“Mario vs. Donkey Kong,” the 2024 Nintendo Switch remake of the 2004 puzzle game of the same name for the Game Boy Advance, follows Mario tracking down Donkey Kong after he steals Mini-Mario toys from Mario’s Toy Factory. Players must navigate the world through different puzzles each resulting in the rescue of one of the many Mini-Marios.
Despite the game being a remake of a 20-year-old game, it still retains all the charm and characteristics of the original. For starters, it incorporates the same obstacles and objectives as the original, from the spikes to the walls that change with the press of buttons, even down to power-ups like the Donkey Kong hammer from the original game. This helps it retain the magic captured back in 2004 while leaving room for new components in the package like two new worlds that offer new enemies and mechanics: Merry Mini-Land and Slippery Summit.
Each stage feels rewarding to complete. The main objective is to get through to the end of a level to collect a Mini-Mario. Along the way to the game’s main objective, players complete different tasks to progress through the stage such as using trash bins or enemies to cross spike pits, ladders to go up and down different platforms and buttons that enable and disable certain walls. There are also gifts throughout each level that add another nice reward for players looking to up the difficulty outside of just collecting the Mini-Marios. While the game never gets too challenging and can be finished in about six hours, there are still moments in which the game presents some challenging puzzles with tougher solutions than one would expect for a kid’s game.
Mario retains the same move set from the original game. He can jump, run, swing on bars and stand on his hands to deflect falling objects with his feet. These moves feel seamless and easily integrate themselves into the stages, allowing for an easy playing experience for old fans and newcomers.
Graphical enhancements are the most heavily examined elements of modern remakes, and “Mario vs. Donkey Kong” features one of the best facelifts of most recent remakes. The original 2004 game is admittedly rough for its time, but the modern HD graphics look amazing and deliver the charm that the original game’s jagged edges couldn’t. The cinematics are now also fully animated, which feels like a major step up from the slideshow format used in the original. All the sound effects and music are also remade masterfully and each sound and tune will leave a smile on players’ faces, easing their anger if a puzzle gets too difficult.
“Mario vs. Donkey Kong” isn’t a remarkable game, but Nintendo offers a masterful remake of a beloved classic. Being able to play a remake of a Gameboy Advance game makes this worth a pickup as it solidifies the Switch game as the definitive way to play “Mario vs. Donkey Kong.” If players want a fun little puzzle game to play on a day off, this is the game for them.
