Diddy Kong

Diddy Kong (or Diddy for short) is the secondary main protagonist of the Donkey Kong series. He is the fastest and most agile member of the Kong Family. He is Donkey Kong's spider monkey of a nephew and eager best friend who has gone on countless adventures with him and a jovial peace seeker wanting to help all of his friends. In the manual of Donkey Kong Country, he was introduced as a young boisterous monkey who always looked up to his uncle DK and dreamed of one day becoming a video game hero/superhero just like him. He is a creation of the British company, Rareware; however, he has the Nintendo logo on his red hat. This is to signify the actual publisher of the DK series. Diddy has also gone on countless adventures by himself and has even starred in his own racing game for the Nintendo 64 and it's remake sequel for the Nintendo DS. He is also a recurring racer in the Mario Kart Series. He is currently voiced by Katsumi Suzuki but was voiced by Chris Sutherland in Donkey Kong 64.

The name "Diddy" is a slang word used in some parts of northern England for "small", as Diddy Kong is one of the smallest Kong Family members (along with his girlfriend, Dixie Kong (who is the same size as Diddy) and her sister, Tiny Kong (formerly)), Diddy could also be used to describe a type of tune/song.

The First Adventure
Diddy Kong first appeared in Donkey Kong Country, where he was still Donkey Kong's apprentice and an in-training Video-Game Star. Wanting to humor an overly-eager Diddy, Donkey told the inexperienced Diddy to guard their huge Banana Hoard. Unfortunately, when Donkey Kong assigned this duty to Diddy, he hadn't expected the Kremling Krew to attack. Diddy was actually able to defeat a handful of Kremlings, it wasn't until Klump/Krusha arrived that he was starting to struggle and eventually get overpowered. Unable to hold off an attack by Klump/Krusha, Diddy was sealed in a DK Barrel. The next morning, Donkey awoke and, realizing Diddy and their bananas were missing, he found and released Diddy and the two set off to reclaim them and drive the Kremlings off of Donkey Kong Island. Eventually, Donkey and Diddy managed to defeat King K. Rool and the Kremling Krew.

In the GBA remake, it introduces a mode called "Hero Mode" (also known as "1 Player Hero" on the mode selection screen) (building on the plot-point of Diddy's Hero-in-Training Status from the manual), a Hard Mode where Diddy Kong is the only playable character and clad in yellow just like he wears in the Two-Player Contest in the original SNES game while DK is napping. Diddy and will never encounter DK Barrels or Star Barrels.

A False Fight
Unfortunately, this victory was short-lived as, shortly afterwards, Diddy and Donkey were tricked into a bet by Cranky Kong in Donkey Kong Land, and the two once again set off to reclaim Donkey and Diddy's golden bananas from K. Rool. In the end, Diddy and D.K. managed to defeat King K. Rool and his Kremling Krew once more on their first 8-bit adventure. It wasn't too hard for them, considehring it was a similar fight.

From Sidekick to Hero, Relationship with Dixie Kong
After the events of Donkey Kong Land, all seemed well for Diddy; he even got a girlfriend by the name of Dixie Kong. Unfortunately, disaster soon struck in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, when the Kremling Krew kidnapped Donkey Kong and whisked him away to their own island, Crocodile Isle. K. Rool threatened to never return Donkey Kong unless he was given the Banana Hoard, which Diddy refused to give it because all the trouble that he and Donkey Kong went through to recover it in the previous game. It was up to Diddy and Dixie to venture through Crocodile Isle and rescue Donkey Kong from Kaptain K. Rool. Near the end of Donkey Kong Country 2, Donkey Kong was rescued by Diddy and Dixie and Crocodile Isle sank into the ocean. Diddy had saved the day once more.

The Revival of Crocodile Isle
After DK's rescue, Diddy and the rest of the Kongs once again went back to relaxing in Donkey Kong Land 2. Unfortunately, K. Rool and the Kremlings struck again. After raising their island back up to the surface, the Kremlings kidnapped Donkey Kong once more. Diddy and Dixie had to once again venture to Crocodile Isle and rescue Donkey Kong. After a long journey, Diddy and Dixie rescued DK once more.

