Mario vs. Donkey Kong (video game)

Mario vs. Donkey Kong
"Hey, come back here, you big monkey!" — Mario
Protagonist(s): Mario Genre(s): Puzzle-platform Platform(s): Game Boy Advance Nintendo Switch Release Date: Game Boy Advance NA: May 24, 2004 AU: June 4, 2004 JP: June 10, 2004 EU: November 19, 2004 Switch February 16, 2024 Developer(s): Nintendo Software Technology Publisher(s): Nintendo Country: United States Series: Mario vs. Donkey Kong Successor: Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis

Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a 2004 puzzle-platform game developed by Nintendo Software Technology and published by Nintendo, and released for the Game Boy Advance. The game is the spiritual successor to the 1994 Game Boy game Donkey Kong. The game's first sequel, Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, was released for the Nintendo DS in 2006.

Plot

Mario has become so famous and popular in the Mushroom Kingdom that he has decided to establish the Mario Toy Company, which has developed a new toy called the Mini-Mario. As Donkey Kong surfs through the channels of his television set, he sees a commercial for the Mini-Marios. Donkey Kong goes to the Toy Store, but finds that they are sold out. Donkey Kong turns around and sees the Mario Toy Company, deciding to loot the store. The store is managed by three Toads, but they do nothing to stop Donkey Kong from stealing the toys. Mario then notices Donkey Kong and starts chasing him.

Why It Rocks

Overall

1. It follows the events from the 1994 Donkey Kong game, making it feel like a spiritual sequel.
2. Extremely fun gameplay that combines Super Mario Bros.-style platforming with Donkey Kong-style levels.
3. The graphics were pretty impressive for the Game Boy Advance standards. All of the characters were 3D models. The backgrounds were also very pretty and nice.
4. The controls feel tight and responsive. Mario responds to all of your movements and controls extremely well.
5. The story is extremely long. After you beat the main story, there is a second story to play as well.
6. In the main story, the final level before each worlds' boss is a stage involving the Mini Mario toys, and Mario has to guide them to the door before the time runs out.
7. Each boss fight is extremely cool and are a homage to Donkey Kong.
8. The music is extremely catchy. Most songs fit each world nicely.
9. The game even has good cutscenes, not only that, but they are fully voiced too which is really nice.
10. Tons of replay value.
11. Mario even has a decent moveset. He can climb ladders, throw enemies, swing on poles, do a handstand, a somersault flip, etc.
    • Speaking of the handstand, it will help Mario be protected from falling bricks and other debris.
12. Collecting all three presents during the level will even let you play a minigame after you have completed the level. The minigame can let you win extra lives.
    • However, if you don't get all the presents, you'll have to skip the minigame straight away.
13. There are tons of references to past Mario and Donkey Kong games, such as the jungle theme world being a homage to Donkey Kong Country and the first world possibly taking place in Mushroom City from Mario Kart: Double Dash.
14. Apart from getting all three presents in each world, you can also make certain enemies kill each other (for example, Shy Guys, RamRams) or attack them with your hammer, making your score higher.
15. The keys in the first half of each level in the main story are really important. Same for the Toy boxes in the Mini-Mario levels.
16. Mario has a ton of new voice-lines in this game. It's rare for Mario games to have stuff like this.

Bad Qualities

Overall

1. Some of the levels can be frustrating and tedious.
   • Speaking of the levels, they can sometimes be a bit hard because you have to take your time with whatever happens in the levels.
   • It can be harder to get a star if you don't beat the high score as well.
2. The music, while decent, isn't as good as other Mario games.
3. There are no power-ups in this game, meaning if you take a hit, you lose a life.
4. When you hit retry any time or exit level for the first time on the pause menu, you also lose a life.
5. The animation of the timer being added to the next level's time limit is sadly absent in the American version.
   • However, when Mario goes through the door, the time limit will be sucked in with him. To make it more clear, the remaining time will be added to the new time limit.
6. Some of the levels feel different in the Japanese and European versions.
7. The American version has a few sound problems that were fixed in the Japanese and European versions.
8. Fighting Donkey Kong a lot can be a bit repetitive, despite him being the only boss of the game.
9. If you die or retry in the second half of any of the levels in the main story after getting through the first half, the time limit will be reset to either 120, 150 or 180 seconds depending on the level you're playing.
10. Some of the voiceovers in the cutscenes are recycled from other Mario games.
11. The Monchees and Robokikki are not as friendly as the Monkikki from the 1994 Donkey Kong game.

Reception

The game received positive reviews for both versions, it received a score of 81/100 and 76/100 for the Game Boy Advance version and remake respectively.

Trivia

• While Donkey Kong's voice uses recycled clips of Grant Kirkhope's voice from Donkey Kong 64 in all versions of the game, the Japanese commercial for the game features Donkey Kong being voiced by Donkey Kong's current voice actor Takashi Nagasako. However, in the Nintendo Switch remake, all of Donkey Kong's voice clips are from Nagasako.

The title screen in the Japanese version was redone to feature the Mini-Marios rather than feature Mario and Donkey Kong as is the case in the American and European versions. The Japanese style of the title screen has been used in all future games in the series, even in international releases.

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