Donkey Konga Preview

Developer	Namco
Publisher	Nintendo
Genre	Rhythm
Release Date	Winter 2004

Fanboys, gamers, and Nintendo Stockholders alike were excited when a Donkey Kong title was announced for GameCube earlier in the year. Visions of Donkey Kong Country making the next-gen leap brought smiles to everybody’s faces. However, nothing is that easy when it comes to Nintendo. Even though Rare gave them the long kiss goodnight last year to work on such high-profile Xbox games as “To Be Announced”, Nintendo retained the rights to the Donkey Kong franchise. Not wasting a moment, Namco was brought in as the developer and work was begun on Donkey Konga. Yes... Konga.

Clever gamers can’t help but notice the fact that ‘Konga’ seems to hint at a music game. Well, we don’t pay you the big bucks for nothing – you hit the nail on the head; Donkey Kong has gone musical, for better or worse. In fact, the ‘Conga’ connection goes even deeper – all the way to the specially designed controller for this drum-beating game. You’ll make use of a customized conga controller that constitutes two drums and measures roughly 30cm by 20cm. This unusual peripheral is to Konga what a dance mat is to Dance Dance Revolution. Confused? Don’t be.

Throughout the game icons will scroll across the screen indicating the action that the gamer is to execute when the icons reach the left side of the screen. A red dot calls for a left drum tap while a yellow dot calls for a right drum tap. Pink means smack ‘em both simultaneously while a spark tells the gamer to clap (the sound is picked up by a microphone built into the controller). At other points in the game, players will have to beat the drums in rapid succession to get as many hits as possible in a certain timespan. Let’s hope Nintendo uses some quality materials on these drums.

You’ll beat to the tune of at least 32 tunes ranging from remixed video game themes (such as the theme from Super Mario Bros.) to Japanese Pop hits. Classical music, Latin jams, anime tunes and even children’s songs will make appearances as well – not to mention the Donkey Konga theme. Readers who remember the DK Rap from DK’s N64 adventure may groan now. Players will also be featured in the soundtrack – a drum tap on the controller will result in a sound in the game. This means that you’ll be jamming with the music as opposed to playing alongside it. However, if 32 songs get repetitive, there is speculation that additional tracks will be available through some sort of expansion packs at a later time.

Konga will even feature multiplayer action for the gamer with friends. Up to four players can join in on the action simultaneously, though it isn’t clear exactly what they’ll be able to do. The game is expected to feature several multiplayer-exclusive modes, but as of yet Nintendo has failed to shed light on any. Fortunately, the fact that the game uses an exclusive controller won’t break anybody’s bank (Steel Battalion, anyone?). The price being charged in Japan for the game and controller (6800 yen) equates out to about $61 at the current exchange, while spare controllers cash in at about $27 apiece.

Whether or not you’re a fan of music games, it’s refreshing to see Nintendo enter some uncharted waters (although more than a few gamers will probably question the use of one of their more popular franchises to do so). Donkey Konga is certainly shaping up to be a promising game that looks to deliver lots of fun to music gamers and regular gamers alike. Thus far the graphics are showing typical Nintendo shine and look to be using the power of the Cube to the fullest. Keep your browser fixed on GamingWorldX for all the latest details on Donkey Konga, and look for it in stores this Winter.

Preview by Greg Joachim