From Hero to Captive
Diddy ended up captured in the events of Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!. After the stressing events of Donkey Kong Land 2 Diddy and Donkey decided to go vacationing in the Northern Kremisphere, planning to return to Donkey Kong Island in a few days time. The duo never came back. Dixie, worried about the two Kongs, decided to venture to the Northern Kremisphere to search for them, her cousin Kiddy Kong in tow with her. After Dixie and Kiddy defeated Baron K. Roolenstein, they discovered that KAOS, K. Rool's stand-in leader for the Kremling Krew, contained Diddy and Donkey. It seemed K. Rool had abducted Diddy and Donkey for the purpose of using their brain energy to power KAOS. When rescued, Diddy and Donkey went back to Donkey Kong Island and left Dixie and Kiddy take care of the Kremling Krew.

A Reckless Adventure
A few months after the events of DKC3, Diddy and Donkey, restless, decided to enter a contest to find the recently re-sunken island of Lost World leaving a disgruntled Dixie, Kiddy and K. Rool behind. Dixie and Kiddy set out to prove to Diddy and Donkey that they are both equal to them. Diddy makes an appearance in Donkey Kong Land III (excluding Donkey Kong), however his only appearance is on the Extra Life Balloons.

Race to the rescue
In Diddy Kong Racing, while lazing around one day while the rest of the Kong clan was out, Diddy eventually got a letter from his long-time friend Timber. The letter was asking Diddy for help, as an intergalactic bully named Wizpig had invaded Timber's Island and Timber needed Diddy's help to get rid of him. Diddy and Timber, along with a few friends eventually managed to drive off Wizpig and release those who were under his mind-control.

K. Rool's Revenge, a Groovy Hero's Learning Experience
Soon after the events of Diddy Kong Racing, trouble once again brewed in Donkey Kong 64. King K. Rool, hungry for revenge, tried to attack Donkey Kong Island. Luckily for the island's inhabitants, K. Rool's weapon, the Blast-O-Matic, was damaged after K. Rool's Ship crashed into a small island. To buy time to repair his weapon K. Rool had Donkey Kong's Banana Hoard re-stolen, and had several Kong's kidnapped, Diddy included after he gets a swelled head and takes himself too seriously, challenged and fought the entire Kremling Krew until he was overpowered and captured.

Diddy having been humbled was eventually freed from his captivity in Jungle Japes by Donkey Kong early on in the game. From then on Diddy aided Donkey and the other Kongs with shutting down the Blast-O-Matic and getting rid of King K. Rool by collecting red bananas, Banana Coins and using his abilities gained from Cranky, as well as his electric guitar from Candy and his popguns from Funky. Eventually, K. Rool was defeated by the Kongs in a wrestling match. The method for defeating him for good involved a plan by Funky and Candy in which Funky brought a shoe gun to kick him out of the ring.

Musical Fun
Diddy, along with Donkey and Dixie, became a musical star in Donkey Konga and Donkey Konga 2. He also appears in Donkey Konga 3. He helped them earn plenty of money, which was presumably used to buy Bananas.

Saving the Party
In DK: King of Swing Diddy is capable of being played as in the games adventure mode by collecting twenty-four DK Coins in the games adventure mode with Donkey Kong. He along with Donkey Kong, helps to save the Jungle Jam from the Kremling Krew. DK and Diddy are challenged by K. Rool to a race and a battle. The two apes pummel and KO the king. They put the medals in the barrel, destroy his cruiser and ride his hovercraft all the way home.

Racing Again
Diddy Kong has recently appeared in Diddy Kong Racing DS, a semi-remake of Diddy Kong Racing. In this game, he had to save Timber's Island again from the evil Wizpig, this time with Dixie and Tiny by his side.

