Release Date: September 27, 2004
Publishers: Nintendo
Developers: Nintendo
Rated: E
System: GameCube

A very unique game where the controls are the main part. The music is too. This is also the only Donkey Kong game not developed by Rare. 1-10 will be the scale, so let's roll!

Story: 3
Believe it or not, there is one. Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong are hanging out at the beach one day when they come across some mysterious objects that resemble barrels. Fearing they have something to do with King K. Rool, they take them to Cranky Kong. Cranky explains that they are bongos, so Donkey tries playing them. Diddy tries to do so as well. Then, when Donkey claps, the bongos start glowing. Cranky explains that the bongos have some kind of power inside them. Donkey and Diddy continue to play the bongos, but they both play terribly. Cranky advises them to practice. At first they are against this, but then they realize if they can become successful at playing the bongos, they can afford as many bananas as they wish, so they start practicing. It's an awful story that makes no sense and has no conflict. I gave it 3 because I'm surprised they even PUT a story in a game like this.

Controls:
Method 1: 10
This involves the DK bongos. First of all, I think they are very easy to use: left drum is for yellow circles (which I'll explain below), right drum is for red, both drums simultaneously is for pink, and you clap for the blue circles. Second of all, it's very unique. Third of all, it's very fun and gives your hands some major exercise (LOL).

Method 2: 4
This is a lot worse way to play. A is red, control stick left is yellow, both at the same time is pink, and L for your blue circle. Now here's the main problem. There are times where you have to continuously hit a certain circle for a period of time. Control stick left and A at the same time ain't easy to do quickly. This is why I only gave it a 4. I'd suggest using the bongos.

Gameplay: 9
If you're confused, here's how it works. You use the drums (with either one or both hands) and clap (the sound of which is detected by a microphone built in the controller) in time to the music. Symbols that scroll from right to left across the screen show what the player has to do. Successfully playing builds up the player's life bar and earns in-game coins that can be used to unlock additional content, which includes more difficult songs to be unlocked, mini-games, and the ability to replace the standard bongo sounds with other noises such as a tamborine or barnyard animal noises. In the the easiest mode, "Monkey", the symbols are widely spaced and follow obvious beats in the music. In the harder levels, "Chimp" and "Gorilla", the symbols come more frequently, often in "bunches", and require the player to listen closely to the music. Up to four controllers can be attached for multiplayer games, either in competition (two players only) or cooperation. This is very addicting, believe me.

Music: This is divided up by the songs in the game.

All the Small Things, by Blink 182 -(7)- Alternative rock. Not too bad.

Bingo (traditional) -(8)- Easy to play and catchy. C'mon, remember your childhood?

Busy Child, by The Crystal Method -(2)- Lousy all the way.

Dancing in the Street, by Martha Reeves and The Vandellas -(6)- A decent pop song. Not too bad.

DK Rap in DK64 -(7)- This would have got a better score, but they took the one from SSBM, not the original DK64.

Donkey Konga Theme -(6)- A little better than average. A bit strange.

Hungarian Dance No. 5 in G Minor, by Johannes Brahms -(9)- Even though it's classical, it's awesome and fits this game.

The Impression That I Get, by Mighty, Mighty Bosstones -(4)- A bit bland, and it's lousy rock music.

I Think I Love You, by Kaci -(6)- Another average Joe pop song.

I've Been Working on the Railroad (traditional) -(7)- You should know it!

Itsy Bitty Spider (traditional) -(6)- It's ok, but not the greatest.

Kirby: Right Back At Ya -(8)- This is the theme from the cartoon. I love it.

The Legend of Zelda Theme -(6)- I love the original theme, but I don't like this remix a whole lot.

Like Wow, by Leslie Carter -(7)- Decent pop song. Easy to play and good for beginners.

The Loco-Motion, by Kylie Minogue/Atomic Kitten (originally by Little Eva) -(8)- Great at first, but eventually gets old.

Louie Louie, by The Kingsmen -(10)- The best song in the game.

Super Mario Bros. Theme -(9)- I hope you know this song. Well, it's remixed with a piano. Still excellent.

On the Road Again, by Willie Nelson -(8)- Nice relaxation tune. Good for when you're getting tired.

Oye Como Va, by Carlos Santana -(5)- Not very good. The entire song is in Spanish, but it DOES have a nice beat.

Para Los Rumberos, by Tito Puente -(2)- Lousy all the way. Once again spoken in Spanish and has terrible beat.

Pokémon Theme -(7)- The exact theme from Pokemon's first season on TV.

Right Here, Right Now, by Jesus Jones -(4)- Very boring, and eaily forgettable.

Rock Lobster by The B52's -(9)- Awesome song that is a little creepy.

Rock This Town, by the Stray Cats- (5)- It's Ok. Just clears average.

Row, Row, Row Your Boat (traditional) -(6)- Another song to bring back your childhood memories.

She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain (traditional) -(7)- A good song even if I feel immature singing it.

Shining Star, by Earth Wind and Fire -(1)- The worst song of the game.

Sing, Sing, Sing (with a Swing) -(9)- A great classical with amazing saxaphones.

Stupid Cupid, by Cheryl Crow -(7)- A good song that CAN be annoying.

Turkish March, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart -(9)- Another classical, only this is a symphony but with rock music remix.

We Will Rock You, by Queen -(9)- Another song I HOPE you've heard. Great one.

What I Like About You, by The Romantics -(6)- Just above average because it's fun to play.

Whip It, by Devo -(8)- The one-hit-wonder is even MORE fun as you now play it.

Wild Thing, by The Troggs -(9)- Excellent in every way.

You Can't Hurry Love, by Diana Ross and The Supremes -(5)- Average all around.

Overall Music Grade: 7
Could have been a little better with more popular songs.

Graphics: 5
Well you're looking at circles going across the screen. Nothing much else to see, really. The 5 points comes from the mini-games there are to play. I guess the characters look pretty nice, just other then that, circles, and more circles...

Difficulty: 8
At first in Monkey mode, it's very very easy. Then Chimp is a bit harder, but then for some reason in Gorilla mode it's extremely hard. It gets nearly impossible, and makes you hate the game forever. The mini-games are easy, and Monkey mode is easy too. Just Chimp is sorta hard, but Gorilla mode gives about 7 of the points in this category.

Originality: 7
In some ways it's very original, but in a few it's not. Well it's different in ways such as you use bongos, this is the very first DK game like this, and the songs are of course very unique considering some of them are real-life music. Then you have the downfall. If you don't remember, in DKC you have something similar to this as you visit Candy Kong, where you have to press the buttons in order of the circles. Then you have other games like Dance Dance Revolution too that are similar to this as far as button-mashing goes. Overall, different, in but some ways  it's sort of the same.

Characters: 3
You play as DK, then if it's 2-player, the second player is Diddy. Then you have Cranky Kong just watching you. Yeah, I know it's not much, 3 characters, 3 points. That's about it, also noting that there is no REAL difference between Diddy or Donkey Kong themseleves other then they look different (gameplay's the same).

Items: 7
Some great choices. First of all, you have to buy them with the coins you earn after playing a bunchy of matches. You have certain noises for your drums when you hit them. So every time you hit your bongos it might make an animal noise, space, baseball, etc. This is all, though, as there are no other items to use but drums.

Overall: 6
Donkey Konga is a game that is just above average. It's good, but still needs a lot of work. Maybe SOME unlockables, or maybe other characters. I recommend this to anyone who LOVES to play music, maybe not to die-hard Mario fans.