Editing Mario vs. Donkey Kong

{{about|the first game in the ''Mario vs. Donkey Kong'' series|the series itself|[[Mario vs. Donkey Kong (series)]]}}

{{Infobox

|released='''Game Boy Advance:'''<br>{{released|USA|May 24, 2004|Australia|June 4, 2004|Japan|June 10, 2004|Europe|November 19, 2004<ref>[https://themushroomkingdom.net/games/mvdk TMK: Release date info], retrieved 9-20-2008</ref>}}'''Virtual Console (3DS) (Ambassador Program Release):'''<br>{{released|Australia|December 15, 2011|Japan|December 16, 2011|USA|December 16, 2011|Europe|December 16, 2011}}'''Virtual Console (Wii U):'''<br>{{released|Japan|July 23, 2014|Europe|September 17, 2015|Australia|September 18, 2015|USA|February 9, 2017}}

|media={{media|wiiudl=1|gba=1|3dsdl=1}}

'''''Mario vs. Donkey Kong''''' is a game for the [[Game Boy Advance]]. It brings back [[Mario]] and [[Donkey Kong]]'s rivalry from the ''[[Mario (franchise)|Mario]]'' franchise's first game, ''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]''. The game is more or less a spiritual successor to ''[[Donkey Kong (Game Boy)|Donkey Kong]]'' for the [[Game Boy]], as it features the return of many original elements such as the construction site setting, Mario's athleticism, and using the [[hammer]], and borrows elements from ''[[Super Mario Bros. 2]]'', especially with picking up enemies and items. Despite bringing elements from the previous [[Genre#Platform|platformers]], ''Mario vs. Donkey Kong'' is more of a puzzle platformer; Mario must find the best route to complete the level by hitting switches and interacting with other objects, often in a specific order. This game spawned multiple sequels and became the first installment of the  [[Mario vs. Donkey Kong (series)|''Mario vs. Donkey Kong'' series]]; this is the only game in the series, however, to feature Mario himself as a playable character since the later games have the player control [[Mini Mario (toy)|Mini-Mario]]s. ''Mario vs. Donkey Kong'' was re-released as a free downloadable title for the [[Nintendo 3DS]] on December 16, 2011. However, it was only available to people who purchased a Nintendo 3DS prior to the August 12, 2011 price drop, meaning that they had to be a part of the [[Virtual Console#Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Program|Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Program]]. ''Mario vs. Donkey Kong'' was re-released again on the [[Wii U]]'s [[Virtual Console#Wii U|Virtual Console]] in Japan on July 23, 2014, in Europe on September 17, 2015, in Australia on September 18, 2015 and in the Americas on February 9, 2017.

[[File:Cutscene MarioShoutsAtDonkey.png|thumb|240px|Mario confronting Donkey Kong.|left]]

Mario has become so famous and popular in the [[Mushroom Kingdom]] that he has decided to establish the [[Mario Toy Company]], which has developed a new toy called the [[Mini Mario (toy)|Mini-Mario]]. As [[Donkey Kong]] surfs through the channels of his television set, he sees a commercial for the Mini-Marios. Donkey Kong instantly adores the toys and heads to the Toy Store, but finds that they are sold out. Donkey Kong turns around and sees the Mario Toy Company, deciding to loot the store. The store is managed by Toads, but they do nothing to stop Donkey Kong from stealing the toys. Mario then notices Donkey Kong and starts chasing him.

After Mario chases Donkey Kong for a while, he eventually checks his bag, only to see all the Mini-Marios he stole have dropped, with Mario, the toys, and the three [[Toad (species)|Toad]] employees laughing at him. Enraged, he grabs the three Toads, climbs the building, and Mario rescues the three Toads while fighting Donkey Kong. Upon his defeat, he falls off onto a truck full of Mini-Marios and steals thirty-six more, now with keys attached. Mario gives chase once again, until a similar cutscene occurs in which he checks the bag again. Only Mario laughs until six Mini-Marios come out. Donkey Kong then grabs the Minis with a giant robot, to which Mario promptly frees while fighting Donkey Kong, eventually wrecking the machine and electrocuting Donkey Kong in the process. After that, Mario is about to scold Donkey Kong for what he did, but finds that Donkey Kong is crying in pity and shame. Mario cheers him up by giving him a free Mini-Mario. Donkey Kong gets what he has wanted all along while Mario and the remaining Mini-Marios celebrate.

