Donkey Konga Game Review

1

• Donkey Konga Game Review

2
Basic Game Information

• Review of the Japanese Version
• Playable on Nintendo Gamecube
• Approx. 85 for the package that features the
  bongo controller

3
Overview

• Nintendos contribution to the rhythm game
  genre (Dance Dance Revolution, etc.)
• The players choose a difficulty level and a song,
  and they must strike the appropriate part of the
  bongo relative to the symbol that is displayed on
  screen. This is done in time to the music, to
  create a unique interaction between the player
  and the music.

4
Objectives/Players Role

• To play each song on each of the difficulty
  levels (Easy, Hard, Expert, Easy Cool, Hard Cool,
  and Expert Cool), and obtain a gold rank
• To earn chips by performing well while playing
  songs, to buy additional sound effects for the
  bongos, bonus games, and songs to play on expert
  mode

5
User Interface/ Game Play

• Regular controller can be used, but the bongo
  controller is optimal
• Use bongo controller to navigate through menus to
  select mode of play (single or multiplayer),
  difficulty, and song
• Four different symbols will appear on screen
  yellow (left bongo), red (right bongo), pink
  (both bongos), and light blue (clap)

6
User Interface/Game Play

• Not only must the player hit the part of the
  bongo that corresponds to the on screen symbol,
  but it must also be done when the symbol passes
  through the on screen barrel (this way the bongo
  strikes will be in time with the music)
• Mini games also use the bongos to do various
  things (a whack-a-mole type game, juggling
  bananas, etc.)

7
Scoring

• Based primarily on accuracy of the bongo strike
  Good, OK, Bad, and Miss
• Good is if the proper part of the bongo is hit
  when the symbol is in the middle of the barrel
• OK when the symbol is relatively close to the
  barrel
• Bad when its not very near the barrel
• Miss when the wrong part of the bongo is hit, or
  nothing is hit at all

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Scoring

• Good is worth the most points, OK worth
  slightly less, Bad worth none, Miss subtracts
  points
• Points per strike vary upon the song, difficulty
  level, and how long your combo is
• A combo is the amount of correct bongo strikes
  in a row, with no mistakes

9
Sound and Music

• Music is the highlight of this game
• 32 different songs to choose from
• Folk songs, classical music (Hungarian Waltz,
  etc.), Japanese pop music (SMAP, Utada Hikaru,
  Morning Musume, etc.), video game themes (Super
  Mario Theme, etc.), and even international hits
  (La Bamba, Mambo No. 5, etc.)

10
The Games Good Points

• It can be enjoyed by players of any skill level
  or age, regardless of their sense of rhythm
• A great party game
• Playing the game is enhanced if the player is
  interested in the type of music that is featured
  in the game (video game music, j-pop, etc.)
• Mini games and extra purchase-able bonuses keep
  the player coming back

11
The Games Bad Points

• There are not enough songs featured in the game.
  A player will quickly grow tired of playing the
  songs that are available, even though there are
  32
• The player must actually earn chips to unlock the
  same songs to play in Expert mode
• There are no secret, un-lockable songs

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Comparison to similar games

• Easier than most other rhythm games (Dance
  Dance Revolution,etc.)
• Only really directly comparable to taiko no
  tatsujin (due to the fact that they both use
  drum-like controllers)
• Taiko features more songs per game than Donkey
  Konga does.

13
Is the game worth purchasing?

• Definitely! It may be too easy for those who are
  used to rhythm games, but it serves as a great
  introduction for those who arent
• If youve been looking for a rhythm game that
  features a lot of J-pop music, look no further

14
Points for Improvement

• More playable songs featured in the game
• More purchase-able mini games, instead of having
  to purchase the same songs on a higher difficulty
  level
• Make more songs un-lockable