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Reviews Mario vs Donkey Kong (2024) - Review Thread

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Truno

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Metacritic - 77 (60 Reviews)
Opencritic - 77 (13 Reviews)​

Adding reviews as they get uploaded.

IGN - 7/10
www.ign.com

Mario vs. Donkey Kong Review - IGN

Mario vs. Donkey Kong might not be as polished as a Mini-Mario toy fresh off the assembly line, but it's just as full of charm and fun to play with.
www.ign.com www.ign.com
Coming in the wake of Super Mario Bros. Wonder’s psychedelic splendour, Mario vs. Donkey Kong’s update of the 2004 Game Boy Advance version is a markedly more modest Mario adventure in scope, but I still enjoyed puzzling my way through its trap-riddled rooms while they lasted – particularly those found in its playful pair of brand new worlds that have interesting new takes on the decades-old mechanics.
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Metro Game Central - 7/10
metro.co.uk

Mario Vs. Donkey Kong review - remaking old rivalries

The first big Nintendo game of the year is a remake of an old GBA puzzle title, that could be the start of a Donkey Kong revival.
metro.co.uk metro.co.uk
Mario Vs. Donkey Kong is a fun and clever puzzle games but that’s as far as it goes. There are likely to be various reasons why this remake exists, but renewing an acknowledged classic is not amongst them. But that’s fine, not every game has to be the best thing ever and there are certainly worse first party games on Switch. If Donkey Kong is to return to the limelight though, with a brand new game, we doubt it will have anything much to do with the Mini Marios.
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VGC - 3/5 (60%)
www.videogameschronicle.com

Review: Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a faithful revamp of the GBA original, to a fault

Nintendo delivers another staunchly faithful remake, but what’s left offers little challenge for core players…
www.videogameschronicle.com www.videogameschronicle.com
There will be those who maintain that the original Mario vs. DK is an underrated moment in Mario’s lengthy repertoire, and that this Switch interpretation is all the better for its refusal to change too much mechanically. Those players will be delighted with what’s on offer here. For those who don’t have that nostalgia to fall back on, however, the game doesn’t fit as neatly into modern gaming sensibilities as something like Metroid Prime Remastered or Super Mario RPG do.
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Game Informer - 8/10
www.gameinformer.com

Mario Vs. Donkey Kong Review - The Rivalry Lives On - Game Informer

Mario and Donkey Kong have been rivals for over 40 years, and this game admirably carries that legacy forward.
www.gameinformer.com www.gameinformer.com
Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a simple game, but as is the case with Mario's best titles, there's an elegance to that simplicity. Nintendo has done a stellar job adding features to make it more palatable to a modern audience, but it only comes together because of how well the classic levels hold up. Mario and Donkey Kong have been rivals for over 40 years, and this game admirably carries that legacy forward.
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Player2 - 10/10
www.player2.net.au

Mario vs. Donkey Kong – Barrels of Fun | Player2.net.au

Donkey Kong has been causing trouble for the ol’ Jump Man since the early days of the franchise, and he’s back to do it again in the remake of Mario vs. Donkey Kong.
www.player2.net.au www.player2.net.au
Overall, I think Nintendo have managed to do that rare thing here (just as they did with Super Mario RPG at the end of last year) where they’ve only added value in adding new features, not detracted. The game is much better for having co-op mode, and it obviously looks bright and spectacular with its new facelift and fully animated cutscenes (there was only so much the GBA could handle). This won’t be one for the action-platformer fans, but if you’re after something a little more cruisy to get that puzzle brain ticking, this is very likely to do the job.
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NintendoLife - 7/10
www.nintendolife.com

Review: Mario vs. Donkey Kong (Switch) - An Easygoing, Kid-Friendly Remake That's Just Fine

Junior Jungle Japes
www.nintendolife.com www.nintendolife.com
Mario vs Donkey Kong serves up a slick return to the 2004 GBA adventure that finds fresh fun in cooperative play. Yep, the new co-op mode really is the star of the show this time out and, alongside two new worlds, 'Plus' versions of each level, a Time Attack mode, and fancy new looks and sounds, there's plenty to dig into and enjoy with a core puzzle/platforming setup that has aged quite well. Just be aware that, if you're a more seasoned player looking for platforming challenges, this game finds its strengths as an experience for younger gamers or as a co-op title to enjoy with your kids.
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Honestly, more than I thought it would get. Pleased that it seems to be holding up well.
 