Helping a friend save the Universe
Diddy Kong appears in the sequel to DK: King of Swing, DK Jungle Climber as well. In this game, Donkey Kong can use him as a launch to hit objects and reach areas where Donkey Kong can't reach. Diddy is also required to use three powerups: Hammer, Wings, and Torch. The player has to race a low-AI Diddy at the beginning of the game, and in one of the minigames, the Player also has to race a hard-to-beat Diddy. Diddy plays a role in the plot as Donkey Kong's sidekick, as usual.

At the begining of the adventure, Diddy went on vacation with DK and their friends on Sun Sun Island to settle down from their adventures together. Diddy says that he saw a giant banana on top of the the mountain. DK and Diddy decide climb to the top. After reaching the top, they see King K. Rool who jumps into a wormhole. A few moments later, the Kongs are attacked by the giant banana. DK and Diddy decide to shoot it down. After the battle against the giant fruit, a banana-like alien named Xananab emerges from the rubble. Xananab apologys and says he mistakly mistook the apes for Kremlings. He said that King K. Rool stole his Crystal Bananas, a powerful gem that when eaten, it's users become powerful and could used to take over the universe. Diddy and the Kongs, feeling responsible for destroying the ship, decide to help Xananab get the Crystal Bananas back for him.

On Lost Island, Diddy and DK follow Xananab into the wormhole to the Glass Labryrnith, DK stands before a mirror. Xananab says that only DK will have to find the way out, thus having DK find the the exit without Diddy's help. After standing in front of a mirror, Diddy can travel through labryrinth with DK again. Xananab opens another wormhole for them to go through. After reaching the top of the temple, Diddy and the others go through a wormhole into Toybox. The group finds K. Rool. The evil reptile king sends one of his Kriiters stop the gang. Diddy and DK claim their a Crystal Banana.

On Ghost Island, Diddy held a map to show where he and DK were going in the fog. Diddy goes through another wormhole with DK and ends up in Veggie Patch and Toybox. Then, they crossed a bog. Diddy and DK go into K. Rool's factory and corner him (Diddy even called K. Rool "lizard breath" when he said he would conquer the world). K. Rool decides to send his Mega Amp to defeat the Kongs (which turns out to be incomplete). The two Kongs emerge victorious and claim their another Crystal Banana.

On Chill n Char Island, Diddy and the group travel through blizzards and icy cliffs. They go through a wormhole to the Glass Labryrinth and venture through the maze of mirrors. Diddy goes with DK into a volcano. They find Kremling Dock, another one of K. Rool's hideouts and lairs. Diddy and DK confront K. Rool, but dive headfirst into a trap and fall into pit. There, a Kritter appears and posseses a dragon. Diddy and DK once again gain victory and acquire a third Crystal Banana. With two of the five Crystal Bananas left, King K. Rool escapes on the King Kruizer IV to Planet Plantean, Xananab's home planet. Diddy comes up with a plan and suggests they climb the top of the mountain on High High Island.

The two apes are too late to catch the cruiser. Cranky gives them a Booster Barrel to catch the King Kruizer IV. After making it through K. Rool's secrurity, the king sends his final Kritter and finished Mega Amp against Diddy, DK, Cranky, and Xananab. Donkey and Diddy destroy the Mega Amp and claim the fourth Crystal Banana. The Kongs and Xananab catch-up with K. Rool. K. Rool escapes into a wormhole to Planet Plantean. Diddy, DK, and gang follow the Kremling King. After following King K. Rool's trail through worlds they visited (Glass Labryrinth and Toybox), Diddy and the gang arrive at Planet Plantean. Diddy and DK fought against King K. Rool and emerge victory. Diddy and DK try to grab K. Rool. But before they can, K. Rool uses the final Crystal Banana to turn into a giant monstrous form of himself. Diddy fought alongside with DK in their final battle against King K. Rool. After that, K. Rool reverted back to normal, unconscious and belches the last Crystal Banana. Diddy and DK are given lots of bananas by Xananab and the residents of Planet Plantean for saving their planet and get back to their tropical vacation.

