Mario vs. Donkey Kong

aka: Maliao dui Dajingang
Moby ID: 13829
Game Boy Advance Specs
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Description official descriptions

In the beginning video, Donkey Kong is at home channel-surfing. While flipping through channels, DK notices an ad about the new Mini Mario Toy. Right away, he decides to get his hands on as many as he can, so he steals them from Mario's Toy Factory. Now, Mario has to get them back.

Mario must find the key then rescue a Mini Mario in six levels of each world. In the seventh level, Mario must guide all the Mini Marios he collected through the letters T, O, and Y and into the toy box. The eighth and last level pits Mario against Donkey Kong. There are many enemies and obstacles to avoid, including Bob-ombs, Shy Guys, Boos, trash cans, fireballs, and Thwomps.

Spellings

  • マリオvs.ドンキーコング - Japanese spelling
  • 马里奥对大金刚 - Chinese spelling (simplified)

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Credits (Game Boy Advance version)

91 People (50 developers, 41 thanks) · View all

Producer
Executive Advisor
Game Director
Game Design
Additional Game Design Support
Engineering Director
Engineers
Engineering Specialist
Engineer Manager
Art Director
Art
Additional Art Support
Audio Director
Additional Audio Support
Network Manager
Office Manager
Office Assistant
Game Design Associate
Executive Producer
Producer
Associate Producers
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 77% (based on 26 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.6 out of 5 (based on 34 ratings with 3 reviews)

Here's One Worth Your Hard-Earned Dollars and Cents

The Good
This game essentially is a continuation of the original Donkey Kong series which manifested itself on the original gameboy in 1994 as Donkey Kong '94. It does well at blending the puzzle and side-scroller genre.

The first thing the player will notice is the pre-rendered graphics which are a nod to Donkey Kong Country's similar style. All-in-all, the graphics work well. The colors are pleasing to the eye and the animations are well done.

The puzzles are relatively challenging in this game and a few levels kept me scratching my head for quite some time. The player is led to believe that there are a mere six worlds in the game, but after defeating Donkey Kong in the last, you are sent to the + world where the difficulty is greatly increased.

The Bad
Leading around the rescued mini-Mario toys can be frustrating! This isn't a bad thing in regards to difficulty, but sometimes you will find yourself really tearing your hair out!

The sound effects aren't bad, but the music isn't quite up to par with Koji Kondo's work.

The Bottom Line
With all the infamous ports of older Mario titles available on the Gameboy Advance, it's nice to see some original material of this caliber. Do yourself a favor and play this game - it may be a sleeper hit, but it will not disappoint you!

Game Boy Advance · by Steve Thompson (87) · 2006

THE essential Mario game for the GBA.

The Good
First off, the game's sound and graphics are excellent, similar in style to that of Donkey Kong Country, but less muddy and more colorful. Mario is surprisingly agile and there is nothing wrong with the controls at all; he jumps, he runs, he climbs and he somersaults just like he's supposed to. The level design is very good, some of the levels are damn hard but at the same time they're not impossible. If you die or otherwise fail, it's your own fault.

The Bad
Actually I can think of nothing to complain about, this is one of the few essential games for the GBA. Maybe, just maybe, it's a tad too short. And even though I personally don't care much for the pre-rendered style graphics, it's no biggie.

The Bottom Line
As far as GBA puzzle/platform gaming goes, this is the shit. It's perfect for playing on the subway, in bed or on those long transatlantic flights, just like a good handheld game should be. Top notch!

Game Boy Advance · by optrirominiluikus (70) · 2004

Arcade classic with puzzle elements

The Good
Mario vs. Donkey Kong has the essence of the arcade classics mixed with the genre of puzzle games. It's not an original concept and we've seen it a lot of times, but it works really work in a system like GBA. The game is long and hard enough to suppose a challenge for you, but it's not impossible, so, the difficult is really well adjusted and you'll need some time to solve some levels (especially the expert levels). Pre-rendered graphics are good for this game, with some good animations and variety of enemies. The sound is good too, with a really funny main theme in the tittle screen combining songs of Mario and Donkey Kong.

The Bad
Gameplay is not as good as it should be in a game like this. Jumping is easy, but trying to do the somersault is harder because the controls don't response so good. You'll die many times because of that, you'll need patience.

The normal levels are easier than the + levels, but if what you want is to unlock the expert levels by taking all the stars, the normal levels are harder than the +, that's because normal levels have two sub-levels, and you have to do it perfect two times. In the + levels there's just one level, no sub-levels, so, it's easier to achieve the top score and gain the star.

The Mario-Toys are really stupid, they won't never hesitate and they'll always throw themselves to the enemies. You can finish the level with just one of the, but if you want the star you'll need all of them alive, so, sometimes it's a bit frustrating.

The Bottom Line
The arcade essence of Donkey Kong is here, improved with lots of levels and bonus as well as secret expert levels. If you enjoyed arcade classics this is a good one, if you like puzzle games this is a good one... if you like videogames, this is a good one!

Game Boy Advance · by NeoJ (398) · 2009

Trivia

1001 Video Games

The Game Boy Advance version of Mario vs. Donkey Kong appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by gamewarrior.

Nintendo 3DS added by ResidentHazard. Wii U added by Michael Cassidy.

Additional contributors: Unicorn Lynx, FatherJack.

Game added July 2, 2004. Last modified March 9, 2024.