30 Days of Video Games Day 3 - A Game That Is Underrated

30 Days of Video Games Day 3 - A Game That Is Underrated

I feel like I'm gonna have to explain myself.



Donkey Kong Jungle Beat has an interesting history. This title was originally released in March of 2003 in North America for the Nintendo GameCube. It was designed to be played with Nintendo's DK Bongos - as far as I know, it was the only game aside from the Donkey Konga series that made use of the instrument-shaped peripheral.

Despite a mixed reception, it was pretty cool.

Well, I played it through to completion (by that I mean all the secrets, levels, medals, etc.) and thought it was both challenging and satisfying to accomplish everything... but some things about the game bothered me. The game was not punishing enough, for one. Getting hit would basically drain your 'points'... and you had to lose all your 'points' before you could die. Of course, in a game that's all about racking up a huge score to unlock more stuff, that was definitely a motivating factor for in-depth play, but made the game too easy for casual play. The other botheration was, as it probably was for most people, the controller. It was fun, and it was cool, and it turned this side-scrolling platformer into something new... but it felt a little high-maintenance.

The above pretense is necessary to move onto my point - the game I really want to talk about, this 'game that is underrated' is the Wii remake of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. Although they promoted this as part of the 'New Play Control' line of games (of which there are only three), Donkey Kong Jungle Beat for the Wii feels closer to a proper remake - almost like a Donkey Kong Jungle Beat Director's Cut!

So here are a few things that I want to gush about.

1 - Responsive and intuitive Wii Remote and Nunchuk controls turned this game into an instant platforming masterpiece.
2 - Higher difficulty level in the form of actual health provided a challenge for both casual and serious players.
3 - New levels and scoring system built on the foundation laid out by the previous game to provide a much richer experience.

Now, I love Donkey Kong Country - I think it's a great series. Donkey Kong Country Returns is incredible! But I'm partly convinced that the reason this game doesn't enjoy the reputation that it might actually deserve is because nobody knows what to expect from a game called 'Jungle Beat' - a play on the use of the bongo controllers, which of course are absent from the Wii version. Having played every game in the Country series, including Returns (although not all of them to completion), I am actually convinced that Donkey Kong Jungle Beat is the absolute BEST Donkey Kong game available and is more deserving of having the play style revisited than the DKC series! The action is fast-paced, and the emphasis on performing stylistic 'Combos' to rack up bananas really encourage players to experiment with different ways to play the incredibly challenging levels!

Well, this is all about a game being underrated, so I imagine I'm not the only one who has something to say that may sound surprising or unexpected.

Oh yeah, and I cleared this one to absolute completion too.