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This thread has been linked to the game 'Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat'.
The wait for Super Mario Galaxy 2 is becoming near unbearable for me. The Americans already have it and we still have two weeks to go. The situation isn’t helped when one of your friends grabs himself an import copy and tells you “This is the best game I’ve ever played!” But for now I decided to pass the time and buy Donkey Kong Jungle Beat for the Wii to have a look at where the team responsible for the sublime Super Mario Galaxy once started out.
Looking at Jungle Beat for the first time, you may assume that what you have is a relatively simple, uninspired 2D platformer. Sure it has all the usual gameplay elements and styles you’d associate with the genre like jumping over pits, running, and defeating enemies, but once you finish the first stage you’ll discover that the game has a unique feature up its sleeve that will keep you replaying stages over and over again. That feature is the combo and banana collecting system.
While getting through a kingdom (the games equivalent of levels) without dying will get you to the next one and so on, collecting bananas will gain you medals the more you collect and in turn new kingdoms. Bananas are scattered throughout the stages and can be collected via simply grabbing them when nearby at the press of a button, defeating enemies or performing events successfully. The combo system itself uses a multiplier that increases with every action you perform in sequence without hitting the floor. For example wall jumping, springing yourself off a dandelion or floating in bubbles. The higher the multiplier, the more bananas you earn when grabbed during said combo. It’s something I haven’t seen in a platformer before and definitely gives your reason to venture back and beat old scores as you try to find the perfect line for getting as high a combo as possible. A really great change made to the Wii version is the inclusion of a heart meter. Get hit three times and you’re done. Unlike the Gamecube version where getting damaged made you lose bananas (which honestly meant dying was near impossible), the new method makes some of the later stages very challenging which is always welcome.
Every kingdom is named after a fruit (Seems Donkey Kong isn’t just a fan of the bananas) and each consist of two smaller stages and one final boss. Stages can range from your basic platforming affairs right up to catching a lift from a bird or riding on the back of giant long horned beast. The variety never ceases to impress and it’s just a shame the same can’t be said about the bosses. That isn’t to say they aren’t fun because they are, but since each repeats four times throughout the adventure you begin to wish that a new boss battle would appear at some point. The environments you make your way through are nice and varied taking you across scorching deserts and sparkling oceans right into erupting volcanoes and towering temples. I’ve always believed that a platformer needs diverse locations and Jungle Beat brings the goods taking you to some truly spectacular places. Accessing these kingdoms is done through a simple menu system so overall the game looks and feels like anyone can give it a go regardless of ability.
Jungle Beat on the Gamecube had the unique selling point of using the bongo drums to control Donkey Kong and oddly enough this method has been removed for the Wii version. Instead a revamped control scheme using the remote and nunchuck takes its place that while may not be as fun to use as the bongos, is still a decent conversion combing accurate analogue and button commands with the odd movements of the controls. It’s just a shame the bongos aren’t given as an alternative.
The biggest problem I have with the game and something that I feel needs its own paragraph is that there just isn’t enough of it! At only sixteen kingdoms strong it isn’t the lengthiest of games, especially compared to the development team’s later effort, Mario Galaxy. There is the option to try and grab all the medals but after that you’re done. The quality is there, but more quantity is needed for it to be worth the thirty odd pound stores may be asking for it.
Visually Donkey Kong Jungle Beat is still one of the best looking games on the Wii, which is even more impressive when you consider the fact this was originally a Gamecube title. A highlight being the fur on Donkey Kong and other characters which is just as impressive as it was back then, and even though this is a 2D platformer everything is in full 3D. The music is decent enough and I guarantee you the menu theme will be stuck in your head for weeks to come.
Donkey Kong Jungle Beat was a great game on the Gamecube and it still is on the Wii. It’s hard to recommend when in just over a week the sure to be superior Super Mario Galaxy 2 makes its debut in the UK, but if you have the extra cash and can find this somewhere cheap it’s a nice if short distraction and worth your time.
Looking at Jungle Beat for the first time, you may assume that what you have is a relatively simple, uninspired 2D platformer. Sure it has all the usual gameplay elements and styles you’d associate with the genre like jumping over pits, running, and defeating enemies, but once you finish the first stage you’ll discover that the game has a unique feature up its sleeve that will keep you replaying stages over and over again. That feature is the combo and banana collecting system.
While getting through a kingdom (the games equivalent of levels) without dying will get you to the next one and so on, collecting bananas will gain you medals the more you collect and in turn new kingdoms. Bananas are scattered throughout the stages and can be collected via simply grabbing them when nearby at the press of a button, defeating enemies or performing events successfully. The combo system itself uses a multiplier that increases with every action you perform in sequence without hitting the floor. For example wall jumping, springing yourself off a dandelion or floating in bubbles. The higher the multiplier, the more bananas you earn when grabbed during said combo. It’s something I haven’t seen in a platformer before and definitely gives your reason to venture back and beat old scores as you try to find the perfect line for getting as high a combo as possible. A really great change made to the Wii version is the inclusion of a heart meter. Get hit three times and you’re done. Unlike the Gamecube version where getting damaged made you lose bananas (which honestly meant dying was near impossible), the new method makes some of the later stages very challenging which is always welcome.