[[File:mvdk2.png|thumb|240px|left]]

Each of the games six worlds is divided into eight levels. For the first six levels within each world, Mario must find a key and open up a door to the second half of the level, which is a [[checkpoint]]. There, Mario will find the toy that Donkey Kong dropped. If Mario is defeated in the second half of the level, his points reset back to the way it was in the first half of the level. At the beginning of each level, there is short sequence showing what Mario needs to do or what he may face before playing the level. This short sequence also explains what moves Mario needs to use to complete the level, showing some button combinations.

Unlike other ''Mario'' games, when Mario takes a hit, he loses a life. He can also lose a life from getting squished and falling on from a great height and landing on his head. If the fall is not big enough, Mario may get stunned on his back instead. There is also a time limit, which is similar to the traditional ''Super Mario Bros.'' games; if the time limit is highlighted on 30 seconds, an alarm plays and Mario panics. If the time limit runs out, the screen will say "Time's Up!!" and Mario loses a life. When Mario grabs the key and opens a locked door, the remaining time in the first area will be added to the time limit in the second area.

Unlike the other ''Mario'' games, Mario has more moves besides [[jump]]ing, such as [[handstand]]s and [[backflip]]s. To defeat enemies, Mario must pick up objects and throw them at enemies, reminiscent of ''Super Mario Bros. 2''. Throughout the level, there are some collectibles that Mario can collect. Three are pivotal in earning a high score, which are different colored [[Present (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|presents]]. Earning a high enough score, beating the default score, earns a star for that level. The stars later are used to unlock Expert levels.  

Once Mario completes a level and collects enough presents, he can play a short minigame to earn extra lives. One present may have a 1-Up, one may have a 3-Up or 5-Up, and one present may have a Donkey Kong head; this is shown at the beginning of the minigame. One minigame is stopping a scrolling arrow on top of the desired present while the other has Mario swapping presents so Donkey Kong's fist squashes an undesired present.

The seventh level in each world is a Mini-Mario level. Mario leads the six Mini-Mario toys he collected back to their [[Toy box (object)|toy box]]; however, he must make sure they avoid obstacles along the way. This leads into a battle with Donkey Kong, with each Mini-Mario saved becoming a "hit point". For example, if Mario saves all six of the Mini-Mario toys, he'll be able to be hit six times by Donkey Kong before losing a life. If Mario runs out of time or loses all of his hit points, the player will lose a life and must restart the battle with Donkey Kong. If the player doesn't do the Mini-Mario level, Mario will start the fight with four hit points, and getting a [[Game Over]] will require Mario to replay the Mini-Mario level.

After Mario has beaten the six worlds and defeated Donkey Kong, six "Plus" Worlds are unlocked, numbered 1+, 2+, and so on. There are seven stages in each Plus Worlds, and there are no Mini-Mario levels. Mario must get to a Mini-Mario holding a key and lead it to the exit doorway. If either Mario or Mini-Mario is defeated, the player loses a life and must restart the level. There is only one part per level in the Plus Worlds, and they are designed to be more difficult than the main worlds. There are still Donkey Kong boss levels in the Plus Worlds. In those levels, the player always starts with six hit points and has 120 seconds to defeat Donkey Kong except in [[Donkey Kong Plus]], where they have 300 seconds.

For the "Expert" levels, a certain number of stars collected by beating high scores are required to unlock levels. There are twelve Expert levels. Additionally, if the player leaves or restarts the level in any mode before they clear the level for the first time, they lose a life. If the level is already complete, the player will not lose a life when choosing to exit the level. However, the player will still lose a life if they retry the level, even if it is completed.

In the "Card-e+" levels, Mario starts off with infinite lives. There is no bonus game for collecting all the presents.

