Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat (GameCube) Review

 (Originally posted on May, 2018)

                                                          (2005, Nintendo GameCube)

When first hearing of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, I was inclined to dismiss DK’s late splash to the GameCube as a gimmicky, half-hearted platformer made to move more units of Nintendo’s bongo-based peripheral. Upon actually placing my hands on a drum-equipped demo kiosk, that doubt was soon dispersed by captivating novelty with a grip strong as an angry gorilla, a thrilling disorientation not unlike running under the blaring jungle canopy…and most importantly, beyond the strange new controls was a base game that could contend with Donkey Kong’s previous and more traditional platformers! Jungle Beat isn’t quite as simple as it seems at first glance. Each stage is crafted to not merely be surveyed and survived, but flawlessly and efficiently pillaged of all the edible treasures within. Maybe there really was something to progressing through this game with a musical instrument, as noisily hitting the bongos and pounding your mitts is a perfect fit for Donkey Kong’s rambunctious personality. I had to get my own copy shortly after experiencing Jungle Beat in the wild.

Besides the initial apprehension towards all the tapping (and especially the clapping), even more uncertainty came from just how Nintendo would go about resuming development of Donkey Kong for the first time in 10 years. After closely working with Nintendo since the NES, their gorilla entrusted partner Rare departed for the new console competitor Microsoft years back. The (then) new Nintendo EAD Tokyo team, who would later go on to work on the much beloved Mario Galaxy games, doesn’t quite get everything right in their first platformer, but still flexes enough of their budding genius to make even a silverback blink. As a completely clean reboot of the Donkey Kong property by Nintendo, the omission of Diddy is still as disheartening as ever, which Nintendo most certainly took notice of, immediately rectifying the nimble Kong’s (and others) omission in later games. A whole new roster of enemies replace Rare’s Kremling invaders and indigenous island cast; the cartoon-like baddies are unsurprisingly animal based, but far less anthropomorphic and personable. Even a proper world-map is absent, as sets of levels are merely selected from a menu of fruit barrels.

What more than makes up for this slightly disenchanting alternate DK universe are some remarkably engaging mechanics; fresher and more seasonable than some juicy fruit ready to fall from the tree. Besides tapping the left or right bongo to move, hitting both at once to jump and clapping to attack/grab, there’s a satisfying, old school arcade scoring mechanic built around collecting beats/bananas. Unlike all the throwaway oblong fruits of the other games, you’re always given an incentive to collect each and every banana, as they act as both life and a most important currency. What’s more, you must be mindful not to err from the continuous flow of ricocheting/climbing/grabbing opportunities and prematurely touch the ground, as doing so will disrupt your combo bonus. To challenge the percussionist-in-training’s sense of timing, clapping for any nearby bananas rather than just touching them doubles their numeral value. This all adds up to a platformer that feels like every moment matters, long before you make it to the end of a stage.

Constructing the worlds with a vertical or diagonal progression just as often as left to right, the levels encompass not just the expected lush jungles but plenty of other natural environments. Going beyond the mountains, caves, deserts and oceans; the stages sometime stretch towards the fantastical, psychedelic and even beyond the realm of earth itself. Challenges centered on riding/mounting animals complement all the platforming. You’ll often have Donkey Kong’s weighty body hitch a ride off a rather beleaguered bird, test your own muscular endurance as you long jump atop a wildebeest or feel perhaps the most powerful on the back of an unstoppable orca. The end of each world involves repeated duels with giant elephants, birds and warthogs; all increasing in difficulty as gradually as a frog in a boiling pot. The most climactic battles are against the boss Kongs, a diverse gang of scowling, martial arts trained apes ready to duke it fist to fist with Donkey Kong, Punch-Out!!-style.

Even if the overall presentation lacks in creativity and attitude when compared to Rare’s efforts, there’s still plenty of moments that’ll have you pounding your chest with excitement. The way Donkey Kong unabashedly dives into the giant fruit at the end of the stage. Creeping your way through the Banshee Swamp level, which undoubtedly had influence on several later Mario games. Meanly, but no less hilariously yanking the tongue of a giant iguana and letting it snap back in its face! Hearing the angry screams and trumpeting of the wounded bosses before further turning up the heat. Even the tension of watching your banana booty calculated upon completing the world, hoping to earn extra crests and unlock more stages is a beautiful thing. The stronger moods and personality of the Country games are still superior, but in this one, it especially feels like Donkey Kong is relishing in all the action.

Better appreciated in motion than in pictures, the worlds look slightly bland and undeveloped, especially when stacked up against Retro’s not only technically superior, but far more richly illustrated platformers of the next decade. Still an appreciable upgrade from the N64 days, everything is flawlessly rendered and always runs at a dependable 60 FPS. Fighting with a humorous discontent, the character models and animations of all the bosses are still well worth a look. By far the biggest disappointment is that for a game built upon such strong music and rhythmic overtones, virtually everything outside of the main theme is forgettable.

Both taking things back to basics and delivering new mechanics after Donkey Kong 64’s (1999) mixed reception, Jungle Beat is a solid platformer packing a wonderfully inventive control scheme that’s a thrill to figure out how to “get the rhythm of”. As you attempt to completely master the game, you may see such a task is best suited for a younger, more pain tolerant and overflowing-ly kinetic audience. The control system starts out quite refreshing, but grows increasingly brutal on the hands as the difficulty ramps ups. Learning how to take out each enemy and retain the most air as possible to claim a (near) perfect combo is a compelling challenge, but the literal beating to the digits made me retire at just 30 crests, leaving the last world locked and entirely unexplored. I have to wonder what playing the Wii port would be like… Ultimately better, as I can focus entirely on achieving a near perfect run in each level, or is too much magic lost by removing such genius controls? As for the GameCube version: no matter how many deadlifts, pullups or curls I get in, I suspect only a gorilla's weathered palms are tough enough to completely withstand the beating from the bongos.