DK Jungle Climber
| DK: Jungle Climber Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber | |
|---|---|
 North American box art | |
| Developer(s) | Paon |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Director(s) | Atsushi Kaneko Masataka Sato |
| Producer(s) | Toshiharu Izuno Rikiya Nakagawa Iwao Horita |
| Composer(s) | Yuichi Kanno Yoshikata Hirota Takashi Kouga |
| Series | Donkey Kong |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo DS |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Action, platforming |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
DK: Jungle Climber, known in Japan and Europe as Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber (ドンキーコング ジャングルクライマー Donkī Kongu Janguru Kuraimā), is a platforming video game developed by Paon and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. It was released in Japan on August 9, 2007. It was released in the United States on September 10, 2007.
DK: Jungle Climber is the sequel to DK: King of Swing for the Game Boy Advance, featuring similar gameplay. However, the visuals have been designed to more closely resemble Donkey Kong Country and add dual screen support.
Gameplay
Like DK: King of Swing, DK: Jungle Climber features Donkey Kong as the main character. To navigate the levels, the player must hold down L and R to jump, and alternating between L and R allows Donkey Kong to hold onto or let go of the pegs on the levels. When Donkey Kong is only holding onto one peg, he will spin, allowing him to climb up the pegs. The game features new moves, new items, and minigames. It also uses the dual screens to give the illusion of one tall screen. The game features a multiplayer mode for up to four players.
Plot
Donkey Kong and his friends decided to take a well-earned vacation on beautiful Sun Sun Beach, located, of course, on tropical Sun Sun Island. After enjoying a splash in the ocean, a hungry DK and his friends saw a massive banana floating atop a mountain. Without a moment's hesitation, DK up and raced for the mountaintop. Who knows what kind of adventure he'll find there![1] When DK, Cranky Kong, and Diddy Kong reached the top, they encountered Xananab, an alien that looked like a banana. But they also saw King K. Rool and his four Kremling advisors making off with the five Crystal Bananas, five objects Xananab wanted back. DK agreed to help Xananab get the Crystal Banana back, thus starting off his next adventure, with Diddy at his side.
Donkey and Diddy (along with Cranky and Xananab) travel through several islands, including Ghost Island, Lost Island, and Chill 'n' Char Island. At the end of the last level of each island DK had to fight a Kremling mutated by one of the Crystal Bananas, and going into a big machine. After beating the boss, they gained a Crystal Banana. At the end of Chill 'n' Char Island, after the boss, K. Rool and his final Kremling make way to the King Kruizer IV, an updated model of K. Rool's cruiser seen in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest/Donkey Kong Land 2, Donkey Kong 64, and DK King of Swing. They travel to the top of a very large island, High-High Island, to make it just a little too late. Fortunately, Cranky gives them a Booster Barrel (also seen in King of Swing), which they use to travel into the King Kruizer IV. Once inside, they travel through the vehicle, and DK has to fight the final Kremling, gaining a Crystal Banana once victorious.
K. Rool flees with his last device, going into a wormhole, which eventually leads DK and friends into Xananab's homeplanet, Planet Plataen. K. Rool is fought here, and, once defeated, uses the final Crystal Banana to mutate and become gigantic. Once DK defeats K. Rool in this state, K. Rool is defeated and the game ends. Xananab thanks DK, Diddy, and Cranky by making them the local celebrities and they are able to eat all the bananas they can eat. Eventually, the three monkeys head home, and humorously tie K. Rool to the back of the Banana Spaceship. It is not revealed what happens when they return home.
Gameplay modes
The game contains the following modes of play:
Adventure: This is the story mode of the game.
Challenge: This mode consists of the various mini-games found in the game. Each mini-game has four levels to play: Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, and Max. The Max Level has no set objective, score, or time to beat but offers a chance to set a high score. Only a few mini-games are available at the start of the game, but as the player progresses through the story mode, more mini-games are unlocked.
The mini-games in Challenge are as follows:
- Rolling Panic: The object of this game is to jump over as many rolling logs as possible while avoiding rolling boulders.
- Banana Grab: In this game, the player must use the L and R buttons to grab as many bananas as they can. There are sparkling bananas that when touched, juggle back up into the air and give bonus points for the number of times juggled. There are also sea urchins which, if touched, will disable the ability to grab with that hand for a short time, costing the player points.
- Speed Climb: In speed climb, the player must climb to the top of the level as fast as possible.
- Throw 'n' Crush: This game requires players to throw rocks at barrels and destroy all of the barrels before the time limit is met. TNT Barrels should be the primal target as it is necessary to progress in the later levels of this mini-game.
