Stefan Bradley
Another day, another remake of a video game I played decades ago.
Mario vs Donkey Kong, originally released on the Game Boy Advance (GBA) in 2004, is a puzzle platformer that plays quite differently to the fast-paced action of the Super Mario Bros. games. The GBA game was a spiritual successor to the original 1981 Donkey Kong arcade game (which was Mario and Donkey Kong’s first ever appearances), and its follow-up on the Game Boy in 1994.
The rather silly story sees Donkey Kong stealing Mini-Mario toys from Mario’s factory after seeing the little guys on a very persuasive TV commercial. Mario must have clearly invested a ton of money in these toys as he chases the big ape down to retrieve the Lemming-like Mario toys such as a volcano and haunted house to save his property.
Most levels in the main campaign are split into two parts.
The first sees Mario dodging hazards and solving environmental puzzles to grab a giant key to enter a door.
The gameplay is similar in the second room, but Mario must simply reach one of his Mini-Mario toys.
Before fighting Donkey Kong as a boss, Mario must guide the Mini-Marios he’s rescued in the world to a toy box. This format essentially repeats itself across the eight worlds, with two of them brand new to this remake.
It is a fun gameplay hook with well-designed puzzles, and you can can easily sink in a couple of levels when you have a few minutes free.
This remake feels very true to the original game, and I was surprised how well my muscle memory from many years ago kicked in as I started playing. But I also question the need to remake it, because not much has changed or been added. There was also an obvious missed opportunity to restore cut content into this remake, like the level editor which was added to this game’s sequels.
While this game is $10 cheaper than most new full-priced Nintendo Switch games at $69.95, it’s still quite steep for a very basic remake. While the brand new graphics look fantastic, and the soundtrack has a lounge quality to them, that GBA title also looked and sounded fine. Rather than simply re-releasing the 2004 title to the Nintendo Switch’s GBA service, Nintendo has decided to completely rebuild it from the ground up.
The majority of the levels are short and fairly easy – even the new ones breeze by quickly.
After you beat the main game, you unlock ‘plus’ worlds, which are new versions of the eight worlds, and you can start working towards unlocking ‘expert’ levels. For those looking for a greater challenge and more content, this is welcomed, but I felt like I was already finished with the game once I got to this point.
A new co-op mode has been added and it works surprisingly well as you work together with a second player to retrieve two keys instead of one.
There’s also a new casual difficulty which essentially gives you five extra chances before losing a life on a stage. Speaking of which, the life system feels pointless here and just acts as an annoyance. Super Mario Odyssey removed the life system in favour of the player losing coins instead, which were used to buy in-game items such as costumes. This seems like an obvious idea they could have brought to this remake, like buying Mini-Luigis or Mini-Donkey Kongs to use in-game.
This definitely is a title aimed at younger gamers, even more than other Mario games. I’d definitely recommend this for kids and it’s a great way to use their brain power, and the new co-op will be a hit with parents and siblings.
Newcomers will have a great time, but fans of the original game should wait for a sale or revisit their old copy.
Mario vs Donkey Kong is out now on Nintendo Switch. Review copy provided by the publisher.
