Donkey Konga
Unleashing the monkey within you.
Tags: Donkey Konga Categories: Game Cube Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Ludwig on Feb 17th, 2005
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Donkey Konga (title page) | 1 - 4 | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Music/Rhythm | No | ||
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To say that prehistoric cavemen were rather impressed with the invention of the wheel is somewhat of an understatement. Rolling through their prehistoric society at a rapid pace, this uncanny innovation changed their very way of life, opening the doors to high-speed travel and the initially lucrative hula-hoop craze (being made from solid granite, the hoops tended to get the best of the customers). Soon after, it was nearly impossible to think of a world without the wheel, and those that attempted it were either incapable of doing so or were rendered incapable by the application of a sturdy club to the head. Leaping forward to the present time, you’ll notice that our fragile society is yet again on the verge of an advancement that’s easily comparable to the aforementioned circular creation. With Donkey Konga and its companion peripherals, the electronic bongos, Nintendo has truly ushered in a new age of prosperity and rhythmic physical abuse.
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Mark my words, it’s only a matter of time before everyday contraptions like cars, airplanes and nuclear reactors are controlled via a pair of bongos. Steering wheels, levers, buttons and indeed, gamepads, seem so hopelessly archaic once you’ve sampled Donkey Konga’s interface. As barrels marked with varying symbols roll by on the screen, it’s your task and eventual unstoppable desire to pummel the bongos in unison with the soundtrack, constructing beautiful musical masterpieces in the process. The instructional symbols which tell you whether you’re supposed to hit the left drum, hit the right drum, hit both drums at the same time or initiate a resounding clap are so easy to follow that the instrument in front of you soon becomes invisible, leaving only the music and your inner, strangely gyrating monkey.
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Though you’d expect Donkey Konga to be somewhat limited compared to something like Dance Dance Revolution, the downright bizarre selection of songs and the consistently surprising sequences of commands you’ll have to input quickly trample said expectations… and then spit on them. Your bongo beating blends boisterously with the songs, with every correctly timed thump or clap seeming integral to the music and lending it a bit more depth. With enough practice and familiarity of the songs, you’ll soon be anticipating the instructions before they even hit you, as they tend to follow an easily recognizable pattern that’s often more in line with a song’s melody than its beat. As you try your hands at the more difficult songs, you’ll become completely entangled in the game’s keen connection between music and physical actions. Just like Dance Dance Revolution, Donkey Konga is one of the rare games where your actual movements in real life are faithfully translated to the on-screen happenings.
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Merely describing the process of playing this game doesn’t seem to do it enough justice – the hands-on approach deserves to be experienced – but I trust that you’ll believe me when I say “It’s damn fun and nearly hypnotic.” There’s also a vaguely surreal quality associated with Donkey Konga, since it not only asks you to assume the roll of a drum-thrashing monkey, it demands that you rhythmically express yourself in unison with Queen’s We Will Rock You, a remixed Turkish March, the Legend of Zelda theme and the embarrassingly catchy Pokemon theme…all in the same play session. Grabbing songs with seemingly wild abandon, Nintendo’s esoteric selection of songs is constantly entertaining and is often surprisingly appropriate for bongo accompaniment. The quality is without question (yes, even that song about the dog named Bingo), though the quantity is sadly lacking. With around about 30 songs, it won’t take you long to blast through all the tunes and promptly realize that you really wanted at least 10 more. Another minor irritation lies in the fact that none of the licensed songs feature the original artists. Now, I’m not a particularly huge fan of Kylie Minogue, but I’m even less fond of the imposter present on this disc.
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The game’s three difficulty levels (the highest one being fairly challenging on certain songs) are sure to keep most lone players occupied, but what you’ll really want is another player…or three. It requires further investment in bongo equipment, though the end result is well worth the price. Apart from the self-explanatory competitive mode, the game features a cooperative segment that is best likened to a band simulator. Each person receives their own set of musical directions, with the various cues and claps playing off each other in a way that’ll make you feel like you’re actually creating music with your friends. It not only adds extra dimension to the music, it actually enhances the gameplay by urging you to pay attention to both the on-screen instructions and the sounds generated by the other players. With the interface being as simple as it and the bongos being so obvious to operate, even the most ham-fisted of friends will be able to join in and have a ridiculous amount of fun.
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Two of the game’s unlockable mini-games also support up to two players, though I’m sorry to say that they’re unlikely to entertain for very long. They make some interesting alternate use of the drum device, with Donkey Kong either climbing up vines or juggling bananas, but they’re so shallow, easy and repetitive, they pale in comparison with the main game and seem to be nothing more than worthless, hastily tacked-on diversions. They also draw attention to the game’s graphics which are essentially irrelevant (this is a music-and-rhythm game, after all) but, in the interest of this being a fair review, painfully simplistic and cheap. Perhaps those cavemen I mentioned earlier would be impressed by 2D sprites, but even that’s doubtful.
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What I can say with nary a doubt, however, is that Donkey Konga provides fun – pure fun wrapped in an ethereal glow that brings warmth, happiness and a feeling of wellbeing. It’s a game that’s so entertaining and engaging on a fundamental level that you’ll soon forget about the world around you and be only aware of the music, the rhythm and your trusty pair of bongos. It’s the perfect union between a weird peripheral and a wacky game. It’s the perfect union between physical action and music. It’s the perfect union between monkey and gamer. That’s profound, man.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
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+ Interaction between bongos and music is ingenious + Wonderfully weird selection of songs + Multiplayer is insanely fun |
8.0 |
| What Doesn't | |
|
- More songs, please! - Mini-games are pretty worthless |
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| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| Monkeys! Drums! Music! What’s not to like? | |
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Tags: Donkey Konga
Posted by Ludwig on Feb 17th, 2005 and is filed under Game Cube Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
