Thanks to Hamada for helping with edits.
After the overwhelming success of 1994’s Donkey Kong Country, developer Rare became the franchise’s home. Seven years later, industry newcomer Microsoft purchased the Twycross-based studio, making them a first-party developer for their fledging Xbox console. And Donkey Kong, consequently, found itself adrift. Only with the release of Retro Studios’ Donkey Kong Country Returns in 2010 would the franchise finally settle back into some semblance of stability (for a few years, anyway; ports notwithstanding, the series’ latest release is Returns’ 2014 sequel, Tropical Freeze).
Although DK: King of Swing doesn’t approach its highs, it brings Klonoa: Door of Phantomile (which developer Paon later remade) to mind. Both games are lean and thoroughly explore their core mechanics. (Image: Nintendo)
Those intervening years were a strange time for Donkey Kong. Nintendo brought it in-house for Jungle Beat, the series’ big, mainline GameCube outing, and an arcade-era throwback in Mario vs. Donkey Kong. A number of other studios worked on the property during the Aughts, too. Bandai Namco made three Donkey Konga rhythm games. One of Rare’s teams developed imperfect ports of the Country trilogy and Diddy Kong Racing for Nintendo’s handhelds. And third-party studio Paon helmed three humble Donkey Kong spin-offs (among other collaborations with Nintendo), the first of which we’re discussing today.
Rare complemented each Country title with a Game Boy followup, an example King of Swing unintentionally sort of follows. It and Jungle Beat both employ unorthodox control schemes, with Swing’s revolving around the Game Boy Advance’s L and R buttons. Respectively, they correspond to Donkey Kong’s left and right hands, and each stage demands you alternate between pressing them as you climb floating pegs. Holding the L or R button causes the gorilla to hold onto a peg and spin counterclockwise or clockwise, respectively. Upon releasing the shoulder button, Donkey Kong will leap in the direction he’s facing. While standing on solid ground, you can press both buttons to jump.
Mechanically, King of Swing is closer to Nintendo’s Clu Clu Land series than any prior Donkey Kong title. (Image: Nintendo)
If you hold down both shoulder buttons, Donkey Kong charges an attack. Releasing them while he’s emitting a red glow causes him to spin forward, bashing any baddies or breakable objects he connects with. This launches Donkey Kong a little farther than a standard jump, too. Your secondary means of retaliation is grabbing and throwing rocks or bombs, and aiming these while you’re rotating along pegs becomes an essential skill.
Bananas are plentiful and an invaluable resource. Donkey Kong can only tank three hits, but pressing the B button restores one heart at the cost of ten bananas. If you don’t mind sacrificing twenty, you can press the A button to trigger Donkey Kong’s “Going Bananas” technique. Instantly, the gorilla gains a yellow aura, grows more agile, and becomes impervious to damage. Going Bananas only lasts a few seconds, but that’s always long enough to bail yourself out of a jam. You can carry up to three hundred bananas in total, too—Donkey Kong’s rarely in danger, which is fine. Grabbing a peg or rock with relative precision can be tough, so King of Swing is otherwise appropriately forgiving.
While falling down, you can hold the L or R button to veer Donkey Kong in the respective direction. Hitting a wall causes him to ricochet off it. (Image: Nintendo)
A tutorial teaches the basics, and after that, King of Swing begins in earnest. There are five distinct worlds, the first four of which—Jungle World, Wild West World, Aqua World, and Ice World—are set on Donkey Kong Island. Each world contains four stages and one boss fight, the latter of which only becomes accessible after clearing the former. A map screen connects every region together.
Now, King of Swing never becomes challenging, but there is a nice, gradual rise in difficulty as you ascend the Kongs’ home. Stages consist of three short sections that almost always ask you to climb upwards or rightwards. Slowly, hazards and gimmicks—new enemies, varieties of Barrel Cannons, pegs with different properties—are introduced, usually in a reasonably safe environment where you can acclimate to them (thematically-specific gimmicks, like Ice World’s frozen pegs, also remain exclusive to their settings). On one occasion, a wayward Kritter (which are dubbed “Kremlings” in-game) even kindly demonstrates how levers work by playing with one.
