Donkey Kong Jungle Beat

Donkey Kong Jungle Beat is a platformer for the Nintendo GameCube (later ported to Wii) starring Donkey Kong. It is controlled with the DK Bongos, but can also be played with the normal controller. During the game's boss battles, the bongos control Donkey Kong's fists.

Not counting the earlier Arcade ports to the NES and other systems, Jungle Beat was the first console/handheld Donkey Kong game to not be made by Rare Ltd. After they left Nintendo and joined Microsoft, Rare lost control of the Donkey Kong series due to the fact that it was trademarked by Nintendo. Due to this, Jungle Beat was very different than the Donkey Kong Country games in gameplay, characters and the personality of Donkey Kong, in which he is more aggressive in Jungle Beat.

Donkey Kong Jungle Beat received mainly positive reviews. Rated the 95th best game made on a Nintendo system in the Top 200 Games List by Nintendo Power in it's February 2006 issue, the game's main criticism was its short length and departure from the classic Donkey Kong Country gameplay.

Story
Story From Instruction Booklet:

One day, the peace of the jungle was disrupted by a rampaging pack of wild baddies who wreaked havoc on the residents of the jungle.

Not only that, but they laid claim to every kingdom and stole each one's precious bananas!

"This calls for the one and only Donkey Kong!"

Join forces with your jungle buddies to face an array of powerful enemies and restore peace to the jungle!

Main

 * Donkey Kong
 * Helper Monkeys
 * The Kings

Animal Buddies

 * Hoofer
 * Flurl
 * Orco
 * Helibird

Controls
The controls of this game are different from most 2-D platformers. Hitting the left bongo repeatedly will send send Donkey Kong running to the left, and hitting the right will send him right. To jump straight into the air, the player must hit both bongos at once. To jump diagonally, the player must hit the bongo in the direction he or she wants to jump, while using the other bongo to run. When swimming, swinging, and riding Animal Buddies, the controls are made much more simple.

Levels and Bosses
Donkey Kong Jungle Beat contains a total of 16 'Kingdoms', all of which are named after fruit. Each Kingdom is selected by choosing one of four "barrels". Every Kingdom contains two standard levels followed up by a boss battle. The only areas that stray from this pattern are the VS. areas, which each only have one level and then a boss battle.

The bosses come in four species, and each species has a different fighting style. The species are Kongs, Rocs, Hogs, and Tusks. The following list shows each level along with the boss fought in it.
 * Opening Ceremony


 * D Barrel
 * Banana Kingdom – Dread Kong
 * Orange Kingdom – Scruff Roc
 * Watermelon Kingdom – Rogue-Hog
 * Apple Kingdom – Turret Tusk
 * K Barrel
 * Strawberry Kingdom – Mo-Hog (Gamecube), Fleet Roc (Wii)
 * Pineapple Kingdom – Karate Kong
 * Lemon Kingdom – Fleet Roc (Gamecube), Mo-Hog (Wii)
 * Grape Kingdom – Grave Tusk (Gamecube), Hard Roc (Wii)
 * J Barrel
 * Cherry Kingdom – Hard Roc (Gamecube), Grave Tusk (Wii)
 * Peach Kingdom – Torch Tusk (Gamecube), Bloat-Hog (Wii)
 * Melon Kingdom – Bloat-Hog (Gamecube), Torch Tusk (Wii)
 * Durian Kingdom – Ninja Kong
 * VS. Cactus King
 * B Barrel
 * Pear Kingdom – Gloat-Hog
 * Lychee Kingdom – Thunder Roc
 * Chili Pepper Kingdom – Double Tusk
 * Star Fruit Kingdom – Sumo Kong
 * VS. Ghastly King

Wii version only
The following stage only appears in the Wii version.
 * Kong of the Mountain

Sequels
Two Arcade sequels for Sega's Triforce were made, however were released only in Japan.


 * Donkey Kong: Jungle Fever (2005)
 * Donkey Kong: Banana Kingdom (2006)

References to Other Games

 * Donkey Kong: At the very beginning of the Cactus/Ghastly King battles, part of his theme song is a remix of the tune that plays when Donkey Kong climbs atop the construction site with Pauline.
 * Donkey Kong Country: The entire concept of collecting bananas and riding Animal Buddies originated from this game. Also, Karate Kong bears a slight resemblance to Cranky Kong. Additionally, Barrels appear in the stage select menu, and the background music that's played in Dawn Savanna, after clearing clearing any boss stage, and the ending are remixes of the Jungle Hijinxs theme song.

References in Later Games

 * Mario Kart DS: Many voice clips from Donkey Kong Jungle Beat were reused in this game.
 * DK: Jungle Climber: Many voice clips were reused in this game as well. Also, the pose that Donkey Kong strikes after completing the bonus stage (where the player has to catch bananas with a barrel) is identical to the pose that he strikes in Jungle Beat after completing the banana-eating bonus at the end of each stage.
 * Super Mario Galaxy: There were a few gameplay mechanics from Donkey Kong Jungle Beat that were reused in this game, including sound effects. Also, Party Monkeys were originally going to appear as enemies in this game.
 * Super Smash Bros. Brawl: Rumble Falls was a default stage that could be selected in the game, and the background would also change rapidly, with one of them being the background that was used in the Sky Garden stage. Also, the theme song, "Battle For Storm Hill", could be selected as background music for that stage. Lastly, Party Monkeys appeared as Stickers, and Helibird and Turrent Tusk appeared as Trophies.

New Play Control
The game has been remade for the Wii in the "New Play Control" selection. It was released in Japan on December 11, 2008, North America on May 4, 2009, and in Europe on June 5, 2009. The game is played with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, offers a wide-screen mode and there were several changes to the levels as well. Gimmicks and enemies may be found at different places. There are no completely new levels, but there are two new locations in the Kingdom selection screen, including a Boss Battle Run-Trough and the Ceremony stage from the GameCube version.

Donkey Kong is controlled with the Analog Stick of the Nunchuk, and to clap the player has to flick the Wii Remote. Unlike the original game, Donkey Kong's claps can face into different directions. There are new obstacles like a cactus. The medal system has been revised - there are no longer different medals, but a number of medals (up to three for each kingdom) the player can win by getting a certain number of bananas.

Other differences include:
 * An actual storyline, which wasn't present anywhere in the original game, not even the manual.
 * Six different save files, unlike the original, which had only one per memory card.
 * Bananas, or "Beats" as they were called in the original, are no longer used as an energy meter (except during boss battles). Instead, there is a three-heart life meter. A life counter has also been added.
 * The dancing panda bear was changed into a blue bear.
 * Checkpoints have been added.
 * The spiked, furry creatures were removed from Silver Snow Peak for unknown reasons.
 * Blasting Barrel Cannons have been added and are now used in the place of the launching flowers from the original.
 * Donkey Kong now wears a crown after defeating a boss. The crown could also be worn in the stages after the player completes the game with all crests and crowns.
 * There are now 60 crests instead of 72.
 * Some boss and level locations were moved to different kingdoms.
 * Donkey Kong can no longer use Clap Grabs underwater and/or in the air (while using Animal Buddies such as Helibird or Flurl).
 * The Karate Kong battle is shown from a different camera angle while Donkey Kong is punching.
 * Due to closer camera angles, Donkey Kong is no longer shown at the bottom left-hand corner of the screen.
 * The intro stage can no longer be selected once the player has completed it.

Trivia

 * This was the first video game to be rated E10+ by the ESRB.
 * Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, so far, is the only New Play Control! series game to have new content.