Mario vs. Donkey Kong

Mario vs. Donkey Kong

Game Boy Advance - USA - 1st edition.

Developer Nintendo Software Technology Corporation Publisher Nintendo Published 2004-05-24 Platforms Game Boy Advance Genres Action, Platformer, Puzzle-platformer Themes Cartoon Series Donkey Kong, Mario, Mario vs. Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros. Distribution Commercial

Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a platformer developed by Nintendo Software Technology Corporation and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance on 2004-05-24. It is the sequel to the Game Boy game, Donkey Kong, and gives the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series its name.

In the game, Donkey Kong becomes enamored with little toy robot Marios and steals them all from the Toads' factory. You play as Mario who must chase DK through several levels across six worlds to recollect all the robots for the Toads and defeat DK along the way using mechanics and tropes found throughout previous Mario and Donkey Kong titles. Before each boss fight, there is a level where you must lead the robots through a dangerous stage in a manner similar to Lemmings.

Personal

Own?	No.
Won?	Yes. All presents, not all gold stars.
Finished	2023-12-15.

While looking for a new Game Boy Advance game to play, this one showed up with good reviews. Shortly after I started it, I realized it was clearly a sequel to the poorly named Game Boy Donkey Kong, and was confident I would enjoy it. I beat the normal game, but I'm not sure yet if I'll try to beat the unlocked hard mode as well.

Review

6	5	5	6	8

Best Version: Game Boy

— This section contains spoilers! —

Good

• There are a wide variety of mechanics used throughout the game which adds freshness to each new world.
• The little Mario robots are cute, and I like the Lemmings-esque levels.
• Although there weren't any songs that I particularly enjoyed, the soundtrack as a whole works well. There are a lot of tunes from previous Mario and Donkey Kong titles as well as new music in a similar style.
• Mario's dialogue is hilarious.
• I really enjoyed the final boss battle with the toads helping you defeat DK.
• I like that the game has a save battery and keeps track of how well you do on every level.

Bad

• Mario's controls need work. Each time you step off a trigger, or pick up an object, you briefly lose control of Mario. Also, it took me many tries before I understood the directional mechanics of jumping off a vine or ladder. I died a lot simply because Mario didn't move like I expected him to. The controls were more in line with the original Donkey Kong rather than Super Mario Bros., which is not the direction Nintendo should be going.
• The pre-rendered 3D art converted to 2D pixel art doesn't look very good. Traditional pixel art would have been nicer.
• When you die, it's annoying being forced to re-watch the Donkey Kong cutscene before you can restart the level.

Ugly

• Nothing.

Media

Box Art

• 

  Japan - Focuses on the clockwork Mario with a rainbow outline. Kind of boring.

• 

  USA - A scene from the game with key objects and DK taunting Mario from above. Looks great, and I prefer this art.

• 

  USA - Digital.

Documentation

• 

  Manual - USA.

Videos

Longplay.

Representation

Strong female character?	Fail	There are no women.
Bechdel test?	Fail	There are no women.
Strong person of color character?	Fail	Everyone appears to be white.
Queer character?	Fail	There are no queer characters.

Titles

Language	Native	Transliteration	Translation
Chinese	马里奥对大金刚	Mǎlǐào duì dà Jīngāng	Mario vs. Donkey Kong
English	Mario vs. Donkey Kong
Japanese	マリオvs.ドンキーコング	Mario vs. Donki Kongu	Mario vs. Donkey Kong

Links