Playtest: Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber (DS)
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| Playtest: Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber (DS) | |
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| Publisher | Nintendo |
| Original language | English |
| Translations | German Italian |
| Release date | October 10, 2007[1] |
Playtest: Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber (DS) is one in a series of "Playtest" articles published on official European Nintendo websites. The article serves as an overview of various aspects of DK: Jungle Climber.
Website description[edit]
- People who love platforming games enjoy the challenge that comes with precision timing. A quarter of a second can make the difference between landing on solid ground and falling into a bottomless pit filled with jumps gone wrong.
Transcript[edit]
- Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber is an excellent take on the platformer genre. Although DK does his share of jumping in the game, most of the platforming movement involves him grasping onto a peg and then swinging to another peg, avoiding enemies and snagging bananas all the while.
- To grab onto a peg, you press either the L or R Button (depending on which hand you want DK to grab with), and when you release the button, DK goes flying into the air in search of another peg to swing on or some solid ground to walk on. Because the swing is the thing, the angle with which he releases from a variety of pegs determines how high or how far his leap takes him. Sometimes he grabs solitary pegs, other times he grabs onto a whole board of pegs. There are even times when the pegs are on a moving target.
- The angle of release plays a huge role in this game. Although a 45-degree angle of release might generate the most height with the farthest distance, the game’s obstacles are set up to make you release at all different of angles. When the ceiling protrudes, you’ll want to release at a smaller angle to avoid hitting the roof. If there are enemies in front of you, you might need to release at a greater angle as to sail over those enemies.
- Like any good platformer, there will be times when DK actually needs to jump, and he specialises in two types. Pushing the A Button starts a jump used mostly for attacking. If an enemy stands in his way, DK smashes into it with this spin attack, clearing the way for his journey. If you need him to jump more gracefully, more in control, you’ll press L and R at the same time. This makes DK jump straight up with his hands extended, ready to grab the next peg.
- The two styles of jumps become more important when you come across Diddy Kong on your journey. Diddy Kong follows DK’s every step, and DK can use him as an instrument of attack. When you make DK jump with the spin attack, you can press the A Button again to launch Diddy into the air, and the airborne Diddy destroys enemies in his path. Diddy will also collect those hard-to-reach bananas and other bonuses. Diddy is such a good pal, he’ll even take a hit for DK. If an enemy damages DK, Diddy Kong takes the brunt of it and disappears.
- Diddy Kong is also needed when you come across special power-ups. On your journey, you’ll find such items as a hammer and feathers. Although they’re very powerful items, only Diddy can use them. With the hammer, Diddy wildly swings it, destroying all enemies and barrels it touches, as DK keeps climbing amongst the pegs. The feathers let Diddy and DK glide through the air. Both power-ups are only used for a limited amount of time.
- Among some of the bonuses Diddy can help you collect are oil barrels. If you collect enough oil barrels, Funky Kong will take you for a ride in his airplane to a special level in each world. For the first world, for example, you’ll need to collect four of these oil barrels. Once you do, Funky’s Airplane gives you a lift to Little Sun Sun Island where a big challenge awaits.
- Creative level design can make a game with even the simplest of controls challenging, and Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber is a great example of this. You might be able to breeze through the first two worlds, but the father you make it, the harder it gets. Fair and unforgiving at the same time, the game will really put your timing to the test.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italian | Test di gioco: Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber (DS)[2] | Game testing: Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber (DS) |
