Donkey Konga 2

Donkey Konga 2, otherwise known as Donkey Konga 2: Hit Song Parade in Japan, is a Donkey Kong video game for the Nintendo GameCube. It is the sequel to Donkey Konga and the second title of the Donkey Konga series. It also has a sequel that was only released in Japan, Donkey Konga 3: Tabehōdai! Haru Mogitate 50 Kyoku. Donkey Konga 2 was released in Japan in 2004 and in 2005 for oversea regions.

Like the other Donkey Konga titles, Donkey Konga 2 utilizes the DK Bongos peripheral but retains its compatibility with the GameCube controller.

Story
Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong were practicing the bongos; its energy was draining from the Kongs shouting and arguing with one another over their performance. Cranky and Dixie show up and hear them arguing. The Kongs blame each other to Cranky, but Dixie looks at Diddy's bongos and tells him and DK that she was listening to them and claims their bongo playing is "way off". Dixie is about to play the bongos, and DK and Diddy doubt her capability of playing them. To their surprise, Dixie was very good at playing the bongos. After drumming, Dixie told DK and Diddy to work on their drumming skills, specifically citing their timing and accuracy.

Cranky told DK and Diddy that they can only improve by competing against other people. He mentions of the whole world with music, and that the Kongs should tour off the island to practice on their bongos. Diddy expressed his love for the idea while Donkey Kong was unaware of the entire situation. He asked what the big deal was and if they would have a tour guide. DK and Diddy fantasize and excitedly shout in unison of all the Bananas they would be able to eat. Dixie decides to join the Kongs, and says that they cannot leave the island without her bongo skills. Diddy gets annoyed at her statement and professes to be good at playing bongos. The opening ends with the three Kongs leaving the island, and Cranky asks himself if they are prepared for a world tour, hoping they would "break a leg".

Gameplay
Donkey Konga 2 has largely similar gameplay to that of ''Donkey Kongas. It retains its '-based gameplay style. The player must hit the notes in conjunction with the song playing. A few unique modes appear in this game, including "Concert", "Freestyle Zone", and "Music Lab".

Aside from the story introduction, Dixie Kong has a role as a professional drummer. Sometimes, after completing a mode, Dixie provides advice to the player, known as "Dixie's Notes". Each bit of advice she provides is catalogued in the "Hall of Records" for the player to review. Dixie is also Donkey Kong's opponent in the Barrel Race mini-game.

Bongos-A-Go-Go
Despite having the same function, each sound set is at a different price. Every sound set has three sound effects based on its title, and they each correspond with clapping and the left and right bongos.

Jungle Jams
Each song has a purchasable Gorilla Arrangement, which is peforming the song on expert difficulty. Like with Bongos-A-Go-Go, each item is individually priced even though the general purpose is the same.

List of songs
There are a little over 30 songs featured in the game. Like its predecessor, Donkey Konga 2 features a different set of songs per region.

While the European release continued to feature family-friendly songs, the North American release featured song covers of popular hits meant for older audiences, e.g. P!nk and Trapt. The ESRB provided a "T" (Teen) rating to Donkey Konga 2 for "Mild Lyrics".

Japan

 * Ai no Tame Ni - Aya Ueto (Aim for the Ace! TV drama ending)
 * Ambitious Japan!
 * Challenger!! - Rica Matsumoto (Pokémon Advanced Generation opening theme #2)
 * Danzen! Futari wa Pretty Cure - Mayumi Gojo (Futari wa Pretty Cure opening theme)
 * Donkey Kong A Go Go!! (theme for Donkey Konga 2)
 * Doraemon no Uta - Kumiko Osugi (Doraemon (1979) opening theme)
 * Dynamite
 * Go Girl ~ Koi no Victory - Morning Musume
 * Guantanamera
 * Habanera from Carmen - Georges Bizet
 * Hustle - Koichi Yamadera (Kaiketsu Zorori opening theme)
 * Ko-inu no Waltz - Chopin
 * The Legend of Zelda Theme
 * Lucky Chachacha - Minimoni (Minimoni de Bremen Ongakutai opening theme)
 * Mazinger Z - Ichiro Mizuki (Mazinger Z opening theme)
 * Yeah! Me-cha Holiday - Aya Matsuura
 * Monkey Magic (Monkey opening theme)
 * Odoru Ponpokorin - B.B.Queens (Chibi Maruko-chan ending theme #1)
 * Oshiete (Heidi, Girl of the Alps opening theme)
 * Over Drive
 * Realize - Nami Tamaki (Mobile Suit Gundam SEED opening theme #4)
 * Sakuranbo - Ai Otsuka
 * Secret Base ~ Kimi ga Kureta Mono
 * Super Donkey Kong Theme
 * Tane no Uta (Pikmin 2 theme song)
 * Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger - Psychic Lover (Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger opening theme)
 * Trepak - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
 * Viva Rock - Orange Range (NARUTO ending theme #3)
 * WA ni Natte Odorou
 * Wild Challenger - Jindou (Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo opening theme)
 * Yankee Doodle
 * Zenbu Dakishimete

