Expresso's Racing

Expresso Racing

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Expresso Racing is a racing minigame hosted by Cranky Kong in the Game Boy Advance remake of Donkey Kong Country 2. It involves Expresso racing against three other ostrich (each being a red, blue, or green palette swap of him) on a horizontal path. It can also be played from the "Bonus Games" sub-menu.

History

During their adventure, Diddy and Dixie Kong must collect Golden Feathers to increase Expresso's stats, and in turn, boost his performance during races. At times, this is the only way to make Expresso a formidable opponent during races. At Cranky's Hut, the Kongs must have at least four Golden Feathers to select the first option, "Cranky's Surprise". Cranky Kong introduces the game to the Kongs, and they are led to a menu divided into four stats, each having a total of ten bars: Strength, Speed, Flight, and Boost. The Kongs can individually increase each stat with a Golden Feather.

After completing a race, the Kongs are awarded with a trophy, which is placed on a shelf in Cranky's Hut. The quality of the trophy depends on which place Expresso finishes in (e.g. first place for gold, second for silver, etc.) The Kongs are rewarded with a DK Coin for each race that they win, and a photograph of Cranky Kong if they manage to complete every challenge.

Races

Every race takes place in a world of Crocodile Isle, and have their their own obstacles. Some feathers and boosts also appear; they respectively allow Expresso to temporarily glide through the air and to give a small speed boost.

• Ship Deck Dash: The race in Gangplank Galleon. Despite the name, this race takes place at a jungle, with almost no obstacles, except for the small plains.
• Magma Spurt: The race located in Crocodile Cauldron. This race takes place at a volcanic area, which features new obstacles, including taller plains and a blue liquid that slows down the ostriches.
• Swampy Swoop: A race in Krem Quay, a swamp area. This time, the main obstacle are the small swamps, that slows down the ostriches just like the blue liquid.
• Fairground Fall: This race takes place at Krazy Kremland. Here, the ostriches can easily fall in the various pitfalls of the course. They can use logs to cross them.
• Spooky Sprint: The race in Gloomy Gulch, which features a purple liquid that slows down the player even more than the blue liquid.
• Creepy Castle: Located at K. Rool's Keep, the ostriches will find a brown liquid, slowing them down, and pits, in which they can easily fall.
• Lost World Leap: The last and hardest race, located at the Lost World. Aside from the pits and the blue liquid, the ostriches will find spikes in some parts, harmful to them.

Controls

• – moving Expresso in the desired direction
• (holding) – to accelerate
• – jump
• → – gliding in the air (uses a feather)
• → grants a small boost (uses a boost)

Trivia

• The names of Expresso's opponents differ per race. Common names for the other ostriches include Zippy, Rippa, Monsoon, Aftershock, and Sneakers.