Diddy Kong

Diddy Kong (Japanese: ディディーコング, Hepburn: Didī Kongu) is a fictional character who appears in games belonging to the Donkey Kong and Mario video game franchises, debuting in the 1994 Donkey Kong series game, Donkey Kong Country. Nintendo designer Kevin Bayliss commented Diddy Kong was "penciled in" as a spider monkey, although he is not specifically referenced as belonging to a particular species. He lives with Donkey Kong on Donkey Kong Island in the Kongo Jungle, and is identified by his red hat with the Nintendo logo, and his red shirt with stars.

Diddy Kong is Donkey Kong's sidekick and best friend. Rare first referred to Diddy as DK's nephew in September 1999 on their website. This was followed in November 1999 where the manual for Donkey Kong 64 called him "Donkey's little nephew wannabe". The official cast for the game in 2002 listed him as "DK's nephew" as well. He was originally created by Donkey Kong Country developer Rare as an updated version of Donkey Kong Jr., but he was renamed, due to Nintendo's response. In the second game Dixie Kong was introduced and they were described as "inseparable friends", with Cranky referring to Dixie as "that girlfriend of his".

Diddy Kong has made some appearances in the Donkey Kong series, appearing in every Donkey Kong Country game and Donkey Kong Land game, notably as the lead character in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest with his inseparable friend Dixie Kong as his partner. He received a spin-off called Diddy Kong Racing, and more recently appeared as co-star to Donkey Kong in Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Through his relationship with Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong has become a prominent character in the Mario franchise. He has also become a playable character in the Super Smash Bros. series. Outside video games, Diddy Kong appeared in the TV show Donkey Kong Country, where he is played by Andrew Sabiston.

Since appearing in Donkey Kong Country, Diddy has received mostly positive reception, one strong enough to create a fan following, resulting in Diddy getting his own spin-off. He has been featured in several pieces of merchandise, including stuffed toy, candies, and two Amiibo figures.