The developers truly sat down on a meeting room, wrote "monkey" on a whiteboard, nodded thoughtfuly to one another for a bit, did a bunch of drugs and sent the resulting notepad to mr nintendo for approval

I like to think this is like Donkey Kong's origin story. Like, his adventures before he settled down back home. Like the Trials of Hercules or Arthur on his epic quest.

I loved playing the Wii version of this game as a kid. It was cathartic because instead of banging the bongos, you swung the wiimote and nunchuck like mad, and it actually felt like I was the one beating the living daylights out of whatever was on the screen. It was great. Hilariously, the panda was recolored to be blue, so he was basically just a dancing bear. I guess somebody at Nintendo thought it wasn't a good idea to depict DK beating up an endangered species lol

There is only one way to describe this game. Gorilla on potassium fueled rampage refuses to stop killing

I really wish DK could fight just like this more often

I like to think of this game is being a prequel of sorts to donkey Kong country. The wii instruction manual adds a little bit more story to it, and says that the jungle has been taken over by the evil kings, and donkey Kong is there to dethrone them, making him king of the jungle. I guess that’s how he proves himself to be a video game hero by the first DKC and why he’s essentially the ruler of his island? Maybe his banana hoard comes from the bananas he collects in this game, seeing as they fill an entire tree trunk?

Fun fact: There are two versions of the game. One where you CAN use the Gamecube controller, and a version on the Wii. I would know, because I have both. Side note: The Wii version is WAY different to the Gamecube version. There are only 3 crests you can get per level [200 for 1; 500 for 2; and 1000 for 3] (They're just crests, they're not bronze or anything), you need ALL the crests to fight the Ghastly king, there are two extra levels in the final barrel (a boss rush against all the kongs and the Ghastly king, and a celebration level), and the levels are out of order, you have to fight each boss from the B barrel after getting all crests in the other 3 levels of each barrel ([Wii D barrel] Dread kong, Scruff roc, Rouge hog, Gloat hog).

Cactus King and Ghastly King look like exactly the same character because they are, the Japanese version calls both of them Final Kong.

I remember playing the Wii version of this... Good memories

I kinda wish you showed the fight for Ninja Kong because I remember there being some sick dodge sequences and attacks you can pull off with good timing.

My favorite boss was always Ninja Kong. He actively tries to dodge and counter your attacks almost as often as you do his and it can lead to a chain of both of you psyching each other out until one lands the hit. Play your cards right and you can catch him with an uppercut straight out of Punch Out, launching him into the sky complete with dramatic thunderclap to underscore the turn of the battle. Similarly, Ghastly King has fun, dramatic close up special moves based on DK's position. The regular chest-level confrontation isn't the only way to face off with him. DK is able to hammer him into ground from above, judo flip him to the wall or, in a memorable reversal only possible in the Ghastly King fight, sweep kick him off his feet into the air, jump up to him while he's vulnerable then *hammer away* at his chest with your fists before sending him flying. There's several context-sensitive actions in the Kong fights, some which you'll probably have to go out of your way to find to execute, and they always look cool. I really did like those Kong battles.

This is my favorite game of all time, I'm so happy its getting recognition again! It's absolutely such a wild and nostalgic experience, thank you so much, this means a lot to me

This guy got some good videos

What I love about this game is it´s potrayal of DK as this totally unhinged, dumb but powerful ape. The woodpecking animation of him destroying the eggs get me every time.

I've legitamately never watched a video where it's just someone playing/explaining a game. This is awesome, love the channel.

So the story of this game is that donkey one day wake up and decide to became a king

Funfact you can tap the sides of the bongos and it will register as a clap, saves your hands after a while

I've been trying to speed run this game and I will say, this game is an entire work out

Ghastly King has 2 extra moves if I remember, and one of them you can counter into an attack I believe. Been years, but I remember being amazed the new one had a new animation of some kind and I loved triggering it into the offense. The position of where Donkey Kong is causes that animation, but it was pretty specific since the OG “cactus king’s” move set covered most of the area and distance already.

I loved this game, with the disclaimer that I played it on the Wii, long before I learned that it was originally on the Dreamcast and had a bongo controller. Someday, I'd like to return to it with the bongos and see if I still like it

This game was an absolute treasure. I miss it.

I loved this game. The controller was great and the punching with the bongos is fucking amazing

In the Mario universe the entire premise is the characters are part of an ensemble, hence the curtains and spotlights.

My god I loved this game, though I played it with a Wii remote and nunchuck instead of bongos

1:48 Speedrunner: I see this as an absolute win!

