Pandora's Box: The Ultimate GameCube Tier List

#23: Donkey Kong Jungle Beat

Rating: E10+

Players: 1

Price Range: ~$29 USD

A 2D platformer involving Donkey Kong.

This is a very unusual game.

I believe this is the game I got when I was younger besides I-Ninja and Pac-Man World 2 with Pac-Man Vs.

Now, the main gimmick here is that it is played with the DK Bongos, a very bizarre controller that is barely used at all besides this game and the Donkey Konga games, ones I have not and will not play.

What many people will tell you is that you need to play with this...thing in order to actually...play it.

This is actually false, as you can actually play the game with a controller, albeit in a very weird fashion. You see, the Bongos have you physically clap as an attack and to do several actions and you have to push down the left or right bongo to move in that direction. With a controller, you have to tap left or right repeatedly to move left or right, push A to jump, and...use the C-Stick to clap. Not the most intuitive of controls and could be levied as a criticism, but I got used to it.

But man, this is a pretty good game.

You see, the game is separated by Kingdoms based on a fruit (because of Donkey Kong, I guess), with about two stages and a boss at the end. In these two stages, you obtain bananas (called Beats), where clapping (with the C Stick) in range letting you nab some, with a combo system of collecting as many as you can before touching the ground. However, these Beats are not only your score that dictated the Crest you got at the end of the Kingdom, which are basically medals that go to gold and platinum for bragging rights, but also your health, in which you lose them if you get hit. This causes you to play as perfectly as possibly through the stages and rack up combos before the boss, where you have to degrade their Beats before yours. This adds a bit of replayability to get better Crests.

The bosses are also really good, especially the Kong battles. These are essentially Punch-Out!!-style one-on-one fights where you need to dodge with the Control Stick and punch with the C Stick (I think, I haven't played it in a while). These fights are, like Punch-Out!!, a puzzle in of itself and are actually quite difficult. Karate Kong is easily the hardest of them all, with hiss second phase involving his kicks in the air tasking you with dodging many in succession, which is difficult when he can fake you out many times by going slower than usual. The others are quite cool too, consisting of the types involving the warthog (Hogs), elephant tanks (Tusks), and a giant bird and its egg (Rocs). These other ones are in the style of the platforming.

Aesthetically, the game is also quite great, with buttery smooth framerates and graphics that still hold up.

However, some iffy parts exist. The bosses besides some of the Kongs are reused out the wazoo, the controls may not sit well with everyone, and some may find it quite challenging given that you need better Crests to unlock more Kingdoms. The story is also basically nonexistent.

Still, overall, the game is really fun. Besides a Wii port, it never saw release elsewhere, so if you are open-minded and have the time, try it!