Every kingdom is named after a fruit (Seems Donkey Kong isn’t just a fan of the bananas) and each consist of two smaller stages and one final boss. Stages can range from your basic platforming affairs right up to catching a lift from a bird or riding on the back of giant long horned beast. The variety never ceases to impress and it’s just a shame the same can’t be said about the bosses. That isn’t to say they aren’t fun because they are, but since each repeats four times throughout the adventure you begin to wish that a new boss battle would appear at some point. The environments you make your way through are nice and varied taking you across scorching deserts and sparkling oceans right into erupting volcanoes and towering temples. I’ve always believed that a platformer needs diverse locations and Jungle Beat brings the goods taking you to some truly spectacular places. Accessing these kingdoms is done through a simple menu system so overall the game looks and feels like anyone can give it a go regardless of ability.
Jungle Beat on the Gamecube had the unique selling point of using the bongo drums to control Donkey Kong and oddly enough this method has been removed for the Wii version. Instead a revamped control scheme using the remote and nunchuck takes its place that while may not be as fun to use as the bongos, is still a decent conversion combing accurate analogue and button commands with the odd movements of the controls. It’s just a shame the bongos aren’t given as an alternative.
The biggest problem I have with the game and something that I feel needs its own paragraph is that there just isn’t enough of it! At only sixteen kingdoms strong it isn’t the lengthiest of games, especially compared to the development team’s later effort, Mario Galaxy. There is the option to try and grab all the medals but after that you’re done. The quality is there, but more quantity is needed for it to be worth the thirty odd pound stores may be asking for it.
Visually Donkey Kong Jungle Beat is still one of the best looking games on the Wii, which is even more impressive when you consider the fact this was originally a Gamecube title. A highlight being the fur on Donkey Kong and other characters which is just as impressive as it was back then, and even though this is a 2D platformer everything is in full 3D. The music is decent enough and I guarantee you the menu theme will be stuck in your head for weeks to come.
Donkey Kong Jungle Beat was a great game on the Gamecube and it still is on the Wii. It’s hard to recommend when in just over a week the sure to be superior Super Mario Galaxy 2 makes its debut in the UK, but if you have the extra cash and can find this somewhere cheap it’s a nice if short distraction and worth your time.
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The wait for Super Mario Galaxy 2 is becoming near unbearable for me. The Americans already have it and we still have two weeks to go. The situation isn’t helped when one of your friends grabs himself an import copy and tells you “This is the best game I’ve ever played!” But for now I decided to pass the time and buy Donkey Kong Jungle Beat for the Wii to have a look at where the team responsible for the sublime Super Mario Galaxy once started out.
Looking at Jungle Beat for the first time, you may assume that what you have is a relatively simple, uninspired 2D platformer. Sure it has all the usual gameplay elements and styles you’d associate with the genre like jumping over pits, running, and defeating enemies, but once you finish the first stage you’ll discover that the game has a unique feature up its sleeve that will keep you replaying stages over and over again. That feature is the combo and banana collecting system.
While getting through a kingdom (the games equivalent of levels) without dying will get you to the next one and so on, collecting bananas will gain you medals the more you collect and in turn new kingdoms. Bananas are scattered throughout the stages and can be collected via simply grabbing them when nearby at the press of a button, defeating enemies or performing events successfully. The combo system itself uses a multiplier that increases with every action you perform in sequence without hitting the floor. For example wall jumping, springing yourself off a dandelion or floating in bubbles. The higher the multiplier, the more bananas you earn when grabbed during said combo. It’s something I haven’t seen in a platformer before and definitely gives your reason to venture back and beat old scores as you try to find the perfect line for getting as high a combo as possible. A really great change made to the Wii version is the inclusion of a heart meter. Get hit three times and you’re done. Unlike the Gamecube version where getting damaged made you lose bananas (which honestly meant dying was near impossible), the new method makes some of the later stages very challenging which is always welcome.
Every kingdom is named after a fruit (Seems Donkey Kong isn’t just a fan of the bananas) and each consist of two smaller stages and one final boss. Stages can range from your basic platforming affairs right up to catching a lift from a bird or riding on the back of giant long horned beast. The variety never ceases to impress and it’s just a shame the same can’t be said about the bosses. That isn’t to say they aren’t fun because they are, but since each repeats four times throughout the adventure you begin to wish that a new boss battle would appear at some point. The environments you make your way through are nice and varied taking you across scorching deserts and sparkling oceans right into erupting volcanoes and towering temples. I’ve always believed that a platformer needs diverse locations and Jungle Beat brings the goods taking you to some truly spectacular places. Accessing these kingdoms is done through a simple menu system so overall the game looks and feels like anyone can give it a go regardless of ability.
