Mario vs. Donkey Kong Review – A Great Puzzle Game

To this day, Mario is by far the most popular brand from Japanese company Nintendo. It has come a long way since its 2D platformer beginnings, and while such games are still being released (like last year’s Wonder), Mario has also seen a number of other adaptations and more or less successful spin-offs over the years. which then became a standalone series. One of these, although less well-known, is Mario vs. Donkey Kong – originally a 2004 game for the Game Boy Advance. Instead of a classic 2D platformer, it’s a 2D puzzler that challenges you to solve (and then successfully solve) all sorts of puzzles and traps that await you. And in a few days, that same game will see its remake for the Nintendo Switch.

• Platform: Nintendo Switch
• Publication date: 16.02.2024
• Developer: Nintendo
• Publisher: Nintendo
• Genre: Puzzle platformer
• Czech localization: No
• Multiplayer: Yes (local co-op for 2 players)
• Data for download: 1.2 GB
• Play time: ~10 hours
• Price: 1249 CZK (Nintendo online store)

Don’t expect any story

Since I think a lot of people haven’t played the original, and I’m one of them anyway, it’s certainly appropriate to imagine the whole concept. The plot is simple: Donkey Kong steals Mario’s mini-toys from a factory, and Mario himself tries to get them back. The cutscene at the beginning and end is the only thing you get from the story, but in the end it doesn’t matter at all. Many Nintendo games aren’t about the story, and this is definitely one of them. And while I like a strong story, it completely makes up for everything else here.

Fantastic audiovisual effect

First of all, I have to praise the incredibly beautiful visuals. Technology doesn’t have to be everything, and this is especially true for 2D games: great art and beautiful animation make the game feel modern, even if it’s running on very outdated hardware. The individual worlds are incredibly varied and colorful, including the enemy designs. And the cutscenes themselves are definitely worth mentioning, even though they only take up a minimal amount of playtime. In the original game, they were more like PowerPoint presentations, here they are scenes that look like they were ripped from a cartoon. And it’s not just the visuals, the sound is also excellent, both the sounds and especially the music. Although it is based on the original melodies, it is completely re-recorded in a modern way and sounds simply magnificent.

Great gameplay

But the biggest advantage is, of course, the gameplay itself. The puzzles are very simple at first, but gradually the traditional walking and pressing buttons (turning various blocks on or off) are filled with a number of other mechanics, often related to the given world. The use of the environment is absolutely key, whether it is conveyor belts, ice or the enemies themselves, which can make your journey more difficult, but also easier. The puzzles are very inventive and always very original, no mechanic is used more than necessary.

An important factor is that each level has a time limit, but you can pause the game and look around to think about your steps, which is crucial in more advanced levels. Your strategy often encounters obstacles and you will have to act differently, but this is part of the game. It is even more fun when you manage to solve all the puzzles not only in your head, but also on the screen.

If the basic challenge wasn’t enough for you like me, each level offers three more bonuses that will allow you to unlock more difficult expert levels later. Collecting them sometimes requires taking an alternate and more difficult route, but I personally recommend always trying to collect them all, otherwise you’ll miss out on some of the great experience.

A generous portion of content

There are 8 worlds in total (compared to 6 in the original), and as mentioned here, they are all different not only in design but also in their unique mechanics. But at the same time, they all follow a set structure, and this is one of the few complaints I have about the game. There are always 6 classic levels (plus one bonus), 1 special one where you have to navigate Mini-Maria and then fight the Donkey Kong boss. While the levels are unique and always very interesting and fun, this structure becomes a bit clunky towards the end, and it’s a shame that more experimentation was not done here.

On the other hand, I really have to praise the amount of content waiting for you, several dozen levels more than in the original. Although the game seems to end after 8 worlds and a final boss fight, in fact, after the end credits you will find the second half of the game, which takes place in the same worlds, but offers completely new levels, full of unique mechanics and ideas. Add to this the already mentioned expert levels, the Time Attack mode and the ability to play all levels together, which will change the level design in a certain way. You will definitely not get bored.

Several disadvantages

In any case, it is clear that the game is particularly good at puzzles and slower passages. In the slightly more hectic parts, you can sometimes be let down by the less than perfect controls, so this is especially true for boss fights, which can be a bit frustrating because of this.

Technically, the game is mostly flawless, with no bugs or glitches. The frame rate is stable, except for the very final boss fight, where, unfortunately, it drops noticeably. But that’s really the only and very small complaint on this side.

Overall, Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a great game, full of creative puzzles, with great audiovisuals, varied environments and, most importantly, a huge amount of content that is not easy to see. If you don’t mind the lack of a story and just want to rack your brain a little, definitely give this game a chance, because it will definitely not disappoint.