{|width=100% cellspacing=0 border=2 cellpadding=3 style="border-collapse:collapse;"

!colspan=2 style="background:#C71D1D; height:50px;"align=center|<span style="color:#FFFFFF">'''Main worlds'''</span>

|width=25% align="center"style="background:#91A9EB"|[[File:MVDK 1-1 1.png|240px]]

|World 1<br>'''[[Mario Toy Company]]'''<br>The first world, where Donkey Kong stole the Mini-Mario toys. This world features [[Bin|Garbage Can]]s, [[Shy Guy (toy)|Shy Guy]]s, and a few other gimmicks.<br>'''Levels'''<br>[[Level 1-1 (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|1-1]] • [[Level 1-2 (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|1-2]] • [[Level 1-3 (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|1-3]] • [[Level 1-4 (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|1-4]] • [[Level 1-5 (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|1-5]] • [[Level 1-6 (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|1-6]] • [[Level 1-mm|1-mm]] • [[Level 1-DK|1-DK]]

|width=25% align="center"style="background:#189028"|[[File:MVDK 2-5 2.png|240px]]

|width=25% align="center"style="background:#C09068"|[[File:MVDK 3-6 2.png|240px]]

|World 3<br>'''[[Fire Mountain (world)|Fire Mountain]]'''<br>An area with high volcanic activity, featuring [[Lava Bubble]]s, [[Firebird]]s, and [[Katakata Kaen Heihō|Shy Guys equipped with blowtorches]].<br>'''Levels'''<br>[[Level 3-1 (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|3-1]] • [[Level 3-2 (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|3-2]] • [[Level 3-3 (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|3-3]] • [[Level 3-4 (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|3-4]] • [[Level 3-5 (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|3-5]] • [[Level 3-6 (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|3-6]] • [[Level 3-mm|3-mm]] • [[Level 3-DK|3-DK]]

|width=25% align="center"style="background:#B858B0"|[[File:MvsDK 4-2.png|240px]]

|World 4<br>'''[[Spooky House]]'''<br>A haunted mansion, featuring [[Boo]]s, [[Polterguy]]s, [[Thwomp]]s, and others.<br>'''Levels'''<br>[[Level 4-1 (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|4-1]] • [[Level 4-2 (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|4-2]] • [[Level 4-3 (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|4-3]] • [[Level 4-4 (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|4-4]] • [[Level 4-5 (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|4-5]] • [[Level 4-6 (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|4-6]] • [[Level 4-mm|4-mm]] • [[Level 4-DK|4-DK]]

|width=25% align="center"style="background:#5888B8"|[[File:MVDK 5-5 Part 1 (1).png|240px]]

|World 5<br>'''[[Mystic Forest]]'''<br>A forest world featuring mechanical elements such as [[Bob-omb]]s, [[Conveyor Belt]]s, and other gimmicks.<br>'''Levels'''<br>[[Level 5-1 (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|5-1]] • [[Level 5-2 (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|5-2]] • [[Level 5-3 (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|5-3]] • [[Level 5-4 (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|5-4]] • [[Level 5-5 (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|5-5]] • [[Level 5-6 (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|5-6]] • [[Level 5-mm|5-mm]] • [[Level 5-DK|5-DK]]

|width=25% align="center"style="background:#8868C0"|[[File:MvsDK 6-6.png|240px]]

|World 6<br>'''[[Twilight City]]'''<br>An ultramodern city featuring [[Robokikki|robotic Monchees]] and lasers.<br>'''Levels'''<br>[[Level 6-1 (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|6-1]] • [[Level 6-2 (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|6-2]] • [[Level 6-3 (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|6-3]] • [[Level 6-4 (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|6-4]] • [[Level 6-5 (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|6-5]] • [[Level 6-6 (Mario vs. Donkey Kong)|6-6]] • [[Level 6-mm|6-mm]] • [[Level 6-DK|6-DK]]

|width=25% align="center"style="background:#C07068"|[[File:MVDK Donkey Kong Stage 1.png|240px]]

|World DK<br>'''[[Donkey Kong (level)|Donkey Kong]]'''<br>The final boss stage in the main part of the game, set apart from other worlds.

