RF Generation.  The Classic and Modern Video Games Database.RF Generation.  The Classic and Modern Video Games Database.
Donkey Kong Jungle Beat
Front Back Screenshot Game Manual

Box Front
Box Front

Box Back
Box Back

Submit Rating: %
Login

Console: Nintendo GameCube
Region:U
Year: 2005
RFG ID #: U-076-S-04020-A
Part #: DL-DOL-GYBE-USA
UPC: 045496962708 (00100)
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Rating:
E10+ (ESRB): Cartoon Violence

Genre: Platformer
Sub-genre: Action / Rhythm
Players: 1
Controller: Standard Controller, DK Bongos
Media Format: GameCube Optical Disc x1
Add to collection Who is selling this? Who wants this? Who owns this?
Submit Info Submit Variation Submit Images
Collection Stats:

  • 209 of 7621 collectors (2.7%) have this game in their collection
  • 13 of 7621 collectors (0.1%) have this game in their wishlist.
  • 0 of 7621 collectors (0%) have this game for sale or trade.
Overview:

Donkey Kong Jungle Beat is one of the first titles to come out of Nintendo's Tokyo Studio. This title has a lot of ambition from the start. It encourages using the DK Bongos to play the game, and it truly does add a lot of depth to the game. The Tokyo studio is able to make an extremely enjoyable action game that is definitely something different from other action games. This is the only one that will let you use the DK Bongos to play, and it makes the game extremely fun.

The back of the box reads as follows:

Get ready for a completely new gaming experience as you drum through an incredible jungle adventure with DK! Grab a set of DK Bongos and use them to guide Donkey Kong through wild jungle environments brimming with ravenous enemies and bongo-busting challenges.

  • String together aerial combos to collect more bananas! The more you get, the more stages you'll unlock - over 40 areas to unlock in all!
  • Control is in the bongos! Hit the drums to make DK run, jump, do backflips, pound the ground, leap off walls, and much more!
  • Fight to be the jungle king! Beat the drums to pummel angry apes, wild warthogs, and a slew of other foes!
Review:

When the Nintendo Gamecube was released in 2001, who ever thought that people would be playing a 2.5D Platform Game using just a pair of electronic bongos? Well, I can assure you I never did. Yet, Nintendo always seems to surprise us all with the Release of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat for its little cube. How fun could a bongo-based game be?

From the beginning DKJB appears to be a simplistic game. There are four basic actions you can do. Hitting the left bongo moves Donkey Kong left. Hitting the right bongo moves DK to the right. Hitting the bongos faster moves DK faster. Hitting both bongos causes DK to jump, and when you clap STUFF HAPPENS! (That was taken straight from the control descriptions). From the description I provided the game would seem to be extremely bland. But, these moves can be used in conjunction to make DK perform more advanced moves. By combining moving and jumping DK will do a long jump or if there is a impassable shaft, cause him to wall jump up the shaft. Clapping, as a previous sentences implies, causes special things to happen. Clapping almost always causes DK to clap, creating a sound wave that radiates from him. This has different effects. Most often it will either stun enemies, allowing you to pummel them through a pounding of the bongos, or allow you to bring bananas into your presence. Other times it will allow DK to pass through apparently impassable areas. It is the clap action that brings variety to the game.

Now that the controls have been explained, it's time to discuss the gameplay. As stated previously, DKJB is a 2.5D game. The game is played in a two-dimensional plane, but it is rendered in glorious, artistic, 3D. The game plays much like its predecessor, Donkey Kong Country. Every level has a goal, and the levels are extremely varied in terms of environent. You could be playing in an ice fortress in one level, and the next level would be a spooky castle. Some levels even have buddies that aid DK in quest. There are a total of 16 worlds in DKJB, and each world has three levels. The third level in each world is always a boss level. You'll fight one of four types of bosses, a bird, an elephant, or a kong. Each boss is slightly different from its previous iteration. One may periodically light the floor on fire, while the previous one would not. This may be my largest gripe, if it could be called one, as although you play similar bosses, they still are a lot of fun to beat.