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I really want to get this!!! It’s just that 50 bucks is tough to swallow for a game like this for me personally. I’ll probably grab it anyway because I enjoyed the demo, and I’m a sucker for Mario
 
Eh reviews aren't really valuable to me after playing the demo. I'll still grab later down the line.
 
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Perhaps slightly lower than I was expecting - I thought it'd squeeze past 80 - but solid nonetheless. Interesting that critics are harsher on the early-game content being very simple this time around.

Don't quite care for Metro continuing to suggest games such as this and Another Code aren't worth remaking, though.
 
Seems about right. This is a game that I'll probably buy and then sell on eBay after I get my 10 hours or whatever out of it.
 
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Interesting scores, I don't remember finding the GBA game overly easy. I wonder if something about the translation to Switch made it an easier game or overly zippy to get through. 🤔
 
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Sampdoria said:
Wasted chance to remake Donkey Kong 94 over this game. DK94 was just better than any of the MvsDK games
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While this is true, I think that's why it kinda deserved a remake over DK94. DK94 plays great to this day. MvsDK1 just feels a bit more clunky in comparison, and from what I played of the demo it definitely feels like they polished up Mario's controls, at least a little bit.
Also it visually aged worse than DK94 due to the very tiny prerendered sprites, so I appreciate that it now has something that looks much better.
 
buildz said:
Don't quite care for Metro continuing to suggest games such as this and Another Code aren't worth remaking, though.
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Oh wow I just read some of that Another Code review from them, that is a bizarrely bad and hostile review.
The part about it being interesting that it's a more mature published release from Nintendo is so strange, cause they've been doing that pretty consistently for a while now,
 
JazzyFuture said:
While this is true, I think that's why it kinda deserved a remake over DK94. DK94 plays great to this day. MvsDK1 just feels a bit more clunky in comparison, and from what I played of the demo it definitely feels like they polished up Mario's controls, at least a little bit.
Also it visually aged worse than DK94 due to the very tiny prerendered sprites, so I appreciate that it now has something that looks much better.
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The only downside is that we lost some really good Martinet dialogue with this new one.

"Let's a go- again? AGAIN?!!"
 
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So uh…is this game not being sold in stores in the U.S. or something?? I didn’t have it preordered because I was waiting to see if Best Buy would bring back their buy two, get one free deal for Plus members again before the game released, so I was just gonna pick it up on release…but it looks like no retailer is carrying the game for in-store pickup, only online shipping?? That’s…unusual, right? Guess I’m just not gonna be able to get the game on launch if that’s really the case, ugh…
 
So is there any information on the supposed new levels?

I liked the original but this is definitely waiting for when it hits $30 or less.
 
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Tye said:
So uh…is this game not being sold in stores in the U.S. or something?? I didn’t have it preordered because I was waiting to see if Best Buy would bring back their buy two, get one free deal for Plus members again before the game released, so I was just gonna pick it up on release…but it looks like no retailer is carrying the game for in-store pickup, only online shipping?? That’s…unusual, right? Guess I’m just not gonna be able to get the game on launch if that’s really the case, ugh…
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This seems to be a more frequent situation. This also happened with Another Code here in MX. No store had copies or even online. A friend work in a retail store here and he also told me they don't know when or if they are actually getting MvsDk copies this or the next week
 
Quoted by: Tye
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ermitron2 said:
This seems to be a more frequent situation. This also happened with Another Code here in MX. No store had copies or even online. A friend work in a retail store here and he also told me they don't know when or if they are actually getting MvsDk copies this or the next week
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Well it turns out I was able to order one for store pickup from Best Buy this morning after all, but it looks like it’s still only available online at Target and GameStop. Weird… I can understand Another Code being a limited print release (and I was honestly expecting that to be the case for that game), but that doesn’t make much sense for Mario vs. Donkey Kong…
 
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Just ordered this for 20 dollars off from QVC with the HELLO20 code. Free shipping too. Must have not used the code before. So may need a new account. 30 plus a little tax is a good deal.
 
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