!colspan=2 style="background:#66132F; height:50px;"align=center|<span style="color:#FFFFFF">'''Plus worlds'''</span>

|width=25% align="center"style="background:#5E72A7"|[[File:MVDK 1-6+.png|240px]]

|width=25% align="center"style="background:#0F5318"|[[File:2-2+ MvsDK.png|240px]]

|width=25% align="center"style="background:#805E42"|[[File:MarioVsDonkeyKong-FireMountainPlus-3-4.png|240px]]

|width=25% align="center"style="background:#71356C"|[[File:MVDK Level 4-2+.png|240px]]

|World 4+<br>'''[[Spooky House Plus]]'''<br>'''Levels'''<br>[[Level 4-1+|4-1+]] • [[Level 4-2+|4-2+]] • [[Level 4-3+|4-3+]] • [[Level 4-4+|4-4+]] • [[Level 4-5+|4-5+]] • [[Level 4-6+|4-6+]] • [[Level 4-DK+|4-DK+]]

|width=25% align="center"style="background:#34516F"|[[File:MVDK 5-2+ - A.PNG|240px]]

|World 5+<br>'''[[Mystic Forest Plus]]'''<br>'''Levels'''<br>[[Level 5-1+|5-1+]] • [[Level 5-2+|5-2+]] • [[Level 5-3+|5-3+]] • [[Level 5-4+|5-4+]] • [[Level 5-5+|5-5+]] • [[Level 5-6+|5-6+]] • [[Level 5-DK+|5-DK+]]

|width=25% align="center"style="background:#544077"|[[File:MVDK Level 6-4+.png|240px]]

|World 6+<br>'''[[Twilight City Plus]]'''<br>'''Levels'''<br>[[Level 6-1+|6-1+]] • [[Level 6-2+|6-2+]] • [[Level 6-3+|6-3+]] • [[Level 6-4+|6-4+]] • [[Level 6-5+|6-5+]] • [[Level 6-6+|6-6+]] • [[Level 6-DK+|6-DK+]]

|width=25% align="center"style="background:#C71807"|[[File:MvsDK DK+.png|240px]]

|World DK+<br>'''[[Donkey Kong Plus]]'''<br>The final boss stage of the game, where Mario confronts a mech-piloting Donkey Kong.

The Expert levels are a group of twelve levels that test the player's skills. In order to beat them, the player must find a key and go through the door. These levels (save for boss levels and the regular worlds' final boss) are the only levels that don't involve Mini-Marios. They are first unlocked by beating the true final boss then by stars obtained. There are no set high scores for these levels and collecting all three Presents in a level does not let the player play one of the minigames. The music that plays during the Expert levels is also sped up.

*[[Level x-1]]

*[[Level x-2]]

*[[Level x-3]]

*[[Level x-4]]

*[[Level x-5]]

*[[Level x-6]]

*[[Level x-7]]

*[[Level x-8]]

*[[Level x-9]]

*[[Level x-10]]

*[[Level x-11]]

*[[Level x-12]]

[[File:MvsDK e-Card.jpg|thumb|The first card was given out at the 20th Next Generation World Hobby Fair.]]

[[File:MvsDK e-Cards Japan.jpg|thumb|There are only 1,000 copies of each card and they were released only in Japan.]]

