DK King of Swing (GBA) Retro Review

I had planned to put up my Jungle Beat review last week, but that's when I got ill. Then I was going to post it up today, but I'm still not 100%. Instead, let's take a look back at the game that started Donkey Kong's more-versatile and innovative platforming roles with DK King of Swing for the Game Boy Advance. If you can track this game down on Amazon or eBay (not that rare I don't think), you won't be disappointed!

It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing.

Donkey Kong returns in a brand new game, but it's not what you think it is. DK King of Swing throws the Country formula and gameplay out of the window bringing with it a new control scheme with it. The Kongs are having a competition to see who can grab the most DK medals and be designated as "The King of the Jungle" when suddenly King K. Rool flies in, pilfers all of the medals, and rockets away. Now DK must get them back!

After a brief tutorial with Cranky, you'll launch into the game itself. There are five worlds consisting of DK's jungle, a western themed area, a coral reef, an ice domain, and finally King K. Rool's vessel. There are about four levels in each world. Each level is comprised of vertical rooms which DK will have to climb multiple series of pegs while avoiding enemies, grabbing bananas, and finding hidden bonus barrels. You use the L and R buttons not only to move on solid ground left and right, but you also use them in mid air to control DK's hands. L being his left hand, and R being his right. You use these buttons the most when playing. You'll latch onto pegs and alternate between L and R to climb on the various surfaces the game has to offer. Holding L and R while on the ground performs a jump while holding L and R together while holding onto a peg to execute an attack on an enemy. The A button is used to make DK invincible for a short period of time. This move consumes twenty bananas while healing a heart of DK (in this game DK has three hearts as his health bar) costs ten. When you lose all three hearts, it's game over until you restart on the world map. Now being able to use bananas to heal is a nice touch, but it's easy to abuse by going back to previous levels and stocking up on DK's yellow fix.

Familiar foes abound in King of Swing.

You'd think alternating between L and R would be shallow, but there's a lot of variety to this game. You can grab onto rocks in certain levels to chuck at climbing Kremlings. Speaking of baddies, numerous Donkey Kong Country foes make a return to DK King of Swing including Kritters, Flitters, Zingers, Neckies, and Lockjaws to name a few. Obstacles such as walls can only be pressed by cranking a switch to allow DK enough time to pass through. DK can ride in barrels to shoot himself past danger. Worlds of ice make grabbing onto and sticking to pegs all the more difficult. The final world will have you dodging spikes, mortar fire, while clinging to conveyor belts that'll push you off if you stay on them too long. Not only are there the levels to complete, but each level has a medal and crystal coconut hidden in them. One is in a bonus barrel which will lead you to a stage where you'll have to collect all of the bananas within the time limit, and the other is hiding somewhere within the level.

Each world concludes with its own boss battle. Some you can simply hold L and R and bash into the boss, but others require a different approach. The Davy Bones boss will desire you to grab onto its tail and ram it into the surrounding spikes around the battlefield. Simply ramming into it won't do you any good.

This boss requires you to grab its tail
and pull it into the surrounding spikes.

To round out the package, DK King of Swing comes with an alternate party type mode called Jungle Jam. There's a race mode to see who of the four can climb to the top of the area the fastest, an obstacle course, and a battle mode to see who can hit the competition the most within the time limit. These are a necessity for perfectionists to complete. Even after beating the fairly short adventure mode 100%, you'll deal with another mode called Diddy Mode. This is a harder version of the adventure mode. You will only find bananas when you fell an enemy. No more strewn about the levels. Those patient enough to complete this will unlock a very cool character which you'll have to see for yourself to unlock (or check a FAQ).

Silly monkey, Trix are for kids!

DK King of Swing is a very innovative game that retains the fun of the franchise. Though sometimes frustrating climbing your way to the top of a room only to get knocked down back where you started can be quite annoying, overall the game experience is positive. The story mode may be short, but unlocking everything King of Swing has to offer lengthens the play time. If you're in the mood for an underrated gem, then DK King of Swing should be the top banana for you.

[SuperPhillip Says: 8.0/10]

Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure (Wii) Review

Treasure Island Revisited

It's really difficult to recommend great third-party titles to a Wii owner. Mostly due to the fact that most third-party Wii games are crappy, rushed Playstation 2 ports or plain shovelware. And like a treasure chest buried under a desert of third-party mediocrity, you have a title like Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure.

