N-Philes

Donkey Konga

Posted by Jeff.

The popularity of rhythm games is undeniable. With Dance Dance Revolution being the greatest success story in the genre, most people can understand why these games are so easy to fall in love with. One of the biggest reasons for the popularity of this franchise is its unique way to control the game, which is done through a dance pad that keys the movements of your feet rather than your fingers. Sure, it can be controlled with a regular controller, but that's nowhere near as fun as using a dance mat; the way the game was meant to be played. Unfortunately Konami has no intention of bringing the DDR series to GameCube owners, and so the onus has been left to others to bring the genre to the system. Picking up the gauntlet is Nintendo and Namco, who have collaborated to create Donkey Konga. Even before its North American release, the title has proven only to be the introduction in a number of games that plan to make use of Nintendo's unique take on the rhythm genre. Fortunately for everyone, Donkey Konga is an amazingly addictive game, which gets even better with the more people involved.

Before getting into the gameplay, it is important to take a quick look at Donkey Konga's version of the dance mat: the DK Bongos. Packaged with each copy of Donkey Konga is a single pair of bongos, which are fairly similar to the normal drums that you hit to the beat of music. Solid and sturdy, the DK Bongos are what sets this game apart from the standard, and are truly the way the game should be played, as opposed to the typical affair with the controller. Theoretically, a controller can be used if you like, but much of the style and charm is lost playing in this fashion, and especially for multiplayer, it's a much better idea just to put in the cash for an extra set of bongos.

While many may question what immersive gameplay could arise from hitting two simple bongos, the developers don't try to change your conceptions and instead deliver what you expect of the game, but with a package worth purchasing. The mechanics itself is simple, good for young or old, male or female, new or veteran gamers; Donkey Konga pretty much sums the Nintendo philosophy to a T, gameplay suited for absolutely anyone. The game screen is broken down into a horizontal line that cuts through the display with icons that traverse the route. These icons move from the right to left and as the icon approaches the end of the screen, the player must hit one of four beats that correspond to the image of the icon. A yellow note (a barrel filled only on the left side) means hit only the left bongo. A red note (a barrel filled only on the right side) indicates you hit only the right drum. A purple note (a fully filled barrel) means hit both bongos simultaneously. And finally, a blue star shaped object means you have to clap your hands together, which is received by a sensor found directly on the bongos themselves. The only problem with this is that the sensor tends to be rather sensitive, and cannot decipher one sound from the next, so often it picks up almost any noise. Nintendo and Namco help to alleviate this through a sensitivity setting that can be adjusted in the main menu.

Of course, just hitting your bongos ambiguously isn't the point of this game. All this drumming and clapping happens to be in tune with music, and that's where the rhythm part comes in. Once players get into it, they'll be following the beat and anticipating notes, and hopefully they'll reach the point where they are one with the tune. The music list in the game is all available from the beginning, and the choices are pretty good. While it's inevitable that most folks will probably end up avoiding a few, it's a rare enough occurrence to consider negligible since nearly all of the 33 song selections in the game are a lot of fun to drum to. Surprisingly this holds true even to the children songs. Drumming to ‘Bingo' or ‘Row, Row, Row Your Boat' is still a huge amount of fun, for some unexplainable reason. For those unwilling to rock to the beat of kids songs there are other classics such as Wild Thing and We Will Rock You, along with more modern tracks like All The Small Things. Keep note though that none of the songs were recorded by their original artists, they were merely licensed by Nintendo for use. Finally, Donkey Konga wouldn't be a Nintendo music game without the essential classic Nintendo theme songs such as Mario and Zelda to drum along to.

All of this adds up for a fun game in its own right, though the concept grows stale a little bit more quickly if you're stuck with only the single-player mode to enjoy. Even so, you may find yourself pulling out the bongos every now and then just for a couple quick rounds. Where the game truly shines is multiplayer. It might seem awkward at the start for some, but eventually reserve gets thrown out the window because playing with friends is a blast on any of the three difficulty levels. Don't get turned off by the title's initial simplicity. It can become a considerate challenge to succeed through some of more frenetic rhythms, and even more so when you're trying to rack up the highest score. The easy modes are entertaining in the fact that they can become quite engrossing, however ramping up the difficulty and fooling around is just as much a part of the game, and just as much fun.

This game gets an N-Philes score of A-.

In my opinion, Nintendo and Namco have struck some serious gold with Donkey Konga. The GameCube's first foray into the musical genre is not one that disappoints, as I'm currently in love with the game and have no doubts that this will last for some time. Those DK Bongos are just so enticing to use, and with Donkey Konga 2 and Donkey Kong Jungle Beat on the horizon, there are fewer excuses not to get this game. If you host or attend parties than go get this title now with at least one extra set of bongos. You'll have so much fun that the investment will be worth it right from the get-go. For single player gamers still, the game is awesome. It's not as lengthy as other titles and may have limited game appeal for some, but if you're into short game sessions than go for it.

I would like to say that I hope Nintendo releases expansion packs and extra discs for use with the DK Bongos. Rather than always go out on the full shebang with a sequel, there's no reason why it can't pump out quick discs with maybe 10-15 songs on them for a cheap $10-15. Here's hoping.

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