'''Card-e+''' (カードe+)<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbPV7vWuSKQ]</ref> is the name of the mode to play [[e-Reader]] level cards, but only in the Japanese version. The mode is hidden by default, but can be enabled by connecting a second Game Boy Advance with a link cable and {{media link|MvDK e-Reader Instructions.png|following the prompts}}. The first card, which is very rare, was given to attendees of the 20th Next Generation World Hobby Fair in June 2004.<ref>http://www.a-suma.com/game/gba/card-e/mvsd_e1/mvsd_e1.htm</ref> The next five cards were given out as a set in a sweepstakes by ''{{wp|CoroCoro Comic}}'', which hosts the ''[[Super Mario-kun]]'' manga, in August 2004. Only 1,000 of these sets were ever released.<ref>http://www.a-suma.com/game/gba/card-e/mvsd_e2/mvsd_e2.htm</ref> This mode exists in the North American release, named ''e World'', but no cards were released. However, [[List of {{FULLPAGENAME}} pre-release and unused content|remnants exist in the game's code]]. The preloaded North American levels all appear to be prototypes of the levels hidden in the Japanese release. Most of the differences are minor with a few levels having major differences. The six e-Card levels are identical to the preloaded levels hidden in the Japanese release. The last two digits of the e-Card's ID number shows its place among the 14 preloaded levels.

|1. ''Tobiori chūi!'' (とびおりちゅうい！) "Jump Down with Caution!"||12. [[Climb and Fall]]||Released at the World Hobby Fair on e-Card ID 18-M001

|2. Revenge (リベンジ)||1. [[Revenge (Mario vs Donkey Kong)|Revenge]]||  

|3. ''Nagāi michinori'' (ながーいみちのり) "The Looong Way"||2. [[The Long Way]]||Released through ''CoroCoro Comic'' sweepstakes on e-Card ID 18-M003

|4. Athletic (アスレチック)||3. [[One Shot Blue]]||Released in the same sweepstakes on e-Card ID 18-M004

|5. ''Tamago Panic!'' (たまごパニック！) "Egg Panic!"||4. [[Egg Attack]]||

|6. ''Kamitsuki Wani no su'' (かみつきワニのす) "Snapjaws' Den"||5. [[Later Gator]]||

|7. ''Fumikoete susume!'' (ふみこえてすすめ！) "You Should Cross Over!"||6. [[Hot Feet (Mario vs Donkey Kong)|Hot Feet]]||Very different layout

|8. ''Dossun no toride'' (ドッスンのとりで) "Thwomp's Fortress"||8. [[The Thwamplet]]||Finished version has more spaces between Thwomps; sweepstakes e-Card ID 18-M008

|9. ''Rōsoku ni chūi!'' (ローソクにちゅうい！) "Beware of the Candle!"||9. [[A Tricky Candle]]||Prototype is missing presents

|10. Dangerous Flowers (デンジャラスフラワー)||11. [[Danger Flowers]]||Finished version replaced most ladders with trampolines; sweepstakes e-Card ID 18-M010

|11. [[Laser Panic!]] (レーザーパニック！)||None||Sweepstakes e-Card ID 18-M011

|12. ''[[Hitasura kawase!]]'' (ひたすらかわせ！) "Let's Do It!"||None||

|13. ''[[Osarete susume!]]'' (おされてすすめ！) "You Should Shove!"||None||

|14. ''Teresa wo kawase!'' (テレサをかわせ！) "Let's Move the Boo!"||7. [[Boo in a Box (Mario vs Donkey Kong)|Boo in a Box]]||

==Items and features==

{|width=100% cellspacing=0 border=2 cellpadding=3 style="border-collapse:collapse;"

|align="center"|[[File:MarioVsDK MiniMario Sprite.png]]{{br}}[[Mini Mario (toy)|Mini-Mario]]

|Switches are found in three versions: red, yellow, and blue. As the main effect, the switch that is active makes platforms, blocks, and ladders of the same color available to use.

|align="center"|[[File:MvsDK Spring.png]]{{br}}[[Spring]]

|Conveyor Belts appear in mass in some levels. They are used to transport keys and to help Mario through narrow areas. Their direction can be changed with a switch.

|align="center"|[[File:MvsDK TrashCanitem.png]]{{br}}[[Bin|Garbage Can]]{{br}}[[File:Barrel MvsDK.png]]{{br}}[[Barrel]]

|These items can be carried and thrown by Mario. He can use them to defeat certain enemies, or as auxiliary platforms to reach other platforms or to pass long gaps with [[Spike (obstacle)|spikes]].

|The letters T-O-Y are found in Mini-Mario levels. They must be collected by Mini-Marios to open the [[Toy box (object)|toy box]].