Bro this game is BANANAS

Bro I remember I would clap so much my hands would be stinging and vibrating it was amazing I wish we had more games similar to this

Just noticed the lack of Kremlings in this game and I do not have a problem with that here. Probably just enjoyed these enemies that much. I like the jelly levels being water in air. Feels mystical. Also, Ghastly King has a projectile attack and vertical kick that Cactus King doesn't have.

Holy shit, I chimped out on this game so hard, my hands were inflamed and my parents took the bongos away. Literally reached the limit of bongo-beating.

Not to fact-check you Skoottie, but you can play this with just the GameCube controller. You just slam the left stick back and forth the whole game

You know, the game was remade for Wii as well... Still one heck of a fun time, though I got distracted from finishing it for some reason. Yet another thing I need to pick up once my current gaming goal has been met I suppose...

I always loved how unapologetically weird and violent this game was for being a kids game

I remember playing this with the bongos! Man, good times!

i had a good time platinum-ing all the levels back in the day. the ice riding level was a fave.

This game is... bananas!! Hopefully I'll get the chance to play it someday with actual DK bongos

11:02 To be fair, Donkey Kong having the ability to defy gravity at points is a signature skill of his. :)

I loved this game when I had it on my gamecube! Never had the bongos though, so I was glad to figure out you can just use a normal controller, although I'm sure kid me would have preferred the bongos. Still, I really hope we get another Donkey Kong game in this style, maybe not with bongo controls, but more tight combo-based platformers are something I'm begging to get more of!

this was, quite frankly, one of my favorite games of all time. still have the bongos, but cant really play it anymore which kind of sucks. but seeing this brings back some great memories

I remember my dad told me he would give me a pound if I beat this game. I’m still waiting on that pound 7 years later

This game is why Donkey Kong is my favorite Nintendo character, this game desperately needs a sequel

Man you didn’t even mention my favorite level, the one where DK lays siege to a friggin fortress and brawls his way through, destroying it as he goes

1:01 "At the top" good sir that is the middle

I absolutely loved this game, it was so much fun!

I loved this game as a child, definitely one of my top fav Gamecube games.

One of my favorite games of all time, short and sweet too. I like DK's depiction of a bully of bullies seeing how nice he is to the friendly monkeys and how brutal he is in fights. A few years ago I went out of my way to buy the bongos too given I first played it as a kid. Would love to see a sequel of some sort 10 years later

8:11 Plot Twist: DKJB was pulling a SMB3 this whole time!

i thought most people forgot about this game but its pretty good

Donkey Kong was really on demon timing this entire game. Bro said "f*ck all that "bop on enemy heads" BS, let's get to boxing!" and just punched the whole landmass into submission for bananas lmao.

It's a microphone, you say? Guess I don't need to clap.

My idea for a sequel: They should bring back the Kremlings. That way, we can see Donkey Kong beating up King K. Rool to a pulp.

That's the most epic speedrun I saw! 10/10

Honestly... when you lay it all out like this, _yeah_ this game IS insane.

The New Play Control version for Wii actually gives us a slightly different story: in that version, a bunch of rampaging bad guys (likely led by Cactus/Ghastly King) decided to wreak havoc on the normally peaceful jungle, took over all of the kingdoms and ransacked them of all their bananas, and it's up to Donkey Kong to defeat those bad guys, undo their mess and restore peace. For some reason, it doesn't seem to mention anything about DK yearning to become the king of the jungle. Also, this game is made by the same team that would eventually make Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Odyssey.

The Cactus King fight gets very dragon-ball-y

Skoottie!!!! I'm so glad you covered this game it's one of my all time favorites. I was obsessed with this game when I was like 10 and I SWEAR to you I got every single platinum crest. Strangely, the hardest one I remember getting was the banana cup. Love the new content!

Thank you so much for this video. This is my favorite DK game, and among my favorite games of all time, and I love more people being more exposed to how simply amazing the gameplay and visual design of it is.

"giant little critters"

You have such a good youtuber voice, alot of youtubers that make these kinds of videos have intolerable voices but yours is very nice and soothing in a way

This game is proof of how wild the GCN era could get. I love it.

I always loved this game when it came out, it was so lively. Keep up the dope vids bro.

I now have that panda’s theme stuck in my head again.

