It wasn't my idea to buy the DK Bongo Drums.  No, instead I wound up buying a set because I'd been assigned the review of Donkey Konga 2 for the Nintendo GameCube back in 2005 and, for whatever reason, I wasn't going to be supplied with a review set of bongos.  It was a plum assignment, however, so I plunked down the $60 for a bongo controller and Donkey Kong Jungle Beat figuring that if Konga 2 was a bust at least I'd get a chance to see what the fuss on Jungle Beat was all about.  I didn't have the highest of expectations, but then I proceeded to beat my bongo-bashing hands nearly numb with two weeks of Jungle Beat bongo blasting.  I eventually had to give the game up for a while to let my battered palms heal.  Then the drums fell silent for a year as I awaited another game that made use of the quirky drum controller.

Then, at E3 2006, Nintendo announced DK Bongo Blast for the Nintendo GameCube, a flight racing game starring Donkey Kong that requires the bongos.  Of course, now the game has been kicked up to the Wii and apparently had its bongo functionality stripped in favor of the more popular Wii remote.  I wish Nintendo would reconsider.  I have this great bongo controller just sitting here on display by my piano, waiting for a new game, and the ol' drums have been outshined by the new motion-sensing kid on the block.  I'm well aware that the bongos are more a novelty than anything else, but it's still a shame to see them finally kicked to the curb.  I was hoping for one last drum solo.