Puzzling over Mario

What is it that makes a good puzzle game?

It's two core values: simplicity and presentation. A great puzzle game needs gameplay so refined that even the most basic graphics will not detract from the fun. (Note the distinction between "basic" graphics and "bad" graphics - the former will service the game but have limited bells/whistles, while the latter will distract a user to annoyance.)

Presentation represents the whole audio/video package. Compelling visuals combined with catchy music and distinct sound effects can make a serviceable game experience great. Imagine if Puzzle Bobble (aka Bust-A-Move) had monochrome stick people and square pegs instead of colourful dinosaurs and bubbles... The gameplay would be unchanged but the fun factor would be severely diminished.

So how does Nintendo's recent GBA action puzzler Mario vs. Donkey Kong stack up?

Well, the gameplay is solid. At its most basic, players must use the right moves to navigate the levels and pick up bonus items along the way. Nintendo games traditionally feature very gentle learning curves, so the early levels will not tax most players. But, as the game progresses, Mario needs to use more and more tricks to get by an increasing variety of enemies.

The presentation is a little bit uneven. The sounds are excellent (often featuring nostalgic musical cues from the original Donkey Kong), but I think that the visuals are ugly in parts. The sprites are all pre-rendered 3D, so while the animation is very fluid, the actual image quality is a little muddy. The small size of the sprites contributes to this problem.

In the end, Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a fun game, if a little short. I recommend borrowing it from a friend first or maybe picking up a used copy.

Title screen

An amusing intro has DK falling in love with Mini Mario toys

Each level has a tutorial introducing new moves

Hit the switch to drop the barrels to carry the key over

Boss levels pit Mario against DK directly