Donkey Kong Jungle Beat (GameCube) Reader Review

Alrighty then, another sweep of the collection, and I've found the next title to have a bash at (literally).
Next review will appear at...3...2...1...
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Any die-hard fan throughout the 6th console generation era will tell you that the Gamecube didn't exactly fare well, whichever way you looked at it. Shoddy 3rd party support, mostly oweing to the control and memory restrictions; poor sales performance, no multimedia support (in comparison to the other consoles), and an image geared to the younger crowd.
One area the console did excel at however, is the makers support, games-wise. Although Nintendo's franchise creations were arguably inferior to the Nintendo 64's games, they were mostly the system sellers, the main attractions.
In what could be seen as the precursor to the Wii's demographic, late into the life of the GC, Nintendo released a game called Donkey Konga, along with special Bongo Drums. These were intended for anyone to use, such as was their simplicity, and the accompanying game attempted to get players drumming to themes and music tracks.
This concept took off reasonably well, although it couldn't hope to get Gamecube among the bigger players again. Regardless, Nintendo gave the bongos peripheral some more support, namely in the shape of this game, Jungle Beat.

First off, it has to be said, you need the Bongos for this. The game allows traditional Gamecube pad support, but it is the immeasurably inferior control option, and a lot of the uniqueness of Jungle Beat is lost in the process.

As far as story goes in this game, it doesn't really matter. You're Donkey Kong, and you're going to beat the crap out of anything in your way. Enough said.

To describe the core gameplay, you'd need the words 'Side-scrolling platformer', 'beat-em-up', and perhaps a little 'stunt-gameplay' on the side.
The main controls are pretty simple, left Drum is to move left, or throw left arm; and right Drum is for right direction and arm, as you would expect. Clapping, as in physically, controls a shockwave for multiple purposes, and hitting both Drums together make Donkey Kong jump.
From such a seemingly restricted control scheme, you might think that the levels and actions would reflect this, right?
Nope.
It's really quite impressive how much improvisation the developers can do with the bongos. Anything you can think of in a traditional platformer, you can find here, amongst more innovative ideas. Ever fought a giant plant with the head of a chicken? Or perhaps a break-dancing Panda?

For high-score traditionalists, the game has you covered. Another goal the game gives you, aside from the get-to-the-end one, is to collect as many bananas as you can (hey, D.K, Bananas, what did you expect?), and the total at the end contributes to the medal you'll get. Bronze, Silver, Gold, or even Platinum if you're super-human.
The aforementioned bananas also act as D.K's health bar, and damage from enemies/obstacles etc. will see you lose some, so be cautious. Whilst collecting these bananas (the Shockwave technique helps greatly) bouncing off walls and vines (which I labeled as stunts earlier) will greatly increase the totals, so there is great incentive to have repeated attempts at each level.
This all adds up to some fantastic and enjoyable gameplay, amongst other things...

Such as the graphics. This game looks great, no doubt about it. From the smoke effects, the pixar-like quality of D.K's fur and the sublime levels, this is one of Gamecube's best. Many of the resources from this game were carried over to the developer team's nxt project, Super Mario Galaxy, and it really shows.

The sound is also very well done, and fits well with the title. Many classic Donkey Kong themes pop up here, and some new ones you'll gladly listen to.

Unfortunately, one area the game doesn't succeed so well in, is the longevity. The aforementioned High-score temptation might bring back players after the games' completion, but little else will.
Also, whilst the main levels all feel unique and new, the bosses sadly don't. For each world, the line-up is the same, only differentiating in difficulty, and the look and tactics of the Kong bosses.

Don't let these minor niggles put you off though, Jungle Beat is still one of the Gamecube's finest, and if you can get it (with the bongos), then definitely go for it.
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