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Official: DK Jungle Climber DS Thread

D

DevelopmentArrested

Banned
Release dates have been sketchy but it's in stores now.

http://ds.ign.com/articles/817/817131p1.html
8.0 from IGN

"The King of Swing returns in an improved rendition of a GBA sleeper"

dkjc_1188532297.jpg



Anybody pick it up and have impressions to offer us?
 
D

DDayton

(more a nerd than a geek)
Who developed this?

I'd prefer the non-rendered DK for this game, if only because that would possibly make it more likely that a certain classic NES character would make another cameo.
 
G

grandjedi6

Master of the Google Search
DavidDayton said:
Who developed this?

I'd prefer the non-rendered DK for this game, if only because that would possibly make it more likely that a certain classic NES character would make another cameo.
Click to expand...
Paon, they made DK: KIng of Swing and the upcoming DK Barrel Blast for Wii
 
T

traveler

Not Wario
TheGreatDave said:
I'm waiting for GAF impressions. I'm tempted to pick this up but I'm not really aching for a new game at the minute.
Click to expand...

Same here. skate and DOTA are about to make me a very busy man, but I like the concept and I wouldn't mind picking it up if it turned out to be great.
 
J

jgkspsx

Member
I hate the DKC look. I loved the GB game, crappy art and DKC characters aside, but I'm going to wait until this one's cheap. I hope the level designs are as crazy as DK King of Swing.

Also, the name is really stupid - what were they thinking?
 
J

jgkspsx

Member
Stylus control? How the hell would that work?

I adored the controls of the first game. But then Clu Clu Land is one of my favorite NES games.
 
T

The_Dude

Member
This would have been a day one purchase for me, but unfortunately I don't have the money yet. I loved the first one, so I'll be interested to see impressions from someone who was a fan of King Of Swing.
 
S

sykoex

Lost all credibility.
I played King of Swing to the end and liked it so i've been anticipating this sequel for a while. Here's my thoughts on the game so far. I've just completed World 1 at this point.

The new art style really isn't sitting well for me, all the muted colors just make the atmosphere feel dead to me, i really miss the cartoon-y style of the original.

The gameplay is pretty much exactly the same as the original so if you didn't like that one i'd advise you to stay away from this one. I have to say though that this game is exactly what I needed for me DS right now. It's a nice pick up and play style game where you don't have to invest much brain power during play time and still have fun, turn it on, go through a level or 2, turn it off. I already know I'll end up playing through to the end like i did with the original, then after that i'll probably go looking for all the hidden coins and trinkets in each of the level.

The mini-games are also lots of fun, i don't understand why they didn't implement a simple online ranking board because these mini-games deserve it.
 
S

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
This is like the GBA game, only everything is a little bit better except the level design which is MOUNDS better. Personally I prefer the graphical style of the GBA game, but others may differ. The game is really fun so far. Definitely worth a buy if you liked the first one.
 
J

jgkspsx

Member
I did 99.8% or something on King of Swing. I got my fun out of the mechanic. I just can't see spending time with the same mechanic and terrible art design. I liked the level designs of KoS and found them challenging enough. And the micro was a better system for the controls. Nope, not excited for it.
 
A

Amir0x

Banned
Yeah this game is definitely pretty fun. As there aren't any other games really like this except the prequel, it happens to be a breath of fresh air. It's not really challenging and collecting the metric ton of shit is STILL a dumb gameplay feature, but it's really enjoyable.

Worth a purchase if you have some extra cash.
 
J

jgkspsx

Member
Amir0x said:
It's not really challenging
Click to expand...
If it's anything like the first one, it gets seriously challenging towards the end and in the bonus levels. Not GnG level or anything, but really satisfying.
 
M

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
I totally picked this game up the other day and totally haven't played it yet. Yeah, I'm kinda useless sometimes. :)
 
M

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
Great deal! I moderately enjoyed the GBA game. It was kinda Clu-Clu-Land like, in some ways.
 
A

Amir0x

Banned
it is more deliberately paced than other platformers, the genre I can most closely compare it to. I mean you're always stopping yourself to kill enemies, or allowing yourself to swing around over and over to properly aim yourself to your next position and this can slow progress down. I think some people may not like this. I am great at this game though
 
A

Amir0x

Banned
sykoex said:
:lol


I'm finally on the banana planet yay! I find that playing the minigames helps hone your skills for the later levels.
Click to expand...

heh

were you challenged? I mean I haven't died at all, except once on the very first bonus island level when I missed a swinging peg vine and fell into a bottomless pit when I didn't realize the pit was bottomless
 
S

sykoex

Lost all credibility.
For me I think the game has the fun kind of challenge where you die, you know it's your fault and you learn from it. The boss on on King K. Rool's gunship was pretty tough and I decided to use the star power up thing for the first time. :lol

I do think it's kind of lame though to have cheats as unlockables instead of something more interesting.
 
