Weapon Balloon

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The five types of Item Balloons.

An Item Balloon is a type of balloon in Diddy Kong Racing and its Nintendo DS remake, Diddy Kong Racing DS. As their name suggests, Item Balloons, when touched, grant the racers with items to attack their opponents or improve the racers' performance. Many Item Balloons appear in every course in the game. When touched, the balloons break and disappear for a short amount of time, but appear soon after for another player to grab.

Item Balloons come in five different colors: red, blue, yellow, green, and rainbow, and the type of item given by them depends on their color. For example, Green Balloons give the player an oil slick, while Blue Balloons give them a speed boost. Additionally, balloons of the same color can be hit multiple times to earn powered up versions of the items earned from them. However, if a balloon of a different color is hit, the weapon from this balloon replaces the previous item, downgrading it. In the DS version of the game, this is changed so that the previous item is not changed when a balloon of a different color is hit, and the balloon instead simply breaks.

Items Given by Balloon

Note that some balloons give different weapons in the DS version. Also note that Power-Up Token upgrades are exclusive to the remake as well.

Red Balloon
Number of Balloons	Weapon (Nintendo 64 version)	Weapon (Nintendo DS version)
	One semi-homing missile that can fire only forward.	One semi-homing missile that can fire only forward.
	One homing missile	Five normal missiles
	10 semi-homing missiles	One homing missile
+	None	Three missiles that circle the racer and launch themselves at nearby opponents.

Blue Balloon
Number of Balloons	Weapon (Nintendo 64 version)	Weapon (Nintendo DS version)
	A small speed boost	A small speed boost
	A bigger speed boost	A bigger speed boost
	A large speed boost	A large speed boost
+	None	Activates auto-pilot and enables the user to gain up to three speed boosts through the Touch Screen.

Green Balloon
Number of Balloons	Weapon (Nintendo 64 version)	Weapon (Nintendo DS version)
	An oil slick or gas cloud	An oil slick or gas cloud
	A land or floating mine	A land or floating mine
	A bubble trap	A bubble trap
+	None	Five fake Silver Coins

Yellow Balloon
Number of Balloons	Weapon (Nintendo 64 version)	Weapon (Nintendo DS version)
	A short-lasting shield. If the players run into opponents, the opponents spin out.	A short-lasting shield.
	A longer-lasting shield. If the players run into opponents, the opponents spin out.	A longer-lasting shield.
	File:Sheild 3.png A long-lasting shield. If the players run into opponents, the opponents spin out.	File:Sheild 3.png A long-lasting shield.
+	None	A shield that makes the player turn invisible.

Rainbow Balloon
Number of Balloons	Weapon (Nintendo 64 version)	Weapon (Nintendo DS version)
	A weak, yellow magnet	A weak, yellow magnet
	An advanced, red magnet	An advanced, red magnet
	A powerful magnet the pulls opponents towards the player	A powerful magnet the pulls opponents towards the player
+	None	A missile with the target selected through the Touch Screen.

Gallery

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  Red Balloon

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  Yellow Balloon

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  Rainbow Balloon

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  Green Balloon

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  Blue Balloon