Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast

Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast
North American box art
DeveloperPaon
PublisherNintendo
DirectorKenichi Imaeda
Producers
  • Kentaro Nishimura
  • Toshiharu Izuno
  • Rikiya Nakagawa
ComposerTakashi Kouga
SeriesDonkey Kong
PlatformWii
Release
  • JP: June 28, 2007
  • NA: October 8, 2007
  • EU: January 25, 2008
  • AU: February 7, 2008
GenreRacing
ModesSingle-player, multiplayer

Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast is a 2007 racing game developed by Paon and published by Nintendo for the Wii. The game was shown at the E3 convention in May 2006 for the GameCube under the title of DK: Bongo Blast, but this version was ultimately cancelled in favor of a Wii release. It was released for the Wii in Japan and the United States in 2007, and in PAL regions in 2008 with the title Donkey Kong Jet Race.

The game was originally designed to be controlled using the DK Bongos for the GameCube, which were converted to motion controls using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk when development was moved to the Wii.

Barrel Blast was met with generally negative reviews after its release, with critics panning the replacement of the bongo control scheme with imprecise motion controls, as well as the last-generation visuals. It is the lowest rated Donkey Kong game on Metacritic, as well as the worst rated game part of the greater Mario franchise.