{|width=100% cellspacing=0 border=2 cellpadding=3 style="border-collapse:collapse;"

|align="center"|[[File:MvsDK Nitpicker.png]]{{br}}[[Bird (toy)|Bird]]

|Small birds that fly horizontally once they leave their nests. They also drop polka-dotted [[egg]]s at Mario.

|align="center"|[[File:Firebird MariovsDonkeyKong.png]]{{br}}[[Firebird]]

|Flaming Birds that appear in [[Fire Mountain (world)|Fire Mountain]]. They also drop burning eggs at Mario.

|align="center"|[[File:MvsDK TrashCan.png]]{{br}}[[Bin|Garbage Can]]

|-

|Katakata Kaen Heihō are found in Fire Mountain. Besides walking from side to side, they also shoot fire that can harm Mario.

|-

|align="center"|[[File:MvsDK BlackShyGuy.png]]{{br}}[[Katakata Spanner Heihō]]

|align="center"|[[File:MvsDK SpearGuy.png]]{{br}}[[Katakata Yarihō]]

|-

|align="center"|[[File:MvsDK Bat.png]]{{br}}[[Kōmori]]

|align="center"|[[File:MvsDK ThwompBlock.png]]{{br}}[[Kurasshā]]

|Kurasshā fall from the ceiling, just like [[Thwomp]]s. However, they keep rising and falling in a set pattern even if Mario is not near. They can be used as platforms.

|align="center"|[[File:MvsDK Podoboo.png]]{{br}}[[Lava Bubble]]

|Lava Bubbles are found jumping out from [[lava]]. They can burn Mario in one touch, and cannot be defeated.

|align="center"|[[Lava Geyser]]

|align="center"|[[File:MvsDK MiniNinji.png]]{{br}}[[Ninji (toy)|Ninji]]

|align="center"|[[Robokikki]]

|align="center"|[[File:MvsDK MiniShyGuy.png]]{{br}}[[Shy Guy (toy)|Shy Guy]]

|align="center"|[[Wire Trap|Sparky]]

|Balls of electrical energy that move across [[rope|wire]]s.

|align="center"|[[File:MarioVsDK DonkeyKong Sprite.png]]{{br}}[[Donkey Kong]]

The game was initially planned as ''Donkey Kong Plus'', an updated version of the [[Donkey Kong (Game Boy)|Game Boy ''Donkey Kong'']]. The only known difference between the original and ''Plus'', aside from the graphics, was the addition of a level designer to be used through the [[Nintendo GameCube]] for players to create their own levels with. However, the game vanished the following year, and was replaced by ''Mario vs. Donkey Kong'', with the level editor gone and the graphics replaced with pre-rendered graphics. However, the game's sequel, ''[[Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis]]'' had this feature and took advantage of [[Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection|Wi-Fi Connection]].

''Mario vs. Donkey Kong'' is one of the few ''[[Mario (franchise)|Mario]]'' games to be developed by an American team, [[Nintendo Software Technology Corporation]] (NST). In NST's team, Shigeki Yamashiro is the producer while Yukimi Shimura is the director. Wing S. Cho designed the game and Yoonjoon Lee is the engineering director.

''Mario vs. Donkey Kong'' is generally well-received by critics, aggregating an average of 81/100 on Metacritic<ref>[https://www.metacritic.com/game/game-boy-advance/mario-vs-donkey-kong Metacritic average]</ref> and 79.07% on GameRankings.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20191209012347/https://www.gamerankings.com/gba/914981-mario-vs-donkey-kong/index.html GameRankings average]</ref> Craig Harris of IGN gave the game an 8.5/10, "Great".<ref>https://www.ign.com/articles/2004/05/24/mario-vs-donkey-kong</ref>. Harris praised the game for having "faithfully retained the Donkey Kong arcade game's look and feel". His reaction is mild about the Donkey Kong boss levels, calling them "the ones with the least amount of creativity". He criticized the presentation, calling the sprites "awkward but admittedly well-animated 3D rendered" while the voice-overs from Mario and Donkey Kong are unnecessary, although not distracting. Despite these, he praises the game's faithfulness of the Game Boy Advance ''Donkey Kong'' games, with its fantastic level design and lasting appeal.