- Orange Picker: In this game, the player must grab onto each orange. When the oranges are grabbed they fall much like unstable pegs. The goal is to grab as many oranges before the time limit exceeds. There are special oranges that give more points than normal ones.
- Booster Battle: In this game, the player races against an opponent racer in an effort to reach the finish line first.
Extras: This mode allows the player to view any cutscenes and text sequences of the game otherwise known as "Lectures". Cheats that make the game a little easier for the player can also be accessed here. More items unlock as the player collects Banana Coins and progresses the Main Game.
VS. Battle: This is the multiplayer mode of the game. Multiplayer can be played regardless if the other players have a copy of the game for their game system.
Extra Stages: In this extra-challenging mode, the player is faced with levels that are more of a puzzle than an obstacle course. There are no extra lives, so dying means restarting the current stage from the beginning. The goal of Extra Stages is to reach the DK Coin at the end. This mode is unlocked after beating the main game. There are 11 extra stages with each unlocking depending on how many Banana Coins the player has collected in the main game.
Story mode levels
There are six worlds in the game: five islands and a world set in a wormhole.
Sun Sun Island: This is the first world in the game. It is a tropical paradise with white-sand beaches, jungles, caves, and beaches. The levels in this world are fun and simple and introduce the player to the basic controls of the game. The boss is Xananab's spaceship.
Lost Island: This world contains the first two "Wormhole Levels". There are thick jungles, a lake, and ruins to explore. The Wormhole Levels in this world are Glass Labyrinth which the player will run into a magic mirror that mirrors DK on the Top Screen and the player is forced to keep track of the two DKs on the top and bottom screens. If the player fails to keep the two DKs in perfect sync then the top screen mirror will break and the section will start again. The second Wormhole Level is the Toybox which has everything from Sharp Colored Pencils to Bells. The boss in this world is a Giant Head of a Kremling made out of toys. It attacks with swords sticking out of its head. The player must taunt the head into attacking the player with a downward thrust into the rubber tires below and then attacking the Kremling that appears out of the head attempting to remove the swords from the tires.
Ghost Island: The first level of this world has the player navigate through thick fog. During the first section of the first level Diddy Kong clings onto DK's back with his tail and reads a map which shows the pegs on the bottom screen, but this hinders the player's ability to attack. The first Wormhole Level is called Veggie Patch which has grapes and pineapples that the player grabs onto. There is also a factory level with many moving pegs and a Swamp area with underwater currents and Sea Urchins. The second is the second Toybox level. The boss in this level is a giant mech. There are parts on the mech that can be unscrewed and then exposed cores to hit.
Chill 'n' Char Island: As the name says the player will be navigating both snow and lava levels. Strong winds, raising lava, and thorn bushes make an appearance in this world. The wormhole level is the second Glass Labyrinth Level. The boss in this level is a Chinese Dragon with a Hook Tail. The player must stun and grab the hook tail and hook it to the loops at the top and bottom of the pegs in the level.
High High Island: There are only two levels in this world. One level has the player climb to the top of High High Island and blast into space to reach King K. Rool's ship. The other level takes place inside K. Rool's Spaceship and contains a tougher version of Ghost Island's Boss.
Wormhole: This is the final world in the game. The player is faced with the trickiest versions of Toybox and Glass Labyrinth Wormhole Levels. At the end of the Wormhole is the final level of the game, Planet Plantaen. The final boss here is King K. Rool, who has two forms.
Reception
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The game received positive reviews and was considered an improvement over DK: King of Swing. The game was also praised for its fun, practical controls and its vibrant visuals.
References
- ↑ DK Jungle Climber instruction booklet
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "DK Jungle Climber Reviews and Articles for DS - GameRankings". Game Rankings. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
- ↑ "DK Jungle Climber for DS - GameRankings". Game Rankings. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
- ↑ "DK Jungle Climber (ds) reviews at Metacritic.com". Metacritic. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
- ↑ Suttner, Nick (2007-09-11). "Donkey Kong Jungle Climber Review from 1UP.com". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
- ↑ Davis, Ryan (2007-09-12). "DK Jungle Climber Review for DS - GameSpot". GameSpot. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
- ↑ Theobald, Phil (2007-09-12). "GameSpy: DK Jungle Climber". GameSpy. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
- ↑ Harris, Craig (2007-08-30). "IGN: DK Jungle Climber Review". IGN.com. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
External links
- Official website (Japanese)
- Official website (English)
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