Donkey Kong Jungle Happy

Donkey Kong Jungle Happy is the first Video game of platform putting in scene Donkey Kong to be developed and distributed by Nintendo since the repurchase of the company Rareware by Microsoft. It left in November 2004 on GameCube to Japan, in February 2005 to Europe.

Original in its form, Donkey Kong Jungle Happy created the surprise at the time of its advertisement to the E3 2004. What people did not know little or at all, it was that this new title was the fruit of all the efforts of Nintendo EAD Tokyo, recent internal studio of Nintendo.

History

Donkey Kong Jungle Happy sign there one of its first characteristics: there is no history. Non-existent in the booklet of the play or of course its Internet site, the director Yoshiaki Koizumi justifies themselves while affirming “we did not need a surface history for this play. The only thing for which need Donkey Kong has, it is to be the best and to become the king of the jungle”.

Principle of play

The series of plays Donkey Kong is historically based on platform. The first shutter of the trilogy Donkey Kong Country on Super Nintendo astonished by at the very least new special effects at the time. Preceded little on GameCube by the musical play Donkey Konga putting it in scene, Donkey Kong somewhat turns over to its origins with Donkey Kong Jungle Happy . Indeed, this play is at first sight a Jeu of platform in 2 dimensions but profiting from a visual realization in 3D. However, the studio Nintendo EAD Tokyo knew to show imagination by re-using the bongos DK at ends other than musical. Here, all displacements are carried out in an instinctive way:

displacement on the line : 1 pressure on the barrel of right-hand side
displacement on the left : 1 pressure on the barrel of left
to jump : 1 pressure simultaneously on the barrels of left and right-hand side
to catch a liana , Clap Catches , to daze enemies : 1 clap of the hands above the microphone

Composition of the levels

Once passed the scene of introduction being used as didactitiel, Donkey Kong Jungle Happy proposes to the curious player the bagataille of 18 kingdoms. All built according to the same diagram, each one of them is composed of 2 levels driving right to a combat against the sovereign of the kingdom; the Boss . Two additional levels gathering at the same time platform and boss enclose the play. They put in scene the Despote , sovereign among the sovereigns of the various kingdoms pressed during the adventure.

The levels are linear and do not allow to choose several ways to reach their end. In the best of the cases, secrete ways gorged with no-claims bonus will be revealed but never deviate of the course. Who known as linear does not want inevitably to say " from left to right " since the Level design of the levels sufficiently is sought and worked out well to break the routine.

More traditional, the crossed environments are typical video games in general since the player will cross the recurring levels of ice, fire, clouds, jungle, crowned ruins and aquatic environments. Others more original will place the player at the creu of a giant plant, in a tropical village, on meteorites and even in a mass flotante of frost.

Races and challenges

So in the majority of the levels, Donkey Kong moves on its four legs, it is sometimes brought to be driven differently using a mounting. Within the framework of the races between several animals occupying a whole level, it is imperative to finish first in order to reach at the following level. The Jouabilité is modified according to the environments and of the overlapped animals:

ornicoptère
Donkey Kong is fixed on the pastes of the bird which will rise on the left or on the right, according to the beats on the bongo of left and right-hand side. On the other hand, the weight of the monkey and the law of the Gravité make that without beat of wing, the two accomplices go down gradually towards the ground. The bird disappears as soon as an obstacle is touched (wall, ceiling, enemy);
parachute
La descent is slow but irreversible unless passing in a draft;
goat
Le goat involves Donkey in an insane ride where to support quickly on the bongo of right-hand side allows to gain of speed. When the character holds an object, it can send it to the vertical by claquant hands, thus wounding the enemies overhanging it. In end of the road, a last effort is to be produced for a long jump, determining the number of bananas with raffler;
orc
Avançant unceasingly, the orc can only be directed but has the characteristic to smash the obstacles such as the walls and the walls out of wooden.

Boss

The boss corresponds to the third level of each kingdom. It is the only level where it is impossible to gain least banana. The player can only maintain his meter on level or see it decreasing with each boxed blow. Each boss has a weak point which it is advisable to exploit: destabilization of an attack, reference of projectile etc the conquest of a kingdom is effective only after having reduced the bar of life of its sovereign to zero.

