Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat (GameCube) Review

The newly formed Tokyo group of Nintendo employees have gone on record of stating that Donkey Kong Jungle Beat really does not need a story line and who can blame them for saying so. Just look at it as the once villainous ape turning over a new leaf and aiming to become the King of Jungle again. Plain and simple – platform action of the highest order, with innovative bongo-led controls thrown in for good measure. Stop asking questions and get on with it…!

One of the main criticisms aimed at Donkey Konga was that Namco had not used the power of the GameCube as well as they possibly could, with some classing the final result as little more than a Super NES title presented in a higher resolution. Clearly burned by these harsh words, Nintendo has stepped up to show that its latest home console can in fact house graphically impressive titles that make the gamer sit back and just go ‘wow’. Jungle Beat does just that – it has gorgeous 3D flowing out of every pore, from its well-formed characters to the interactive backgrounds. All this is melded with rich colours, a high frame-rate and an overall sheen that was last evident in Pikmin 2.

The soundtrack is a rather mixed one, but overall it comes across as a positive aspect of the game, just about. The main theme that we all know and love returns from the Donkey Kong Country series that Rare so masterfully created. Then there are a few other tracks that appear here, there and everywhere that are simply ‘okay’, nothing special that will stick in your head once the system has been shut down. The fact that it is Rare’s old tune that is most prominent is a little worrying, but the game more than makes up for this in the blasting sound effects throughout. Stomp, slamming, punching, smashing – all is accounted for and brilliant when blasting through some surrounding speakers with a powerful bass system attached. Perhaps that is why Nintendo toned down the music…

There is one big thing that has to be remembered about Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat and that is that we are not dealing with your average platform title here, oh no. If you were in the mind that Nintendo had finally got round to creating the much-vaunted Donkey Kong Country 4: Donkey Kong World, then you will unfortunately be massively disappointed. However, put that disappointment to one side for a moment and try to keep an open mind – this is a platform title controlled purely using…bongos. Yes, bongos. No early April Fool’s joke here; and it is a system that works splendidly, actually making the game far more enjoyable that it might have otherwise been.

Created by the recently formed Tokyo department, Nintendo might not have manufactured exactly what the fans said they wanted, but instead has brought a refreshing spin to the genre that has been accused many times of lacking the innovation to keep it going in the next generation. But just how on Earth can you use the bongos, that many had thought would merely be used for the Donkey Konga rhythm series, you may ask. Well, tapping left and right slowly makes DK walk in the specified direction, rapidly hitting left-right repeatedly results in running, banging both left and right has the simian jumping up in the air and clapping sends out a resounding blast of noise that stuns and sometimes kills surrounding enemies. But there is far more to it than these basic moves, as is explained to your further into the game.

String moves together and you can wind up with large combination moves that augment your ‘Beats’ level considerably more than just collecting the bananas around the various stages. If you are wondering what Beats are, they are the equivalent of a general health bar. Lose all of your beats and it is game over; collecting enough and you get all three possible medals after the boss stage, granting access to extra levels for you to play around on. Quite a simple formula, yet an ingenious one. Other than the basics and combos, pressing both left and right to jump, then doing so again in mid-air causes a butt-slam (akin to Yoshi’s and Mario’s), jumping at a wall and hitting jump again has you wall-jump (á la Samus in Metroid) and clapping at the right time and in the right situation results in DK being swung upwards and all over to reach new sections of a level.

The platform action itself works wonderfully, but the boss fights are equally impressive, with your bongo skills being tested to the maximum on many occasions. For example, the first main boss you have to face places you in a Super Punch Out!! style situation. Trying to land hits on the raging beast in front of you s not as simple as banging as hard and fast as possible; instead dodging and catching him off-guard works best. Then there is one where you must stun the projectiles being launched at you, then catch them and chuck them violently at your opponent. This might sound simple, but with you hands aching and your heart pounding, Jungle Beat certainly gives you an exhilarating experience that many platform games lack nowadays, and for that Nintendo must be commended...

Unfortunately Donkey Kong Jungle Beat is not overly taxing, but there is a lot of scope for returning to previously completed levels to try and out-do your highest score, unlock hidden extras and gain those elusive gold medals at the end to open completely everything up in the game. Clearly practice from playing Donkey Konga is somewhat beneficial and can make the experience a rather simpler one, but even newcomers will become accustomed to the controls and find everything on the wrong side of easy. Do not be put off by the length of the game – there is a lot of replayability in each level and the bosses can prove pleasantly frustrating at times. It really is so much fun…just a shame that there is no two-player option!