This quest for booty stars a lovable duo of Zack, a chocolate bar-devouring young lad, and his trusty companion, the robotic monkey known as Wiki, who recently joined up with fellow treasure hunters, the Sea Rabbits. High in the sky and itching for some treasure, the crew's plane is attacked by a rival gang of booty-lovers led by the vivacious as well as beautiful Captain Rose. A tutorial mission follows which puts players into Capcom's world of seeking gold. This mission follows their exploits of abandoning the falling plane, safely reaching the ground, and coming across a mysterious treasure. The contents of this chest reveal the gold talking skull of the legendary Captain Barbaros who promises the pair his legendary pirate ship as long as Zack and Wiki retrieve all of his missing parts to make him whole again.

The plane! The plane!

Zack & Wiki plays as a point and click puzzle game. You guide Zack by pointing and clicking an area on the game screen, and Zack moves toward it. Each level has a treasure chest usually right out in the open, but there's always one or a series of clever obstacles standing in your way of grabbing your goodies. This is where your brainpower and a little ingenuity comes into play. Zack would be in trouble without his cheeky companion, Wiki, as Wiki can be used as a bell to itemize various enemies. Centipedes can be transformed into saws to cut down trees to create a bridge, snakes can be turned into grabbers to reach keys that would otherwise be unreachable, and frogs can made into bombs-- just a few of the examples that enemies can be morphed into. You won't be getting anywhere with that guard out in the open, so why not itemize a frog, put the bomb down a water chute, and have it explode-- knocking out the guard? Don't worry, the real solution wasn't spoiled. There's a wide array of items for Zack to come across and use, and utilizing them at the right time is the difference between completing a stage or needing to redo it all over again.

Zack will come in contact with many items to assist him.

Now the Wii remote isn't simply used to point Zack around. You'll be utilizing that a lot, too. There's a plethora of various uses for the Wii remote. You'll be pulling the remote towards you and back to saw down trees, you'll be holding the remote upright for it to function it like a lever, and you'll even be playing the remote like a flute in one stage. There's many creative uses for the Wii remote, and while I'd like to say they all work well-- many of them don't. The motion controls are just unresponsive, and it can get quite frustrating waggling the Wii remote around without having any useful output on the screen. Otherwise, using the Wii remote is seldom that large of annoyance, and you won't need precision motion controls at most occasions. The sound and rumble feedback from the controller makes it so sawing logs isn't as boring as watching someone figuratively saw some logs.

Think you know the solution? Think again.

Many stages follow one simple rule: there's one right way to solve the stage, and there's countless others that are just wrong. Sometimes, doing things the wrong way will just have Zack showing a display of dissatisfaction. Other times, you'll be treated with a game over. A lot of the game is trial and error. Don't be surprised if you think you've got the stage figured out only to find out your way isn't the way the game wants you to solve the puzzle. Additionally and especially in later levels, you'll mess up so bad that you won't even be able to advance without starting the stage all over again. Being forced to do a stage all over again won't be a foreign concept to you as you hammer hours into Zack & Wiki.

Then there's the awesome boss battles-- a part of the game I sincerely enjoyed. These range from outsmarting the village chief to aiming mirrors to shoot and reflect a laser into a gigantic snow lion. These battles will put your mental mettle to the test as there's seldom more than one way to tackle a foe.

There's no time to chill out; there's treasure to be had!

There's a wide array of themed locales to plunder from grassy jungles to erupting volcanoes. Completing levels unlocks new, tougher challenges. And you're ranked for every little excursion you have via HirameQ-- a pun on a Japanese term. HirameQ is basically how clever you're being in a level. Zack & Wiki lets you know if you're starting to solve the puzzle the right way by awarding you with HirameQ throughout a level. Itemize the right enemy? You'll probably get 1000/1000 HirameQ for that action. Use that item at the right time? You'll get 3000/3000 HirameQ on atop of the 1000 you've already earned. The level sum of all your HirameQ will give you a rank. Replaying levels to get the highest amount possible will give perfectionists the ability to go hog wild.

Not only are their high HirameQ scores to achieve, but after you've completed the game once, you'll receive cryptic clues as to hidden treasures in the stages you've completed. There's also very cool Capcom treasures to find which can be a pain in the rear to discover on your own, but once you do you'll be able to read up on a quick fact about your favorite classic Capcom stars from Mega Man to Arthur from Ghost 'N Goblins.

