Review: 71421 Dixie Kong’s Jungle Jam
Posted by SetToBuild,
From the lively drum beats of “DK Island Swing” to the ethereal feel of “Aquatic Ambience,” music has long been a staple of the Donkey Kong series. When playing as Dixie Kong in Donkey Kong Country 2, at the end of a level she plays a wild guitar solo. With the instruments included in this set, you too can shred to your heart’s content!
The stage setting offers a fun way to display your favourite heroes when not in use and has some extra instruments for them too. The play aspect of the set appears straightforward, but is it still music to our ears at that price?
Summary
71421 Dixie Kong's Jungle Jam, 174 pieces.
£20.99 / $26.99 / €26.99 | 12.1p/15.5c/15.5c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
A cute idea for the included characters, but the price makes it less desirable
- A nice display piece
- Fun play feature
- Not a substantial set for the cost
Characters
Dixie Kong debuts in Donkey Kong Country 2 as Diddy Kong’s girlfriend. Her LEGO appearance characterises her bright personality and style well. For example, I love the use of the 2x2 curved slope as her beret and 1x1 modified plate for the knot tied on her shirt. It's always interesting to see what elements the designers choose to transform a character's image into bricks.
Like all the smaller built characters in this subtheme, Dixie Kong’s posture is dependent on the 1x1 arches giving her that hunched-over look. The addition of the new arm parts helps this characterisation greatly. I also appreciate the use of the printed 1x1 round tiles to show Dixie’s earrings. Dixie Kong is best known for her versatile ponytail for combat and manoeuvrability, but here it is simply a hinge. Sadly, small ball joints aren’t available in a wide range of colours, so that connection type is limited. You’ll just have to imagine her helicopter hover move.
Squawks is a character we see little of in the first game, but his size and purpose are made greater in the following titles. In this set, he isn’t carrying his lantern but is instead carrying a tune! You can hear him squawking along to the beat when your hero figure scans the barcode and dances on stage.
The core of Squawks is built off of two 1x2x1 2/3 SNOT bricks seen for the first time in dark green. I love these elements, so I’m glad to see more colours available. Can we just appreciate how the Nexo Knight shields are perfect parts for small bird wings? Also, it was very thoughtful of the designers to add a perch so that Squawks could reach his microphone.
The Completed Model
Overall the stage is a simple build. Three large gear plates are your platforms for each of the characters to dance on. To the right, you have an amplifier with a guitar for a hero figure to hold. To the right, there’s a set of bongos for Squawks to hit with his beak when he’s taking a break from singing.
Although I do miss the old palm tree trunk connectors, these smooth slender trunks do visually pair well with the new smooth palm leaves. These new leaves are a fresh take on the original jagged palm leaves, and I can imagine them giving jungle MOCs more variety, just as the recent ferns did for castle-in-the-forest MOCs. More plant greebles are always welcome!
Play
There’s only one barcode to scan on this set, and it shouldn’t be a surprise to hear what it does. After scanning the barcode, when the hero figure isn’t moving, the drum beat from “DK Island Swing” begins to play. It isn’t until you start to move the gears that we hear another part of the song, and all three characters hootin’ and hollerin’ along. There are no pieces to stop the gears from turning 360 degrees, so dance away!
Don’t forget that there’s an extra guitar for your hero figure to hold. Additionally, if you have a second hero character around they can be placed on the gear with the orange 2x2 tile and sing along. When both figures are synced with each other and are on stage, both have musical notes on their screens. It was a fun surprise to figure out when playing around with the set.
Conclusion
The set’s basic appearance and limited play features leave me wanting more. The Donkey Kong music library is vast and wonderful. Perhaps a different song could play at random when scanning the barcode, multiple barcodes could offer choices or different figures could cause different songs to play.
The set is a fitting way to include Dixie Kong in the subtheme, but you’ll have to be ready to pay the intellectual property tax if you don’t want Diddy Kong to miss his partner.
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9 comments on this article
Diddy 'n Dixie? I can't. I won't. It's just too much. Too much, I tell ya'!
BTW, this set it a total rip-off.
Good review!
I was actually fairly pleased with this set—while it's definitely pricy it also includes some great, well-designed characters. Like you, I wasn't completely satisfied though—it was a little disappointing that the only interactive tile in this set is the one for the stage. That means that, unlike the other Kongs, the only way to really interact with Dixie or Squawks is to use the set as-is, which means less potential for customizing levels to include characters in different contexts.
Mario sets are better in brick bulit animals than most creator 3-1s. I just love them.
@beige said:
"I thought dixie kong was his cousin. How foolish of me."
I mean, she even has the same surname (if "Kong" is their surname and not some species description) so yeah, I thought so too...
Also, yes, we can definetly appreciate the nexo Knights shields as bird wings! Saw that immidietly and loved it. I never would have thoght this piece would be so versatile...
So they're finally here, performing for you.
If they made swordfish that played “Aquatic Ambience” while Mario rode on it’s back I would insta-buy.
Is that Bean the Dynamite from Sonic the Hedgehog?! They do look so similar!
granted I am unfamiliar with the source material, but i totes thought that was a giant banana on her back.
@unclghost said:
"So they're finally here, performing for you."
I know the words. Can I join in, too?