffed into a nearby barrel. Upon being freed, Diddy explained the situation to Donkey Kong; he became extremely upset, but didn't blame him. He and Diddy went on an adventure across DK Island to get the banana hoard back. Diddy's second appearance was on the Game Boy title Donkey Kong Land. In this game, Cranky Kong made a challenge that DK and Diddy couldn't retrieve the banana hoard on an 8-bit system, so they once again set out to retrieve it.
It wasn't until 1995's Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest where Diddy Kong stepped into the starring role. With Donkey Kong kidnapped by K. Rool and taken to the Kremling home of Crocodile Isle, Diddy set out with his new girlfriend Dixie Kong to get his big buddy back. For this game Diddy's look was slightly updated. He gained the now permanent star pattern for his shirt, updated fur, nostrils and even a belly button. At the conclusion of the game, Diddy finally became a full-fledged video game hero. A follow-up was released in September of 1996 for the Game Boy called Donkey Kong Land 2. It featured roughly the same plot as DKC2.
When Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! came out two months later, Diddy wasn't playable for the first time. Instead, the storyline revolved around he and Donkey Kong disappearing while on vacation in the Northern Kremisphere. Meanwhile, an army of Kremlings have appeared in the area under the command of a fake new leader, the cyborg KAOS. Dixie and her cousin Kiddy Kong went on a mission to find them. As it turned out, K. Rool was manipulating things behind the scenes, with KAOS feeding off the brain power of Diddy and DK (who were inside of the mechanical monster). In 1997's Donkey Kong Land III, Diddy never even put in an appearance, although he was part of the storyline. He and DK took off in a previously unseen part of the Northern Kremisphere in a contest to find the fabled Lost World. Dixie, furious that she wasn't asked along, decided to join forces with Kiddy and find it herself. Of course, K. Rool and the Kremlings also got involved, and while KAOS appeared again, he wasn't being powered by Diddy or DK
[edit] 1997-2000
Two months later, Diddy made his Nintendo 64 debut, and got his first starring role without any other Kong characters appearing. Diddy Kong Racing took the kart racing genre in a new direction with go-karts, planes, and hovercraft as available vehicles. Even more remarkable, instead of a straight-forward racing game like the Mario Kart series, Diddy Kong Racing was a "racing adventure," a mixture between Mario Kart and Super Mario 64. Diddy Kong Racing was the first self-published title by Rare, and marked the first appearance of such characters as Banjo and Tiptup (who would go on to star in the Banjo-Kazooie series), Conker (who would go from kid-friendly titles to the mature-rated hijinx of Conker's Bad Fur Day and the Xbox's Conker: Live & Reloaded). Diddy's childhood friend Timber sends him a letter to help liberate the island, and he answers the call in secret while Timber's parents are visiting his own family. Diddy Kong Racing broke records when first released for having the highest number of pre-orders of any video game to date. The game even featured a unique promotion where gamers received a free Diddy Kong beanbag toy with buying the game. Later the toy was offered in stores.
Two years later he would appear in Donkey Kong 64; initially he was imprisoned by K. Rool, but once rescued became a playable character. Joining forces with Donkey Kong, Dixie's little sister Tiny Kong, Kiddy Kong's older brother Chunky Kong, and distant cousin Lanky Kong, they set off to stop K. Rool from blowing up DK Island with his new mechanical Crocodile Isle and the Blast O'Matic laser. Unlike the DKC games, this was a sprawling 3-D adventure in the vein of Super Mario 64, and it was the first N64 game to require the N64 Expansion Pak to play. In this game, Diddy's color was red, and his signature move was using a jetpack in order to fly while using Crystal Coconuts.
A port of Donkey Kong Country came out a year later for the Game Boy Color. It had new features such as Game Boy Printer connectivity, extra mini-games, and an entirely new stage in Chimp Caverns called Necky's Nutmare. After DKC GBC, Diddy Kong fell off the gaming radar, not appearing for nearly three years.
[edit] 2003 - 2007
Diddy returned in 2003 with a Game Boy Advance port of Donkey Kong Country, which was a retelling of his original adventure with Donkey Kong. It featured new map screens and new modes of play like DK Attack and Hero Mode, where you have to beat the game with Diddy and only Diddy (sporting yellow clothes).
Diddy's debut in a Mario and GameCube game was in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. This was also the first time he appeared in a non-Rareware game (the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002). His appearance in this and most subsequent non-Rare appearances depicted him with five fingers and toes instead of four.
He turned up in another kart racing game, Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, where he rode along with Donkey Kong and tossed giant banana peels for his special item.
In 2004, the first non-Rare Donkey Kong game with DKC-styled characters was released. Namco's Donkey Konga was a GameCube music title that was packaged with a DK Bongo controller. The controller is used to keep the rhythm with the beats of covers to famous songs (as well as Nintendo video game music). Diddy appeared along with Donkey Kong and other DKC franchise characters. He would also turn up that year in Mario Power Tennis, where he had a special jetpack he could use to fly around the court, and in a Game Boy Advance port of Donkey Kong Country 2 that was packed with new mini-games and more.
2005, saw him in the sequel to Donkey Konga, Donkey Konga 2, where he once again stood as the character controlled by a second bongo player. He was then a team sub-captain in Mario Superstar Baseball (his biggest role yet in a Mario game). He was mainly known as a speed player with excellent defensive skills. He has a slight uppercut in his swing. He also had a prominent role in DK-King of Swing, and would make a cameo in the GBA port of Donkey Kong Country 3.
A remake of Diddy Kong Racing is being developed by Rare for the Nintendo DS, largely based on the N64 one. Diddy will be also playable in DK-King of Swing DS. Diddy is also a playable character in Mario Hoops 3-on-3 for the Nintendo DS and will be playable in DK Bongo Blast for the Wii.
