Play Mario vs. Donkey Kong (GBA) - Puzzle-Platforming Classic
Game Introduction
The old rivalry returns in Mario vs. Donkey Kong for GBA! Donkey Kong has stolen all the Mini-Mario toys, and Mario must chase him through various puzzle-filled worlds to get them back. This spiritual successor to the 1994 Game Boy classic features over 100 levels that require both quick reflexes and sharp logic. Use Mario’s acrobatic moves—like the handstand and backflip—to navigate obstacles and find the keys to progress. Guide the Mini-Marios safely to the goal in each world's finale. A brilliant blend of platforming and puzzle-solving that is as challenging as it is charming.
Gameplay
Game Overview
Donkey Kong storms the Mario Toy Company and walks off with every Mini-Mario on the shelf, and Mario chases him through six themed worlds. Built by Nintendo Software Technology and released for Game Boy Advance in 2004, the game is a spiritual successor to Donkey Kong on the 1994 Game Boy, borrowing that game's movement system outright and pushing it into puzzle design.
Core Gameplay
Every stage splits in two. The first half is a single-screen puzzle of switches, conveyor belts, springs, color blocks and enemies where you hunt for a key; the second half opens behind the locked door and tasks you with walking the scattered Mini-Marios back to their toy box. Mario's acrobatics come straight from the Game Boy Donkey Kong - handstand, handstand jump, double handstand jump and backflip each solve a different kind of gap - and the hammer smashes color blocks to open a route. Three hidden presents per stage decide whether you earn a gold star.
Level Design
The campaign is six worlds of eight stages each: six puzzle stages, a Mini-Mario escort stage and a Donkey Kong boss fight, 48 in total. Clearing them unlocks 42 Plus stages that remix the same layouts with tighter routing, plus a true final battle against a mech-piloting Donkey Kong. After that, twelve Expert levels open up one at a time based on how many stars you have banked, and they drop the Mini-Mario rescue entirely in favor of pure key-and-door puzzles on a single screen. Nothing here is about running right; each screen is a self-contained logic problem.
Game Tips
- Single-screen puzzle structure: find the key up front, then escort the Mini-Marios to the toy box
- Moves inherited from Game Boy Donkey Kong - handstand, handstand jump, double handstand jump and backflip, each with its own use
- Six worlds with distinct gimmicks: Mystic Forest mixes Bob-ombs and conveyor belts, Twilight City brings lasers and robotic Monchees
- 48 story stages, then 42 Plus stages and 12 Expert stages after the credits
- Three hidden presents per stage decide the gold star, and the star count gates the Expert levels
- Mini-Marios follow in a line behind you, and getting them past traps is the real tension of every second half
Frequently Asked Questions
The GBA version has six worlds totaling 48 stages, plus 42 Plus stages and 12 Expert stages unlocked afterwards. The main game runs four to six hours; chasing every gold star and the Expert set takes eight to ten.
The GBA original has no easy mode - casual and two-player options only arrived in the 2024 Switch remake. Difficulty ramps gently, with Plus and Expert stages as the real spike, and stages are short enough that retrying costs almost nothing.
It carries over the movement system wholesale, including the handstand and handstand jump, swaps in Mario as the lead, redesigns every stage, and adds the backflip, throwing, Plus worlds and Expert stages. Think of it as that game evolved.
No. The story is one sentence - get the toys back - and every mechanic is taught naturally inside the levels.
It is strictly single-player with no link features, so it runs perfectly. The Japanese e-Reader bonus levels required physical cards and are effectively unavailable on emulators.
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