Fun and a great way to improve rhythm skills but unfortunately the song selection is weak and the extras fall flat.
The Bongo controller is sturdy and comfortable to play and can be purchased brand new (2008) without the game for around $10 - $15 in Canada. Gamecube controllers can be used as a substitute for Bongos which maps left drum to analog stick (flick it), right drum to A, and clap to L (very awkward but it works). Overall gameplay is very accessible; new players can jump right into the groove without preparation, previous knowledge or complex setup.
There are 3 difficulty levels: monkey (easy), chimp (medium), gorilla (hard). Hard mode is quite difficult, with some complex rhythms. Unlike Guitar hero, the song is unaffected when played correctly or incorrectly, which lessens the satisfaction of playing a song correctly. A meter on the top of the screen fills up while playing and to complete a song a certain marker must be reached. Miss too many times or play poorly will result in a failed song.
During play, coins are collected depending on accuracy, a failed song results in no coins. These coins can be used in "DK Town"; an in-game store where players purchase hard mode, mini-games, and sound sets. There are several mini-games: a climbing/ fruit gathering one, banana juggling, a variant of "whack-a-mole" and others but none are very fun. Sound sets change the bongo sounds in wacky ways, but most are lame like "dogs", Nintendo sounds and jungle sounds. One of the better sound sets is Latin Percussion.
Graphics are of little importance to a music game, but in Donkey Konga they are way over-simplified. The background animations and sprites look 16-bit quality.
================ SUMMARY =================
------------------- GAME MODES ---------------------
-- Solo or Multiplayer up to 4 human and/or cpu players
-- In multiplayer there's versus where players try to outscore eachother or cooperative.
-- Minigames using the bongo.
--------------------- PLAY ---------------------
-- The Bongo has a left/ right drum and a clap sensor.
-- Icons zip across the screen each represents a different bongo action.
-- Red = hit right, Yellow = hit left, Blue = clap, Pink = hit both.
-- an elongated icon represents a drum roll.
-- Coins are collected during song play, more accuracy = more coins.
--------------------- SONGS ---------------------
-- Good popular songs include: Right here right now, Locomotion, Dancing in the street, Can't Hurry Love, We Will Rock You, Louis Louis, The Impression that I Get, Mario theme, Zelda Theme, Pokemon Theme.
-- Bad songs: Bingo (as in bingo the dog), DK Rap, The Diddy Singalong *shudder*
--------------------- UNLOCKABLES ---------------------
-- Songs in Gorilla (hard) mode
-- Minigames
-- Sound sets to change bongo sounds