DK: King of Swing

"Easy to pick up, easy to forget. Especially with other, meatier games now..."

There are really few games these days coming to us with loads of extras, enjoyable game play, fun characters, and enough content to make the games worth the price.

Is DK: King of Swing one of these? Well, that's not a question that is easy to answer.

The basics are all there: good graphics (ditching the prerendered style of the Donkey Kong Country games in favor of more cartoonish (though not cell-shaded) graphics) in a pleasing, yet working, style, good sounds (numerous references and remixes of other Donkey Kong titles), a simple yet complex game mechanic (more on that later), and challenging enough to not beat it in a day.

Right away, DK (as I will refer to the game, instead of beefing my word cound with the rest of the title) beats out most other games on the GBA and DS by simply being enjoyable and having so many good qualities going for it.

Yet, there is a dark side to this title, and some of you may have guessed it already. But we'll come to this in a second; first, in-depth analysis:

Graphics, as noted above, are cartoonish, yet completely functional. I never noticed any wierd glitches or any oddities in the appropreate level arts, which fit the areas they were to take place in. Character sprites are very smooth and well animated, something we have all come to expect from Nintendo. If anything, the graphics prove that the GBA may be simple, but it can churn out 2D graphics that are livlier and prettier than your average 3D game full of bugs.

Yes, cheap shot, but it is noteworthy that I never found any glitches as I usually do a week into a game.

Sounds consist of generic Donkey Kong sounds from prior games, from the ape wailing to the sound of Kremlins falling to their doom. Music is not as crystal clear or as smooth as I would like, but it is still amongst the best the GBA's sound chip has to offer. Many, many remixes are present, from the classic 16-bit cave theme to the boat and jungle themes, among other familiar tunes. I don't recall seeing a sound test anywhere, though there probably is. If there is, then the value of this game rises, as the music, while not as good as what the DS can churn out, is good enough to listen to with headphones.

Now, the game play itself. "King of Swing," the game's subtitle, reffers directly to the game play itself. You control Donkey (or any other character's) left hand with the L button, his right with the R button, B to recharge his health with bananas, A to power up with bananas, or L and R together to charge up for a jump.

Now, why would you want to control both of his hands at once? Simple: The levels themselves are vertical in design for the most part, and you swing on a series of pegs (or handles, or gears, or whatever a given level throws you), swinging based on which hand is holding a peg. Holding two pegs at once allows you to charge up and leap in the air, while swinging with one hand and then releasing will send you sailing through the air in the general direction you were swinging. The biggest difference between these two is that charging up allows you to roll forward, smashing anything in your path (unless, say, a Zinger was in the way); launching from a swing will send you hurtling outwards, leaving you vulnerable to attacks or foes.

It may sound confusing or complicated, but it is very simple in execution and even simpler once you get the hang of it. But the game is not by any means a cakewalk; Bosses (yes, they are here) take strategy, and you have to be careful where you swing, as you might accidentally smack into a Kremlin who is soaring back and forth between pegs (nevermind the bugs and rodents, by the way).

Now, you might be wondering what could be dark about this. Simple: like most recent, original GBA titles, DK is shorter than it could be. Yes, there are the three kinds of medals to catch, the gems to find, and the four or five extra characters to play as, but the game is still unusually short. Due to this, it is actually a title that you should not play in long bursts, but in short bursts.

Oddly, this game is perfect for that very reason. The game may be short, but the controls are simple enough that you can pick up and play without being confused too much, and though the game does get harder, it is easy to pick up the mechanics without being lost. Plus, the fact that the story is simple a la the DKCountry franchise makes the need to remember plot irrelevant.

In closing, best for either little ones or a short play over a long time. Still a good purchase, it just depends on what kind of gamer you are and how much effort you put into it.

Score: 8 of 10

* Best Features: Music, Controls, Graphics
* Worst Features: Short design, Not enough extra characters/levels
* If You Liked: Any other GBA Donkey Kong Country title, though there really are not many games like this.
* Guilty Pleasure: Dreaming of a DS version of this game, with dual screen-filled levels, extra characters, and an incredibly high-quality soundtrack.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/05/05