Donkey Konga

Donkey Konga is a Donkey Kong video game for the Nintendo GameCube. It was developed by Namco and published by Nintendo in 2003 in Japan and 2004 overseas. It is the first installment of the Donkey Konga series, and it is notable for being the first game to be compatible with the DK Bongos.

Donkey Konga eventually received two sequels: Donkey Konga 2 and the Japan-exclusive Donkey Konga 3 JP.

Story
Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong are strolling across a beach and suddenly find a mysterious pair of barrels. DK attempts to open it but is stopped by Diddy, who believes it is a trap from King K. Rool.

Following Diddy's advice, the duo take the barrels to Cranky Kong. Cranky chuckles and explains that they are bongos. DK decides to call them the "DK Bongos", and he plays on them. Diddy comments that DK is bad at the bongos, and he tries the bongos. DK, in turn, laughs and claims that Diddy plays the bongos poorly. He claps, which cause the bongos to glow. Cranky explains that the instrument glows and makes noises from detecting clapping.

In response, Donkey Kong and Diddy perform and clap with the bongos more. After they make a lot of loud noise, DK becomes discouraged and admits that he and Diddy are not good at playing the bongos. Cranky explains that nobody starts out as a professional, and their performance gradually improves from practicing. DK initially mentions his dislike of practicing, but suddenly realizes that he might achieve fame if he becomes good at the bongos, which Cranky believes to be a possibility. DK and Diddy then daydream about becoming rich and owning lots of bananas, causing Cranky to sigh and remind them to practice; the pair head out to get some training in as the scene ends.

Gameplay
The main gameplay is largely identical to the  games, which were also designed by the same developers. The player has the option to utilize the DK Bongos or a standard GameCube controller. During gameplay, the player controls Donkey Kong, whose goal is to hit scrolling notes, known as beats. They must hit it with accurate timing when it moves under a cursor on the far left. There are four types of beats (red, light blue, yellow, and purple), and are each associated with a different button. A word appears on screen for every passing note, and the displayed word is based on the accuracy of the player hitting the beat. A combo is displayed if the player hits two or more consecutive beats, but it vanishes if the player misses a beat.

Modes
All four gameplay modes (except Challenge) have three levels of difficulty modes, from lowest to highest: Monkey, Chimp, and Gorilla. The second player plays as Diddy Kong in multiplayer modes. Every song has a varying number of beats, which is indicated from the number of barrels next to their titles on the selection menu.

Jungle Jams
The player can purchase individual songs to perform on Gorilla (expert) difficulty.

Bongo Sets
The player can purchase alternate sounds for the bongos to make during gameplay.

Monkey Shines
The player can purchase three mini-games to play in the ape arcade, two of which have a 2-player competitive (Vs.) mode.

List of songs
Donkey Konga features around thirty songs, most of which differ between regional release. Every region has songs that originate from other Nintendo titles along with traditional music, including kids' medleys, pop and classical. Almost every traditional song was made into a shortened cover for the North American release.

Japan

 * Advance Adventure - GARDEN (Pokémon Advance Generation opening theme #1)
 * Ai no Uta - Strawberry Flower (Pikmin commercial theme song)
 * - Re:Japan
 * Asu e no Tobira - ( opening theme)
 * Clarinet o Kowashichatta
 * Donkey Konga (theme song)
 * - ( theme song)
 * Hamutarou tottoko Uta - Hamu-chans ( opening theme)
 * Hyokkori Hyoutanjima (theme song for the animated film of the same name)
 * - ( opening theme #12 - 2003)
 * Kirby! - Hiroko Asakawa (Kirby: Right Back at Ya! opening theme #2)
 * Legend of Stafy
 * Love Somebody - and  ( ending theme)
 * Mata Aeru Hi Made - ( ending theme #8)
 * Monkey Rap - Grant Kirkhope (Donkey Kong 64 theme song)
 * Shake -
 * Super Mario Theme - Koji Kondo (Super Mario Bros. theme song)
 * We are the One ~Bokura wa hitotsu~ - ( ending theme)
 * Love Somebody - and  ( ending theme)
 * Mata Aeru Hi Made - ( ending theme #8)
 * Monkey Rap - Grant Kirkhope (Donkey Kong 64 theme song)
 * Shake -
 * Super Mario Theme - Koji Kondo (Super Mario Bros. theme song)
 * We are the One ~Bokura wa hitotsu~ - ( ending theme)
 * Monkey Rap - Grant Kirkhope (Donkey Kong 64 theme song)
 * Shake -
 * Super Mario Theme - Koji Kondo (Super Mario Bros. theme song)
 * We are the One ~Bokura wa hitotsu~ - ( ending theme)
 * Shake -
 * Super Mario Theme - Koji Kondo (Super Mario Bros. theme song)
 * We are the One ~Bokura wa hitotsu~ - ( ending theme)
 * We are the One ~Bokura wa hitotsu~ - ( ending theme)