Donkey Kong Barrel Blast
Diddy returned to his racing roots as a playable character in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast. Diddy has low speed, but a good boost and handling. His rival is Kip. He is one of the six characters playable at the start of the game.

Stats:
 * Boost: ☆☆☆☆
 * Speed: ☆
 * Agility: ☆☆☆

Mario Party
Diddy also made a few appearances here and there in the Mario Party series. In Mario Party DS, Donkey Kong saw one of Bowser's trap dinner invitations, and, along with Diddy Kong, was going to join the "feast." However, Dry Bones cursed him and caused him to turn into a stone statue. A distressed Diddy told the shrunken Mario characters to help him to remove the curse. After defeating Dry Bones, DK's curse is lifted and both DK and Diddy are grateful. They later show up to break the wand Kamek used to shrink the Mario heroes, returning them to their original size and allowing them to fight Block Bowser.

Diddy's most major appearance is in Mario Party Star Rush, where he is a playable character unlocked at Party Level 11. In Toad Scramble, he can break Barrels much like Donkey Kong can, and his dice block consists of three zeroes and three sevens, providing high risk and high reward.

Canceled appearances
Diddy was to star in both Diddy Kong Pilot and Donkey Kong Racing as a main character and a sidekick, respectively, but these games were canceled before they could be released when Rare moved over to Microsoft.

Physical appearance
Perhaps one of his most famous parts of appearance is that Diddy wears a red cap with the Nintendo logo on it. Other than that, Diddy has a red tank top with stars on it, two big, blue/brown eyes, a long tail that he sometimes uses as an attack, a belly button, and other characteristics of a Spider Monkey. Additionally, while officially being a spider monkey, his appearance also has traits resembling a Bonnet Macaque.

Diddy Kong is the only Kong member that has a tail, like Donkey Kong, who used to have a tail as a child.

Donkey Kong Jr.
Diddy Kong's grandfather, with Diddy wanting to be a hero and DK Jr. himself actively performing heroic acts, they do share some similarities but also contrast each other. Diddy being the very young, eager, excitable, more adventrous, boisterous, energetic, and extroverted one but less humble and experienced and can easily get a swelled head and not accept defeat, whereas Junior being the more mature, civilized, sophisticated, level-headed, well-mannered, respectful, selfless, somewhat reserved/quiet/soft-spoken, dutiful, chivalrous, justice driven, pure of heart boy-scout that's almost completely void of any type of mean-spirited attitude, and the Voice of Reason, yet an introvert that somewhat lacks self-confidence and not believing himself to be courageous.

Diddy (the Red Oni) is comparable to Scrappy-Doo while Junior (the Blue Oni) is akin to Mario/Mickey Mouse.

They both are about using their brains/wits to seek peace, and are capable of being optimistic, helpful, playful/casual fun loving. Diddy reminds Junior of a younger version of himself.

Cranky Kong
Cranky Kong is Diddy Kong's great-grandfather, and while he complains about Diddy Kong receiving a starring role in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest while he was stuck in a gloomy shed, he also calls him a true video game hero and comments that he must take after himself and Donkey Kong.

Donkey Kong
Diddy Kong is Donkey Kong's nephew and little buddy with their brotherly relationship. Together they have been on countless adventures. Diddy looks up to his pal in many ways, but Donkey Kong is most of all a leader to Diddy Kong. Donkey (although he doesn't admit it) sees great potential in Diddy. Together they pair up as an "apish" Mario Bros. They have since usually appeared together in sports games. Diddy Kong has always played second banana in games that Donkey Kong is playable in. Diddy has helped his pal, DK in all his adventures:

Donkey Kong 64: Diddy helped DK find his golden bannanas,the keys to K. Lumsy's cage, and defeat King Krusha Rool.

