Name a Mario game from 2004. Chances are, it’s Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Name a Donkey Kong game from 2004. Chances are, it’s Donkey Konga. Name a Nintendo handheld from 2004. Chances are, it’s the new Nintendo DS, not the old Gameboy Advance. This is where Mario Vs. Donkey Kong comes into play. It was a forgotten game of 2004 for the Gameboy Advance, a game that many passed over due to the fact that it looked too simple. And let’s face it, what attracts buyers anymore? Either graphics or big names. Unfortunately, Mario’s not been getting a good name lately, and neither has DK, thus making this Mario game not the one everyone was rushing out to buy.

But this was one I wanted for a long time, and finally received around Christmas time. I found the side-scrolling gameplay to be a mix between the original Donkey Kong and Super Mario Bros. 2. Mario would grab enemies and items as in SMB2, use keys as in SMB2, but be weak as ever as in the original DK. He had many more moves than in either of those two games, however, and that’s one thing that makes Mario Vs. Donkey Kong different.

This game, like all, is rated on a 0-4 star scale. 0 is for pathetic (you know, sort of like the message boards and biases from GameFAQs), and 4 is for excellent. I still don’t know whether this game is a remake of an old Gameboy game known simply as Donkey Kong, nor do I know how much of a remake it truly is if it even is partially a remake. That doesn’t matter, as probably most of you have never played that old Donkey Kong game, nor could you find it easily (prove me wrong, though, so you can give me an answer on this).

Graphics: **½

I have never been impressed with the Gameboy Advance’s graphics. Nintendo says it’s a 32-bit system, the same as the original PlayStation. Then we get Super Nintendo graphics for the system, 16-bit quality. And let’s face it, this game is a 2D side-scroller, not a 3D adventure masterpiece. Yet I like the graphics enough to give it a positive score. Why? The characters aren’t papery, and if you know me, you’ll know that I’d prefer Nintendo to drop the Paper Mario gimmick altogether and just give us pretty-looking Mario RPGs with high quality gameplay. The characters look good, if not detailed. There is a three-dimensional feel to the way the game looks, despite its simplicity. I can’t give this a great score, as it doesn’t look nearly good or detailed enough to be considered excellent. Still, I can tell you that the game looks better than what you’d probably expect out of a 2D side-scroller.

Sound: **½

This is a more difficult thing to judge. I actually like some of the music in this game. Is it memorable, like past Mario games’ music? No. But is it at least enjoyable, enough that you’d rather listen to it than to nothing? Absolutely. IGN complained that Mario’s talking was out of place in this game. I find nothing wrong with it. I’d rather Mario talk than nod his head and let others speak for him and read his mind (what games am I hinting at?). I also think that if we have the technology for Mario to speak, let him say his catch phrases (except for “Cheese!”).

Characters: ***

I was so surprised when I played this game! I found out that Mario and Donkey Kong were in this game! Now that I’ve recovered laughing from my own extremely humorous joke, there are also Shy Guys, fireballs, birds, brick monsters, and other enemies, with maybe only Shy Guys being your everyday minion. I have mixed opinions on this. I like the enemies in the game, as they fit the game well. Surely if there were Goombas and Troopas galore, it wouldn’t feel like the old Donkey Kong games. Still, I like those characters, and why not modernize Donkey Kong? Nintendo needs to incorporate him more into the Mario world, if that’s where he’s going to be now that Rare’s gone. I wouldn’t mind him partnering with Bowser, but that’s not where Nintendo’s going with his character. Besides, he’s not very popular around you tourists… when you lose to Maple in a popularity poll… well, I don’t even know if I can compare that to anything.

Controls: ****

Now this is what Mario games are supposed to be like! Forget all the problems with Super Mario Sunshine. Forget any problems with any GameCube Mario game. Nintendo made me remember the glory days, when you controlled Mario. That’s right. Mario is under the control of my button-pushing. That side-somersault? It works in this game! Remember that same move in Sunshine? It was terrible! This game incorporates double-jumping, spinning off poles and jumping, standing on your head, grabbing enemies, and more, and yet it still manages to pull it all off by making things easy for the game player. Nintendo did it right: let the player be able to control the character, so that the challenge in the game comes from where it should come from, the levels and the gameplay. Now of course there’s always a problem if there’s too much of a challenge, however…

