Lawrence.com

Donkey Konga and the DK bongos hit a few months ago to good reviews and mild acceptance among gamers. Using two bongo drums mixed with clapping put a new spin on rhythm games in the tradition of Dance Dance Revolution. Donkey Kong Jungle Beat steps out of the music/rhythm gameplay element and serves up an amusing platformer that you must use the bongos to control. While it may sound a little awkward, the result is insanely fun.

Simply, the goal of DKJB is to collect bananas (or "beats") in each side-scrolling level. Tap the right bongo to go right, left to go left, both simultaneously to jump and clap to grab enemies or beats. You can perform combos by jumping off walls or cliffs which further multiplies the beats you get during the combo. Beats are also your health meter, so be careful, as your beat total at after the boss fight (after two short side-scrolling levels) will determine which crest you get. You have to collect so many crests to open up new worlds.

This gameplay mechanic may come of as a gimmick and make you wonder why you couldn't merely use a controller for the fun platformer. Still, the Bongo controller works beautifully even when performing complex combos. The Bongos become even more satisfying to use when you get to grab a bigger enemy. Grabbing one of the bigger baddies sends you to a close up where the bongos now become right and left punches. You alternate hitting each side as the brawny DK whales on the enemy simultaneously. It's an extremely satisfying sensation, one that happens often and will eventually give your pectorls a decent workout.

Boss battles also employ this idea to some extent. Some battles are simple face-offs where clapping dodges and the bongos punch. Others are similar to the levels, trying to catch an object to then throw it at an enemy's hot spot to stun it, then whale on the hot spot. Although the same few boss characters keep getting recycled for some reason, their abilities keep getting harder and more complex.

The initial 12 worlds and final battle will take you no longer than 3-4 hours to complete, even without experimenting too much with the combos. But to get the higher crests and to collect multiple beats, you'll have to go through the levels again to collect those beats under a high combo multiplier. Given how much fun it is to play and how clever some of the level designs are, it's likely you'll give it another run through. Also, there are a few more worlds to unlock after the initial 12 to keep the gameplay fresh.

The character models boast a clean, rounded, early CG look to it all that artistically works and runs at a solid 60 frames per second. The whole presentation is efficient and effective and exudes the polish we expect out of Nintendo. The whimsical sound presentation takes you through a DK Jungle experience with all the appropriate grunts, monkey noises and instruments

It's a bummer that a multiplayer component is not present in any form. I can imagine some cool face-off fights, banana races or just playing cooperatively using joint combos. Alas, nothing this time around.

This is the kind of gameplay twist I like seeing from Nintendo. Unfortunately, I don't see any third parties following suit with this idea, but I hope to see more of the same fun innovations from Nintendo in the future, just hopefully a little lengthier.

Graphics: A-

Sound: A-

First Play: A

Last Play: B-

Gameplay: A-

Overall: 89% B+