DK: King of Swing: Diddy helped DK take back the medals K. Rool stole.

DK: Jungle Climber: Diddy helped Donkey Kong find all the crystal bannanas for Xanannab from King K. Rool(and helped save Planet Plantean from a giant King K. Rool.

Donkey Kong Country Returns: Diddy helped DK save the bannana hoard from Tiki Tong and the Tiki Tak Tribe.

Dixie Kong


Dixie Kong, Diddy Kong's love interest and best friend, is another who has been on adventures with Diddy. Diddy tried using his chivalry towards Dixie and almost went solo but she offered to help him save DK since she was worried about Diddy and not wanting him to go alone as Crocodile Isle was too dangerous in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, Dixie has actually saved Diddy once along with her cousin Kiddy Kong. Dixie has also appeared in a few sports games with Diddy. She was one of the Kongs that Diddy brought with him to help Timber in Diddy Kong Racing DS.

Funky Kong
Diddy Kong maintains a great relationship with Funky Kong just as much as he does with Donkey Kong. They both share an affinity for technology/engineering, both have tremendous strength, and Diddy seems to idolize him as he is shown mimicking his surfing pose when he riding on the flower pedals in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze or when he is on Funky's surfboard during an idle animation. They are the only Kongs that wear sunglasses (shown in Diddy's victory animation in DKC2 where he shows off his "funk") and only Kongs that play boomboxes.

Golf
Diddy Kong was playable in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. He was put into the game to act as a partner for Donkey Kong. This was the very first time Diddy Kong appeared in any traditional Mario series game, and it would not be the final time.

Kart Racing
Diddy Kong later managed to appear in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. He was a light character, and his special weapon was the Giant Banana, which is shared with Donkey Kong. Additionally, his partner is Donkey Kong, and his own personal car is the Barrel Train. Diddy also made a cameo at the end of Banana Ruins of 'Mario Kart Arcade GP''. Diddy returns as a playable character in Mario Kart Wii as a middleweight character, but is unlockable this time. He is unlocked by winning the 50cc Lighting Cup, or by playing 450 races. Also joining the race is Funky Kong; the fourth Donkey Kong character to be playable in Mario Kart.''

Tennis
Eventually, Diddy appeared in the Mario Tennis Series. In Mario Power Tennis, he was a speedy character, and was usually paired with Donkey Kong. His Offensive Power Shot and Defensive Power Shot are Acrobatic Banana and Barrel Jet, respectively. Diddy Kong, however, has yet to appear in another Mario Tennis game.

Baseball
In Mario Superstar Baseball, Diddy Kong was once again a playable character. He was a Team Captain in Exhibition Mode, and a Sub-Captain in Challenge Mode. During Challenge Mode, Diddy played on Donkey Kong's team. His special ball is the Boomerang Ball, which launches the ball out like a Boomerang, to trick the other team. This was also the first traditional Mario game appearance of Diddy Kong's girlfriend, Dixie Kong. He is playable in Mario Super Sluggers.

Basketball
Diddy Kong was playable in Mario Hoops 3 on 3. Diddy Kong is a default player, and is of the Speedy class. His Special Shot is the Jet Shot, which summons a jet pack, which attaches to Diddy Kong's back. He then flies towards the basket. Additionally, Dixie Kong also managed to appear in this, once again, as an unlockable character.

Soccer
He is also an unlockable captain in Mario Strikers Charged, unlocked by beating Diddy Kong in the Crystal Cup. Diddy Kong is a Playmaker Captain, and is very swift and agile. His Super Ability is Red Card!, which summons a beam of light that pulls any player, except for Diddy Kong, into the skies for 15 Seconds. A new trait of Diddy Kong in this game is that he does not smile very often, with the exception of his victory scenes, as do most other players.

Appearances in other media
Diddy Kong was featured as a main character on the Donkey Kong Country cartoon. Here, he was still Donkey Kong's little buddy who went on countless adventures with him.

