First released in 2004 for the Game Boy Advance, Mario vs. Donkey Kong took the Super Mario experience and expanded it to focus more on puzzles and less on platforming. Reintroducing Donkey Kong as a villain after many games focusing on Bowser helped spark a renewed love for the character, and the game was named the top handheld release in 2004 by many gaming news outlets. A remake now gives today’s gamers a chance to check out this iconic release.

In Mario vs. Donkey Kong, you’re not simply side-scrolling and platforming like the mainline Super Mario series. You’re also introduced to the game’s light plot, which feels very different from the typical Bowser-steals-the-princess agenda. After Donkey Kong steals mini-Mario toys following a successful retail release, it’s up to our plumber hero to retrieve them across a variety of puzzle-laden environments. Across over 130 different levels, you’ll need to retrieve the toys while solving fair and creative puzzles.

In most levels, you’re seeking a key to unlock a door that leads you to a Mini-Mario toy. The best levels, however, have you guiding Mini-Marios to a Toy Box for safety, leaving you to carefully ensure your little friends are following carefully behind. By hitting buttons to traverse block hurdles as well as leaping across spaces to get to new areas, the platforming itself is fairly simple. The game plays like a Game Boy Advance game, which it was originally, meaning there is nothing too complex happening, which is fine with me.

If you’re not sure if this alternative gameplay loop will work for you, give the demo on the Nintendo eShop a try. I think it’s quite effective, and the game looks incredible. You can team up with a friend to help you solve the puzzles, which also makes it a great couch co-op game. For those who didn’t play the original game or follow-up sequels and spin-offs, I could see some folks being confused by the gameplay. That said, if you like puzzles and understand this isn’t the typical Super Mario experience, there’s a ton to enjoy.

The original sold over 1.3 million copies, and I hope it sees success in this Switch remake as well. Nintendo’s developers are masters at making puzzles just tricky enough to make you feel clever when you solve them but never leave you rage quitting. Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a dream as a pick-up-and-play title for the Switch library, and I find myself revisiting the game after completing it when I want a buffer in between other games I’m playing. All in all, it took me about 7 and a half hours to complete, which I felt was very fair.

Overall, Mario vs. Donkey Kong provides a fun puzzle-centric take on the platforming icon’s usual adventures. For those revisiting the game for the first time in two decades, the levels and characters have never looked better. New players without nostalgia for the original handheld release will have no trouble hopping into this alteration of the Mario experience, so long as they know what to expect in terms of gameplay differences. I hope we see more GBA-era remakes come to the Switch and its successor in the future.

A Nintendo Switch review copy of Mario vs. Donkey Kong was provided by Nintendo for the purposes of this review.

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Mario vs. Donkey Kong

$49.99

8

Score

8.0/10

Pros

• Great remake of an iconic GBA-era Mario game
• Wonderful, creative puzzles that never leave you too frustrated
• Repainted in today's Mario art style, the game looks better than ever

Cons

• It plays and feels like a Game Boy Advance game with few QoL updates
• A little sparse in terms of gameplay variety