Mario vs. Donkey Kong for Game Boy Advance is a pretty great game, and one well worthy of a remake. However, it could set up a potentially disastrous path for Donkey Kong going forward. What the heck am I on about? I promise, I am not a crackpot. 

Back in 1994, Nintendo released Donkey Kong for Game Boy, and it was nothing short of an absolute masterpiece. It not only did a great job of showing off what their new Super Game Boy accessory was capable of, but it was an astoundingly spectacular reimagining of the original arcade Donkey Kong’s formula. It turned the whole thing into a puzzle platformer built on the framework established in both Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. I seriously can’t say enough good things about it, and I wish with all of my heart that it was the game getting a remake.

Since Donkey Kong ‘94 was pretty successful, naturally a sequel followed, and that’s where Mario vs. Donkey Kong for Game Boy Advance comes in. It’s also a great game, and a fun evolution of the mechanics established in Donkey Kong ‘94. BUT, it’s also the birthplace of what quickly became the death of the franchise. Well, maybe death isn’t the right word, but it’s certainly the cause of the death of the larger audience’s enthusiasm. 

EverDrive-GBA X5 Mini (Blizzard)

$129.99

This is the Blizzard version of the EverDrive-GBA X5 Mini. This cartridge comes assembled in a white shell with a Blizzard style label.… read more

Mario vs. Donkey Kong is where the Minis came from. They were a really cool distraction in this game. The basic mechanics were still built around what DK94 did, but the Minis added a vague Lemmings-like element to the proceedings. And the plot of having the mischievous Donkey Kong steal a bunch of Mario toys is delightfully absurd, and a little less King Kong than having him swipe Pauline over and over. The problem is, following Mario vs. DK’s success, Nintendo went all in on the Minis. 

I’m not saying the Minis games are bad by any stretch. But they’re fundamentally different games than their predecessors. Donkey Kong 94’s core gameplay was a revelation, and it’s as fun to play today as it was back then. But the Minis… well, they were okay. Clearly people liked them because Nintendo cranked out about 5 bajillion sequels on various platforms, but I can honestly say I’ve never spoken to anyone who feels very strongly about the games, especially in regards to holding them in any sort of positive light over the original Game Boy classic. 

While I would have personally liked a remake of Donkey Kong ‘94 way more, I will concede that Mario vs. Donkey Kong was the game that needed the remake treatment more. The Game Boy Advance original’s presentation left a lot to be desired thanks to its overly compressed CGI sprites and crunchy sounds. That said, if this new remake is successful, Nintendo could very well handle things in a couple of ways. They could decide to use it as a new jumping off point and start creating new, clever sequels built around that game’s (and Donkey Kong 94’s) core mechanics. This is the future I want. However, what seems more likely is that Nintendo would just continue remaking other Minis games instead, because that’s by far the easiest thing to do. I just hope with all my heart that’s not the case though because Donkey Kong ‘94 is without a doubt one of the best games Nintendo released in the 90s, and that’s not a statement I make lightly. Time will tell, and I’m very excited about the remake, but call me nervous about the franchise’s future. 

In the meantime, I guess I’ll also keep hoping that Nintendo puts Donkey Kong ‘94 on Nintendo Switch Online, complete with Game Boy Player enhancements. A man can dream…