Donkey Konga

Donkey Konga is a Donkey Kong franchise game for the Nintendo GameCube. It was developed by Namco and published by Nintendo, and is the first installment of the Donkey Konga series. Donkey Konga is the first game to specifically utilize the DK Bongos.

Donkey Konga eventually spawned two sequels: Donkey Konga 2 and Donkey Konga 3: Tabehōdai! Haru Mogitate 50 Kyoku, the latter of which was only released in Japan.

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 him and Diddy are not good at playing the bongos. Cranky explains that nobody starts out as a professional and that their performance gradually improves from practicing. DK initially mentions his dislike of practicing but suddenly has the idea to become good at the bongos and become famous, which Cranky believes to be a possibility. DK and Diddy daydream and focus on becoming rich and owning lots of bananas. Cranky sighs and reminds them again to practice, which the two head out to do.

Gameplay
The 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, there are notes that scroll down the screen, and the player must accurately hit each one as they move through a multicolored cursor on the far left.

There are four differently colored notes: yellow, red, purple, and light blue. Each note requires the player to hit a different button. The game also ranks the player's timing and accuracy of hitting each individual note.

Modes
Donkey Konga features a few modes, all of which are accessible from the main menu.


 * Street Performance - This is where the player can earn coins to buy stuff in DK Town. The player can only keep the coins if they clear the song. The levels for it are Monkey, Chimp, Gorilla, Monkey Jam, Chimp Jam, and Gorilla Jam.
 * Challenge - This is where players plays as DK (P1) and/or Diddy (P2) to see how many songs they can clear. The order in which songs are played is random.
 * Battle - This is where Donkey (P1) and Diddy (P2) face off against each other. The amount of barrels next to each song title tells how difficult it is. The levels it has are Monkey, Chimp, Gorilla, Monkey Jam, Chimp Jam, and Gorilla Jam.
 * Jam Session - A jam session is when DK and Diddy practice on songs. This area is for 1-4 players. The levels for it are Monkey, Chimp, and Gorilla.
 * Ape Arcade - This where Donkey and Diddy hang out and play their favorite games. The player can play some games after they buy them with coins.
 * DK Town - This is where the player can buy upgrades such as Jam songs, mini-games, and sound sets. The player can also view high scores in the Hall of Records and go to the Electric Hut (the options menu).

Tracks
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 (Pokémon Advance Generation opening theme #1)
 * Ai no Uta (Pikmin commercial theme song)
 * Ashita he no Tobira ( opening theme)
 * Clarinet no Kowashichatta
 * Desire - Jounetsu -
 * Donkey Konga (theme song)
 * The Galaxy Express 999 ( theme song)
 * Hamutarou tottoko Uta ( opening theme)
 * Hyokkori Youtan Shima (theme song for the TV show of the same name)
 * Kaze no La La La ( opening theme)
 * Kirby! (Kirby: Right Back at Ya! opening theme #2)
 * Legend of Stafy
 * Love Somebody ( ending theme)
 * Mata Aeru Hi Made ( ending theme #8)
 * Monkey Rap (Donkey Kong 64 theme song)
 * Mori no Kumasan
 * Oklahoma Mixer
 * Shake -
 * Super Mario Theme (Super Mario Bros. theme song)
 * - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
 * We are the One - Bokura wa hitotsu ( ending theme) -
 * Mata Aeru Hi Made ( ending theme #8)
 * Monkey Rap (Donkey Kong 64 theme song)
 * Mori no Kumasan
 * Oklahoma Mixer
 * Shake -
 * Super Mario Theme (Super Mario Bros. theme song)
 * - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
 * We are the One - Bokura wa hitotsu ( ending theme) -
 * Super Mario Theme (Super Mario Bros. theme song)
 * - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
 * We are the One - Bokura wa hitotsu ( ending theme) -

North America

 * 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) -
 * Stupid Cupid -
 * Kirby: Right Back at Ya!
 * The Legend of Zelda Theme
 * Super Mario Theme
 * Para Los Rumberos -
 * Pokémon Theme
 * (With A Swing) -
 * Stupid Cupid -
 * Para Los Rumberos -
 * Pokémon Theme
 * (With A Swing) -
 * Stupid Cupid -
 * (With A Swing) -
 * Stupid Cupid -
 * (With A Swing) -
 * Stupid Cupid -
 * Stupid Cupid -

Europe

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

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 aware of vibrations, the sound and how much time they play. This warning was removed in the North American and European releases, which do not have any start-up warning. A health and safety warning was later incorporated into every regional release of Donkey Konga 2.

References to other games

 * 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 stands to the left (also as he appears in Donkey Kong).
 * Donkey Kong 64 - Donkey Kong, during the "K. Rool Bash" mini-game, can be heard saying "Hey!", "Cool!", and "Yeah!" throughout. Also, the Melee version of the DK Rap appears in the game.
 * Super Smash Bros. Melee - The tracks "Rainbow Cruise," "Super Smash Bros. Melee Opening," and "DK Rap" are taken from this game.
 * Super Mario Bros. - The track "Mario Bros. Theme" is a remix of a track from this game.
 * Donkey Kong Country - The track "Donkey Kong Country Theme" is a remix of a track from this game.
 * The Legend of Zelda series - The Legend of Zelda Theme is featured on the North American, European and Australian versions of the game.
 * Kirby: Right Back at Ya! - The Japanese and North American releases both include the anime's theme song.
 * Pokémon (anime) - The North American release includes the anime's theme song.