New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat

[Scorch]

Yeah, I know that there's probably a lot of people who don't particularly care for the games in the New Play Control! series, since they're mostly just ports of Gamecube titles with modified controls, but Jungle Beat, on the other hand, was more than that. I think this game really stands out, due to all the extras and modifications they've made. I haven't played the game myself yet, but from what I've seen in various pieces of video footage, it definitely looks promising. One gripe I've always had with the original game is that it was a bit too easy. The bananas (or "Beats" as they were called) were used as Donkey Kong's energy meter, and since you could get about 100+ bananas (and never, or rarely ever get hit), that made it almost impossible to die. In the remake, the "Beats" are no longer used as Donkey Kong's energy meter, and they ended up adding a three-heart life meter to up the difficulty. I also like how they added more rerferences to the Donkey Kong Country series, like the blasting barrel cannons and DK Coins.

[Blacklightning]

If the control scheme is anything like that bongo racing game, nothing good can come of this at all. Can someone remind me if they actually intended to change that?

[Scorch]

The controls are completely different from the ones in Barrel Blast. Jungle Beat's controls were modified in the Wii version so that it'll play more like a traditional platformer with regular controls. There are still a few parts with motion controls, though (such as the boss battles against the evil Kongs), but for the most part, Donkey Kong can be moved with the control stick, you could make him jump with the "A" button, etc.

[BlitzChris]

I saw a pikmin 2 one the other day too!! I'd have been super excited if I hadnt already just gone and baught an over priced Pikmin 2 on gamecube... Rawr...

But on DK. They didnt make bongo racer compatible with bongos..which just ruined it for me (I have 4 sets of bongos xD) and the alternative shaking of the wii remotes lasted about 15 minutes, before being left on my shelf to gather dust.

I hope Jungle Beat doesnt go down the same path..

[Thirsty Pocket]

If it plays like a Traditional platformer like you say it does... this might just be the first worthwhile Donkey Kong game in years and years.

[Ultimate Chimera]

If it plays like a Traditional platformer like you say it does... this might just be the first worthwhile Donkey Kong game in years and years.

Jungle Climber came out in '07. Jungle Climber was sex. Don't you diss it.

[Thirsty Pocket]

I played it for a few minutes on some demo DS in a game store and it really doesn't seem to be anything special at all.

[GameFarnsworth940]

I saw a pikmin 2 one the other day too!! I'd have been super excited if I hadnt already just gone and baught an over priced Pikmin 2 on gamecube... Rawr...

Wait, they re-released Pikmin 2? I thought that was just a rumor. Anyway, I stayed away from the original jungle beat because I didn't know how a platformer would work with the bongos. I might get it now.

update- damn, pikmin 2 re-release is currently TBA in The States. I'll just wait.

Edited May 17, 2009 by Gamefreak94

[Tornado]

I do have to wonder what exactly the point is of this. I'd argue that Jungle Beat was fun largely because you had to use the bongos, and going out the way to make it so the bongos won't work seems crass to me. Especially considering Barrel Blast already got blasted (so to speak) in reviews for not using the bongos. I think its quite interesting Nintendo's insistence to remove any previous game-specific peripherals previous consoles had and replace them with Wii controls for Wii ports, despite being 3 years into the system's life without a single game doing it right.

You take the bongos out and you have a rather boring and very short platformer at best (at worse, you have a few hours of non-stop Waggle).

Edited May 18, 2009 by Tornado

[Frobman]

Despite buying two games later this week (Punch-Out and Platinum), I actually want to play this game, since I passed out on the original on the Gamecube, and had no bongos to play with. So this'd be the best oppertunity to play the game (since I cannot find it anywhere).

And I also still need to get Pikmin 2. Might as well get the Wii version of it. Support Pikmin to support the eventual release of Pikmin 3.

[Chili Dawg]

I had it on the Gamecube a few years ago. It was fun for a while, but it got old, so I gave it away. I may look into playing the new one since I kinda miss it and I want to see if it's improved, but it ain't my top priority at the moment.

Edited May 18, 2009 by Chili Dawg