Review of Mario Vs. Donkey Kong is a great puzzle game

To this day, Mario is by far the most popular brand of the Japanese company Nintendo. It’s come a long way since the 2D platformer’s inception, and while games like this 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 its own series. One of these, although not as famous, is Mario vs. Donkey Kong is originally a 2004 game for the Game Boy Advance. Instead of a classic 2D platformer, this is a 2D puzzle game where you have to solve (and then successfully solve) all sorts of puzzles and traps that await you. And in a few days this very game will see its remake for the Nintendo Switch.

• Platform: Nintendo Switch
• Publication date: 02/16/2024
• Developer: Nintendo
• Publisher: Nintendo
• Genre: Puzzle platformer
• Czech localization: No
• Multiplayer: Yes (2 player local co-op)
• Download data: 1.2 GB
• Play time: ~10 hours
• Price: CZK 1,249 (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 introduce the whole concept. The plot is simple: Donkey Kong steals Mario 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 at the end it doesn’t matter at all. Many Nintendo games don’t focus on story, and this is definitely one of them. And while I like strong stories, this one totally makes up for everything else.

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 style and beautiful animations make the game feel modern, even if it’s running on very dated hardware. The individual worlds are incredibly varied and colorful, including enemy designs. And the cutscenes themselves are definitely worth mentioning, even though they only take up a minimal amount of game time. In the original game they looked more like PowerPoint presentations, but here they look like scenes ripped out of a cartoon. And it’s not just the visual part, the sound is also excellent, both the sounds and especially the music. Although it is based on original tunes, it is completely re-recorded in a modern way and sounds simply great.

Great gameplay

But the biggest advantage is, of course, the gameplay itself. At first, the puzzles are very simple, but gradually the traditional walking and clicking buttons (turning various blocks on or off) are filled with a number of other mechanics, often related to the given world. Making use of the environment is absolutely key, be it 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, with no mechanic being 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 rethink your moves, which is crucial in the more advanced levels. Your strategy will often run into obstacles and you will have to do things differently, but that’s part of the game. It’s even more fun when you manage to solve all the puzzles not only in your head, but also on the screen.

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

Generous portion of content

There are 8 worlds in total in the game (compared to 6 in the original), and as already mentioned here, they are all different not only in design, but also in unique mechanics. But at the same time, they all follow a set structure, and that’s 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 boss Donkey Kong. While the levels are unique and always very interesting and fun, the structure gets a little clunky towards the end and it’s a shame more experimentation wasn’t 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, what actually awaits you after the end credits is the second half of the game, which takes place in the same worlds but offers entirely new levels full of unique mechanics and ideas. Add to this the already mentioned expert levels, Time Attack mode and the ability to complete all levels together, which will change the design of the levels in a certain way. You definitely won’t be bored.

A few disadvantages

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

From a technical point of view, the game is almost flawless for the most part, without any bugs or glitches. The frame rate is stable, except for the very final boss fight, where it unfortunately drops noticeably. But this is really the only and very small complaint on this side.

In general, Mario is against it. Donkey Kong is a great game, full of creative puzzles, great audio-visual effects, varied environments and, most importantly, a huge amount of content that is not easy to see. If you don’t mind the lack of story and just want a little brain teaser, be sure to give this game a chance because it certainly won’t disappoint.