Video: Mario Vs. Donkey Kong Side-By-Side Graphics Comparison (Switch & GBA)

This was a highlight of the Direct. I actually loved to see this with so much improvement in both graphics and gameplay (softer controls from how it looks).

They should really have gave us a new entry in the series, it's been a few years now. That said, I haven't played this one so it will be all new to me.

Still gutted about the absence of Dr Mario/Luigi. I used to love playing that online. Tetris 99 is alright but it doesn't fill that void.

I would love to play this at some point. Not a fan of the graphics though, they’re a bit too Generic 3D for me. This would have been an awesome opportunity to experiment with a new artstyle.

Oh, wow.
Never knew if the remake was based on GBA version.
Definitely will get the game for sure.

I guess it looks a little better, but you have to look pretty close to find those details.

I normally wouldn’t think this and I disagree when I see most people saying this about other games but… wow this game is really $50?! Unless they add something new such as a level editor or online multiplayer I really don’t see it being worth that price. $30 seems about right to me (maybe even 40) but $50 for a gba remake that (for all we know currently) has only added a local co-op mode seems a bit much. The game still looks really fun and I am considering picking it up but I may have to wait for a sale

I also just realized this means we will most likely never get this game on NSO which sucks since I love the pixel gba art style too

GBA version had this... something, this unapologetic colour palette that just screamed "I am a fun game!"

Switch has it toned down, looking a bit more like any other post 2010 release, saying sheepishly "I don't want to be too bright for anyone"

At least the switch has another game featuring Donkey Kong now but i don't think this is what everyone was hoping for. Why not a new DKC game?

@Stamina_Wheel I mean MvDK is a sequel to DK '94 in all but name.

I think it's a poor decision to remake this game. Why didn't they just put the original on the GBA for NSO+ subscribers?

What's the point of releasing a GBA for subscribers, releasing barely any games for it, and then spending time and money remaking GBA games instead?

The only dumber decision i can recall besides the virtual boy was putting DS games on Wii U eshop instead of the 3DS eshop. I mean who wanted to play DS games on Wii U?

I usually go along with the flow, and I understand you're not working hard on this site just for the fun of it. But opening this page where there's already three commercials on, clicking play and getting two more video ads of god knows how long before being able to view the content on this article (there is no other content than the actual video). Better have chosen another video if you ask me.

@OorWullie my brother got me this game years ago when I got a GBA, I remember saying thanks, but thinking ’what the heck is this?!’ Lol I ended up really loving it though.

@Blooper987 They added multi-player. Not saying it justifies the price but it is new.

@Truegamer79 there were rumours of the Mention Odyssey team making an open world Donkey Kong game for Nintendos next console. I know it's rumours and there's huge chance it'll never happen but I've been wanting an open world DK game for years so I'm holding onto any hope I have for this being real.

@Faucet I said the same to the supermarket cashier, and then she called the cops.

I really don't get why people think games should be free. Nothing is free.

This looks good. I never played the original on GBA, so this will actually be a new experience for me.

This game is why they closed the Wii U eshop. So you can't get the original instead for single digits.

Didn't realise this was a remake, but never got to play the original so very happy to see it return!

@OorWullie A Dr Mario 99 would be amazing! Especially if you could unlock and choose between all the Dr characters from the mobile game.

Dr Stack-of-Goombas needs to return!

The original Mario vs Donkey Kong has some of my favorite voiced lines in the entire franchise. I loved how Mario even comments on a few things during the credits and calls Charles Martinet a nice Italian boy. They better do something similar with the new Mario voice!

The look on Switch is very similar to Mario Maker 2’s take on 3D World especially the lava levels.

I will rather dig up my GBA copy, no way I am paying more than 20 euros for this. Although I loved this game.

@Enigk I agree with you. That said, I can’t imagine that many people doing this. If they are a fan of the series, they probably already have it. A lot will double dip like I did with Advance Wars.

It's not as bright and vibrant, which is a shame, but if you try and display that on a TV, it can be incredibly garish.
I do wonder if there's a "Handheld style" option in the menu, though. Would Nintendo do that sort of thing? shrugs

@Jayenkai the GBA Mario VS DK game had an option for “GBA mode” and “GB Player mode”. The “GBA mode” had bright graphics and the “GB player mode” had darker graphics. Only Nintendo game I’ve seen that has this option.

Why do I get the feeling that Nintendo has been working on games like a new Donkey Kong Country and Switch just can’t run them. So instead the give us something quick and dirty. Hard pass. I would gladly play this a bit on NSO, but otherwise…
I really hope that whatever comes next is launching with some real bangers with all our old faves.

I don't know.. it's really hard to spot the difference!