While you're not bursting your brain vessels in the game's numerous stages, you can chill at the Sea Rabbits' headquarters where you can check your status and game totals, send a flunky out to search for treasures, or purchase hint tickets and extra lives from an angelic puppet.

Maybe Zack could play for Mario's team?

What I would consider the game's most important treasure is the consistent visual as well as comedic charm that stems from the beginning of the game and goes with you till the very end. There's just so much personality in the characters and in the environments themselves. There's no voice acting, but you will hear grunts and other quick clips. The only downside here is the very annoying "Zaakkuuuuuuuu" cry from Wiki for when you retry a mission or for when Wiki calls Zack early on in the game. The music is fun to listen to, but for some stages that you'll be in for upwards of an hour, it will get repetitive.

Zack & Wiki is the type of niche game that the mainstream gamer will miss out on, and it's unfortunate. That's what happens when you don't market a game. However, for those that do pick up on Zack & Wiki, you will indeed come upon one gaming treasure that many third-parties on Wii can only hope to dig up. There's so much charm here, and so much fun. If you don't find doing over levels all over again and initiating times of trial and error, you'll want to look elsewhere. The rest of us, however, can enjoy this fantastic offering from Capcom. This is one type of booty that I will graciously hit over and over again.

[SuperPhillip Says: 8.0/10]

SuperPhillip's Favorite VGMs - Yasunori Mitsuda Edition

This week we are showcasing five songs from composer Yasunori Mitsuda's catalog of music. We start with Chrono Cross and Xenogears and conclude with Mario Party and a bit of Bomberman. Enjoy.

V306. Chrono Cross - Scars of Time

From the phenomenal opening of Chrono Cross comes the equally impressive theme that accompanies it, Scars of Time. To this day I still get amazed when the song kicks in, and sometimes I even get goosebumps near the end at the song's conclusion. A really terrific-sounding theme for sure and one of Yasunori Mitsuda's best.



V307. Xenogears - My Village is Number One

A very quaint and cozy village theme for Xenogears' beginning village, My Village is Number One has an appropriately folksy if not whimsical sound to it. You can check out the masterfully arranged "Lahan" version of this track on the Xenogears Creid album.



V308. Graffiti Kingdom - Revolving Disk

Graffiti Kingdom has made an appearance already on my list, but for those unaware of the game, it was an action-RPG where you could draw your own monsters to play as. Graffiti Kingdom was very much a niche, above-average experience. This track is not only fast-paced but quite charming, too.



V309. Mario Party - Engine Room

Engine Room is the theme for Luigi's own board in the original Mario Party. The song is very bouncy and full of Luigi's hilarious charm, perfect for the mustachioed plumber himself.



V310. Bomberman 64: The Second Attack - Battle Royal

This Battle Royal theme comes to us from the oftentimes overlooked Bomberman 64: The Second Attack. It's a perfect song to get your pulse pounding as you scamper along blowing away your opponents to beautiful pieces. Both the normal and "Hurry Up" (time's almost out) versions are included in this volume.



The VGMs should return to their regular day, Monday, next week. Until then, enjoy the rest of your week!

The Most Overlooked Wii Games - Part One

It is my wish that you're enjoying this and past entries in my Most Overlooked series. If not, you will get your money back-- no mess, no fuss. We've been through the DS and PSP one time around, so let's take a look at the market leader this generation, the Wii. There's plenty of great games that are tossed to the wayside in attention for one reason or another, so here are just a sample of some Wii games you may want to track down. All of which are worth your effort, and most of these games touched upon have reviews by yours truly if you want to look into them even more.

Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon

I had listened to the Dissidia: Final Fantasy (PSP) remixed collection of past Final Fantasy tunes, and I was amazed how much better Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon's soundtrack was in comparison. The game is a traditional rogue-like, but it's nowhere near as unforgiving as the more infamous games of the genre. Many memorable songs, characters, summons, and creatures from the Final Fantasy universe are present, and the game's difficulty is one that you can ease into rather, well, easily. The game is full of charm, a word I like to use for games of this nature, and the quest is long and full of optional goodies to partake in. For those tired of heroes and heroines with teen angst and attitude problems, let Chocobo into your home instead!


Wario Land: Shake It!

