"Palm Aching Fun!"

There have been many rhythm games in the past, and each has their own flavor or charm. Most require a special controller to truly get into the game, and without it, the games lack luster. I believe the reason why most of these games fail here in the United States is that you have to buy the controller and the game in two pieces which makes the investment around $80 or more. Donkey Konga changes that formula by giving you the special controller with the game at the new game price of $50! This alone sets the game apart from other rhythm games. Throw in some catchy tunes, a cheesy story, add the unique Bongo controller and you will have a palm aching good time.

The story is simple enough. Donkey and Diddy Kong are walking on the beach when a strange set of barrels washes ashore. Neither has seen such an item before so like good apes they start to beat on it to see if anything is inside. They find that it made a strange sound when they beat on it and when one of them clapped it started to glow. This scares the two so they bring the barrels to Kranky Kong and he explains that they are bongos and meant for playing music. Donkey and Diddy want to become rich and famous playing the bongos so they can buy as many bananas that they want. This is standard platform game fair, but this is a rhythm game, so it plays nothing like a platform game.

As far as the game play goes, it could not be simpler. A series of barrels rolls across the screen. The colors of the barrels tell you what drum to hit, like yellow left drum, red right. What makes the game difficult is that there are claps built into the game. There is a small microphone built into the controller the ‘hears' when you clap. You can clap you hands, tap the sides of the drum, or just say ‘Clap' and it will register the sound. This sounds pretty easy and for the most part, it is easy. The complications come in when those barrels start flying across the screen and you cannot keep track of what to do at what time. Help from friends sitting next to you coving the claps does help, but even that is not enough for a few of the songs. So, have does the game evaluate? Read below.

Control: 10
The game control is simple and easy to perform. The controller is very well tuned to know when you hit the left, right or both drums. The microphone can be adjusted for sensitivity to your claps so that if the room is noisy, you can account for that. The came also plays very well with a regular controller. The left control stick is your left drum, and of the buttons of the ‘C' stick control the right drum, and the ‘Z' or left and right shoulder buttons are your claps. Some of the really hard songs are easier to use the standard controller to complete because most gamers have much higher finger dexterity than full hand dexterity.

Graphics: 6
This is the only part of the game that does not shine. The overall graphics are equal to those of the Gameboy Advance and not up to GameCube standards. Donkey and Diddy Kong look pixilated along with many of the backgrounds. It is good that the game does not really need dazzling graphics to be enjoyed.

Music/Sound: 10
There are 30 or more songs in this game, which is a lot for any game. There are songs for every age group from Row Your Boat to Louie Louie. Some of the most entertaining are Caribbean versions of Super Mario Brothers theme and the Legend of Zelda theme. Also, you can change the sounds the drums make by unlocking them. The drums can sound like a dog, a car, or old NES sound effects.

Replay Value: 10
This is one of those games where you can keep going back to again and again. There is no real ending to the game, but there is the practice to improve on difficult songs. Plus there are many unlockables like arcade style games you can play with the drums, and even more difficult version of the songs. Plus this can be a great party game.

Overall, Donkey Konga is a great game in it's own right. The only way that the game may be improved is to be able to add more music to the game to give even more songs to play and listen to while playing.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/29/04