Diddy is second banana and thinks he doesn't have a future in "Kong for a Day". When DK was banished to the White Mountains for crimes he didn't commit, Diddy was now the future ruler of Kongo Bongo Island. But Diddy figures out that he would have to be protector of the island and risk his life (and not get a kiss from Dixie just like DK never got one from Candy). When Diddy arrived to stop General Klump from taking control of the Barrel Factory, the Kritters shot Klaptraps at his feet. Diddy told Cranky's holagram to find Donkey Kong. DK arrived and thwarted the plan. Diddy learned that he made a great sidekick instead of being in DK's place.

Diddy is shown to be afraid of sharks and shots shown in Booty and the Beast and Speak No Evil, Dude when he was getting his Kongo Bongo Gone Wrongo Vacination by Cranky and Kaptian Skurvy said he was going to feed him and DK to sharks.

Diddy was voiced by Andrew Sabiston during the entire run of the Donkey Kong Country cartoon.

He also appeared in the Club Nintendo comic "Donkey Kong Country", serving a similar role to the one in the game of the same name. Diddy's task is to watch over the Banana Hoard, however King K. Rool finds him and puts him into a Barrel. When discovered by Donkey Kong, both start searching for the villain.

During the events of the comic "Super Mario in Die Nacht des Grauens", published in the same magazine, he lives in a skyscraper in Brooklyn together with many other Nintendo characters. Due to a contract signed by Wario, the skyscraper is invaded by several monsters. One of them, Chuckie, invades the Kongs' room, while Diddy and Donkey are watching TV. They are terrified by the evil doll, but get rescued by Mario, Link, and Kirby.

Diddy makes another appearance in the Club Nintendo comic "Donkey Kong in: Banana Day 24". The Kongs have to save the world from freezing, since a giant U.F.O. is pulling the Earth away from the sun. Together with Donkey, Dixie, Kiddy and Cranky, Diddy enters a space shuttle and flies into space, in order to talk to the aliens. As it turns out, the reason for them pulling away the Earth is that they mistook the planet for a giant coconut. Diddy finds a solution to this problem by giving bananas to the aliens, and in return they promise to return the Earth to its original position. Even though it wasn't official, Diddy Kong also makes an appearance in the Skylanders Series as an attachment to Donkey Kong's Barrel Blaster vehicle as well as when he is summoned by Donkey Kong's Soul Gem move. He doesn't make much of an appearance after that.