I had never played a Wario Land game since Super Mario Land 3 if that even counts. I'm unsure of the chronology of the series. Regardless, Wario Land: Shake It (or Wario Land: The Shake Dimension pending on where you are in the world) was accessible to any type of gamer. Those just looking to breeze through the game could do so. However, those wanting to complete the in-game challenges and gather all the treasures would appreciate the ingenious level design all the more than not doing so. Additionally, the game's soundtrack is one of last year's best showing that great melodies and catchy songs so a long way.


Battalion Wars II

I thought having the acronym as BWii was ingenious. It's so simple, but it works so well. It's unfortunate that Battalion Wars II was overlooked. The game was released during the same holiday season as Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3, and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, so perhaps that was one of the contributing factors into it be less talked about. All of the tactical, real-time action of the first BW was present, and BWii brought with it online play for two friends to blow their enemies away with. It's a shame Wii Speak wasn't around then, because the game would have really benefited from it.


We Love Golf

I'm sure most people would have prefered Camelot making a Mario Golf game instead of creating a new property altogether. That doesn't We Love Golf any worse, however. With eight traditional courses, three short courses, multiple mini-games, a cast of characters who could wear a host of Capcom costumes, online play, and a fitting soundtrack by Motoi Sakuraba (Tales of, Star Ocean, etc.), We Love Golf has a lot of content to it. The swing system may not work like Tiger Woods, but it's easy enough to pick up and play and enjoy. You can now get the game for twenty dollars at most retailers, so there's really no risk in purchasing this great golf game. Perhaps you can play it while you wait for Tiger Woods 10!


Blast Works: Build, Trade, & Destroy

Blast Works is a "your mileage may vary" type title. For someone who likes creating and are interested in game design-- even a passing interest like myself-- there's a lot to enjoy in this game. The single-player campaign is a bonus. Others who have no desire to make their own creations and levels will probably not have much to appreciate as the campaign is relatively lackluster even with the innovative gimmick "attached" to the game. For the former, there's plenty of content from other players sent from WiiConnect24-- levels, ships, enemies, background objects, and more for aspiring designers to adore.


MySims Series

While I can't condone EA's fixation with immediately squeezing the franchise dry with spin-offs in the form of MySims Party and MySims Racing, the mainline MySims games are honestly enjoyable romps. The first game was more construction-happy with little in the way of variety when it came to objectives. MySims Kingdom remedied this by having the player utilize in each building challenge a specific number of essences-- the building blocks of the MySims franchise. Not only is the game entertaining, the dialogue is mighty humorous as well!


Stay tuned for a look at the HD consoles in the coming weeks right here on SuperPhillip Central!

Donkey Kong Barrel Blast (Wii) Review

Donkey Kong Barrel Blast was panned by critics. Like some people enjoy Too Human, I enjoyed this game. It controlled well, I seldom had any issues, the game was fun, and I loved all the Donkey Kong Country cameos. As we make our way to Thursday's New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat review, here's a look back at Donkey Kong Barrel Blast.

If Kong is Wrong, I Don't Want to Be Right.

Donkey Kong Barrel Blast is a racing game that's been a long time coming. Rare originally unveiled a title for Nintendo's at that time new console, the Gamecube, called Donkey Kong Racing. When Rare was purchased by Microsoft, the title turned into vaporware and was never talked of again. Fast-forward to the end of the Gamecube's life cycle, and Nintendo announced Donkey Kong Bongo Blast for the Nintendo Gamecube-- a title that would utilize the bongo peripheral used for four other titles: Donkey Konga 1-3 (3 is Japan only) and the criminally underrated Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. However, with the success of the Wii, Nintendo decided to move development of this title from the Gamecube to their new motion-sensing machine. Now with a new name and without the ability to use the bongo controller and new motion-sensing controls, does Donkey Kong have a new hit ripe for the taking, or is this racer a sour banana?

DK speeds through this sweltering desert.

Donkey Kong Barrel Blast has DK and friends equipped with jets powered by bongos. This game is essentially a kart racer in lieu of the massively successful Mario Kart franchise. . Nonetheless, Barrel Blast is much more restrictive when you're racing. DK and others are always moving forward on a set track. Sure, you can move left or right, but back-tracking is never an option to the player. The game is controlled solely by the Wii remote/nunchuk combo. To gain speed, you're supposed to alternate moving between the Wii remote and nunchuk. Once you've reached maximum speed, all you need to do is shake the nunchuk to move left and waggle the Wii remote to glide right. It's as if you're banging imaginary bongos. Hit an obstacle such as a steel keg or get hammered by an item, and you'll need to alternate between both hands to speed up once again. Strike down both controllers at the same time to perform a jump. However, between alternating hands to speed up to pounding down both hands to jump, sometimes you'll accidentally register a jump when you don't mean to causing frustration.

