Mario vs. Donkey Kong

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!