Jungle Beat on the Gamecube had the unique selling point of using the bongo drums to control Donkey Kong and oddly enough this method has been removed for the Wii version. Instead a revamped control scheme using the remote and nunchuck takes its place that while may not be as fun to use as the bongos, is still a decent conversion combing accurate analogue and button commands with the odd movements of the controls. It’s just a shame the bongos aren’t given as an alternative.
The biggest problem I have with the game and something that I feel needs its own paragraph is that there just isn’t enough of it! At only sixteen kingdoms strong it isn’t the lengthiest of games, especially compared to the development team’s later effort, Mario Galaxy. There is the option to try and grab all the medals but after that you’re done. The quality is there, but more quantity is needed for it to be worth the thirty odd pound stores may be asking for it.
Visually Donkey Kong Jungle Beat is still one of the best looking games on the Wii, which is even more impressive when you consider the fact this was originally a Gamecube title. A highlight being the fur on Donkey Kong and other characters which is just as impressive as it was back then, and even though this is a 2D platformer everything is in full 3D. The music is decent enough and I guarantee you the menu theme will be stuck in your head for weeks to come.
Donkey Kong Jungle Beat was a great game on the Gamecube and it still is on the Wii. It’s hard to recommend when in just over a week the sure to be superior Super Mario Galaxy 2 makes its debut in the UK, but if you have the extra cash and can find this somewhere cheap it’s a nice if short distraction and worth your time.
Looking at Jungle Beat for the first time, you may assume that what you have is a relatively simple, uninspired 2D platformer. Sure it has all the usual gameplay elements and styles you’d associate with the genre like jumping over pits, running, and defeating enemies, but once you finish the first stage you’ll discover that the game has a unique feature up its sleeve that will keep you replaying stages over and over again. That feature is the combo and banana collecting system.
While getting through a kingdom (the games equivalent of levels) without dying will get you to the next one and so on, collecting bananas will gain you medals the more you collect and in turn new kingdoms. Bananas are scattered throughout the stages and can be collected via simply grabbing them when nearby at the press of a button, defeating enemies or performing events successfully. The combo system itself uses a multiplier that increases with every action you perform in sequence without hitting the floor. For example wall jumping, springing yourself off a dandelion or floating in bubbles. The higher the multiplier, the more bananas you earn when grabbed during said combo. It’s something I haven’t seen in a platformer before and definitely gives your reason to venture back and beat old scores as you try to find the perfect line for getting as high a combo as possible. A really great change made to the Wii version is the inclusion of a heart meter. Get hit three times and you’re done. Unlike the Gamecube version where getting damaged made you lose bananas (which honestly meant dying was near impossible), the new method makes some of the later stages very challenging which is always welcome.
Every kingdom is named after a fruit (Seems Donkey Kong isn’t just a fan of the bananas) and each consist of two smaller stages and one final boss. Stages can range from your basic platforming affairs right up to catching a lift from a bird or riding on the back of giant long horned beast. The variety never ceases to impress and it’s just a shame the same can’t be said about the bosses. That isn’t to say they aren’t fun because they are, but since each repeats four times throughout the adventure you begin to wish that a new boss battle would appear at some point. The environments you make your way through are nice and varied taking you across scorching deserts and sparkling oceans right into erupting volcanoes and towering temples. I’ve always believed that a platformer needs diverse locations and Jungle Beat brings the goods taking you to some truly spectacular places. Accessing these kingdoms is done through a simple menu system so overall the game looks and feels like anyone can give it a go regardless of ability.
Jungle Beat on the Gamecube had the unique selling point of using the bongo drums to control Donkey Kong and oddly enough this method has been removed for the Wii version. Instead a revamped control scheme using the remote and nunchuck takes its place that while may not be as fun to use as the bongos, is still a decent conversion combing accurate analogue and button commands with the odd movements of the controls. It’s just a shame the bongos aren’t given as an alternative.
The biggest problem I have with the game and something that I feel needs its own paragraph is that there just isn’t enough of it! At only sixteen kingdoms strong it isn’t the lengthiest of games, especially compared to the development team’s later effort, Mario Galaxy. There is the option to try and grab all the medals but after that you’re done. The quality is there, but more quantity is needed for it to be worth the thirty odd pound stores may be asking for it.
Visually Donkey Kong Jungle Beat is still one of the best looking games on the Wii, which is even more impressive when you consider the fact this was originally a Gamecube title. A highlight being the fur on Donkey Kong and other characters which is just as impressive as it was back then, and even though this is a 2D platformer everything is in full 3D. The music is decent enough and I guarantee you the menu theme will be stuck in your head for weeks to come.
Donkey Kong Jungle Beat was a great game on the Gamecube and it still is on the Wii. It’s hard to recommend when in just over a week the sure to be superior Super Mario Galaxy 2 makes its debut in the UK, but if you have the extra cash and can find this somewhere cheap it’s a nice if short distraction and worth your time.