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Donkey Konga 2
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Console: Nintendo GameCube
Region:U
Year: 2005
RFG ID #: U-076-S-04100-A
Part #: DL-DOL-GY2E-USA
UPC: 045496962746 (00100)
Developer: Namco
Publisher: Nintendo
Rating:
T (ESRB): Mild Lyrics

Genre: Music/Rhythm
Sub-genre: Instrumental / Bongos
Players: 1-4
Controller: Bongos
Media Format: GameCube Optical Disc x1
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Collection Stats:

  • 191 of 7620 collectors (2.5%) have this game in their collection
  • 11 of 7620 collectors (0.1%) have this game in their wishlist.
  • 0 of 7620 collectors (0%) have this game for sale or trade.
Overview:

Donkey Konga 2 can simply be described as Donkey Konga with new songs. Or we can go one step farther and call it Donkey Konga with a lot of really bad rock cover songs. What could have been an awesome game is hampered by the music selection, as Nintendo tries to appeal to the teens with this game.

The back of the box reads as follows:

The beat is back! Grab some friends and your DK bongos and drum along to a fresh set of all-new, chart-topping hits like It's Been a While, Wish You Were Here, and U Don't Have to Call! With over 25 new hits, from pop and hip-hop to R&B and dance, you'll never run out of ways to rock!

Review:

There are a lot of good music / rhythm games. Donkey Konga was definitely one of those games. Catchy tunes and fun premise made this game a keeper. You would come to think then that the sequel to the game, appropriately titled Donkey Konga 2, would also be a fun game, right? It's the same formula right? Perhaps we should delve deeper into this sequel

Starting up this game gives the allusion that this game is almost identical to its previous incarnation. Street Performance, Challenge, Battle-- they're all there. It makes me happy that it looks as though they stuck to the original gameplay mechanics. All right then, let me start up a song. I pick one, "La Bamba." Plays just like the original. Red bonga means right bongo, yellow means left, pink means both, and the blue frilled bongo commands me to clap, just like in Donkey Konga I complete the title with flying colors, and upon completion comes something new! I get a rank. DK Bongo Master it says. Sweet, I think to myself. I then decide to go back to song selection screen, and it is there that I begin to see the game's flaws.

Oh the horror, the horror. It appears that Nintendo decided to appeal to the teenage wasteland. Of 32 songs, 16 are Rock songs. Now, perhaps it is just me, but current Rock songs do not go well with Bongos. Do I want to play Bongos for Stain'd, Good Charlotte, or Incubus? No, I can't say that I do. What makes it worse is the fact that most of these songs are not originals, but rather covers. The cover is generally not bad, but when you've heard the original songs, and know that Donkey Konga or Taiko did not use covers it's slightly irritating. To put more salt in the wound, Nintendo and Namco decided to place a cover of "All-Star" in the game. I really, really, really did not want to ever hear that overplayed song again, much less a cover, and I am sure that older players would feel the same way.

So if they have all these rock songs then they've definitely skimped on something, right? Oh yes, yes they did. While I am not sad that the children's songs were cut from the game (Good riddance), I did find it disenchanting how they skimped on game music. There is a total of one game music song. Let's count to one shall we? One. Yay! I feel accomplished. Game music was a lot of fun in Donkey Konga, and I don't see why they would have cut something cool in exchange for some rock and R&B covers. The other thing they skimped on are classic songs. Not classical songs (of which there are 3), but classic songs such as "Louie, Louie." Donkey Konga 2 has a total of zero classic songs. Such a huge number, that zero is. I heard if you divide by zero you approach infinity. Perhaps Nintendo was thinking that when they decided not to have any classics. It's a bad move on Nintendo's part.

Now, if you like modern rock covers and you feel that you should play bongos to them, then this game if for you. If this is not your cup of tea, then perhaps it would be wise to hold off on getting this one. I'm sure that there are people out there who would love this game. Sadly though for me, the crappy song arrangement leads me to a less than stellar experience.

RF Generation Review Score


65%

Extra Media:

Health and Safety Precautions Booklet
Registration sheet, front
Jungle Beat promo card, front
Jungle Beat promo card, back
Manual Back
Variations:

Console Reg. Type Title Publisher Year Genre
Nintendo GameCube United Kingdom S Donkey Konga 2 Nintendo 2005 Music/Rhythm
Nintendo GameCube BE, NL S Donkey Konga 2 Nintendo 2005 Music/Rhythm
Nintendo GameCube BE, FR S Donkey Konga 2 Nintendo 2005 Music/Rhythm
Nintendo GameCube Italy S Donkey Konga 2 Nintendo 2005 Music/Rhythm
Nintendo GameCube Italy S Donkey Konga 2 [Pak - Bongos Bundle] Nintendo 2005 Music/Rhythm
Nintendo GameCube AT, DE, CH S Donkey Konga 2 Nintendo 2005 Music/Rhythm
Nintendo GameCube U S Donkey Konga 2 [DK Bongos Bundle] Nintendo 2004 Music/Rhythm
Nintendo GameCube Canada S Donkey Konga 2 Nintendo 2005 Music/Rhythm
Nintendo GameCube J S Donkey Konga 2: Hit Song Parade Nintendo 2004 Music/Rhythm
Related Games:

Console Reg. Type Title Publisher Year Genre
Nintendo GameCube United States S Donkey Konga Nintendo 2004 Music/Rhythm
Game Trivia:

  • To unlock Na Na Na Hey Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye complete the full set in challenge mode.
FAQ's/External Links:

Donkey Konga 2 on Gamerankings.com
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blcklblskt: Media Quantity edit, Misc.
Paully3433: Variations
raffa1985: Variation Tie-In
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Last Updated: 2016-05-09 00:54:27
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