Nearly a full year before the first Guitar Hero introduced gamers to the now all-too familiar concept of game controllers shaped like musical instruments, Nintendo released Donkey Kong Jungle Beat for the Gamecube worldwide. The game was a platformer in the vein of Donkey Kong Country that overlooked the Gamecube controller in favor of the DK Bongo peripheral used earlier for Donkey Konga, a rhythm game that aped (oh god, sorry about that) its own development team's Taiko Drum Master series of games. Rather than come off as gimmicky as a result of this peripheral use, though, Jungle Beat felt fresh and intuitive and was praised by critics for its innovation. Years before the Wii would get gamers off their butts, Jungle Beat was moving players and causing them to work up a sweat, all while playing a traditional platformer.
It couldn't have been much simpler. To move DK left, you tapped the left bongo. To move right, tap right. Hit both the jump. Clap or hit the sides of the bongos to cause DK to pound his chest, which sent out powerful vibrations. That was pretty much it, with a few more specialized moves taught along the way. Incredibly easy to learn, and so thoroughly well designed that there was never a dry well of possibility in the adventure. The music in the game itself was typical Donkey Kong Country fair, but none of that mattered because the sounds of the game were utterly muffled by the slaps, pounds and claps of yourself, the player, getting downright primal in your control of the hairy hero. Yes, the bongo controls were merely remapped Gamecube controller button presses, so you could play more quietly with a standard controller, but that defeated the entire purpose of the game, and sucked a huge chunk of the fun out.
If your palms aren't sore watching that video, you obviously haven't played this game yet.
Three reasons to pick up Donkey Kong Jungle Beat:
1 - It was the first game developed by Nintendo's EAD Software Group Tokyo development team. Their second game? Super Mario Galaxy.
2 - It's a workout. Your muscles will be more sore after three kingdoms of Jungle Beat than several hours of intense Wii Sports. The only other video game to make me sweat this much has been Wii Fit, specifically the long runs around the island. Plus, as it's actually a traditional game and not a casual sports/fitness simulation, you'll feel like you're actually accomplishing something.
3 - As a Gamecube game (which still plays on your Wii just fine), it's dirt cheap these days. I was able to get both the bongos and the game brand-new for under twenty dollars total.
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