While The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom may have taken the spotlight as Nintendo’s biggest release of last year, Mario and his pals from the Mushroom Kingdom had a fairly successful 2023 as well. The year kicked off with the release of the animated Super Mario Bros. Movie in theaters, which was the second-highest grossing film of last year behind Barbie, and marked the sendoff of Charles Martinet as the longstanding voice of many of the Mario characters. Then,Super Mario Bros. Wonderlaunched in October, bringing with it a variety of fresh ideas to the side scroller that made it one of the best-reviewed 2D Mario games in decades. Finally, the year capped off with a remake of the beloved SNES titleSuper Mario RPG, which updated the presentation and soundtrack of Mario’s first turn-based adventure. Heading into 2024, Nintendo has already announced several games within the Mushroom Kingdom universe that aim to keep this strong momentum going. In addition to a remaster of Luigi’s Mansion 2 from the 3DS and a remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door from the GameCube, Princess Peach will also be starring in only her second-ever solo title with the upcoming release of Princess Peach: Showtime.
Before we get our hands on any of those games, another remake from a spinoff puzzle-platformer series will make its debut on the Switch with Mario vs. Donkey Kong set to be released next month. Originally released on the Game Boy Advance in 2004, the game originally served as a spiritual successor to the Donkey Kong Game Boy game. After the big ape takes over a toy factory which produces Mini Mario figurines, the acrobatic plumber must traverse through dozens of levels to find keys, guide his walking toys to Toy Boxes and take on boss challenges to rescue them from the hands of Donkey Kong. The original game was well-received upon its release, but the resulting sequels, despite sharing the Mario vs. Donkey Kong name, would instead have the player take control of the Mini Marios, leading them through Lemmings-like scenarios to the exit as the series shifted to a more exclusive puzzle focus. As a result, many fans point to the first game as the high point for this spin-off series, combining the familiar 2D Mario platforming with strategic puzzle elements instead of simply focusing on the brain-teasers and reducing the titular characters to cutscene appearances.
Fast-forward nearly two decades later, and Nintendo is bringing back the original title along with a series of gameplay and presentation improvements. The remake will forgo the toy-like pre-rendered character designs in favor of their more modern 3D appearances, although the Mini Marios still retain their plastic design. While the original renditions of Mario’s voice lines by Charles Martinet will return, Donkey Kong and Toad will both be voiced by their modern actors, with Takashi Nagasako replacing composer Grant Kirkhope and Samantha Kelly replacing Jen Taylor respectively. The cutscenes will also now be fully animated, and several enemy designs have been updated, with both the Fire Piranha Plants and Thwomps being revised to look more mechanical as part of their role as guardians of the toy factory.
On the gameplay side of things, players can look forward to the introduction of Casual Mode, offering additional hit points and removing the time limit to make for a more accessible experience. Two-player co-op will also be making its debut with the remaster, allowing a second player to control Toad and help Mario tackle the various levels. The remaster will also add two brand-new worlds, Merry Mini-Land and Slippery Summit, bringing the total world count to ten and introducing new enemy types and level themes to keep things fresh for veteran players. Players looking for additional layers of difficulty can check out the new Time Attack mode, allowing you to compete against yourself for faster completion times, as well as the returning Plus and Expert levels for an even more challenging experience. Although Mario vs. Donkey Kong may not be garnering the same level of hype as the other Mario games Nintendo is bringing back to Switch this year, this unique puzzle-platformer should still prove to be a worthy adventure that can stand the test of time and introduce a new generation of fans to one of Mario’s handheld classics. Mario vs. Donkey Kong is set to launch on February 16 for the Nintendo Switch.