Catch a ride on a mine cart...

Like Mario Kart there's seven other racers to contend with. Press the A button to initiate a punch to knock out other racers for a brief moment or to smash through wooden barrels. Another nod to Mario Kart-inspired racers are items. There's a wide array of them as well from laying a row of fiery bananas on your trail to sending out a purple bird named Quawks to mess with the player in first place. The AI will use these items to their advantage as well, so watch out.

The controls might appear simple just like the game mechanics themselves, but they're deceptively so. By collecting bananas spread around each track, you'll slowly build up your Wild Move gauge located on the right side of the screen. When it fills up, you can perform a Wild Move by holding down on the control stick of the nunchuk. This move allows you to jet faster than max speed while crashing past other racers and some course hazards. By slamming through a wooden barrel while in Wild Move mode you can extend the length of the move's duration. This means that if you keep propelling through wooden barrels you can prolong your Wild Move to extended periods of time. Players will most likely find some insane combos to blaze past and ahead of the racing pack. While your beginner mode is rather slow, the other two difficulties offer tighter competition and faster speeds.

...Or a bobsled...

The tracks themselves are all suspended above air. Players are confined to the insides of the track, and all they can do is move left or right to grab bananas and avoid other racers and obstacles such as TNT barrels, steel kegs, and items. Shortcuts come in the form of rocket barrels that send players to other parts of the track. Red barrels shoot the player out allowing them to perform mid-air poses (by shifting the Wii remote left, right, up, or down when prompted) to earn even more bananas. Additionally in some levels, your racer can open a box containing either Enguarde the swordfish (in underwater races) and Rambi the rhino (in land races). You'll then ride your animal for a short period of time, smacking away obstacles and other racers while being given a fast ride. While there are sixteen races in all, many of them borrow track pieces from other races. What I mean is that the underwater races will feel quite similar except for a few changes. While this might seem lame, well, that's because it pretty much is. Track locales range from the jungle of DK's home to an erupting volcano, to a shimmering sea, to an icy mountainside, to a sky-high temple.

...Or a familiar animal buddy.

Barrel Blast offers numerous modes to partake in including the standard circuit gameplay. At the end of each race you're awarded points depending on the place you received. Have the most points at the conclusion of a cup, and you're the victor. There's also Candy's Challenges where you'll need to complete a set of eight challenges to unlock the next level of eight. These challenges range from collecting a certain amount of bananas within a time limit to helping another racer get first place in a race. The levels of challenges get progressively more difficult, and even after you've completed them all (all 32 of them), you'll have the option to go back to beat your records. To round out the package there's your mandatory time trial mode and versus modes for up to three other players locally.

The cast of Donkey Kong Barrel Blast is wide as it totals to sixteen different racers-- eight Kongs (Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, Tiny Kong, etc.) and eight of the Kremling klan (Kriiter, Kip, Kalypso, Kludge, etc.). Each racer has their own stats from how fast they reach max speed to how long their boosts are. Of course, only a handful of racers are available at the beginning, but by completing cups and Candy's challenges you'll be set to unlock them all.

Compete with up to three other players locally.

Donkey Kong Barrel Blast is definitely a Gamecube game ported over to the Wii. However, it still beats the pants off of a vast assortment of Wii titles graphically. The tracks are colorful and vibrant, blur effects are a nice touch, and the characters and models are all crafted well. There's no sign of slowdown or framerate stutters, and for the most part you'll be able to keep up with the action.

The omission of the bongo controller is questionable, however. I feel that this title would have benefited from both control schemes. The price tag is another problem as well. It's a fifty dollar title at the game's launch which seems a little steep considering that the game isn't overly complex and the length of unlocking everything isn't very long.

Dodge that barrel!

DK's latest console outing may not set the gaming world on fire, but it's a fairly competent racing title. It might feel dumbed down especially to those coming in from racers with more depth, and the controls are decidedly something to get used to. Many will easily get frustrated with learning the controls, but for those who persevere there's a lot of fun to be had. Those complaining about how slow the game is have obviously not unlocked the easy to obtain difficulties offering speedier gameplay and closer races. For what this title sets out to do it's an enjoyable romp that Wii owners should at least give a chance.

[SuperPhillip Says: 6.0/10]