All I can say to those who have never played it, this is a GREAT game! It's loads of fun and one of the best on the GBA. I never liked the March of the Minis style as much (though those are good too). It would have been great to get this as a compilation - maybe they will at least add more levels.

I would have just been satisfied if the original just came out on the GBA Switch online. I’ll more than likely pass on the new version.

@Jacoby fingers crossed, then, eh?

@Faucet there was one, but you only got 10 stages for free - the rest was walled behind the different Mario series Amiibos

This brings back so many fond memories from when I was a kid, im pretty excited.

If you're going to remake something...
Remake 1080 N64, F-Zero N64, Mario 64, OoT N64, etc.
Best games ever made were on the N64 and there was a ton of them.

@Faucet VC Games on Wii weren't free. So no you are incorrect there. Even "smaller" WiiU eShop games weren't free.

And this being a new game / remake, which doesn't require internet, it doesn't fit the online services.

I have this on my Wii U

It looks like it has enough gameplay for a 15 Euro game.

Looks like they're using the most recent Mario Party renders? Interesting choice

I originally missed out on the GBA game. I played some of the other Mario Vs. Donkey Kong games that focused more on the minis, but knowing this is essentially a sequel title to the Game Boy Donkey Kong game, I'm interested.

May wait for a sale or deal of some sort though, $50 is pretty steep.

I welcome this release but..... I really hope this is not the oft-rumoured Donkey Kong release that keeps getting innuendo online. The good old ape needs a real new game. Something fresh please.

I really love this game, but in a “can’t wait for it to be on NSO” way, not in a “update and charge me more” way.

@Faucet yeah I downloaded it and have never bothered playing it, despite a whole bunch of amiibo.

Also, they released Mario Vs DK: Tupping Stars on both Wii U and 3DS - I could be wrong but I think if you bought one, you’d get a code to get the other free

Just utterly bewildered by the existence of this game.

I didn't even realize this was a GBA remake. Honestly, and I'm sure someone has said it, I wish they'd have just put this on nso. If you're going to be remaking games, do the bigger ones that won't make it to an online service (GC, Wii, WiiU). I wasn't high on the game to begin with, but now I'm a bit disappointed.

I'm sure plenty of people are excited and will enjoy it. I just personally think they could have spent time elsewhere. (And yes, I see the style is very much Mario movie style so they're looking to capture a new audience that weren't gaming in the GBA days. Still my opinion though).

@sanderev "I really don't get why people think games should be free. Nothing is free."

Maybe Nintendo can explain it to you.

"Stock up on quality games—for free!
Did you know that there are lots of amazing free-to-play games available for the Nintendo Switch™ system? Now you do!"

https://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/stock-up-on-quality-games-for-free/

The Mini Mario & Friends amiibo Challenge had a free component on Wii U, possibly also on 3DS, and it looked a lot like this, hence some people's confusion perhaps?🤷‍♂️

https://www.mariowiki.com/Mini_Mario_%26_Friends:_amiibo_Challenge

Visually looks great. It’s not enough for me to pay $50 for a GBA game that isn’t terribly long, though. I have the original and even with the bonus worlds, I think I managed to beat this game within 7 hours or so. Plus the gameplay is pretty basic. It’s good but I’m waiting for it to go to $30ish… if it ever does haha.

It's really good, the visuals are great and I like the sound of some other improvements. I never got around to playing the original.

Although, I'm not against the comments on the pricing. Anyone who plays it and liked the GBA game, or this type of game, I'm sure will enjoy it! But I do agree it's selling at a high price.

I would've preferred this to be a remake of both Donkey Kong '94 and Mario vs. Donkey Kong, and then a $50 price tag would be more reasonable. Heck, I'd pay $60 at that point! I'll still buy it, but $50 is a bitter pill to swallow...

Given Nintendo's track record, it's practically a miracle this isn't $60. $40 would be more ideal - that's the price I'll aim to pick the game up for, got a plan for preordering it at that price point - but as a revisit of a long-dormant, well-liked Mario game style, I think there's more merit to this game at its price point than, say, Link's Awakening and BDSP at $60.

I do hope they have more up their sleeve than local co-op, though. Even if it's just the e-Reader levels that the original game had, seeing as those were Japan-exclusive and super limited in their availability

@KayFiOS Yeah, I wouldn't mind paying "full price" if it included more content - either a collection of other games, bonus levels, new content. A level editor would be pretty cool for a game like this.

Until a few months ago this game was £6.29 on the Wii U eshop. And now here we are.

@rjejr None of those games are free. All of them are "free to play" meaning "pay to unlock stuff". I rather pay once for the full game.

That would be the same as getting a free sample in the supermarket. You get stuff for free, but you'll need to pay to actually use it.

@Faucet There are more game demo's on the Switch than on ANY previous Nintendo console. And unlike the previous consoles, the demo's aren't limited to time / plays.