Congazuma’s arena gives you plenty of space to evade and retaliate against the relic, while later bosses progressively give less leeway. (Image: Nintendo)
The enemy lineup in King of Swing is sparser than prior Kong adventures, and returning foes develop quirks in the transition. Since Donkey Kong is completely defenseless while plummeting downwards (Going Bananas notwithstanding), landing atop, say, a Flitter only hurts him, not the bug. This is, however, the first game where you can beat the spiky Zinger bees without an item or Animal Buddy (none of whom appear here), which is satisfying. Altogether, enemies can typically be avoided—sometimes, hitting them is more trouble than it’s worth—and are less threatening than other hazards, like bottomless pits or spikes.
Still, while King of Swing‘s stages all offer their own spin on peg-swinging, that only goes so far; levels are linear and can blur together. Paon does try to incentivize exploration by hiding one Crystal Coconut and medal in each stage, however. Usually, the former are hidden in crates or barrels, though specific enemies occasionally drop one upon their death. Other times, the collectible coconuts are a prize for clearing a Bonus Barrel minigame. As for the medals, every stage tucks a silver or bronze one away in a hard-to-reach area. Gold medals are your rewards for beating each boss, and obtaining a full set of each medal variety unlocks a new “Jungle Jam” minigame for single- and multiplayer.
King of Swing doesn’t emulate Country’s pre-rendered visuals, but its sprites are detailed and charming. Same for the backgrounds. (Image: Nintendo)
Four “Jungle Jam” events are initially available, eight are unlockable, and they’re all inoffensive time killers. “Jungle Jam” also includes eight distinct playable characters, four of whom—Donkey, Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, and Funky Kong—are available from the get-go. Earning Kritter and King K. Rool requires winning gold medals within “Jungle Jam,” while Wrinkly Kong awakens after securing all twenty Crystal Coconuts. Clu Clu Land’s Bubbles arrives after clearing “Diddy Mode” (more on that in a bit) with every medal. She also follows T.T.’s example and is the game’s overall best character. Unfortunately, most of these peg-swingers are exclusive to “Jungle Jam;” roaming stages as them would’ve furthered the game’s replayability.
However, one of the game’s biggest unlockables is “Diddy Mode,” where you play as the faster, more acrobatic chimp. This is meant to be King of Swing’s hard mode; bananas can only be obtained by beating baddies, limiting your ability to heal or turn invincible. That’s largely undermined by Diddy’s greater mobility (not to mention the absence of Crystal Coconuts), but taking advantage of his strengths does spice up the experience. A straightforward “Time Trial” mode is also included. Overall, these are fine, if unexciting, bonuses that give devotees a little more meat.
Obtaining two-hundred percent completion requires getting record times in every stage as Donkey and Diddy in “Time Trial.” The game’s plodding movement speed and the timers’ strictness make for an awkward combination. (Image: Nintendo)
While King of Swing shares Jungle Beat’s desire to innovate, there’s a major break between them: it’s firmly rooted in Rare’s universe. Some of Country’s most iconic themes are remixed here (the score is otherwise unremarkable, though). King of Swing features subtle worldbuilding; the Puzzling Pyramid level, for example, contains Kremling hieroglyphs and monuments depicting Congazuma. The final world, K. Krusier III, isn’t just my favorite mechanically (using Barrel Cannons as obstacles is kinda novel), but also because it’s a nod to Country 2 and 64; it really is K. Rool’s third flying vessel. Swing’s other bosses are newcomers who fit in seamlessly with the tyrannical reptile’s army. For me, this was all a selling point. Getting to see some of my favorite characters was (and is) appreciated, especially during a period when Donkey Kong was all over the place.
DK: King of Swing wasn’t commercially successful, and at the time, I saw countless comments online lamenting its atypical direction. Aside from Paon’s later Donkey Kong works, small Super Smash Bros. homages, and a nod in Returns via its King of Cling stage, King of Swing left no impact on the greater franchise, nor is it likely to in the future. And that’s a shame; King of Swing is a charming, if inessential, spin-off whose length and structure make it perfect to play on the go. Going off my memory, that’s also true of DK Jungle Climber, King of Swing‘s sequel. Perhaps that’s a “Beat the Backlog” topic for another day…
I doubt Paon will ever revisit Donkey Kong, but if they do, I’ll welcome ‘em back with open arms. They’re talented. (Image: Nintendo)
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