If there is as many boss that kingdoms, they therefore are not also varied from it because there are truly only 4 types of sovereigns:

monkey : duel of martial arts where the fault should be found destabilizing the adversary in order to be able to attack;
pig : fights where it is possible to attack only while having returned as a preliminary one of its projectiles;
bird : face to face with a giant bird holding an egg between its legs;
elephant : confrontation with a bombarding tank-elephant of explosive pineapples.

Medals

Once the overcome boss, the calculation of bananas acquired during the 3 levels of the kingdom takes place. This score directly influences the medals which will be allotted:

1200: platinum medal
1000: gold medal
800: money medal
400: bronze medal
in lower part of 400: no

The medals are cumulative. What amounts saying that to gain a gold medal also decrees the bronze medals and of money. The access to new kingdoms is determined by the many medals acquired during the play. This practice, a little restrictive with the first access, directly encourages to gain a maximum of medals and thus of bananas. The difficulty being gradual, the progression is done carefully what avoids any feeling of frustration. The latter is indeed the obsession of the plays with score because it makes them unplayable while emptying them of their interest.

BananaScore

The bananas are in the middle of the Gameplay of Donkey Kong Jungle Happy . They are at the same time used as meter of points and indicator of life. If Donkey is made touch, it loses 10 bananas and if ever it does not have any more a banana in its possession the part finishes. As there is no concept of range over , the play begins again since the last safeguard.

Collect bananas

Basic element of the play, the collection of Banane is the acquisition of the yellow fruit in the simplest way: as soon as Donkey Kong crosses the way of a banana, it takes it. That causes to increase the banana meter of as many collected units. It is the simplest means but with final least interesting in the case of race with the score.

They are caught either with the unit or by modes of 3 or 5. The player respectively gains 1,3 and 5 bananas.

Banana cramming

The test of the banana cramming punctuates each end of level (except boss ). In a very limited time, the player is invited to beat bongos as soon as possible: each striking on a barrel adds a banana to the score. This simple no-claims bonus is with final interesting because it makes it possible to gain with a little practice 120 bananas moreover per kingdom. This test is rather tiring besides insofar as the player is invited to beat approximately 60 times the barrels into 3 or 4 seconds.

Clap Catches

The technique of the clap catches is the direct prolongation of the banana collection. The difference lies in the method of acquisition. If the collection implies touch physically the bananas, the clap catches is more subtle.

As part of its name indicates it, clap , one needs claquer hands. As of this moment, Donkey Kong catches all bananas within reach. If this technique is interesting it is because it brings back 1 additional banana by batch of banana caught. Example:

to catch 1 + 1 + 3 bananas in clap catches will save in fact 8 (1+1+3) + (3*1) instead of 5 with the traditional method;
to catch 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 bananas in 'clap catches will save in fact 10 (1+1+1+1+1) + (5*1) instead of 5 with the traditional method.

The clap catches takes even more importance once combined with the ultimate technique: the combo .

Combos

The combo is a banana multiplier. It multiplies the number of bananas collected by its own value. If Donkey bénéfie of a combo of 4 and that it collects 5 bananas, it will gain of them actually 20 (4*5). Completely cumulable with the clap catches , two solutions are offered to the player:

the player poses the feet on the ground. The combo is validated and all the bananas gained throughout combo are added indeed to the meter;
the player is made touch during the combo. All the bananas acquired during the combo are then lost and are not credited with the meter

A combo corresponds to a different action carried out without posing the feet on the ground (action which validates the multiplication of bananas). To jump on a wall to rebound then claquer of the hands above hope for 3 combos, multiplying of as much the number of collected bananas. The level design of the levels is thought for a perfect success of pirouettes in all kinds. Certain levels are thought besides to make so that the player only once does not touch the ground before the end.

To cumulate the combos and the clap catches is thus the best solution to hope to collect more than 1200 bananas per kingdom.

By the way

Genesis

The idea of a new handset based on the license Donkey Kong was put forward before even the opening of the studio Nintendo EAD with Tokyo. Shigeru Miyamoto entrusted this will to the two creators of the studio while leaving with their initiative the turning which this future play would take. It is only by palpating for the first time the bongos DK that the idea to associate Donkey Kong, bongos and Jeu of platform came to them.

