Donkey Konga

"Buy this, practice up, go professional, earn millions!"

First of all, bear in minds that I have the European version of this game, which has different songs to the other versions.

Donkey Konga was the first game to be released that used the Nintendo's new bongo accessory. Since then, a platforming game has been made using them, and more sequels to this have been made, showing it to be a success. Donkey Konga is a drumming game, in which you drum along with the songs.

Graphics - 5/10

The graphics in Donkey Konga are very basic, as everything's in rendered 2D. The backgrounds are very repetitive, and the overall presentation is poor, but none of it's that bad. Some of the animations have a very bad frame rate, but this is mainly the ones that you don't notice as much. Menus are plain, but at least that's better than if it were too crowded. But hey, the graphics look good as well, in decent 2D. Those things I just mentioned are the problems. If you liked SNES graphics, then you're going to like these. I only give this category a score of 5, because they're nowhere near the peak of today's graphical performance, not because they're bad, but they could do with some definite improvement to be get the best of the 2D.

Sound / music - 9/10

The music is great. With classics such as ‘Don't Stop Me Now', the list of tracks to play along won't disappoint. I sometimes even put this game on just to listen to the music. There is a range of different types of song, with pop, rock, classical, and even remixed Nintendo tunes in the mix. But, some of the songs have different singers as to the original ones, and some don't sound quite as good. But, this really doesn't affect it that much. You can also unlock different sets of bongos, where you can alter the sound that the bongos make. Some examples are Latin percussion, quiz, Mario, and big band. The sound / music section scores a solid 9.

Gameplay - 7/10

Donkey Konga is great fun to play on your own, and it's even better with friends and family. You'll have a blast if you play it at a party, and I'm sure you'll all be on it all night because it's so much fun!

In Donkey Konga, you have a set of bongos, with a clap sensor on it (or a microphone, if you're that bothered). You choose one of the songs, and the screen displays whether to hit the left, right or both bongos, or clap. You get a grade for each note, and you get a score at the end of the song. If the score is above the target, you win, and get the amount of coins you earned. But, if you fail, you don't get the coins. Simple, but immersive gameplay. Oh, and the coins can be spent on new sets of bongos and instruments, new songs, or mini-games.

There are three mini-games in total, and I'm sure that they will all be pushed to one side and ignored as you have fun on the main game. They aren't anywhere near as fun as the main game, and you'll probably only come back to them rarely. One of the mini-games is a juggling game - you juggle as many bananas as you can within the time limit. Another is a whack-a-mole style game, in which you whack the enemies by hitting the bongos. The other game is a vine-climb game. None of them are really that much fun.

Gameplay deserves a score of 8.

Difficulty - 9/10

The monkey setting, the easiest of all, is very easy, and will be a good starting point for everybody. Chimp, the next difficulty up, is where it starts to get challenging. And Gorilla mode is nigh-on impossible with some of the songs! Each song has it's own difficulty, too, and that depends on the amount of notes in the song, and how fast it is. The difficulty ranges from where you have the occasional note or two, to gorilla mode, where sometimes the you are whacking combinations or bongos and claps at almost the speed of light! The gorilla mode means the game scores a difficulty of 9, for the much harder songs.

Replay value - 7/10

Donkey Konga will have you sucked in for the first few days you have it, then the charm will start to wear off. From then on, it is still great fun, but it is likely that it will be packed away a lot more and that you will most of the time only play it when friends come round, as then it's timeless. It's also fun to come back to on your own, but not all of the time. Replay value scores 7.

Reminders:
Graphics - 5/10
Sound / music - 9/10
Gameplay - 7/10
Difficulty - 9/10
Replay value - 7/10

Positive points:
+ A great choice of songs
+ A blast with friends
+ Ranges from very easy to extremely hard
Negative points:
- Not as much fun on your own
- Not many unlockables

Donkey Konga is an essential purchase if you are a fan of multiplayer games. It is still great fun on your own, and is still your money's worth, but it may not last as long. There are many good laughs to be had in this game, so get it if you have the opportunity.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/16/06