North America

 * All Star - Smash Mouth
 * Boombastic - Shaggy
 * Born Too Slow - The Crystal Method
 * Come Clean - Hilary Duff
 * Contact - Roger Sanchez
 * Donkey Konga 2 Theme
 * Drive - Incubus
 * Full Moon - Brandy
 * Habanera from Carmen - Georges Bizet
 * Headstrong - Trapt
 * High Roller - The Crystal Method
 * Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!) - Blu Cantrell
 * I Don't Want To Know (If You Don't Want Me) - The Donnas
 * It's Been Awhile - Staind
 * La Bamba - Ritchie Valens
 * Losing My Religion - R.E.M.
 * Minute Waltz - Frédéric Chopin
 * Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye - The Nylons
 * No More Drama - Mary J. Blige
 * Pieces - Hoobastank
 * Predictable - Good Charlotte
 * Road Trip - Steriogram
 * Rock the Boat - Aaliyah
 * Send the Pain Below - Chevelle
 * Shiny Happy People - R.E.M.
 * Sidewalks - Story of the Year
 * The Anthem - Good Charlotte
 * Trepak - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
 * Trouble - P!nk
 * U Don't Have to Call - Usher
 * Unpretty - TLC
 * Why Don't We Fall in Love - Ameriie
 * Wish You Were Here - Incubus

Europe

 * All Star - Smash Mouth
 * Are You Ready For Love? - Elton John
 * Boombastic - Shaggy
 * Breakfast at Tiffany's - Deep Blue Something
 * Contact - Roger Sanchez
 * Donkey Konga 2 Theme
 * Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Santa Esmeralda
 * Don't Let Me Get Me - P!nk
 * Drive - Incubus
 * Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
 * Enjoy the Silence - Depeche Mode
 * Green Greens
 * Havanaise
 * I'm A Slave 4 U - Britney Spears
 * I Don't Want To Know (If You Don't Want Me) - The Donnas
 * I Just Wanna Live - Good Charlotte
 * Jungle Boogie - Kool & the Gang
 * La Bamba - Ritchie Valens
 * La Cucaracha
 * Losing My Religion - R.E.M.
 * Mansize Rooster - Supergrass
 * Mute City Theme
 * Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye - The Nylons
 * Pokémon Main Theme
 * Predictable - Good Charlotte
 * Pumping on Your Stereo - Supergrass
 * Runaway Train - Soul Asylum
 * Shiny Happy People - R.E.M.
 * Sidewalks - Story of the Year
 * Super Mario Bros. 3 Theme
 * That's the Way (I Like It) - KC and the Sunshine Band
 * Trepak - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
 * Trouble - P!nk
 * William Tell Overture - Gioachino Rossini

Regional differences
Like its predecessor, Donkey Konga 2 features regional differences aside from a different set of music. Aside from the language difference, the European and Japanese feature fewer differences than to the North American version.

The Japanese release has the same health & safety warning as in Donkey Konga. Only regular health & safety warnings are in the North American and European versions.

The title screen is different from the North American version to the European and Japanese versions. The Japanese version has a subtitle, so the main title was made smaller to accommodate room for the subtitle. Despite the logo difference, every region has the same Nintendo GameCube menu banner.

The background texture of Freestyle Zone's options menu and Dixie's Notes show the Donkey Konga 2 logo. As a result, each region shows their own logo. The Japanese logo is brighter than the European logo, which is even darker than the North American version's.

The song selection menu of the European and Japanese versions are sorted by genre. The North American version does not do this, and each of its banners are in either shade of green. However, the song list in the North American manual utilizes this categorization.

In the Freestyle Zone, the number of hits is mentioned twice in the European version: the "Hit Count" (above) and the word "hit(s)" (on the right side).

Staff

 * Hiroumi Endo
 * Hiroshi Igarashi
 * Hiroyuki Onoda
 * Yoshihiro Kurohata
 * Kenichiro Kubo
 * Shigenori Kanai

References to other games

 * Donkey Kong - The screen for creating a new Memory Card save shows sprites from the original Donkey Kong, and one of the default bongo options is NES, which features a few re-recorded sound effects from the game. These features also appear in the first and third Konga titles. Additionally, the background of the Challenge menu shows construction girders, reminiscent of 25m.
 * Donkey Kong Country - The score dashboard of Battle mode has a banner based on the temple levels, with a Gnawty holding a torch.
 * Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest - In both the Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Konga franchises, Dixie appears in the second installment but does not appear in the first game. In Freestyle Zone, most of the character artwork that displays on-screen originates from this game, which includes the Kongs, Animal Friends, and enemies.
 * Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! - Artwork of a few Brothers Bears and a Banana Bird appear in Freestyle Zone. Kiddy Kong and Banana Bird are one of the selectable badges after the player makes a top score on performing a song. Swanky Kong and Wrinkly Kong's badges and Freestyle Zone artwork are from their appearance in Donkey Kong Country 3.
 * Donkey Kong 64 - Banana Fairies reappear in the Street Performance mode, and a Banana Camera Film is the scoreboard banner in Street Performance and Challenge. In Freestyle Zone, a sound effect of either one of the five Kongs winning a Bonus Barrel mini-game plays after hitting a certain number of beats.
 * Donkey Konga - The sequel to this game. The core gameplay and some modes (such as Street Performance) first appeared in this game.

Reception
Donkey Konga 2 received mixed to positive reviews from gaming outlets. Critics generally praised the responsive and intuitive mechanics and the multiplayer modes, but criticized the odd western track lists, the poor quality of many of the cover songs and the general lack of addition to the formula.

Trivia

 * Donkey Konga 2 is the only game of the Donkey Kong franchise, including the whole Mario franchise to have a T rating, not including the Super Smash Bros. titles, Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.