North America

 * - William Swords
 * Campfire Medley
 * Diddy's Ditties (an instrumental cover of Happy Birthday)
 * DK Rap
 * Donkey Konga Theme
 * Kirby: Right Back at Ya!
 * The Legend of Zelda Theme
 * Super Mario Theme
 * Para Los Rumberos -
 * Pokémon Theme
 * (With A Swing) -
 * Kirby: Right Back at Ya!
 * The Legend of Zelda Theme
 * Super Mario Theme
 * Para Los Rumberos -
 * Pokémon Theme
 * (With A Swing) -
 * Para Los Rumberos -
 * Pokémon Theme
 * (With A Swing) -
 * Pokémon Theme
 * (With A Swing) -
 * (With A Swing) -
 * (With A Swing) -
 * (With A Swing) -
 * (With A Swing) -

Europe

 * DK Rap
 * Donkey Konga Theme
 * Donkey Kong Country Theme
 * The Legend of Zelda Theme
 * Mario Bros. Theme
 * Para Los Rumberos -
 * Rainbow Cruise
 * (With A Swing) -
 * Super Smash Bros. Melee Opening
 * Donkey Konga Theme
 * Donkey Kong Country Theme
 * The Legend of Zelda Theme
 * Mario Bros. Theme
 * Para Los Rumberos -
 * Rainbow Cruise
 * (With A Swing) -
 * Super Smash Bros. Melee Opening
 * Mario Bros. Theme
 * Para Los Rumberos -
 * Rainbow Cruise
 * (With A Swing) -
 * Super Smash Bros. Melee Opening
 * Rainbow Cruise
 * (With A Swing) -
 * Super Smash Bros. Melee Opening
 * (With A Swing) -
 * Super Smash Bros. Melee Opening
 * Super Smash Bros. Melee Opening

Regional differences
Aside from a different set of songs, Donkey Konga's North American logo is different from the European and Japanese logo. This change is reflected both in-game and on each region's box cover. The Japanese logo has a subtitle, which western versions do not have.

Every title screen depicts a scene of the beach, but the North American one displays a different scene from the European and Japanese versions. The latter two depict a straight view of the beach, which is partially obscured by the game's logo. The North American title screen shows Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong partying at the shore, complete with a pair of bongos and a boombox in the scene.

The logo on the GameCube menu banner is also different between regions.

The Japanese version has a start-up warning advising players to be weary of vibrations, the sound, and the time of day they play. This warning is absent from the North American and European releases. A health and safety warning is featured in every regional release of Donkey Konga 2, but this exact warning was also featured in the Japanese version of the sequel.

Browser game
An interactive to promote Donkey Konga was developed by Lightmaker and published by Nintendo in 2004. The microsite allows the player to explore Konga Island to find information about Donkey Konga, and contains four levels of an version of the game, where the player must control the DK Bongos with the arrow keys and space bar. Konga Island features four areas: Completing the first three levels unlocks the fourth and final level, which unlocks a downloadable Donkey Konga wallpaper and screensaver upon completion.
 * Beach: The starting area, where each of the levels of the Donkey Konga training session are played.
 * Waterfall: Unlocked after completing level 1. It features an "About Donkey Konga" section, as well as a minigame where Donkey Kong must throw coconuts at barrels to release 6 music notes. Collecting them reveals the opening theme from Donkey Kong.
 * Jungle: Unlocked after completing level 2. It allows the player to view 20 screenshots of Donkey Konga, as well as play a minigame where Donkey Kong must collect 16 falling notes to create a wildlife melody.
 * Konga Island Outdoor Cinema: Unlocked after completing level 3. It allows the player to view a commercial for Donkey Konga.

Reception
"As an executive, I hated Donkey Konga[...] The first game actually sold reasonably well, but boy was I not a fan."

- Reggie Fils-Aimé

In a 2022 interview, Nintendo of America executive Reggie Fils-Aimé confessed to hating Donkey Konga, stating he had "pushed back" against the Japanese office regarding the game, finding it unfun to play and that it might hurt the Donkey Kong brand.

Staff
Hiroyuki Onoda was the director of this game and would later reprise his role for its sequels. Koji Kondo and Toru Minegishi are credited as sound support. Along with Masanori Sato, prominent Mario franchise illustrator Yoichi Kotabe served as graphic support.

References to other media

 * Donkey Kong - When choosing whether to display the screen in 50Hz or 60Hz, Mario (as he appears in Donkey Kong) acts as a cursor, and Donkey Kong (also as he appears in Donkey Kong) stands to the left. The "NES" Bongo Set use sound effects from this game. The left bongo plays Mario's jump sound effect and clapping plays the sound effect of Mario jumping over an obstacle.
 * Donkey Kong Jr.: In the "NES" Bongo Set, the right bongo plays the sound effect of Donkey Kong Jr. getting hit by an obstacle.
 * The Legend of Zelda series - The Legend of Zelda Theme is featured on the North American, European and Australian versions of the game.
 * Donkey Kong Country - The track "Donkey Kong Country Theme" is the Super Smash Bros. Melee arrangement of "DK Island Swing" from this game.
 * Pokémon (anime) - The North American release includes the anime's theme song.
 * Donkey Kong 64 - Donkey Kong can be heard saying "Hey!", "Cool!", and "Yeah!" during the K. Rool Bash mini-game. Also, the Super Smash Bros. Melee version of the DK Rap appears in the game.
 * Super Smash Bros. Melee - The tracks "Donkey Kong Country Theme", "Rainbow Cruise", "Super Smash Bros. Melee Opening", and "DK Rap" are taken from this game.
 * Kirby: Right Back at Ya! - The Japanese and North American releases both include the anime's theme song.