“Donkey Konga”

Available on Gamecube

Publisher: Nintendo

Developer: Namco

Rated E for Everyone

Grade B-

Nintendo has attempted to do something that many other games have failed at before: to create a music-based video game. Past games such as “PaRappa the Rapper” and the popular “Dance, Dance Revolution” tried creating hits out of music-based games, but only “DDR” has managed success. Past systems have tried things like maracas and guitars instead of controllers, but the controls ended up being too weird to be widely popular.

“Donkey Konga” proves that Nintendo can create success even where others failed. The game comes along with the “DK Bongos,” a set of bongos that act as the controller for the game. The bongos give players the hands-on experience, while the game provides some random but memorable songs to create beats for.

The game play itself is easy to learn, as the games are self-explanatory. You can play to different levels of complexity to earn more coins to buy mini-games. Some of the random songs include “The Impression that I Get,” “All the Small Things,” “Louie Louie,” and “We will Rock you.” Nintendo also provides classic Zelda and Mario themes with a few twists to the songs. Playing along with the song consists of hitting the bongos or clapping with the specific symbols.

While you will find some of the songs a bit childish or weird for bongo playing, such as the “Pokemon” TV theme, its fun to play with friends and it gets you more hands-on interactivity with a video game. The downside is that you should not expect to become an expert bongo player by playing the game over and over. The “DK Bongos” are not meant to be played in the way a real bongo set would be played. But if you already play the bongos, then the game might be a little easier for you.

The mini-games, while fun at first, are not the key part of this game. They are simply there to provide an actual game to play, but you also have to earn enough coins to purchase them. They are basic games that can help your reaction time, but they are not intended to entertain you for hours.

One of the better purchase options you get is to buy sounds for your bongos. You can have some of the most random sounds play as you bang your bongos to the songs. Sounds like dogs barking, in-game sounds from “Legend of Zelda,” or even sounds taken out of old NES games are available as a drum noise set.

“Donkey Konga” is a great game to pick up if you want something to entertain you every now and then. It’s one of those games you can play forever at first, but then you need a little break before you pick it up again. Overall this is a decent game to get for you Gamecube owners if you need something completely new to play. It’s great for all ages and is a step up for hands-on video games. “Donkey Konga” is available now for Gamecube for around $49.99. It does include one set of DK Bongos and additional bongos are available for around $34.99.