Donkey Kong Jungle Beat



Donkey Kong Jungle Beat is a Platform Game starring Donkey Kong, made by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube (and later released on the Wii). Although superficially similar to the Donkey Kong Country series, the game has little to do with Rare's stint with the character, notable in that it features none of the characters introduced in The Nineties. Be that as it may, some elements from Donkey Kong Country, such as riding animals and collecting scattered coins and bananas, do feature in the game.

The storyline is minimal: A kingdom of small monkeys living in the jungle have had their bananas stolen by a group of evil kings, so they call on the big ape to retrieve them and teach the baddies a lesson on their behalf. Collecting scattered bananas increases Donkey Kong's stamina; as an interesting feature, the more elaborate the acrobatics he uses to reach them, the more stamina they're worth. The stamina comes in handy at the end of every other stage, as Donkey Kong faces off with one of the evil kings.

The original GameCube release had Donkey Kong's moves controlled via a set of bongo peripherals normally used to play the Donkey Konga rhythm games. Said control scheme works much better than it sounds. Meanwhile, the Wii release used more traditional platforming controls, making use of actual buttons and the control stick, but also mimicking the bongo controls to some degree. All of this naturally makes for a very interesting and unusual gaming experience.

Due to its unusually high amount of brutal (albeit bloodless) violence, it became the first game to be rated E10+.


 * 1-Up: In the Wii version, since it is much easier to die and beats are less common.
 * Advancing Boss of Doom: The Iguanadon thing that chases Donkey Kong and Hoofer, they later get an opportunity for revenge, but it is invincible in its initial appearance.
 * Animal Mecha: Turret Tusk.
 * Asskicking Pose: Karate Kong especially.
 * Badass Grandpa: Karate Kong.
 * Batman Can Breathe in Space: Asteroid Belt, the second level of the Star Fruit Kingdom (and the last regular level in the game), and the following Sumo Kong battle, though it is not as far out of the atmosphere.
 * Battle in the Rain: The fight with Ninja Kong.
 * Big Bad: The Cactus/Ghastly King.
 * Big Boo's Haunt: Banshee Swamp.
 * Boisterous Bruiser: The warthogs, Sumo Kong and Donkey Kong himself.
 * Boss Rush: Kong of the Mountain from the New Play Control! version.
 * Bragging Rights Reward: Donkey Kong's gold crown after 100% completion in the New Play Control! version, new menu music in all versions.
 * Bubbly Clouds: Cloudy Heights, where it is possible to rack up a combo of over 3000 beats!
 * Captain Ersatz: Many, which is odd, since Nintendo owns all Donkey Kong Country characters.
 * Companion Cube: Apparently, the director considers the banana a character.
 * Cutscene Drop: Blatantly.
 * Damn You, Muscle Memory!: Going from the Bongos to New Play control, back flipping is about the only thing that's easier.
 * Dual Boss: Double Tusk.
 * Dumb Muscle: Donkey Kong.
 * Electric Jellyfish: But the game also has regular, non electrifying jellyfish.
 * Feather Flechettes: Used by the rocs, more dangerous in the Wii version
 * Floating Water: One levels has bodies of water that hover in the air and you have to swim through.
 * Giant Space Flea From Nowhere: The Cactus King and Ghastly King.
 * Green Hill Zone: Dawn Savannah. Heck, the Banana Kingdom in general.
 * Ground Pound: A player can start up some combos through clever use of it.
 * Hailfire Peaks: The kingdoms in general, most notably the Cherry Kingdom.
 * Harmless Electrocution: The ninja monkeys on storm hill who jump into the air and raise their swords in the middle of a thunderstorm still have to be finished off by Donkey Kong after they are shocked.
 * Huge Rider, Tiny Mount: DK and the Helibirds, although the birds do tire out.
 * Hyperspace Arsenal: A few enemies but none are more apparent than the ninjapes.
 * Infinite 1-Ups: Pristine Sea, the ocean stage right before the Karate Kong fight, offers the opportunity for pulling off what's likely the most magnificent instance of Infinite 1-Ups in Donkey Kong history, short of the rope trick in "Misty Mine" from the original Donkey Kong Country. After reaching the water's edge near the start, don't collect any bananas. Swim until you get to the small island, and perform as many aerial combos off the right shore before falling into the ocean without touching the ground. After that, perform a wall-jump off the eastern wall. Go back to the start (but don't step on dry land!) and collect all the bananas for about six beats apiece. The barrel blast and Orco sections will increase your banana numbers exponentially. When you finally touch dry land, you will have attained well over three thousand bananas!
 * Interesting Situation Duel: All of the Kong battles, with Karate Kong and Sumo Kong being the most outlandish of them.
 * Lethal Lava Land: Grim Volcano, Ancient Foundry, Lava Cavern and Magma Coliseum.
 * Level Ate: Sweet Paradise.
 * Lions and Tigers and Humans, Oh My!: The Chopperbird is the only human character in the game.
 * Make Me Wanna Shout: Donkey Kong while using the squirrel parachute and Helibirds.
 * Minecart Madness: The Hoofer stages.
 * Mini Boss: Tree pigs, arctic gecko/iguanas, ballerina pandas, red eyed fish and rock heads.
 * Powerup Mount: Hoofer and Orco.
 * Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: Preformed by rapidly beating the bongos after clapping by most creatures you can catch.
 * Recurring Riff/Leitmotif: The hogs, rocs and tusks each have a reoccurring theme.
 * Shock and Awe: The hog bosses.
 * Slippy-Slidey Ice World: You even ice skate through them instead of running.
 * Smashing Hallway Traps of Doom: Unlike many other games, being smashed isn't instantly fatal, Donkey Kong's strong enough to push the walls back apart at the cost of some beats. Not true in the New Play Control! version though.
 * Spikes of Doom: Besides the prickles and thorns common to Donkey Kong games, there are also ice formations, sharp crystals, spiny fish and even some fury mammals that serve as them. Subverted in the clock level, where the spikes can't hurt you because they are in the background.
 * Story Breadcrumbs: In the New Play Control! version.
 * Super Strength: Donkey Kong shows it more than in previous games where you played as him, as well as the Super Toughness that comes with it. The latter trait is significantly toned down in the Wii version.
 * Theme Naming: The boss Kongs are all named for their fighting style, except for Dread Kong.
 * Thunder Clap: Donkey's most used tool while platforming in this game.
 * Updated Rerelease: The New Play Control! version.
 * Use Your Head: How Donkey Kong defeats the Rocs.