"Dance Dance Revolution" may be the most recognizable arcade series ever. It's hard to ignore the spectacle of someone dancing on a giant controller to vicious staccato rhythm.
Game developer Konami has turned this game into a huge franchise, with more than 40 incarnations at the arcade and at home. It's fast and frenetic - an aerobic workout with a scoreboard.
And at long last, it isn't the only kid on the block. Nintendo has come out with its own rhythm game for the GameCube: "Donkey Konga." Combining the familiar match-the-rhythm-of-popular-songs theme with Donkey Kong and a clever controller, Nintendo has come up with a winner.
As the music plays, symbols advance from right to left across the screen. As they hit your target, you must play the appropriate note by drumming or clapping to the music (the drums have a built-in microphone to hear your claps). On screen, Donkey Kong mirrors your drums and claps.
The game and graphics are simple, but after seeing one person play, you can't help but want to try it out yourself. And it's fun. Surprisingly fun. As anyone who's played other rhythm games can attest, it's much more entertaining than it sounds.
The game boasts a wide variety of music, from Blink 182's "All the Small Things" and Santana's "Oye Como Va" to "Hungarian Dance No. 5 in G Minor" and the theme music from Super Mario Brothers. But Nintendo saved substantial money by recording covers rather than getting the rights to the original recordings .
Regardless, the selection of 33 different songs is fantastic. Some-one deserves a promotion for putting the Crystal Method's "Busy Child" alongside The Supreme's "You Can't Hurry Love."
There are five separate modes: Street Performance, DK Arcade, Battle, Challenge and Jam Session.
Street Performance is the main single-player game in which you choose what song you want to play and try to earn a passing score. Players can choose among three difficulty levels (Monkey, Chimp and Gorilla) and high scores here earn coins that can be used to unlock higher difficulty levels, special sound sets, and mini games in the DK Arcade.
The mini games are nothing special - one, for example, is a simple Whack-A-Mole game - but they offer a break from the constant musical barrage.
There's also a special Jam version in which the note symbols are hidden; players can only pass each song by memorizing the notes from the regular mode. This feature will seem unnecessary to all but the most committed drummers, but it does ensure that there are always challenges left to conquer.
However, "Donkey Konga" sells itself best in the multiplayer mode: you might feel goofy slapping a pair of plastic drums by yourself, particularly on some of the sillier songs that incorporate kid-friendly fare like "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and "Bingo."
What better way is there to reassure yourself that this is a normal, healthy activity than to drag some friends with you?
The best multiplayer option is the Battle mode, in which you take on a human opponent to see who can score the most points during a single song. Rather than giving each player the same notes to play, however, the game switches the rhythm back and forth between you and your opponent, forcing you to pay attention to each other throughout the match. There are various opportunities to punish your opponent and reduce their score, leading to plenty of close matches and howling losses.
The Challenge and Jam Session modes are available for single or multiple players, but they're likely to be the least popular parts of the game. The game doesn't include a tournament option, but it's easy to organize one yourself. With two sets of bongos and a roomful of friends, the Battle mode can keep you entertained for quite a while.
The obvious limiting factor to the game is the number of songs. If you become sick of the game's 33 songs, you won't want to play anymore. A sequel to the game is already available in Japan. If it does well here, expect a low-priced follow-up that has more songs.
The real problem here is cost. At $50 for the game and a set of bongos, "Donkey Konga" is priced like any other new game. However, as the game truly shines with some friends, which requires extra bongos going for $30, you're looking at an $80 investment to set up your own "Donkey Konga" tournament.
That may be a bit steep for many gamers, particularly since the bongos do not work with any other games on the market (the forthcoming "Donkey Kong Jungle Beat" won't be out in the U.S. until next year). If you already own and enjoy "Dance Dance Revolution," the expense may not be justified. But if you've never owned a rhythm game, this is a great one to pick up.
