DKC Atlas Forum

[Tiptup Jr.]

I've felt that I needed to start this topic for awhile. First of all, I will probably be one of the first people on this forum (or the greater Donkey Kong fandom) to say that I LOVE Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. It is a damn fun game. The bongo controller and combo mechanics make it a very memorable gameplay experience, different than a traditional platformer, but still just as good. Different, but good.

Now, obviously, the main problem that most people have with this game is its lack of Donkey Kong Country characters. The only recurring DKC character it has is... Donkey Kong. So, it's not Donkey Kong Country 4. But it doesn't pretend to be. DKJB was explicitly made as a sort of re-imagining of the standard Donkey Kong game, a brief one-off of experimental characters and gameplay... and you know what, I actually liked a lot of these characters. They're just cool. Sure they might not have the most depth to them, but come on: evil Kongs! Ghastly King! Hoofer, he's BADASS! Yeah you'd be justified to complain about all these characters if they actually went on to appear in other games, and replace the already-established DKC cast like the DKU would have you believe, but you know what? They didn't. No new character from Donkey Kong Jungle Beat has ever appeared in any other game, ever. So much for Nintendo trying to kill Donkey Kong's previous legacy! Rather, they were promoting it! Do you think they would've ported the entire DKC series to GBA and stuck a million Donkey Kong characters into every other Mario sports game if they were trying to kill DKC's legacy? No! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat was just a harmless little fling, if you will, like that b...*bleep*...ch from high school who wasn't extremely attractive yet wasn't really ugly either. You still enjoyed it.

I guess the reason why I'm saying all this is because Donkey Kong Country Returns, funnily enough, has made me appreciate this game IMMENSELY. I love trying to get the highest combo scores and all that crap. Whereas DKCR tries to honor DKC's legacy, but fails, DKJB shuns it defiantly and then goes on to be one fun effing game. In short, I am a huge fan of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat and I think it is better than Donkey Kong Country Returns. Share your thoughts on this game here.

[Phyreburnz]

I just got jungle beat the other day. I didn't have the bongos yet (gamestop didn't have any), and I was playing it with the controller. I was like WTF? It played weird and I just wanted to go to another used game store to get the bongos before I continued.

I got the bongos and I love this game! It is SOOOOO much fun! I played through so far in just one sitting! I can't believe how fun it was! And I was reading online about it and saw that they'd released it on Wii as well, but it wasn't compatable with the bongos... which blows... I can't imagine the game is as fun with a Wii controller.

I can't wait to play it again soon! This is probably now one of my favorite games!

[Jomingo]

I've always defended Jungle Beat and think it's a great game. I've gotten full completion of it twice on the gamecube and twice on the Wii version. It's really good, but no DKCR.

[Phyreburnz]

Jomingo, you've played both the Wii and gamecube version of DK Jungle Beat, right? Which do you think is better?

[Tiptup Jr.]

Gamecube is better because it's harder and has platinum crests and bongos.

[Simion32]

I agree with Tiptup. This game truly shines when you play with the bongos on a Gamecube, the way it was DESIGNED to be played. It's a massively unique experience in and of itself.

I'd overall give the game an 8.5/10 (they needed more levels, and also could have done more with the bosses).

[Tiptup Jr.]

THANK YOU, Simion. Someone who gets it. I love playing with the combo system and trying to get insanely high scores (only to get hit when you're by the finish and lose it all, ha.) I got all 72 crests on my old save file, but my memory card is weird and it got erased. Truth be told I've only played a short demo of the Wii version, but still... I can tell it's not as good. Jungle Beat wasn't meant to be played as a traditional platformer.

(I DO like the added touch of DK wearing a crown when you complete the Wii version, though.)

[Jomingo]

I think the Wii version is better. The crest system is the same between both games, it's only cosmetically changed. In the Gamecube version you get bronze, silver, gold, and platinum, but in the Wii version you get 1 crest, 2 crests, 3 crests, or 4 crests. It works the same exact way.

What I like about the Wii version is the health system makes more sense than in the Gamecube version. Although you don't control with the bongos, it's still essentially the same experience with the combos and everything. Also, there are some new moves you couldn't pull off in the original, such as a high backflip that gets you a combo, or pounding the ground to find items. There is a new final level where you get tons of bananas, and also a "Kong of the Mountain" mode in which you face all the Kong bosses back to back.

Other than a few other minor level changes, the two games are almost identical. The controls are the only thing drastically different, but the overall gameplay remains pretty much the same, plus the Wii version has a bunch of tiny additions and improvements. So I like the Wii version.

[Simion32]

Also, there are some new moves you couldn't pull off in the original, such as a high backflip that gets you a combo, or pounding the ground to find items.

I know I've done that backflip before on GCN, it's just really difficult to actually pull off. The ground pounding also sounds familiar but I could be wrong about that one.

[Tiptup Jr.]

To do a backflip in the GCN version, start running in one direction, then tap the other bongo and immediately afterwards tap both of them. In the first game I also thought just clapping while standing still was equivalent to a ground pound. And I hate mentioning them, but I think the DKU really negatively influenced people's opinions on the GCN version. It's fun, interesting, and hard. Geez.

(Also I feel the half-assed addition of Rocket Barrels and DK coins in the Wii version adds nothing to the experience. It's not Donkey Kong Country, so why is all this stuff here? To appease the DKU?)

[Jomingo]

The rocket barrels didn't add much (though I definitely didn't mind there inclusion, they don't feel out of place), but the DK coins acted as 1-ups because the health system was handled differently.