Plus Mode

Mystic Forest Plus, one of the "Plus" worlds in Mario vs. Donkey Kong, as it appears in the Nintendo Switch remake

Plus Mode is a feature in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series. It is unlocked once all normal levels are cleared and changes how the player plays the game.

Plus Mode has appeared in four games in the series: Mario vs. Donkey Kong, its Nintendo Switch remake, Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!, and Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem!

History

Mario vs. Donkey Kong

In Mario vs. Donkey Kong and its Nintendo Switch remake, upon completing vs. Donkey Kong, a cutscene will play showing Donkey Kong falling off the building where the "credits" will play. After that, the game will show Donkey Kong still falling and onto a truck full of Mini-Marios. This prompts Donkey Kong to steal them and forcing Mario to give chase once more, allowing the player access to the "Plus" worlds.

The following changes occur in these worlds:

• All world names have the word "plus" at the end of their names (e.g. Spooky House becomes Spooky House Plus), except for Mario Toy Company which is named Mario Toy Factory. Additionally, the levels themselves have the plus symbol next to them.
• The background of all worlds changes slightly.
• All Mini-Mario levels are absent. Consequently, there are only seven levels per world as opposed to eight.
• The layout of all levels have been completely changed, essentially turning the game into a puzzle game. The objective of each level has also been changed with Mario having to guide a Key Mini Mario to the goal.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!

In Mario vs. Donkey Kong Minis March Again!, Plus Mode is unlocked in the same way as Mario vs. Donkey Kong, with the player having to beat Floor 4 Donkey Kong to unlock it. The cutscene this time shows Mario entering a door and finding Pauline inside of it. After the credits are finished, Donkey Kong arrives, turns off the light, and kidnaps Pauline again, with Mario and his duo of Mini Marios jumping from the balcony to give chase.

In this game, most of the changes of Plus Mode are the same with the addition of some new ones. The changes are as follows:

• Similar to Mario vs. Donkey Kong, all floor and level names have the plus symbol at the end of them, and the background of all floors is different.
• The player can change the environment only after all Minis are initiated at once by pressing the "START" button and waiting for the 3-2-1 countdown.
• All of the music is different:
  • Mini Mayhem's and Sandstone Stroll's music are new compositions.
  • Magnet Mania's music is a faster version of the Spooky Attic arrangement from Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis.
  • All three of Jungle Rumble's individual themes are arrangements of songs from other Mario vs. Donkey Kong games, with the first being an arrangement of the first theme of Fire Mountain from Mario vs. Donkey Kong, the second being an arrangement of the third theme of Fire Mountain, and the third being an arrangement of the fourth theme of Twilight City from Mario vs. Donkey Kong.