Mario vs. Donkey Kong facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mario vs. Donkey Kong |
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North American box art
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| Developer(s) | Nintendo Software Technology |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Director(s) | Yukimi Shimura |
| Producer(s) | Shigeki Yamashiro Shigeru Miyamoto |
| Designer(s) | Wing S. Cho |
| Programmer(s) | Yoonjoon Lee |
| Artist(s) | Kunitake Aoki |
| Composer(s) | Lawrence Schwedler |
| Series | Mario vs. Donkey Kong |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release date(s) | Game Boy Advance
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| Genre(s) | Puzzle-platform |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a fun puzzle-platform game that first came out in 2004 for the Game Boy Advance. It's like a new version of the old Donkey Kong game from 1994. In this game, you play as Mario. Your goal is to solve puzzles and jump through levels to get back stolen Mini-Marios from Donkey Kong.
The game mixes platforming with brain-teasing puzzles. Players guide Mario through different challenges. He needs to find a key and save little Mini-Mario toys from Donkey Kong. Mario vs. Donkey Kong got great reviews, especially for its fun gameplay and cool graphics. It even started a whole series of games! A new and improved version of the game was also released for the Nintendo Switch in 2024.
Contents
How to Play the Game
In Mario vs. Donkey Kong, you control Mario. He is chasing Donkey Kong through a toy factory. Donkey Kong has stolen many Mini-Mario toys, and Mario wants them back!
This game is a puzzle platform game. It's similar to the old Donkey Kong game on the Game Boy. Mario has lots of cool moves. He can do a handstand, a sideways somersault, and even a triple jump. These moves help him get through the levels in many ways.
There are different types of places to play, like a hot lava area or a classic building site. The game has five main types of levels:
- Normal Levels: Mario must pick up a key and take it to a locked door. Then he finds and picks up a Mini-Mario toy at the end.
- Mini-Mario Levels: Mario has to guide six Mini-Mario toys to a Toy Box. He needs to protect them from dangers along the way.
- Boss Levels: Mario fights Donkey Kong to move on to the next world.
- Plus Levels: These are harder. Mario must activate one Mini-Mario holding a key and take it to the door.
- Expert Levels: These are the toughest levels in the game. You can play them after beating the main worlds and collecting enough stars. Mario needs to get the key to the door, just like in normal levels.
Game Story
Mario owns Mario's Toy Company. He sells small wind-up toys called "Mini-Marios." One day, Donkey Kong sees an ad for these toys. He loves them and rushes to the toy store to buy one. But they are all sold out!
Donkey Kong gets very angry. He breaks into Mario's toy factory and steals all the Mini-Marios. Mario quickly chases after Donkey Kong to get his toys back.
Mario follows Donkey Kong, rescuing Mini-Marios and fighting Donkey Kong many times. Eventually, he gets all the toys back. When Donkey Kong realizes the toys are gone, he kidnaps all of Mario's Toad workers! He locks them up in a tall building.
Mario climbs to the top of the tower. He saves the Toads and battles Donkey Kong again. Donkey Kong falls onto a truck full of new Mini-Marios. He quickly steals these new toys too! So, Mario has to chase him all over again.
After another long chase, Mario gets back almost all the Mini-Marios. Donkey Kong still holds six of them. He guards them with a giant robot mech. Mario fights Donkey Kong one last time, destroying the mech. Finally, he gets back the last of the toys.
Mario sees that Donkey Kong is sad. So, Mario decides to give him a free Mini-Mario toy. Donkey Kong finally gets what he wanted! Everyone, including Mario, Donkey Kong, and the Mini-Marios, celebrates together.
How the Game Was Made
This game came from an earlier idea called Donkey Kong Plus. This game was shown at E3 in 2002. Donkey Kong Plus had a cool feature. Players could design their own levels on the GameCube. Then, they could copy them to the Game Boy Advance using a special cable.
This was like an updated version of Donkey Kong '94. But the game changed a lot by the next year. It became Mario vs. Donkey Kong with better graphics and new gameplay. The "Create-a-Level" feature was removed from this game. However, it came back in the next game in the series.
The game also had hidden support for the Nintendo e-Reader. Nintendo held a contest in Japan. They gave out special cards to 1,000 winners. These cards could add new levels to the game.
Special Re-release
Mario vs. Donkey Kong was part of a special offer. It was available to Nintendo 3DS owners who bought their systems early. This was part of the "Ambassador Program" in 2011. Even though it was released to these special users, Nintendo never sold it to everyone on the Nintendo 3DS. However, a version for the Wii U was released later in 2017.
New Version for Switch
A new version, or remake, of Mario vs. Donkey Kong came out on the Nintendo Switch on February 16, 2024. This new game has much better graphics. It also lets two players play together! Toad can join as the second player.
Players can choose between two "Play Styles": Casual and Classic.
- Casual mode removes the time limit. It adds checkpoints in levels. Mario can also get hit five times before losing a life.
- Classic mode is just like the original game.
The remake also added two brand new worlds:
- Merry Mini-Land: This world is set in an amusement park.
- Slippery Summit: This world is an icy mountain.
These new worlds also have "Plus" versions, adding 30 new levels. This means the game now has over 130 levels! After you finish the main game, "Time Attack" mode becomes available. This challenges you to beat each level as fast as you can.
See also
In Spanish: Mario vs. Donkey Kong (serie) para niños