Difficulty: ***½

This is the one category where I feel this game needs some serious help in. If you just look at the scores of this game, you’re going to say, “This game is great in just about everything,” and miss one of the key points in my Review. Be careful. While this game’s gameplay is fun (as I’ll explain below), the game is very difficult once you get into the third or fourth world, and once it’s hard, it only gets harder. This game forces you to solve really difficult puzzles, and gives you VERY LITTLE TIME to do so. If this game were not timed, it may raise the overall score of the game by a half-star. The trouble is, this game gives you about a third of the time you’d have to make it through a level in SMB, SMB3, or SMW, while it needs to give you unlimited time like SMB2 does, where you can actually think about what you’re doing and not just keep on moving, knowing that one mistake will make you lose quite a bit of time. I can’t emphasize this enough, this game’s main problem is the lack of time to solve the difficult levels. It gets really annoying to think you have a level solved, and then watch the timer run out as you get tantalizingly close to putting the key through the door. Considering it’s one hit and you’re dead, trial and error is necessary to solve these puzzles and make it through these levels. Having a timer that’s forcing your hand and making you make risky jumps instead of thinking it through can really get on your nerves. Honestly, I don’t mind the tough puzzles. A challenge is good for a game, and I’m glad to see that they were tough puzzles to solve, though not impossible (I’m counting the normal levels here; I couldn’t make it past the first “+” level, as there are “+” worlds after you beat all the normal levels). I like that feeling of having solved a puzzle and beating the level, as I feel like I’m actually smart again (if you’re a high school student making mainly A’s, college will humble you, or in my case, humiliate you). However, if you’re not given a good amount of time, and thus must rush through the level, dying many more times than you should before beating the level, you’re not going to enjoy this game as much as you could have. That, coupled with the fact that I couldn’t figure out how to make it past the first “+” level, makes me not enjoy this game as much as I could have.

Gameplay: ***½

This is where you would rather see the 3 and a half stars show up, under the gameplay section, not the difficulty section. I really enjoy playing this game. Trying to maneuver your key through a maze of conveyor belts and spikes is something I enjoy, and figuring out exactly how to climb through the maze of chains without getting killed while still trying to pick up a 1-Up and the presents is always fun. I’m omitting the timer problem and the extreme difficulty of that “+” level for this section, because if I put them in this section, you’d have to hear the same thing twice, while missing out on what’s good about the gameplay. Those problems are more difficulty-related than gameplay-related, as the gameplay is very good. If you enjoyed Super Mario Bros. 2, and if you enjoyed Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr, you’ll definitely enjoy this game, that’s for sure.

Levels: ***

I haven’t seen such good level design out of a Mario game since Super Mario 64, and I’m including all the games like Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, etc, because their courses are like levels. The levels are nicely designed and made to get the most out of their small area. The problem with them is that they are way too small, but you will get a lot of action out of the small levels, and you pretty much know that every single switch has a purpose.

Replayability: *

Another problem with this game is that it isn’t all that long. You can get through the normal levels of the game pretty fast, even after losing on some of them over and over again. With the first “+” level having a confusing end (Mini-Mario gets killed by touching spikes and can’t climb on Shy Guy’s back, so how does he make it across the spike field?), I didn’t play the game anymore after getting frustrated and confused on the first “+” level. If you can figure it out, you’ll certainly get some more replayability out of this game, but you still won’t feel like trying to beat the clock over and over again.

Fun Factor!: ***

This game is fun, and that’s one of its stronger suits. I’m happy to say that for the first time in a long time (since Mario Kart: Super Circuit, in fact), I really enjoyed playing a Mario game, with more than just minor thrills. It brings back memories of the old days… Unfortunately, I can’t say this game quite measures up with any of the games in Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World (despite its overall score), but it’s still quite a good game.

OVERALL: ***

Mario Vs. Donkey Kong is a game every GBA owner should buy. It IS the best Mario game for the system, hands-down. Yes, I know that Mario & Luigi was put out for the system, and while that was a nice game with some cute characters (and I’m not putting it down for that), it ultimately failed to amuse me long enough to keep me playing… Instead of me explaining this any longer, just read my Review of that game to understand how I feel about that game. As for this game, you will enjoy playing it, and it will keep you interested, like a classic 2D side-scroller. Don’t be fooled; Mario Vs. Donkey Kong is not an easy game, but it does give you a lot of fun times, and you’ll enjoy it, trust me. I know it’s not that popular, and that’s a shame, as it deserves more popularity than it received. This Mario game is the best of the post-N64 era (better than Mario Kart: Super Circuit, which I overrated), so make sure you buy it if you own a GBA.

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