Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!
Developer(s)	Nintendo Software Technology
Director(s)	Yukimi Shimura
Producer(s)	Shigeki Yamashiro Kensuke Tanabe
Designer(s)	Wing S. Cho Stephen Mortimer Masamichi Abe
Writer(s)	Wing S. Cho
Composer(s)	Lawrence Schwedler
Platform(s)	Nintendo DSiWare
Release date(s)	NA June 8, 2009 PAL August 21, 2009 JP October 7, 2009
Genre(s)	Puzzle
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	ACB: G ESRB: E PEGI: 3+

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! (formerly known as Mario vs. Donkey Kong 3) is a puzzle video game for the Nintendo DSi. Announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009, it is the third game in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series. It was released via the Nintendo DSiWare download service in North America on June 8, 2009,^[1] in Europe on August 21, 2009^[2] and in Japan on October 7, 2009. It is the first DSiWare game to feature a level editor in which players can create custom-made levels and send them to players on other devices via a wireless Internet connection.^[3]

Gameplay

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! features puzzle-solving gameplay, which was made popular in the previous two games in the series.^[4] Just as in the game Lemmings, Mario must lead his Mini-Mario toys to the end of the level.^[5] Like with Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, players do not control Mario but instead miniature wind-up versions of Mario, Princess Peach, Toad, and Donkey Kong—referred to as "Minis"—in order to rescue Pauline from the game's antagonist, Donkey Kong. In each level, players must get all their Minis to the end of the level at a designated exit while avoiding obstacles and enemies (mostly consisting of enemies from the other games in the Mario series).^[6]

One difference of the predecessor Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis is that all of the end of level bonuses are now required. In the previous game, extra points were earned by getting all Minis to the exit, getting them to the exit with no long time intervals between any two Minis, and getting them to the exit without stopping any of them. In Minis March Again, the door is boarded up and the player fails the level if any Minis don't make it to the exit within a few seconds of another Mini getting to the exit, and none of the minis may be stopped or turned directly by the player. Only items and obstacles can be used to control their direction.

The game features a level editor called the Construction Zone in which players can select the types and locations of power-ups, enemies, and traps in custom-made levels. More items will be added, and more Characters will be unlocked as you progress through the main game. Players can then either play them locally or share them with friends on other Nintendo DSi devices via a wireless Internet connection. Changes to the level editor have been made such as increasing the number of levels one could create from only 8 stages in March of the Minis to 140 stages in Minis March Again.^[3] Also, unlike Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, created and downloaded levels use the same counter; there can only be 140 levels between the two types.

Story

Mario and Pauline are selling Mini Mario toys. There is a long line. At the end of the line is Donkey Kong. As the line moves along, Donkey Kong finally ends up in the front. Just then, the Mini Mario toys run out. In rage, Donkey Kong snatches Pauline from Mario. As Mario trips and tears Pauline's dress in pursuit of them, he sees the Mini Mario toys standing before him. Thus, Mario gets the idea of using them to catch Donkey Kong. After the credits, a secret ending appears. When Mario defeats Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong turns out the lights, grabs Pauline again, and runs. Once again, Mario must get Pauline back. This time, the levels are more challenging and the minis will automatically start after tapping "start" and a three-second countdown.

The sequel, Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! was released in November 2010.

Development

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! was announced on June 2, 2009 by Nintendo during E3.^[6]

Reception

IGN ranked it as the 14th best DSiWare game, praising it for helping them become less disillusioned with the service after many of its titles proved to be rehashes of retail Nintendo DS games. They also praised it for being significantly more customizable than its predecessor.^[7] Nintendo World Report editor Neal Ronaghan praised it for its content, level creator, and gameplay, though found fault in its boss battles.^[8] Game Focus editor Marko Djordjevic similarly praised it for these qualities, though thought it may have been too easy and felt like an expansion.^[9]

References

1. ^ "March, Fight and Fish Your Way to World Domination". Nintendo of America. 2008-06-08. http://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/detail/Mjq1S0vsc2jY2rOYrXc32nYEMcggLJ2j. Retrieved 2008-06-09. 
2. ^ "Mini Marios march onto Nintendo DSiWare, and Pilotwings takes flight on Virtual Console!". Nintendo of Europe. 2009-08-18. http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/news/2009/mini_marios_march_onto_nintendo_dsiware_and_pilotwings_takes_flight_on_virtual_console_14383.html. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Chiappini, Dan (2009-06-02). "Mario vs. Donkey Kong return exclusively to DSiWare". Gamespot. http://e3.gamespot.com/story/6210846/mario-vs-donkey-kong-return-exclusively-to-dsiware. Retrieved 2009-06-03. 
4. ^ McWhertor, Michael (2009-06-02). "Mario Vs. Donkey Kong, Flipnote Studios Coming To DSiWare". Kotaku. http://kotaku.com/5275889/mario-vs-donkey-kong-flipnote-studios-coming-to-dsiware. Retrieved 2009-06-03. 
5. ^ "Minis exklusiv auf dem DSi" (in German). 4players.de. 2009-06-02. http://www.4players.de/4players.php/spielinfonews/Allgemein/17328/1957058/Mario_vs_Donkey_Kong_Minis_March_Again.html. Retrieved 2009-06-03. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Van Duyn, Marcel (2009-06-04). "Mario and Donkey Kong's Rivalry Returns Next Monday". Nintendolife.com. http://dsiware.nintendolife.com/news/2009/06/mario_and_donkey_kongs_rivalry_returns_next_monday. Retrieved 2009-06-04. 
7. ^ http://ds.ign.com/articles/108/1082189p1.html
8. ^ http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/reviewArt.cfm?artid=18844
9. ^ http://www.gamefocus.ca/?nav=reviewCard&fid=9014