 The other day I sat down with my four-year-old grandson to try out a Nintendo Game Cube game call Donkey Konga. Of course Donkey Kong is the main character of the game and his friends Diddy Kong and Cranky Kong make special appearances. It seems that Donkey and Diddy found a mysterious pair of barrels in the forest and realized they could be used as bongo drums. In Donkey Konga, you get to play the bongos. A DK Bongos Controller, which looks like a pair of bongo drums, is included with every game.
Donkey Konga is a musical adventure, rhythm action game. There is a target on the left side of the screen. When you see the yellow icon line up with the target you hit the left side of the bongos. When a red icon enters the target, you hit the right bongo. For a pink icon you hit both bongos. When you see an icon that looks like a starburst you clap. All this is done to the beat of the music. Songs include thirty easily identifiable ditties like B-I-N-G-O, Dancing in the Street, Happy Birthday, I’ve Been Working on the Railroad, Itsy Bitsy Spider and The Loco-Motion.
Jake, my young grandson, of course, didn’t understand the rules, but he recognized the songs and pounded away on the drums. He immediately noticed that the Donkey Kong on the screen mimicked his every move. When he hit the left drum, so did Donkey Kong. When he clapped, so did Donkey Kong. Seeing Donkey Kong clap to Jakes beat even amazed me until I realized that the bongos had a built-in microphone to sense the clapping. Jake just kept happily hitting the bongos, exploding in fits of laughter. The joviality was contagious and we were both soon laughing uncontrollably.
Even though Jake was a bit young for the game, he caught on to the rhythm and some of the simple tasks. An older child would not only be able to play the games, but could learn basic musical skills like recognizing rhythms and tempos. There are three levels of difficulty, many different games to play, and coins to be won. The coins can be redeemed at DK Town for more music, new bongo sounds, and mini games.
Donkey Konga is deceptively simple. It seems easy enough when you start, but as you progress, it can be a real challenge. In advanced modes it is an intense rhythm game. The themed backgrounds and different games keep you from getting bored. Each is a little different like the 100m Vine Climb in the Banana Jungle where you harvest fruit to the beat of the music. There is also a street performance, the challenge, the battle, a jam session, and an ape arcade. If you are a hard rock fan, you won’t like the music, but if you think it can be fun to sing row, row, your boat, you’ll love it. I would like to see even more songs included.
Donkey Konga is good, clean fun that can be enjoyed by everyone. Other family members of all ages are now using the game regularly. Even teens “get into the groove”. Up to four players can play at one time using regular game controllers. I’m even tempted to purchase an additional set of bongos, available for $29.99, to play the game with friends. These bongos will also be used with Donkey Kong’s Jungle Beat, another Nintendo game to be released sometime in 2005.
Manufactuerer: Nintendo
Price: $49.99
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