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DK: King of Swing
North American box art
Developer(s)	Paon
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Director(s)	Atsushi Kaneko Masataka Sato
Producer(s)	Toshiharu Izuno Tatsuya Watanabe Iwao Horita
Composer(s)	Takashi Kouga
Series	Donkey Kong
Platform(s)	Game Boy Advance
Release	EU: February 4, 2005 AU: March 16, 2005 JP: May 19, 2005 NA: September 19, 2005 CN: Cancelled
Genre(s)	Puzzle
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

DK: King of Swing is a puzzle-platform video game developed by Paon and published by Nintendo. King of Swing diverges from the gameplay of other games in the Donkey Kong series, instead featuring characters rotating around pegs to progress similar to the NES game Clu Clu Land. The game features a single-player adventure mode, as well as a competitive multiplayer mode for up to four players. The game was planned to be released in China for the iQue Game Boy Advance system, but this release was cancelled due to high piracy. However, the Chinese translation was fully completed, and it can be played through emulation.

The game was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2005 to mixed reception. A sequel, DK: Jungle Climber, was released in 2007.

Gameplay

In DK: King of Swing, gameplay is primarily based around the use of the L and R triggers, with each one controlling the player character's left and right hands respectively. By holding the trigger, the character's fist will clamp shut, grasping anything in its range. Pegs and pegboards are positioned throughout the environment for characters to grasp, allowing the player to climb and traverse their surroundings. Grasping a peg with the character's right or left hand will respectively cause them to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise around it, and the player must use their spinning momentum to propel them through the air. Both the triggers and the D-pad can be used to affect horizontal character movement while airborne or on the ground. Pressing both triggers at once will cause the character to jump, while holding the triggers will cause them to store up power, after which they will perform a charge attack when the triggers are released. This can be used to attack enemies or cross longer gaps. Players can also perform other tasks with their character's hands in combination with their spinning momentum, such as turning cranks, pulling levers, and throwing rocks at distant enemies.

In the game's single-player Adventure mode, King K. Rool steals the prize medals from the upcoming Jungle Jam tournament, prompting Donkey Kong to chase after him and retrieve the stolen medals. Players control Donkey Kong as he travels across five worlds, each made up of four stages and a boss battle. Scattered across each stage are bananas for Donkey Kong to collect, which the player can spend at any time during gameplay to recover Donkey Kong's health or grant him temporary invincibility. Players can find one of 20 Crystal Coconuts hidden in each stage, which are used to unlock bonus content. A stolen medal can also be found in nearly every stage, as well as earned from defeating each boss. Completing the game with all 24 medals collected will unlock "Diddy Mode", a more difficult version of Adventure where the player controls Diddy Kong. A time attack mode for the Adventure stages can also be unlocked.

In Jungle Jam mode, the player can participate in four-player competitive events against computer-controlled opponents or up to three other players via the use of a Game Link Cable. There are five types of Jungle Jam events: two based around racing, two based around battling, and one based around capturing territory on a board. Players are awarded bronze, silver, or gold medals for defeating CPU opponents in single-player events, with additional events unlocked as the player earns medals in Adventure. Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong and Funky Kong all appear as playable characters in Jungle Jam by default; by obtaining collectibles in Adventure and gold medals in Jungle Jam, players can also unlock Wrinkly Kong, Kremling, King K. Rool, and Bubbles from Clu Clu Land.

Reception

Review scores

Publication	Score
1Up.com	B
Game Informer	7.75/10
GameSpot	7.3/10
IGN	7.8/10
Nintendo Power	8/10
Nintendo World Report	9.5/10
X-Play

DK: King of Swing has received mixed reception, garnering an aggregate score of 71.85% on GameRankings based on 39 reviews. IGN gave the game a score of 7.8 out of 10, criticizing the cartoon-style graphics as being a big step back from the pre-rendered 3D rendered graphics featured in the Donkey Kong Country series. However, they concluded that "DK: King of Swing is a classic example of a Nintendo game attempting something that's both unique and familiar at the same time."

Sequel

A sequel to DK: King of Swing, titled DK: Jungle Climber, was released in 2007 for the Nintendo DS. It received favorable reviews and was generally considered an improvement over King of Swing.

Notes

1. Known in Japan as Burabura Donkey (Japanese: ぶらぶらドンキー, Hepburn: Burabura Donkī)

References

1. ^ Parish, Jeremy (2005-09-13). "DK: King of Swing (GBA) review". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-20. Retrieved 2005-09-13.
2. "Unreleased iQue Game Boy Advance Titles Are Being Sold For USD7500". Retrieved 2021-03-18.
3. "DK King of Swing (prototype) - Hidden Palace". Retrieved 2021-03-18.
4. ^ Craig, Harris (2005-09-16). "DK: King of Swing". IGN. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
5. Kosmina, Ben (2005-04-16). "DK: King of Swing Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved 2020-10-25.
6. Provo, Frank (2005-09-16). "DK: King of Swing review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2020-10-25.
7. "DK: King of Swing for Game Boy Advance Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. 2005-09-19. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
8. "DK: King of Swing for Game Boy Advance". GameRankings. 2005-09-19. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
9. "DK Jungle Climber reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2009-10-06.

• 2005 video games
• Donkey Kong platform games
• Game Boy Advance games
• Multiplayer and single-player video games
• Yeti in fiction
• Video games developed in Japan
• Virtual Console games
• Virtual Console games for Wii U