Control:  
Let me just copy and paste this part from every other story about DK: Jungle Beat ever written.

Left drum go left. Right drum go right. Both jump. Clap mean context sensitive.

I wish that microphone wasn't so sensitive all the time. Can't it take a joke?

Sometimes the left drum makes you go right and the right one makes you go left. That's when you have the bongos facing the wrong way.

You can also butt stomp by hitting both the bongos while already in the air.

Just how NGenres' motto, "It's all you need," lets you know you only need to come to this site to learn all there is to know about Nintendo, these controls are all you need to conquer the jungle. You could also use a regular controller, but that would be like using a regular controller in a game that uses a unique controller.

That analogy was a place-holder before I thought of something else, but I like it there.

Gameplay:  
Nintendo would have you spanking your monkey all day long in this game. Just like spanking one's monkey, this game is satisfying on many levels, but it also doesn't last long unless you have a lot of patience.

You won't die in this game. After a few minutes you'll have it all down and can go through each level your first time playing it without a problem. The challenge is collecting all the gold medals on each stage, which can only be done with a lot of bananas.

Search for different paths, clap for floating bananas, and stay off the ground as long as possible. These are the best ways to get more bananas. There are no bottomless pits in the game, so you can only die if you have zero bananas and get hit, which is very unlikely.

Anyway, it's all really fun, and that's the most anyone can ask for. Donkey Kong is more acrobatic than that Prince from Persia, so it makes sense that he should be King of the Jungle.

Sound:
The DK Bongos don't really have a musical sound more than anything else you can hit. They aren't like real bongos, which are symphonic orgasms for the ear. Well, maybe not, but name one instrument that's better? Okay... name a thousand... plus one. So there.

Although Jungle Beat isn't a real music game like Donkey Konga, it still has a very rythymic quality to it. It's hard to tell that from watching, but when you play and you have to go between hitting the drums and clapping your hands you will feel it. You will also feel your palms starting to sting, which is when you whip out your one Mario Party glove.

I honestly can't think of what the music sounds like in Jungle Beat, but if you string together multiple combos without touching the ground, an audience will come in and start chanting for you, which is very satisfying.

Multiplayer:
No Multiplayer, unfortunately. You can, however, clap at the wrong time when someone else is playing and screw them up.

OVERALL:
Short but sweet. Let's hope Nintendo's new Tokyo studios makes a sequel with a few more levels. The levels that are here are each unique (except for the repeating bosses), but I wouldn't mind a Super Mario World 96 short stages even if some of the locales repeated a bit.

 

The Lowdown on  Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat Aesthetics: Very Good Control: Awesome Gameplay: Awesome Multiplayer: Sound: Average Innovation: 6/6 Lasting Appeal: 3/6 Rating Explanation Overall: Very Good! "A Must-Buy"