Donkey Konga is a rhythm game for the Nintendo GameCube that uses a set of bongos as its controller. The typical rhythm game interface is here as seen in other games like DDR or Guitar Hero, with a screen that scrolls colored shapes towards an end point, dictating which button to press at the correct point.
Donkey Konga succeeds at creating a fun, engaging, and basic rhythm experience, with a few flaws. The control interface is simple, with yellow dots indicating to hit the left bongo, red dots for the right, pink for hitting both at the same time, and a silver symbol to suggest clapping. The controls are responsive and allows the game to read many rapid inputs, a necessity in a drumming game. When you are attempting to perform 16th notes, sensitive controls are a must, and Donkey Konga's controller is up to the task. At times it can be a bit too responsive, however, and this comes into play with the clapping. The clapping is registered not with a pressure sensor, but rather just by the sound of clapping, and ambient sounds around you can sometimes be registered as a clap, including a door closing, my son popping his knuckles, or other sundry sounds.
The games visuals are fine, but nothing to write home about. The notes are clearly displayed and visually appealing. You get a model of Donkey Kong drumming along with you, but since you'll be so focused on the notes, you'll hardly notice it. There are also coins flying everywhere as you strike notes correctly, and a meter showing how well you're doing. This meter is a bit out of the way, and I would have liked if it had been a bit closer to the notes to allow you to quickly check your progress during a song.
Rhythm games tend to succeed on two fronts. First, how are the controls? Second, what kind of songs do you get to play along with? In my opinion, the second question is far more important than the first. I prefer Guitar Hero 2 to Guitar Hero 3 simply on the basis of the songs, even though the controls are much better in the third in the series. So what kind of songs are in Donkey Konga?
The songs are a curious mix that make you kind of wonder to which market they're playing. Few of the songs have iconic drumming sections, with the exception of tracks like "Oye Come Va", a no brainer. Slightly less than half of the songs came from iconic Nintendo IPs, although there are certainly some curious choices, including the theme song from the Kirby TV show. And some of the remixes of the songs are just flat out weird. I think an approach that was either more like Guitar Hero, which faithfully picked some iconic guitar songs for their tracklist, or like Final Fantasy Theatrhythm, which culled from the excellent soundtracks from the Final Fantasy series, would have served this game much better. As it is, there are a bunch of really strange choices that are neither popular, nor iconic, nor related to Nintendo, and I think this is the biggest whiff of the game.
So Donkey Konga is a fun rhythm game with generally good controls, but with a setlist that leaves a lot to be desired. I'd recommend this game to fans of rhythm games, but most people will find it a strange experience, in my opinion. I'll give it a 8.0/10.
I have betrayed the confidence of my extensive reader base yet again, and started playing something other than The Legend of Dragoon this weekend. Forgive me! Here's a quick teaser for what I'll be playing next on the home console side of "What I'm Playing".
-TRO
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