Nintendo Land has a Donkey Kong themed attraction, but instead of platforming or a bongo beating mini-game Donkey Kong’s Crash Course is a tilt controlled cart driving game. Players rock the Wii U controller left and right to move a kart down an obstacle course, which could be a crazy version of the original Donkey Kong. I thought hitting a wall would destroy the cart, so I carefully rolled down each ramp.
But, that’s not how you play Donkey Kong’s Crash Course.
The cart is made of springs so it bounces off walls without taking taking damage. Move too slowly and one of the springs gets caught and the cart falls apart. Basically, moving faster is safer, which is kind of counterintuitive. Once I got the hang of turning the Wii U controller left and right, I made it to an area with gates I could open and close using the shoulder buttons. Elevators and platforms that connect were other obstacles I had to navigate through in the level.
Donkey Kong’s Crash Course gives you a score at the end and shows where you stand on local leaderboards. Nintendo probably brought this demo to showcase tilt control sensitivity and Donkey Kong’s Crash Course reminded me of an iPad racing game only with a much lighter controller.
