Nerd Mentality

Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat

Posted by Jason.

You know that feeling you get when a video game bad guy annoys the hell out of you, the one where you want to jump into the game and beat the snot out of him? Well Donkey Kong Jungle Beat is the quasi-fulfillment of that desire.

The premise of the game is simple: Donkey Kong must become the king of the jungle by exploring the various jungle realms and collecting as many bananas (also referred to as "beats") as possible. Bananas, which are scattered through each level and dropped by various enemies, can be collected either by walking over them or clapping in close proximity to them. Clapping will net you more bananas than walking on them, and performing successive maneuvers in a row will build up a combo meter that serves as a multiplier for the bananas you collect. The bananas are also your health, so any damage taken comes out of your beat count.

Each kingdom is comprised of the parts – two exploration levels and a boss fight. At the end of each kingdom you are awarded up to three crests (bronze, silver, and gold) based on the number of beats collected.

The controls are just as simple, implementing the bongo controllers in a surprisingly natural manner. Nintendo seems to have smoothed out the controls a lot since the Donkey Konga mini-games, as the controls respond very well. In fact, it's the game's controls (or rather controller) that makes the game so addictively fun.

To be perfectly honest, if I were to have played this exact same game using a standard controller the score would be very low. The bongos, however, add a physical element to the game that sends the fun level through the roof. There's something about physically pounding your controller in order to beat down a bad guy that is just immeasurably satisfying, and also stress relieving. If nothing else beating down your bongos will help channel the murderous desires that all those experts claim are being etched into your brain by the numerous violent video games out on the market. Unless you plan on killing someone with a bongo, in which case this is the perfect training simulation.

DK Jungle Beat is not an overly complex nor difficult game. Once you adjust to the controls you'll be nabbing all three crests on your first run through a kingdom quite easily. About the only way this game will present a significant challenge is if you lack any measure of coordination and reaction time. The simplicity would actually be mind numbing in any other game, but in DKJB it actually helps you focus on the physical nature of the game.

Yes, just like Dance Dance Revolution and other games of that nature the fun is mainly contained in the physical activity of playing. Expect any friends watching you play to be vaguely disinterested at best; at least until they take a turn playing.

The only real spot where the game play is truly suffering is the boss battles. The game's kingdoms are grouped into fours with different takes on the same four bosses in each group. It's a bit of a let down to get to a boss and say "Hey, this is the same guy I beat three kingdoms back but with a different hair color." The developers really could have worked to add some more variety to the boss monsters. Heck, even if the patterns were the same having a completely different bad guy to fight would help a lot.

Surprisingly the music in the game isn't all that impressive. The best you can really say about it is that it doesn't distract you from the game. This would normally be an excellent quality for game music; however, I expect more from a game that's driven by a controller shaped like a musical instrument. I would have really liked to see music and beats intertwined a bit more into the game play if for no other reason than to validate, to some degree, why Donkey Kong is being controlled by a plastic bongo.

This game gets an N-Philes score of B+.

Donkey Kong Jungle Beat is a simplistic, yet addictive game that will draw you in with its physically satisfying bongo interface. Though the enemies are very repetitive, you'll at least let off some stress while you literally beat the stuffing out them. If you don't have the DK Bongos and have no intention of buying them, then this is not the game for you. But for those who do have the bongos, or want them, then this is an excellent addition to your game collection.

Posted in: Reviews

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