Mmh dan dont know, not really feeling this one. Def not for the full price. Will be waiting for a sale.

@FirstEmperor I suppose it's likely it'll reuse the same voice clips, like Thousand Year Door.

I thought the overall direct was underwhelming and had the look of a this is the end of life for Switch (and I usually don't complain about directs for the record). But I was excited to see this. It was a favorite back on the GBA, my only regret is I wish they had tacked on an update of the original DK for GB. If any of you are old enough to remember that had the original DK arcade levels but then after that it had a bunch of more puzzle oriented levels that were sort of the start of the Mario vs. DK games. It was an original GB (pre color) title so it would have been a great opportunity to give it a modern makeover....oh well at least its been so long ago since I played this on GBA that puzzles will seem almost fresh......PS was also very exited about the 1K year door remake.....by far the best Paper Mario of all time.

This is a good game but I think they should have remade Donkey Kong (GB) to the same level of effort as Links Awakening. I’d buy that in an instant.

@sanderev "I rather pay once for the full game"

Just b/c you'd rather doesn't mean there aren't free games w/ the whales supporting the lot of us. I've done over 2,000 levels in Candy Crush, never paid a a cent, same for a bunch of those match 3 games. Plenty of people, and I mean plenty., have played Genshin Impact for free. Not just a taste, the game. Not just downloaded it, played it. And Nintendo has had a few. Pokemon Quest. Pokemon Cafe. Pokemon Rumble. Pokemon Shuffle.

There are plenty of free games to play for free. There just are. I think Roblox is free. Oh and Animal Crossing Pocket Camp, I played a few too many hours of that. It's a very long list.

And while I haven't played it for free, I do have over 400 hours playing Fornite and I only spent $8 once a couple of years ago. I could have played for free but it seemed a better experience for me if I paid the $8 for 400 hours over 2 1/2 years of gaming. There are probably people playing Fortnite for free too.

@rjejr A free game is a free game, as soon as €0,01 or more is asked to pay for it, it is no longer a free game. In any form. Even if it’s a completely optional skin for something in the game.

All of these have no prior required payment. Most of them aren’t free.
1. Games on NSO? Are not free. You pay for NSO.
2. Games on eShop that are “free to play” are not free. You pay micro transactions.
3. An open source game you download but also have to bring assets from an existing game? Is not free, you need to own the prior game.
4 .An open source game with no additional requirements? Is free.
5. An (old) game that the publisher / developer put on their website as a free download? (Without any MTX) Is free.
6. A game you made yourself and play. Is free.
7. A game you made yourself and sell to other people? Is not.
8. Game demo’s are free on their own, but the game connected to them aren’t. So they are not free.
9. Techdemo’s that have no connected games, are free.
10. Any of these free options but have build in advertisements are not free. You pay with your data.

I am a fan of the series and haven't played the GBA version THAT much, but I still think it's an odd decision to remake it. That's considering the GBA NSO exists and that you'd think making a new Mario vs DK isn't a huge task for a juggernaut like Nintendo?

@OorWullie

The Dr Mario mobile game was awesome. I played against others online and it was a thrill. It was never officially available in my country, so I had to hack my phone to play it with a VPN and whatnot.

@LEGEND_MARIOID

We live in a recycle culture, where almost everything is a remake or reissue or rework or at least a sequel that plays it safe. Although hopefully people are getting tired of that by now. For example, I've given up on Marvel, I've even given up on Star Wars. With these, the other problem is the extreme dilution, where there is just 10x more "content" out there than it should.

But with this game, it might be OK. I think it's a minor game for Nintendo that most people never played. Why bother designing new levels when for most people it is new anyway, while others might buy it for the nostalgia, and also may have long forgotten all the actual puzzles anyway.

Regardless of the debate of what prices games should be people here really seem to struggle with the difference between a port , a remaster and a remake/reimagining .

I kind of wish we got a Mario Vs DK remake from the GB with updated 2D sprites.

I remember being disappointed with this one. Lacked character

This game feels like a complete waste, Nintendo didn't want to create something new, didn't want to expand on an existing game so they rebuilt the exact same game (as good as it is) and called it a day and with a full price tag. If they were so intent on bringing this game back it should've been at a heavy discount. This is a game that could've easily been ported to GBA app on Switch. Absolutely no need to remaster it and charge us full price, even as good a game as it is.

@gergelyv You kind of summarised well why I buying the game anyway. Despite my original post. My household and I are fans of the series since mainly the DS days.

@sanderev

That's a really long list of games that are free for someone who said there is no such thing as a free game. 🤷‍♂️

@VideoGameBoy "ever heard the phrase "time is money?""

Yes I have. Ever hear the phrase "comparing apples to oranges"?