Mario vs. Donkey Kong (Game Boy Advance) Second Opinion Review

The story goes thusly: Mario, being the genius entrepreneur he is, decides to capitalize on his stature in the Mushroom Kingdom by manufacturing a line of wind-up action figures in his likeness. They are a smash success and are flying off the shelves. Upon seeing an ad for the Mini-Mario toys, Donkey Kong goes absolutely bananas for them and rushes to the toy store... only to find them completely out of stock. Not being known for his restraint and even-temper, the big ape does the only thing he can think to do... break into the Mario Factory and kidnap all the Mini-Marios. To protect his investment and maintain a favorable shareholder status, Mario must endeavor to rescue his little toy-children. Nintendo once again serves up the 'weird' in vast quantities.

Now, before people start groaning about it being a puzzle game, and maybe too frustrating and slow, I should mention that this game is in full possession of Mario's trademark action-packed super-awesome ultra-tight gameplay ("action-packed super-awesome ultra-tight gameplay" is MY phrase, so don't anybody start trying to say they came up with it). While the B-button is primarily for picking things up and throwing them about, the D-pad and the A-button are able to make Mario run, climb/descend, jump, duck, do a handstand, walk on his hands, jump from his hands, perform a double jump (from the handstand jump), and even do the rapidly-becoming-famous direction-change back-flip jump ("rapidly-becoming-famous direction-change back-flip jump" is another one). I'm sure some of you will recall the back-flip jump as shown in the DS trailer for "New Mario Bros. Game." I love the idea of incorporating some of the gameplay devices of the 3-D Mario titles into these newer 2-D games... it makes the whole experience a little bit more cohesive and immersive across completely different games on completely different platforms.

The game has a familiar layout that is organized into six worlds, each with eight levels. Six of the eight levels in any given world are split into two parts; 1) get the key, 2) save the Mini-Mario. In the first part, you must get to a large key, pick it up, and then get to the exit, all the while negotiating the level's various obstacles, enemies, and ticking clock. While you are holding the key (over your head), you cannot jump as high, climb ladders, or travel below low ceilings. Also, once you've picked up the key, you can only set it down for about 12 seconds before it magically teleports to it's origin leaving you to have to back track to pick it up again. So be prepared to spend a few lives just trying to sort out how on earth to get the key back to the exit. After you complete the key level, you must save the mini Mario. In a fairly similar fashion you must navigate a fairly similarly-themed level to get to the Mini-Mario... pretty simple in comparison to the bit with the key, but the action and challenges are generally upped a notch for these "second-half" levels.

The next part is my favorite... After completing six of these two-part levels, you must face the World's Level 7: The Mini-Mario Level (not to be confused with the "save the Mini-Mario" second-halves of each normal level). These levels are generally a little bit larger and have a toy-box at one end. The object here is to put away the six Mini-Mario toys that you should have saved in each of the World's previous levels. In a very Pikmin-esque fashion, the little Mario toys will follow you faithfully...but unfortunately, their capabilities are not quite the same as big Mario, nor are their mental faculties, so you'll have to use a series of switches, springs, conveyer belts, and good ole' Mario ingenuity to keep the little guys out of trouble, and to get them to follow you to the toy-box. Sometimes it seems almost inevitable that one of the poor bastards will get left behind, or devoured by some beastie. Luckily, losing a couple won't disqualify your successful completion of the level... but it does come at some cost.

All right, on to the next world, right? Afraid not. In the final level of each world you must face the monkey in a fight that mirrors the theme of the World. Unlike many Mario vs. DK fights in past memory, Mario is now able to take a hit or two before having to start over. When starting the fight with DK you'll have anywhere between 1 and 6 health points. What determines the amount of health you'll have? You guessed it, the number of Mini-Mario's that you were able to lead through the previous level. It all comes together quite nicely.

Okay, in a strict sense, that's the review of the game, but here's the critique:

The basic game design employed in this title is second to none. At no point did I ever want to put it down, though obligations to attend meetings, speak with my girlfriend, or steer the car, often forced me to do so. When I wasn't playing the game, I was thinking about playing the game, or thinking about how I could get my damned GBA back from my girlfriend... who I'm beginning to think said "we need to talk" only in an attempt to distract me, take my GBA, and get some Mario vs. DK goodness for herself. Do I blame her for this manipulative deception? Of course not... I'd do the same... probably much worse.

Another area where this game excels is in its great accessibility across demographics. This is one of the few games in recent memory that I would really recommend to anyone at all. Before each new level there is a brief tutorial scene that demonstrates a new skill, strategy, or technique that will be helpful or necessary in the following level. The scene pauses at key moments, clearly highlighting the controls on an on-screen button mock-up, and then it loops back to the beginning and repeats indefinitely. This device allows new gamers, or “those extreme in age” (the very young and very old), as much time as they need to absorb the lesson, but it can be bypassed instantly with a button push for the rest of you smarty-pants’. So after ten minutes or two days, getting back into the game is effortless. What first seems like just another “nice & friendly” feature, the ability to pan and scan the entire level while in a pause mode, soon becomes an absolute necessity in unraveling the often complex sequences of switches, conveyors, objects, and baddies you must negotiate in just about every level. Another idiot-proof device is the auto-save mechanism that saves after the successful completion of each level. So if for some reason you must immediately run off to do something “real”, you can’t lose any substantial progress. All of these features, make this game ideally suited to the über-portable GBA-SP and I believe give it a very wide appeal across ages, cultures, and even gender.

Alright, one quick (additional) good thing and one quick bad thing. Good Thing: the puzzles really aren’t linear at all. More than once, after throwing away a dozen lives trying to figure out how to complete a level, I was still faced with throwing away a dozen more to execute it all just right… and then I thought “hmmm… you know, if I time it just right, I might be able to clear that spikey wall with a double jump…” The point is, though it seems like you have to eat what you’re given, sometimes you can jog to McDonald’s instead… so keep you’re eyes open. Okay, here’s the bad thing and my one complaint: Many MANY of the DK fights are way too similar. There is a little variety, and the final DK fights are just great, but for the most part fighting the monkey turned into fairly standard affair.