A lot of the Weirdness in this game can be attributed to the likelihood that this was always meant to be Just A Stopgap. Granted, said Weirdness _does_ serve to benefit this game conversation-wise.

this game is fr a hidden gem. the kong bosses are some of the most absurd things in nintendo history

This is my fav donkey Kong game of all time. I loved the art style, how well the controls worked, and how immersed I got bc of the drums

dude this game made my hands SORE on the bongos this game came with, 10/10 great game

Alternative name: Dk’s wrath

This game is legit SO FUN to play with the bongos.

I used to play this game for hours on the wii. Absolutely loved it. The Durian kingdom was so hard though when i was a kid. I still have PTSD from that.

That video was pretty good. Keep going !

never played it as a kid but i did grow up with mario galaxy but i absolutely love this one

I remember playing this on the Wii when I was a kid, you brought back so many good memories I forgot I had ❤

Ive still got this game on my gamecube with the bongos still play though it sometimes. Used to play Donkey konga one and two as well.

dk 64 gotta take the cake, that game is such a trip

This game was so good. I wanted a sequel so bad. I didn’t use the bongos I played the wii version

I loved this game so much

Finally someone who shares the same love for this game as me ❤. I didn't know about the zippings of this game, now I want to try to speedrun it xD I sincerely appreciate that you talked about the full game while playing it as the intended way (with the DKbongos), I really hate when people trash this game because they played the wii version or emulated it on dolphin. I am not saying that it's wrong or bad playing the game anyway you can, but my point is that it's not a necessarily bad game because it wasn't developed having a normal controller into consideration

Best DK game of all time

I miss this Donkey Kong game

I think I read somewhere that the helper monkeys are prisoners to the various kingdom’s and dk came to rescue them, anyone else remember anything like that

skoottie is love, skoottie is life.

There is one more level and this is only wii version and that is level is kong of the mountain is 5 kong boss rush back to back with only 500 hp no health restore you die once back to the beginning

Really awesome video. This game looks so weird, I really wanna play it now. Even on the Nintendo wii😍

I loved donkey Kong jungle beat I played it on the WII, the boss type I liked the most were the Kongs because I think we they were epic

This game was so addicting. It's a shame they never made a sequel.

I still hold a lot of nostalgia to this game! I played the wii version and despite how short the game is, I adore the wii version game a lot! ^^

Been playing the game for the first time and been having a blast! Great review

Great video man

10:51 we’ll if you need to see a Donkey Kong Cactus, there’s definitely one in donkey Kong swing king which may be good for you to check out next

This is what the Donkey Kong movie should be tbh

9:35 dancing panda bear jumpscare

It's a shame cause it seems like you missed out on (or didn't mention) a lot of the complexity the game has to offer. The fights against the Kongs where my favourite because they had a lot of ways the fight can play out you never had to just doge their attacks you can attack their attacks at times and it can notably change the way they do combo's. For example against sumo Kong I see you dodged his attacks palm strikes but you can also punch it which starts a sequence of him doing that for 3 attacks before then swiching over to other moves in fact you do it by accident during another move sequence at 14:22. It's a much more entertaining way of fighting him that also makes the fight go by faster as you don't have to wait for him to do another combo, both him and ninja kong have this in spades which makes fighting them very fun. This also extends to Catcus/Ghastly King even more as there are much more ways to attack him. If you jump over him and clap DK grabs his hair and sends him flying into the over wall, if you approach him below you can avoid his kick and go behind him to do damage too. Level design wise you also seemed to skip out on a bit, for example the first level of the Durian kingdom, the battle for storm hill has the best presentation in the entire game with it really selling the idea DK is storming a ninja base with waves on enemies trying to stop him. The hog riding ones have several optional but more difficult paths you can take to get more bannanas often having to jump up and not fall through gaps, the general levels also have a very interesting way to maintain combo as when you're not near walls/obstacles you can often bounce of enemies to maintain combo meter making it a 1-chance attempt (as the enemy dies) to puzzle your way through them while also collecting as much bananas from the enemies that you can before you run out of enemies and have to hit the ground.

i miss this game

This chicken head on a stick looks perfect for Smash Bros' subspace emissary

Let’s go. My favorite game of all time getting recognized

I played the Wii version and I beat everything I saw to death. Felt pretty cathartic.

God, now I want to play all over again

The jelly level is called "Sweet Paradise", you even showed it

My childhood game of all time

Ngl im watching this video right after i finished inscryption and every time i see the cactus king all i see is leshy. Anyway, wonderful video, im considering playing this game now.

There actually is a story in the Wii version. Yeah it's the typical stop the bad guy from taking over the world thing. But at least they gave some explanation as to what's going on and as to why Donkey Kong is beating everyone up.