DKJB, as I stated earlier, is an apparently simple game. Playing the game for the first time definitely gives the impression that this is the case. Yet, as you delve deeper into the game, you notice how complex the game is. Sure, there is the impulse to get to the end of the level, but there is also the need to collect bananas. This is where the replayability and fun kick in. Bananas function as both DK's life meter and a score of sorts. If DK is harmed too many times, all his bananas go away and DK dies. But if DK accumulates a lot of bananas, then good things will happen once you clear the kingdom. You can get up to four crests per Kingdom, and how many bananas DK accumulates dictates how many crests you shall recieve. To get the highest crest, Platinum, you will need some serious skill. Completing impressive feats while collecting bananas generates a combo, and successive impressive feats raises the combo meter. How ever many bananas you collect while you collect while peforming the combo will be multiplied by the combo meter, and you will recieve that many bananas. The higher the combo and bananas collected while in the combo, the better.

DKJB is an amazing game. The game demonstrates that good games do not need a bunch of buttons to be awesome. Rather, they just need to be something original. Donkey Kong Jungle Beat is definitely that.

RF Generation Review Score


90%

Extra Media:

Registration Booklet
Health And Safety Precautions Booklet
Variations:

Console Reg. Type Title Publisher Year Genre
Nintendo GameCube United Kingdom S Donkey Kong Jungle Beat Nintendo 2005 Platformer
Nintendo GameCube United Kingdom S Donkey Kong Jungle Beat [Pak - Bongos Bundle] Nintendo 2005 Platformer
Nintendo GameCube BE, NL S Donkey Kong Jungle Beat Nintendo 2005 Platformer
Nintendo GameCube Germany S Donkey Kong Jungle Beat Nintendo 2005 Platformer
Nintendo GameCube Germany S Donkey Kong Jungle Beat [Pak - Bongos Bundle] Nintendo 2005 Platformer
Nintendo GameCube France S Donkey Kong Jungle Beat Nintendo 2005 Platformer
Nintendo GameCube France S Donkey Kong Jungle Beat [Pak - Bongos Bundle] Nintendo 2005 Platformer
Nintendo GameCube J S Donkey Kong Jungle Beat Nintendo 2004 Platformer
Nintendo GameCube J S Donkey Kong Jungle Beat [Tarukonga Set] Nintendo 2004 Platformer
Nintendo GameCube U S Donkey Kong Jungle Beat [DK Bongos Bundle] Nintendo 2005 Platformer
Nintendo GameCube Canada S Donkey Kong Jungle Beat Nintendo 2005 Platformer
Nintendo GameCube Canada S Donkey Kong Jungle Beat [DK Bongos Bundle] Nintendo 2005 Platformer
Related Games:

Console Reg. Type Title Publisher Year Genre
Nintendo Wii U S Donkey Kong Jungle Beat [New Play Control!] Nintendo 2009 Platformer
Game Trivia:

  • Completing the level gives you a bronze crest
  • Getting 400 beats will earn you a silver crest
  • Getting 800 beats will earn you a gold crest
  • Getting 1200 beats will earn you a platinum crest
FAQ's/External Links:

DK Jungle Beat on Gamerankings.com
Page Credits:

Michael Collins: Page design, HTML code.
Eddie Herrmann: Perl script.
David Murnan: Misc. Info, scans, screenshots, Overview, Review, Trivia, Link.
Anthony Terzi: Title addition, Misc.
blcklblskt: Media Quantity edit, Misc.
raffa1985: Variation Tie-In, Related Games
theGrue: UPC correction
Bear78: Photos, Game Rating
Schlibby: Title colon
Flee: Genre
Razor Knuckles: Subgenre
Fleabitten: Title Edit

Last Updated: 2020-01-13 07:16:07
Site content Copyright © 2008 rfgeneration.com unless otherwise noted.