Mario vs Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis (Nintendo DS) - Review by Matt

Introduction

It's funny how some games you may have never given more than a passing interest to previously can become some of your favorites. It happened to me with Animal Crossing: Wild World, a game I'd heard was good but thought would be more something my Mom would enjoy; it happened to me again recently with Star Fox Command, a game that, when announced, I knew would undoubtedly be anticipated by fans of the series but was of little interest to me at the time; and now it's happened once more with March of the Minis. I never foresaw any of these games ending up in my DS library, but they now each rank among my top favorite titles of the DS. So, let's talk Minis'¦

Gameplay

March of the Minis plays much as it's name implies: you control various minis - usually between 2-5 (sometimes as many as 8 ) at a time - using the stylus, and it's your job to successfully lead them through any number of perils to the exit of each room. There are 9 rooms per floor; and 8 floors in the game, plus extras. Keeping track of the minis is not as difficult as it might seem, but of course that's only if you want to get to the exit without any fuss. There are, however, bonuses awarded for keeping the minis moving without manually stopping them, getting all the minis to the exit without any casualties, and leading them all into the exit in a timed chain, i.e. each exiting within 2-3 seconds of each other, as well as other bonuses. Upon completion of a room your points are tallied, and depending on how well you've done stars are awarded - bronze, silver, and gold'¦ You never know what secrets you'll unlock by racking up those stars.

There are quite a few other variables to experience and consider throughout the game, but for all intents and purposes March of the Minis is an action puzzler. However, it's quite different in nature than something like Tetris or some other popular DS puzzle games. In Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2 you'll be hopping along springs, riding upon the heads of shy guys, and even wall jumping - yeah that's right - wall jumping! Though you don't have the same kind of direct control over the minis as you might with Mario in one of his typical platformers, there are tons of great platforming elements that set this game apart from pretty much anything you've probably played before.

But even with all the juiciness contained within the story mode, it's not what I would consider the main focus of the game. By now, probably everyone who's interested in March of the Minis has heard about its level editor, and it's in this area of the game where you'll likely spend most of your time noodling. With 8 floors to pass in the story mode, there are 8 level-editing kits to unlock; plus another 3 special kits obtained by successful completion of a certain number of mini games (also unlocked via the story mode). Each kit offers a good variety of room-design options that are easy to use and will allow you to have your creations up and ready for testing in no time. Once you've got a room designed that you think is fit for consumption, there's no reason to keep it all for yourself. Log on to the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and share your works of art with friends. With so many folks worldwide involved in the creative process, players are ensured a never-ending amount of replay value.

Controls

The controls work well, but sometimes I found myself getting frustrated at the accuracy of my stylus movements. I would tap, only to have my mini reverse direction, and this becomes problematic in the more rigorous levels.

Graphics

Everything works very well in this department, and that's really nothing new for a Mario game. Nintendo usually pays special care to all the minute details of games within the franchise, and this one, at the very least, keeps with that tradition. It's a really fun and cute game to look at; the perspective of all the backgrounds move around as your minis do (or perhaps more accurately, as you move the map view around); and the minis themselves are nicely designed and detailed. Everything animates flawlessly - there are no burps whatsoever that I've encountered.

Sound

In my own reading of reviews for the game I've come across varying opinions about its sound and music, but to me March of the Minis offers a perfect mix of cute sound effects and light-hearted music that fit the overall package extremely well. The minis make some truly adorable sounds, and you will fall in love with them partly because of that. Most of the musical themes are familiar to my ears, but they are fresh renditions that come across incredibly well on the DS speakers.

Dual screen

For the most part, you will only have to focus on the bottom screen as most of the game levels are played entirely on the bottom screen. However when it comes to battles with Donkey Kong, players must pay attention to both screens simultaneously.

Final comments

Overall, the game is a unique experience, and I hadn't played a 'Lemmings'? like game in years, so it was fun to go back to that game style. The title is a little bit on the easy side, although some of the Donkey Battles will drive you insane and border on cheap. The replay value is minimal for the single player experience except for those who really want to access everything and will grind to get the gold stars, but the level design is engrossing and will captivate those with a sense of engineering or game design for hours upon hours. Through Wi-Fi, you can continually download new levels (should people keep making them) to have new experience each time.

Pro: Fun with Pick-up-and-Play Qualities.
Con: Short Single-Player Mode.
Final score: 8

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