S

Scribble

Member
Playing this now.

Paon have done a brilliant job of keeping the DK franchise fresh with this game. I love how it goes in its own little direction (much like Jungle Beat did with the bongos), instead of being Donkey Kong Country 4 (It does kind of tease you when you reach the more traditional platforming parts, but that dream is crushed as soon as you jump)

People are obviously going to spew baseless garbage like "the DK franchise is dead", without having played this game. The peg mechanic makes it all seem very spinoffish, but Jungle Climber IS a full fledged DK game, and it seems that Paon put a lot of effort into making it - I prefer this game's level design to NSMB.

What they did with Diddy was *very* cool, too.
 
T

Tom_Cody

Member
I was a hardcore fan of the first game (I completed it to 200%) and I had been extremely excited about this release. Gladly I can say that this met all of my expectations. After a slow start, it really comes into it's own as a worthy sequel and overall a much more fleshed out product.

The sequel has added a lot more collecting (it really gave me a Rare flashback when I started playing), but it never feels bloated. The collecting is purely a matter of extras- no collected is needed to progress though the main game. Similar to the coins in NSMB, every collectible is obtained through a gameplay challenge, so it never feels like a chore.

I recently finished the main adventure to 100%. I still have 3 bonus levels to complete and I have a lot more to do with the mini-games (though I will probably never beat the staff scores for all of those). As a veteran of the first game, I was extremely satisfied with the challenge. I avoided using crystal stars almost entirely (and not at all for the collectibles), though I still haven't been able to beat the final two bosses without using at least one crystal star.

It's really unfortunate that this game went completely under the radar. This game has represented about 80% of my gaming time for the last month and I really hope that more people end up playing it. As a hardcore platforming fan, this series has been a breath of fresh air. GIVE IT A CHANCE. You will not regret it.
 
T

The_Dude

Member
Had to bump this, I'm about to throw my DS out the window. Has anyone beaten the final Banana Grab level? After many, many attempts, I managed 158 points which I was sure would at least net me a C rank, but it still wasn't enough. Between the speed, tons of objects moving, not being able to miss a single banana and random spiky things which often reach DK's hand at the same time as a banana, I'm going nuts. I dread to think what you'd need to do for a AAA rank. I finished King of Swing 200%, but it looks like I'll be missing at least 1% by the time I'm done with this.

Main game is awesome though. It's getting pretty challenging now, but in a good way
unlinke Banana Grab :p
. Lots of cool stuff added since King of Swing.
 
M

Mithos Yggdrasill

Banned
Cubed3 gave a 9/10. It seems Paon made here a great job !

jesusraz said:
I gave this game a 9/10 over on Cubed³ - seriously addictive and did indeed make me want to throw my DS out the window at times! King of Swing was great, but Jungle Climber improves on it in almost every way. Paon has made fantastic use of the two screen set-up...
Click to expand...

I hadn't seen your post. I appreciated your review, because, otherwise, I would have never considered this game.
 
jesusraz

jesusraz

Member
Mithos Yggdrasill said:
I appreciated your review, because, otherwise, I would have never considered this game.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Sadly it seems the whole of the UK is giving this as much of a wide berth as it did King of Swing. The game couldn't even crack the DS Top 30, despite launching alongside the Gloss Silver DS Lite! :/
 
S

Scribble

Member
Nice to see the Jungle Climber love continuing. This has to be the best platformer on DS, IMO. Sadly, a lot of people are going to hop on the PAON hating bandwagon after Barrel Blast, without playing this game.
 
A

Amir0x

Banned
Fio Maravilha said:
For someone who hated the first one, is there any chance to enjoy this sequel ?
Click to expand...

i'd say the chance is less than 10%. It's exactly the same, only with somewhat better level design. The first had good level design as it was, so, yeah it's not gonna win anyone over who didn't enjoy the first. I can say that positively.
 
S

Scribble

Member
And both games are only really fun when played on the GBA and DS =P

Yoshi's Island DS would be number two for me, btw.
 
T

The_Dude

Member
So no one can answer my question?

jesusraz said:
I gave this game a 9/10 over on Cubed³ - seriously addictive and did indeed make me want to throw my DS out the window at times! King of Swing was great, but Jungle Climber improves on it in almost every way. Paon has made fantastic use of the two screen set-up...
Click to expand...
Great review, I'm glad to see other people appreciating this game. I wish more of the reviews were this positive, since the game definitely deserves the praise and better reviews might mean more sales. I hate to think this could be the last game in the series, especially since there is really nothing else like it.
 
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