Trivia

 * Diddy Kong is the only Kong to appear in every Donkey Kong Country/Land game.
 * Diddy Kong is the oldest of all the younger Kong Family members.
 * Diddy Kong has an overachiever attitude and his personality is similar to a typical monkey's; he is fast, quick, agile, nimble, hyper, energetic, can climb on trees and walls very well and has great grip in his hands, feet and tail to do so, enjoys eating and hoarding bananas, and has absolute monkey acts.
 * He is similar to Tails from Sonic the Hedgehog, both are excitable, overachieving, child sidekicks to the teenage-like superheroes (DK and Sonic), have an affinity for brains/wits/technology, capable of flight, became superheroes themselves, and fight an obese antagonist that has access to advanced technology.
 * In Donkey Kong 64 manual, Diddy is first referred to as DK's little "nephew wannabe", the "wannabe" part refers to him wanting to be a superhero like DK (as described in the DKC manual being a "Donkey Kong wannabe") rather than wanting to be his nephew, since Diddy already is his nephew. Multiple Rare websites and Nintendo websites have called him DK's nephew.
 * Diddy Kong is the only Kong that has a tail (aside from Baby Donkey Kong) which he uses for his tail whip attacks and Simian Spring.
 * In Donkey Kong 64 Diddy is called the "Champ of Chimpanzees" during the King Krusha K. Rool fight, has an ability called "Chimpy Charge" and called a "careless chimp" in the manual by Cranky despite him having a monkey tail. These phrases possibly hint that Diddy is either a hybrid between a chimpanzee and a monkey or that he's a chimpanzee species Kong who's tail didn't fall off during his infant years, or that he is a monkey and these are just phrases like how Funky Kong calls Diddy a gorilla ("Yo Gorillas! Go see old man Cranky, he can help you out!") on DKC when when both Kongs are present; unless he actually is partially gorilla, Diddy is merely a spider monkey.
 * Diddy throughout his appearances has shown multiple abilities as being the fastest Kong thanks to his energetic spunk and sprightly feisty excitable hyper-active adventurous confident prankster personality, his ball-juggling skills, singing, dancing, rapping, boom-box playing, Jetpack piloting, agile jumping and nimble climbing, kart/hovercraft/plane racing, guitar playing, bongo playing, hammer wielding, can fly after wings are equipped, torch wielding, feather wielding, popgun shooting, blowing small gusts of wind, surviving Tiki Tong's explosion that launched him into space along with surviving atmospheric reentry, can breathe and react normally in space, with his Jetpack he can fly into space in a matter of seconds, and unintentionally/accidently (as he was unprepared) using his Chimpy Charge to headbutt the Moon onto the Tiki Tong Tower showcasing his strong skull.
 * In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, Diddy's limbs can stretch farther similar to Lanky Kong.
 * Diddy is generally a very positive, happy/enthusiastic guy with a curious fixation on superheroes and justice, standards of what makes a superhero, and what a superhero is supposed to do, his hat-stomping outbursts normally only arise from his own mistakes, he considers himself an apprentice/sidekick of DK (Diddy looks down on himself), until DKC2. He's a little sensitive also doesn't take too kindly to being ignored.
 * Diddy Kong was originally a redesigned Donkey Kong Jr., however since Nintendo was not fond of the redesign by finding it drastically different, they told Rare to either have Jr. in his original appearance, or make the redesign it's own new character. Rare chose the latter choice and the redesign became Diddy Kong, he did inherit some of Jr.'s smarts (Junior is reminded of a younger version of himself when he sees Diddy), and Diddy being the Red Oni to Jr.'s Blue Oni.
 * Donkey Kong Jr. in the Saturday Supercade had a personality somewhat like Scrappy-Doo from Scooby-Doo, complete with his catchphrase MONKEY MUSCLE!!. Diddy Kong however in the main series seems to have fully adopted Jr.'s cartoon counterpart's traits barring the catchphrase while Junior became more of a Mario/Mickey Mouse type character. In Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Diddy strikes up a fighting pose similar to Scrappy during the boss cutscenes. To add, both Diddy and Scrappy are the nephews of the main characters (Donkey Kong and Scooby-Doo respectively).
 * Diddy's Chimpy Charge's charge-up sound effect sounds very reminiscent to the running sound effect from Scooby-Doo.
 * Some artwork for DKC2, DK64 (and his in-game model), Diddy Kong Racing, and in the sidelines of the two Mario Kart Arcade GP titles depicts Diddy Kong with blue eyes.
 * On the other hand, Super Smash Bros. Brawl gives him brown eyes. The color of his eyelids varies depending on his appearances, sometimes they're either brown (like in DK64 and Diddy Kong Racing DS or tan (like in DKC, DKC2, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U) and mostly he has no eyelids at all (though he still blinks but his eyes remain open).
 * Cranky Kong, Wrinkly Kong, DK Jr., and Diddy Kong have conjoined eyes whereas modern Donkey Kong doesn't.
 * In the Subspace Emissary of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Diddy and the Star Fox duos team-up relates to the Japanese fairy tale “Momotaro’s” comrades; dog, monkey, and pheasant. Diddy simply reflects with a monkey, while Fox’s family belongs to a Canidae, whereas Falco is actually a pheasant, not a falcon.
 * Diddy is shown mimicking Funky's surfing pose when he riding on the flower pedals in the final scenes of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze or when he is on Funky's surfboard during an idle animation.

Gallery
Diddy Kong