Donkey Kong Jungle Beat is celebrating its 20-year anniversary as we speak, March 14, 2025. Under, we check out how the bizarre platformer had a spark not like anything within the sequence.
When followers consider the Donkey Kong sequence’ platforming video games, it is easy to think about the timeline as one which started with Uncommon and its groundbreaking CG graphics within the SNES period earlier than the baton was ultimately picked up by Retro Studios with Donkey Kong Nation Returns. In Nintendo’s historical past of wacky and ingenious methods to play video games, there may be maybe nothing fairly as weird as Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, launched in North America in 2005 for GameCube, which gave the long-lasting ape a stopgap to recollect in between the Uncommon and Retro eras.
The credit score cannot all go to the Kyoto firm although, fairly actually so as a result of this was in truth the debut of its newly established EAD (Leisure, Evaluation and Growth) Tokyo studio designed to draw new expertise from Japan’s capital. Even the know-how that is front-and-center in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat wasn’t created by Nintendo however fairly Namco in its 2003 music spin-off Donkey Konga.
The DK Bongos felt like a pure extension of drumming in its standard Taiko no Tatsujin sequence. Whereas a microphone additionally detects hand claps, it in any other case follows rhythm sport conventions of tapping the drums of clapping in time to notes on display screen.
Name it one other instance of lateral considering, however the unusual minds at EAD Tokyo, led by Tremendous Mario Sunshine co-director Yoshiaki Koizumi, in some way got here up with an unconventional approach of utilizing this controller, all whereas taking Donkey Kong again to his side-scrolling fundamentals.
Fairly divisively, Jungle Beat eschews lots of the staples from the Donkey Kong Nation series–no rolling jumps, no collectible jigsaw items or KONG letters, not even Diddy Kong–in favor of a easy story the place DK goes via totally different kingdoms battling evil kings from throughout the animal kingdom in a bid to return out as the highest banana.
The stripped-back strategy was in service of the less complicated controls. Beating the left or proper drum individually makes DK transfer in that corresponding direction–rapidly to make him transfer sooner, whereas beating each collectively makes him soar. In the meantime, clapping your fingers sends out a shockwave that stuns enemies caught within the radius, collects close by bananas, and interacts with objects like vines and catapults. Helpfully, this additionally mitigates the necessity for precise precision.
Whereas the sport garnered some criticism over being extra simplistic and missing within the secrets and techniques and problem of the Nation sequence, Jungle Beat is something however straightforward. What makes it replayable is its score-attack system. Fairly than simply attending to the top of a degree, it is about incomes as many bananas as potential, and the best way to get extra bananas is by incomes extra beats. As an illustration, you would simply stroll and soar to gather the bananas onscreen, however should you clap, the shockwave collects them throughout you immediately, which in flip will increase your beat rating.
Defeating enemies and interacting with objects additionally good points beats, however the true trick is performing all these actions collectively whereas airborne, which builds up a combo. The upper the combo, the extra beats and bananas you get–one approach of gaining extra beats will not be from bananas however flowers. On the finish of every kingdom, your banana complete additionally determines your rank, the place you are awarded a crest for bronze, silver and gold, which is necessary as it is also the way you unlock extra ranges within the sport.
Fairly than a world map made of various ranges that culminate in a boss struggle, every kingdom is made up of two ranges and a boss battle, which must be accomplished earlier than you are scored. Nonetheless, you’ll be able to’t acquire any extra bananas throughout the boss battles, some which embody rival Kongs that take the type of one-on-one brawls the place it’s a must to keep away from a punch on the proper time earlier than bashing the drums for a counter.
It then ups the stakes, as you attempt to keep away from getting hit, which causes you to lose bananas, which additionally counts as your well being. Having a whole lot means the sport is extremely beneficiant with regards to life, however there’s nothing worse than having racked up over 800 bananas (the quantity required for a gold crest within the first two levels) solely to mess up in opposition to the boss and drop a rank.
Whereas this straightforward management scheme nonetheless permits for some fascinating maneuvers like backflips and wall jumps, the execution is not with out its flaws. Even when the instruction guide warns that the bongos are extremely delicate, within the warmth of taking part in Jungle Beat, it is all too straightforward to beat the drums so exhausting (particularly when it appears like a beat hasn’t been registered) that the microphone errors it for a clap as a substitute, whereas even a short session is more likely to depart your palms sore from a lot clapping. However although you’ll be able to technically play with a daily GameCube controller, and a few would argue utilizing the C-stick triggers shockwaves with extra precision than hand claps, that might additionally largely rob the sport of its distinctive allure.
Trying again, Jungle Beat could be extra of a curio earlier than Retro picked up the baton years later, whereas EAD Tokyo arguably went on to far larger feats, its subsequent venture being all-time basic Tremendous Mario Galaxy. But with its design to make a extra approachable sport that would attraction to extra gamers with a novel management scheme, you’ll be able to see that type of considering as a precursor to the Wii’s philosophy. It did obtain a Wii port sans bongos. And whereas it could not have resulted in a sequel, I can not assist however assume that it was influential in its personal approach. I would not be stunned if the streamers who beat Darkish Souls with a dance mat or a banana hadn’t come throughout Jungle Beat first.
With Retro centered on the upcoming Metroid Prime 4, there’s been hypothesis that Nintendo is as soon as once more internally growing a brand new Donkey Kong sport, which might make sense following the opening of the Donkey Kong Nation space in Common Studios’ Tremendous Nintendo World. Regardless of the future holds, I can solely hope that it accommodates concepts even a fraction as bananas as Jungle Beat’s.