Is Mario vs. Donkey Kong more fun than a barrel thrown by a monkey?
Over the last few years, a number of older games have been given a fresh coat of paint on Nintendo Switch. The popularity of the system has given Nintendo a chance to introduce users to titles that might have otherwise flown under the radar. The newest example of this trend is Mario vs. Donkey Kong, a beloved puzzle game that originally launched on Game Boy Advance nearly two decades ago. Nintendo has not only overhauled the graphics and sound, the company has also added multiplayer support, new worlds, and local co-op. The result is the definitive version of the game, and an easy recommendation for fans of the puzzle genre.
Mini Mario Mayhem
In Mario vs. Donkey Kong, the iconic Nintendo characters find themselves at war over Mini Mario toys. After Donkey Kong becomes enamored with the wind-up figures, he steals the factory’s entire inventory. Mario attempts to reclaim them, but to do so, he’ll have to complete puzzles across eight worlds. Each world has six levels where the goal is to obtain the Mini Mario toy. Once those areas are all cleared, players will unlock a level focused on guiding the Mini Marios back to their toy chest, and the gameplay in these levels is similar to the old Lemmings franchise. After Mario guides the toys back where they belong, the final stage in each world offers a battle with DK himself.
In many ways, Mario handles similarly to the way that he does in 2D games like Super Mario Bros. Wonder. However, Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a puzzle game first and a platformer second, and that means rethinking the kind of approach one might use in those games. The first few worlds are on the easier side, but players will quickly discover that the pacing requires that they slow down and think things through before charging in. If players aren’t deliberate and go running ahead, they’ll lose a lot of lives quickly. Thankfully, that’s not a huge deal, as the game offers ample opportunities to obtain extra lives, and little progress is lost when a Game Over screen appears.
While patience is key to clearing each stage, Mario vs. Donkey Kong also requires an awareness of the clock, as each level is timed. When I wrote our preview last month, I hadn’t yet died from running out time. That changed in the second half of the game, and even when I did pull off a win, there were plenty of times I just made it at the wire.
Those that want a little help can bring in a second player thanks to the game’s new local co-op. Player two plays alongside Mario as Toad, giving friends a chance to figure out these puzzles as a team. Two heads are (sometimes) better than one, but when played in co-op mode, the first half of most levels adds a second key to obtain before progressing. This was a smart choice by the developers, as it not only gives both players something to do, it also prevents things from getting too easy.
Audio and Visuals
The presentation in Mario vs. Donkey Kong is something of a mixed bag. In some respects, the game looks really great. The character model for Donkey Kong in particular might be the best that’s ever appeared in a video game, and you can see the level of effort that went into the character’s fur design. However, many of the backgrounds betray the game’s roots as a Game Boy Advance title; it’s not that they look bad, but they do have a very static appearance. After seeing how the backgrounds really came alive in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, it feels like a step backwards. That said, some backgrounds look better than others, particularly when players reach the newly added Slippery Summit world.
The visuals might be of mixed quality, but the audio is fantastic. The music that appears in the game is all jazz-influenced, and I didn’t once come across a track that overstayed its welcome; they really set the mood. Longtime Mario fans will also be happy with the voice work, as Charles Martinet’s vocals can be heard for one of the last times. Mario vs. Donkey Kong has also maintained one of the more memorable Toad lines from the original GBA version, which has become something of an internet meme over the years.
Stacking Up Against the Original
There are very few problems to be found in Mario vs. Donkey Kong from a gameplay perspective. However, if there’s one thing that’s bound to bother some players, it’s the fact that, like last year’s Super Mario RPG remake, this is a game that could be purchased on the Wii U Virtual Console a year ago for just a few bucks. That’s going to make some players second guess Mario vs. Donkey Kong‘s $50 price point, even with improvements like the two-player mode, new worlds, and enhanced visuals. At its core, this is still a 20-year-old GBA game, and not everyone is going to feel it’s worth the cost of entry.
Despite some of the game’s issues, Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a very strong addition to the Nintendo Switch library. The puzzle game has seen a lot of strong improvements over the Game Boy Advance version, both in terms of content as well as presentation. Even if some people aren’t happy with paying $50 for an upscaled GBA game, the improvements and high-profile nature of this release should get a lot more players to give it a chance than might have otherwise. Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a very strong puzzle game well worth checking out for fans of the genre, as well as those that grew up with the original Donkey Kong arcade game. Just don’t go in expecting a typical Mario platformer.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Mario vs. Donkey Kong is set to release February 16th, exclusively on Nintendo Switch. A code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review, and it was reviewed on a Nintendo Switch OLED.
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