Donkey Kong Jungle Beat
Last weekend I walked into K-mart and seen Donkey Konga for the Nintendo Gamecube with drums for $35. A bargain I couldn't resist. I played it for about 5 minutes before I decided it wasn't for me. Drumming to the beat of music just isn't my thing. But $35 isn't going to bring on buyers regret. So I set my sights to find a copy of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat — a platformer that uses the drums.
Like most Nintendo games in Australia, it has been discontinued and you would be extremely lucky to find a copy on a store shelf. Thank god for Ebay. I picked it up brand new for a bargain price and 3 days later I'm drumming to a new beat.
Donkey Kong Jungle Beat has the charm of Donkey Kong Country but playing using the drums is so much more fun than using a controller. To move left you beat the left drum and conversly you beat the right drum to move right. To jump you beat both drums simultaniously. Do this again whilst your in the air and you'll do a stomp ala Mario's butt stomp. You can also do wall jumps and other combinations to perform tricks. The drum has a mic so clapping your hands is like a third button, which in this game is context sensitive. Clap near bananas and they are automatically grabbed; clap near and enemy and it stuns them; clap near an item and you can pick it up and then clap again the throw it.
In a way it shares a lot of the gameplay elements of Donkey Kong Country. In place of barrels are monkeys hanging from trees that swing you in the direction you need to travel. You need to clap as you pass these monkeys for them to grab you. You also get to ride a variety of animals and the bosses are over the top. I'm not sure if there is a story. Who cares.
Fighting bosses is great fun. Like usual you have to figure out it's pattern and weakness. And then when you know him down, you jump onto him, the camera zooms in, and you go into congo fury until he bucks you off. "Oooh, that's gotta hurt."
My only gripe is that I wish there were grips on the side of the drums so they wouldn't slip from between my knees.
I felt pretty stupid drumming to Donkey Konga but whilst I probably look stupid, and sound stupid playing Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, I don't care. It's so much fun. If you can get this game with the drums, I highly recommend you grab it. My arms are rested now so I'm going back for some more drumming action.
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