20 years after its original release, Mario vs. Donkey Kong is in on the remake action.
What’s Is It?
Not much changed about the 2004 story for this remake and that’s generally ok. I mean, what a year! Shrek 2, Spider-Man 2, GTA: San Andreas, Halo 2, Half Life 2. GIVE US 2004 MEDIA AGAIN.
Donkey Kong is just trying to chill with some TV, but an ad for Mini Mario toys captures his heart. He must have one, but alas, sold out. D.K. makes his way to the factory for Mario’s toy company and swipes a bag. He’s a villain again. Mario sees D.K. fleeing and, across multiple worlds and levels, chasing him down until all the Mini Marios are freed.
But is that really the story? Consider this: Donkey Kong isn’t feeling great and a Mini Mario toy could be just what he needs! However, Mario’s toy company held back stock to drive up demand. Kong sees this and tries to do right by the people and deliver them to the masses, but the Toads rat him out. You won’t play as D.K., the hero. You play as Mario, the miserly villain, bringing Kong to the wrong side of justice.
If only it had something to say like that.
Why Should I Care?
Perhaps because the game has such a straightforward nature, this 2024 remake does a great job of adapting Game Boy Advance up to the Switch.
The control scheme is great. It’s simple but not at the expense of movement. You can move so smoothly through the variety of levels, taking advantage of a few different acrobatic moves Mario has to jump and throw yourself through the various platforms. The settings are beautifully rendered and make the game look outstanding. I played through most of this on the Switch itself and not through my TV, which I would recommend. That could give a little bit of a throwback feel for Gameboy Advance owners, but I do feel like the “scale down” gives a greater sense of control and engagement with the game.
This 2024 addition also comes with a few features to enhance the offering, including co-op and new levels. Bigger functionality comes with Plus levels, where a Mini Mario carries the level’s key, and Time Attack for speedsters. The base game can be played in Classic or Casual modes. With casual, there’s no timer and you get a lot more leniency with getting knocked around.
However, the game isn’t that hard, so casual just makes it way too easy. I found some of the levels to be more challenging through non-Plus, Classic playthrough, but most failures came out of my own mismanagement of the controls or time. There wasn’t anything that couldn’t have been beaten within a couple of attempts, if not a single one. So if the biggest thing to unlock is Time Attack, to make the game go even faster, it’s hard to spend a lot of valuable time with the game.
What Makes It Worth My Time and Money?
With smooth controls, a beautiful setting, additional worlds to play through, and new features, Mario vs. Donkey Kong is indeed a successful remake. However, it’s hard to say it’s worth the full price of admission. It’s fun, but very basic and not a huge challenge. It won’t give you a lot of time value for what you’re playing. If you’re a huge fan of the original, then sure, absolutely have at it. It can bring a lot of nice nostalgia to a modern setting. Beyond that, it’s fun, but it’s just fine.
With smooth controls, a beautiful setting, additional worlds to play through, and new features, Mario vs. Donkey Kong is indeed a successful remake. However, it’s hard to say it’s worth the full price of admission.
20 years after its original release, Mario vs. Donkey Kong is in on the remake action.
What’s Is It?
Not much changed about the 2004 story for this remake and that’s generally ok. I mean, what a year! Shrek 2, Spider-Man 2, GTA: San Andreas, Halo 2, Half Life 2. GIVE US 2004 MEDIA AGAIN.
Donkey Kong is just trying to chill with some TV, but an ad for Mini Mario toys captures his heart. He must have one, but alas, sold out. D.K. makes his way to the factory for Mario’s toy company and swipes a bag. He’s a villain again. Mario sees D.K. fleeing and, across multiple worlds and levels, chasing him down until all the Mini Marios are freed.
But is that really the story? Consider this: Donkey Kong isn’t feeling great and a Mini Mario toy could be just what he needs! However, Mario’s toy company held back stock to drive up demand. Kong sees this and tries to do right by the people and deliver them to the masses, but the Toads rat him out. You won’t play as D.K., the hero. You play as Mario, the miserly villain, bringing Kong to the wrong side of justice.
If only it had something to say like that.
Why Should I Care?
Perhaps because the game has such a straightforward nature, this 2024 remake does a great job of adapting Game Boy Advance up to the Switch.
The control scheme is great. It’s simple but not at the expense of movement. You can move so smoothly through the variety of levels, taking advantage of a few different acrobatic moves Mario has to jump and throw yourself through the various platforms. The settings are beautifully rendered and make the game look outstanding. I played through most of this on the Switch itself and not through my TV, which I would recommend. That could give a little bit of a throwback feel for Gameboy Advance owners, but I do feel like the “scale down” gives a greater sense of control and engagement with the game.
This 2024 addition also comes with a few features to enhance the offering, including co-op and new levels. Bigger functionality comes with Plus levels, where a Mini Mario carries the level’s key, and Time Attack for speedsters. The base game can be played in Classic or Casual modes. With casual, there’s no timer and you get a lot more leniency with getting knocked around.
However, the game isn’t that hard, so casual just makes it way too easy. I found some of the levels to be more challenging through non-Plus, Classic playthrough, but most failures came out of my own mismanagement of the controls or time. There wasn’t anything that couldn’t have been beaten within a couple of attempts, if not a single one. So if the biggest thing to unlock is Time Attack, to make the game go even faster, it’s hard to spend a lot of valuable time with the game.
What Makes It Worth My Time and Money?
With smooth controls, a beautiful setting, additional worlds to play through, and new features, Mario vs. Donkey Kong is indeed a successful remake. However, it’s hard to say it’s worth the full price of admission. It’s fun, but very basic and not a huge challenge. It won’t give you a lot of time value for what you’re playing. If you’re a huge fan of the original, then sure, absolutely have at it. It can bring a lot of nice nostalgia to a modern setting. Beyond that, it’s fun, but it’s just fine.
by Alex Quevedo
