Donkey Kong Jungle Beat
Encyclopedia
is a Nintendo GameCube
video game featuring the ape
Donkey Kong and played with the DK Bongos
. It was released in Japan
on December 16, 2002, in Europe
on February 4, 2003, in North America
on March 14, 2005, and in Australia
on March 17, 2003. In 2008 and 2009, the game was re-released in the New Play Control!
series of revamped Nintendo GameCube titles. The Wii
version of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat is somewhat changed from the original GameCube version, including new levels, modifications of old levels, and traditional controls that have the player use the analog stick to move and the A button to jump, unlike the GameCube version which required the player to beat the bongos to do both. This is the first game to be rated E10+ by the ESRB
.
This is a unique game in the nature of play; it is a platformer where the goal is not simply to get to the end of the level. The goal is to get as many points, or "beats", as possible. Beats are obtained by grabbing banana
s during gameplay, and lost by getting hurt or falling. The player can obtain additional beats by performing combos while grabbing the bananas. For example, three combo moves will earn four beats for each banana collected. Combos can go as high as 30, meaning that 31 beats can be earned from a single banana. Time records can also be earned for stages and for racing sections of stages.
DK can perform moves such as backflips, the ground-pound, vine swinging, corner hopping, and wall jumping. He can also use other objects and animals in the game to add to the combo score. When performing "combo-moves", a counter is started, rising with each successive combo move acquired before landing. The combo counter is lost when DK is hurt or falls, and all beats are lost. If DK's beat count reaches zero, he loses and will have to restart the level. In the Wii version of the game, hearts represent DK's health instead of the beats, and there are extra lives and checkpoints throughout the level.
Clapping or making any other noise that the microphone in the Bongos picks up makes DK clap his hands. The hand clap produces two rings, a small red one and a giant green one. Enemies in the small red ring are usually defeated, and those in the larger green ring are usually stunned. Stunned enemies can then be jumped on and defeated by hitting the bongos repeatedly. Any bananas in the small red ring are grabbed in a chain, each incremented in value relative to the last (e.g., if three combo moves are done when DK clap-grabs 5 bananas, the bananas are worth 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8).
The level system consists of several "kingdoms". Each kingdom contains three platforming levels. The first two sometimes contain racing and puzzle elements, which the final "boss" stage contains a fight against a large enemy. The beats obtained in the previous two levels are used as health for the fight against the boss, and the aim is to beat the boss without taking too many hits, lowering your beat count. There are many different types of bosses, each requiring different tactics to beat. For example, fights with other gorillas are fought in a Punch-Out!!
-style bout, while battles against elephants require throwing back bombs that they fire. The gameplay relies on rhythm
elements, such as clapping at the right time to get all of the bananas in an area, or incapacitate a boss.
Between each level, there is a short minigame where the player must tap the bongos as fast as they can to earn extra bananas. The exception to this are levels in which DK rides a wildebeest, in which case the minigame is to either fly the farthest from a jump, or stay on high ground long enough to collect many bananas without touching the ground.
At the end of the kingdom, the total sum of beats (after deducting any damage taken during the boss fight) is tallied up. Completing a kingdom earns a medal, while additional medals are earned by achieving certain amounts of beats. Medals are required to play new kingdoms, which is determined by the number shown. Clearing all the kingdoms in a section unlocks the next set of kingdoms. Players can revisit earlier levels to try to earn more beats, thus earning more medals.
's Top 200 Games list.
program, a brand of Nintendo GameCube
video game remakes for the Wii
. It was released on December 11, 2008, in Japan and later in North America and Europe on May 4, 2009, and June 5, 2009, respectively. It uses a combination of the Wii Remote
and the Nunchuk instead of the DK Bongos
(the DK Bongos are not compatible with the Wii version), using both traditional controls and motion controls.
As well different modes in the remake, there are a few changes to the gameplay. Health is no longer determined by the amount of beats, but instead uses a more traditional heart and life system. Clap attacks are also directional as opposed to all around.
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
video game featuring the ape
Ape
Apes are Old World anthropoid mammals, more specifically a clade of tailless catarrhine primates, belonging to the biological superfamily Hominoidea. The apes are native to Africa and South-east Asia, although in relatively recent times humans have spread all over the world...
Donkey Kong and played with the DK Bongos
DK Bongos
DK Bongos are bongo-like controllers for the Nintendo GameCube video game series Donkey Konga, Donkey Konga 2, Donkey Konga 3, and Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat. There are two bongos, each shaped like a classic Donkey Kong barrel with a rubber drumskin fastened on top...
. It was released in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on December 16, 2002, in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
on February 4, 2003, in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
on March 14, 2005, and in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on March 17, 2003. In 2008 and 2009, the game was re-released in the New Play Control!
New Play Control!
The New Play Control! series, known in Japan as is a program by Nintendo to upgrade several GameCube games for release on the Wii. These re-releases incorporate graphical improvements, which include 16:9 widescreen support. They also feature reconfigured controls to fit the Wii Remote...
series of revamped Nintendo GameCube titles. The Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
version of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat is somewhat changed from the original GameCube version, including new levels, modifications of old levels, and traditional controls that have the player use the analog stick to move and the A button to jump, unlike the GameCube version which required the player to beat the bongos to do both. This is the first game to be rated E10+ by the ESRB
Entertainment Software Rating Board
The Entertainment Software Rating Board is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings, enforces industry-adopted advertising guidelines, and ensures responsible online privacy principles for computer and video games as well as entertainment software in Canada, Mexico and...