Marcel van Duyn of Nintendolife has echoed some of IGN's statements, deeming the game to be "a worthy successor", giving the game an 8/10.<ref>https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/gba/mario_vs_donkey_kong</ref> As in the IGN review, Duyn criticized the game's pre-rendered sprites, saying that it "although it actually looks pretty good, it's a bit strange to see this style in a Nintendo title again after all this time." Duyn is disappointed that "the series has only had Lemmings-esque installments since", believing "the original formula is perfectly worthy of another day in the limelight."

In a more critical review, Stephen Carvell of VideoGamer praises the game's visuals, but criticizes the game's level design, calling the reliance on the color-coded switches "tedious" and the later levels for using the same puzzles. He also criticized the Mini-Mario levels for having "appalling level design that smacks of a lack of ideas." He gave the game a 6/10.<ref>https://www.videogamer.com/gba/mario_dk/review.html</ref>

{|class="wikitable review_template"cellpadding="4"style="width:100%; text-align:center; border:2px solid black; margin-bottom:5px"

!colspan="4"style="font-size:120%; text-align: center; background-color:silver"|Reviews

!colspan="4"style="background-color:silver; font-size:120%; text-align: center;"|Aggregators

MvsDK Mario holding Key.jpg|[[Mario]] holding a key.

MvsDK Mario climbing.jpg|Mario climbing ropes.

Rivalryrenewed.jpg|Mario breaking a [[Mini-Mario]]'s crystal ball.

DK MvsDK.jpg|[[Donkey Kong]] holding a barrel.

Mvsdk.jpg|Donkey Kong holding a Mini-Mario sack.

===Freeze Glitch===

In Spooky House on the 3rd level, in the next room, Mario should go near the far right spring. Then, he should press the red button to have the Polterguy transform into a block, once the Polterguy is almost by the right side wall. If Mario jumps on the spring between the block and the wall, Mario may go off stage and lose a life. The music then stops and the game freezes, but the enemies are still moving.{{ref needed}}

===Crushed Floating Mario===

In [[Level x-3]], if Mario gets crushed by a [[Kurasshā]] while standing on a moving platform, Mario will be flattened but will still follow the movements of the platform. This can cause Mario to continuously float in the air, and can also cause him to float upwards.

===Stopping Audio===

At any time when the player is opening a locked door, they can press {{button|gba|L}} and {{button|gba|R}} to activate the map scrolling. When canceled, the end level jingle will still play as well as the door's sound effects, but Mario's (and the Mini-Mario's in the Plus levels) sound effects will not.

{{more media|section=yes}}

|file2=MVDK-Opening Cut-scene.ogv

|description2=Opening cut-scene

|length2=0:50

|file3=MvsDK Mario CharlesMartinet.oga

|description3=Mario: Ah, that Charles Martinet! Nice Italian boy.

|description4=Mario: Oh yeah, don't forget to thank Mr. Miyamoto.

|length4=0:02

*"''Come back here, you big monkey!''"  

*"''Ah, that [[Charles Martinet]]! Nice Italian boy.''"  

*"''"Let's-a go, little guys!''"

*''[[Luigi's Mansion]]'': Several of the [[Toad (species)|Toads']] voice clips are recycled.

*''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'': Several of Mario's voice clips are recycled.

*''[[Super Mario Sunshine]]'': Several of the Toads' voice clips are recycled.

==Name in other languages==

|Jap=マリオ<span class="explain" title="ブイエス">vs.</span>ドンキーコング

*While Donkey Kong's voice uses recycled clips of [[Grant Kirkhope]]'s voice from ''[[Donkey Kong 64]]'' in all versions of the game, the Japanese commercial for the game features Donkey Kong being voiced by Donkey Kong's current voice actor [[Takashi Nagasako]].

{{MarioGames}}

{{DKGames}}