Indeed, Yoshiaki Koizumi and Takao Shimizu had had wind of difficulties encountered by players, evoking the complexity of controls in the current plays. To carry out a simple and attractive play was thus their concern first.

Graphic & sound environment

Very worked on the level of sound Gameplay , Donkey Kong Jungle Happy can be also prided on its graphic and sound realization. It belongs to the rare plays to use the Progressive scan (better resolution, not of flickering) like Resident Evil 4 . The decorations are fine and swarm with details. To post the peeling of the animals as well as possible, the technique of the Fur shading was used. The fur shading offers one made quasi-realistic of hairs not using polygons what offers a significant saving in performances. Sound side, the play benefits from one returned in Dolby Pro Logic II.

Various information

Donkey Kong Jungle Happy was presented for the first time to the E3 2004, at the same time as the remakes of Donkey Kong Country on Game Boy Advance, it receives there the prices of “the most original play” and of “better board game”.
Donkey Kong Jungle Happy was playable for the first time in public at the time of the Japan Expo 2004 organized with Paris. Nintendo France presented the play to it discreetly to the sides of Donkey Konga , Star Fox: Assault and Game Boy Advance BORN Classic.
It was sold with 150.000 specimens in Japan during its first two weeks of exploitation.
Nintendo Japan placed at the disposal on the official site of Donkey Kong Jungle Happy of the vidéos Super Play showing of the parts to the high combos and better possible courses of the play.

Appropriations

Executive producer: Satoru Iwata
Producing generals: Shigeru Miyamoto, Takashi Tezuka
Producing: Takao Shimizu
Directing: Yoshiaki Koizumi
Assistants of direction: Kouchi Hayashida, Kimiharu Hyodo, Futoshi Shirai, Toshihiro Kawabata
Programmer of the main character: Hideaki Shimizu
Directing of programming “system”: Naoki Koga
Directing of programming “character”: Takeshi Hayakawa
Programmers “character”: Tatsuro Removed, Katsuyasu Ando, Atsushi Yamaguchi
Son: Masafumi Kawamura
Music: Mahito Yokota
Creation of the characters: Takeshi Hosono, Kenta Motokura, Taeko Sugawara, Atsushi Mishima
Creative of the levels: Kazumi Yamaguchi
Artistic creation of the characters and graphic preparing: Yasuhiko Matsuzaki
special Effects: Yusuke Akifuda, Yumiko Matsumiya
Modeling of the characters: Daisuke Watanabe, Masanoei Ezaki, Shunsuke Yamamoto, Kenichi Minamizawa
Modeling of the levels: Kazunori Hashimoto, Ritsuko Tanaka, Sanae Suzuki, Tomoko Yada
Animation 3D: Mieko Yasushima, Katsutaka Hisanaga
Creation artistic of the characters: Hideaki Takamura
Voice: Takashi Nagasako, Masami Suzuki, Hironori Miyata, Hideaki Nonaka, Shunji Takashina, Masahiro Okazaki, Toshihide Tsuchiya
Coordination: Katsuhito Nishimura
Management of advance: Keizo Kato
Customer support: Keisuke Matsui, Shingo Okamoto, Yoshito Yasuda, Hironobu Kakui
Support of debugging: Akira Yano
Hiring of the European handbook and page layout: Herve Lefranc, Michael Hugot, Silke Sczyrba, Britta Henrich, Daniela Schmitt, Carolin Fickert, Sabine Möschl, Sascha Nickel, Mario Kraus, Manfred Anton
particular Thanks: Tadashi Sugiyama, Tomoaki Kuroume, Super Mario Club, Nintendo Tokyo

Donkey Kong in some plays

1981 : Donkey Kong (arcade)
1994: Donkey Kong Country (Super Nintendo)
1999: Donkey Kong 64 (Nintendo 64)
2004: Donkey Konga (GameCube)
2005: Donkey Kong Jungle Happy

External bonds

Japanese Official site
Mini-site on Nintendo.fr
Test of the play on Gamekult.com (7/10, GameKult Selection, 8.1/10 by the players)
Test of the play on Jeux-France.com (16/20)
Test of the play on Jeuxvideo.com (15/20, 17/20 by the players)
Interview of the developers by IGN.com

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