.
Gameplay
Gameplay involves combat, jumping, and counterattacking. While the traditional GameCube controllers are compatible, Jungle Beat uses a pair of bongo drums to control Donkey Kong's (DK) actions. Hitting the left drum causes DK to move left, while hitting the right drum causes him to move right. Hitting both drums at the same time causes DK to jump. Clapping one's hands or hitting the sides of the drums also causes DK to clap, which has various consequences depending on the situation.This is a unique game in the nature of play; it is a platformer where the goal is not simply to get to the end of the level. The goal is to get as many points, or "beats", as possible. Beats are obtained by grabbing banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
s during gameplay, and lost by getting hurt or falling. The player can obtain additional beats by performing combos while grabbing the bananas. For example, three combo moves will earn four beats for each banana collected. Combos can go as high as 30, meaning that 31 beats can be earned from a single banana. Time records can also be earned for stages and for racing sections of stages.
DK can perform moves such as backflips, the ground-pound, vine swinging, corner hopping, and wall jumping. He can also use other objects and animals in the game to add to the combo score. When performing "combo-moves", a counter is started, rising with each successive combo move acquired before landing. The combo counter is lost when DK is hurt or falls, and all beats are lost. If DK's beat count reaches zero, he loses and will have to restart the level. In the Wii version of the game, hearts represent DK's health instead of the beats, and there are extra lives and checkpoints throughout the level.
Clapping or making any other noise that the microphone in the Bongos picks up makes DK clap his hands. The hand clap produces two rings, a small red one and a giant green one. Enemies in the small red ring are usually defeated, and those in the larger green ring are usually stunned. Stunned enemies can then be jumped on and defeated by hitting the bongos repeatedly. Any bananas in the small red ring are grabbed in a chain, each incremented in value relative to the last (e.g., if three combo moves are done when DK clap-grabs 5 bananas, the bananas are worth 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8).
The level system consists of several "kingdoms". Each kingdom contains three platforming levels. The first two sometimes contain racing and puzzle elements, which the final "boss" stage contains a fight against a large enemy. The beats obtained in the previous two levels are used as health for the fight against the boss, and the aim is to beat the boss without taking too many hits, lowering your beat count. There are many different types of bosses, each requiring different tactics to beat. For example, fights with other gorillas are fought in a Punch-Out!!
Punch-Out!!
is a 1983–1984 boxing arcade game by Nintendo. It was the first in a series of successful Punch-Out!! games that produced an arcade sequel known as Super Punch-Out!!, a spin-off of the series titled Arm Wrestling, a highly popular version for the NES originally known as Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!,...
-style bout, while battles against elephants require throwing back bombs that they fire. The gameplay relies on rhythm
Rhythm
Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
elements, such as clapping at the right time to get all of the bananas in an area, or incapacitate a boss.
Between each level, there is a short minigame where the player must tap the bongos as fast as they can to earn extra bananas. The exception to this are levels in which DK rides a wildebeest, in which case the minigame is to either fly the farthest from a jump, or stay on high ground long enough to collect many bananas without touching the ground.
At the end of the kingdom, the total sum of beats (after deducting any damage taken during the boss fight) is tallied up. Completing a kingdom earns a medal, while additional medals are earned by achieving certain amounts of beats. Medals are required to play new kingdoms, which is determined by the number shown. Clearing all the kingdoms in a section unlocks the next set of kingdoms. Players can revisit earlier levels to try to earn more beats, thus earning more medals.
Reception
Jungle Beat was generally well-received, earning an 82% rating on GameRankings. Most reviewers considered it unique and fun to play but rather short given the retail price. It was praised for its wide appeal; possessing both a simplicity targeted at new gamers, and a complex, skill-oriented combo system to attract more hardcore gamers. IGN UK praised the game's graphics, saying "DK's fur makes StarFox Adventures' models look primitive". Criticisms include the game's short length, despite the replayability offered by the score system in levels. There were also complaints of repetitive boss fights, as the same four bosses are used several times throughout the game with limited features to distinguish them. One of the primary criticisms, however, was the lack of past characters and elements from Rare's DKC games. However, despite these criticisms it was rated the 95th best game made on a Nintendo System in Nintendo PowerNintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
's Top 200 Games list.
New Play Control! re-release
Donkey Kong Jungle Beat was reformatted for the New Play Control!New Play Control!
The New Play Control! series, known in Japan as is a program by Nintendo to upgrade several GameCube games for release on the Wii. These re-releases incorporate graphical improvements, which include 16:9 widescreen support. They also feature reconfigured controls to fit the Wii Remote...
program, a brand of Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
video game remakes for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
. It was released on December 11, 2008, in Japan and later in North America and Europe on May 4, 2009, and June 5, 2009, respectively. It uses a combination of the Wii Remote
Wii Remote
The , also known as the Wiimote, is the primary controller for Nintendo's Wii console. A main feature of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via gesture recognition and pointing through the use of accelerometer and...
and the Nunchuk instead of the DK Bongos
DK Bongos
DK Bongos are bongo-like controllers for the Nintendo GameCube video game series Donkey Konga, Donkey Konga 2, Donkey Konga 3, and Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat. There are two bongos, each shaped like a classic Donkey Kong barrel with a rubber drumskin fastened on top...
(the DK Bongos are not compatible with the Wii version), using both traditional controls and motion controls.
As well different modes in the remake, there are a few changes to the gameplay. Health is no longer determined by the amount of beats, but instead uses a more traditional heart and life system. Clap attacks are also directional as opposed to all around.