M v. DK

[OB1]

Nintendo has a nice preview up of the game which hits stores on May 24th, and it's looking mighty fine.

In 1994, Mario and Donkey Kong laid their rivalry to rest in a collosal remake of the original arcade hit Donkey Kong. But now, ten years later, it seems trouble is brewing once more between plumber and simian. Mario's started a toy factory, producing toys modeled after all of his friends -- except for Donkey Kong. Before you know it, the big ape's gone bananas, reverting to his old barrel-chucking ways and stealing all of Mario's toys. Can Mario patch things up in time?






Impressions
This game is shaping up to be a full sequel to the 1994 classic Donkey Kong for Game Boy. The original combined elements from Donkey Kong and Super Mario Brothers 2 and sprinkled it with special moves and abilities that would later become the cornerstones of Super Mario 64. Expect a lot of classic platforming action with a heavy emphasis on puzzles and problem-solving.

Word on the Street
Details about the game are still rather nebulous. The project began its life as Donkey Kong Plus. While the original build was basically a port of the Game Boy original, it did have one noteworthy feature: players could link up to the Game Cube (in a way that was never fully explained) and create their own levels. It's unknown if this feature has been carried over, but considering the huge makeover the game has received and Nintendo's subsequent silence, it's safe to say the idea's been canned.

Nintendo promises six "worlds" to their new DK game, each with eight levels. Six "normal" levels will be similar to the 1994 version, but with a twist. After finding a key to unlock the level door, players will be taken to a "mini-Mario" section. To finish off the level, players will have to find and rescue a mini-Mario toy and lead it to safety. Each world will also contain a special level where players must rescue several mini-Mario toys, as well as a boss level showdown between Mario and Donkey Kong. Although 48 levels falls short of the original's ambitious 100, Nintendo also promises a higher difficulty mode for the game's second run through.

From the Horse's Mouth

-Puzzle-intensive platforming based on the 1994 Donkey Kong
-All of the moves from the 1994 version: handstand jumps and kicks, hammer throwing, and more
-All-new mini-Mario challenges where players must safely guide toys through the factory.

Conclusion
Mario Vs. Donkey Kong is shaping up to be quite the sleeper hit. We'll have more details as they develop.

[A Black Falcon]

Given that DK '94 was one of my favorite games on the original GB, I've been looking forward to this one since its announcement... finally some more details! :)

48 levels does fall short of the original 100, by a lot. And they weren't exactly 100 easy levels either... a harder difficulty mode will be nice, but still it doesn't sound as long as the original. It looks good. As good as the original? Who knows... we'll see. It'll be hard.

Oh, if Nintendo is doing puzzle-adventures, how about a new LoLo or Mole Mania game? :)

[OB1]

The article states that there will be a higher difficulty setting.

[A Black Falcon]

I said that!

[OB1]

Ah you see, I read that "a higher difficulty will be nice" as "a higher difficulty would be nice". I read it fast.

[A Black Falcon]

Great job of comprehension! :)

[alien space marine]

cool

[OB1]

Great job of comprehension! :)

Hey I read it fast, stupid face. I'm at work!

[Great Rumbler]

Looks like a cool game.

[OB1]

Yes.

[Dark Jaguar]

I suggest you slow down your reading if your brain can't keep up with your eyes then!

Alright then, they say DK is going bonkers "again", but THIS DK has never fought Mario before (except in Smash Bros). The one in the original Donkey Kong, and I believe also in the original GB remake (made as a sort of poster child for Super Gameboy by the way), became Cranky Kong! The current DK is Donkey Kong jr, which is why jr became DK in games like the Mario Kart series.

[OB1]

Thanks for your advice DJ, I'm sure you never read something fast and mistake will for well or something like that.

[A Black Falcon]

DJ, "again" isn't that inapropriate... okay maybe Jr. didn't do a whole lot of barrel-tossing but he sure did fight Mario! See: DK Jr. :)

The only Mario game where Mario is evil?

[big guy]

when's mother 3 coming out?

[Dark Jaguar]

Oh yes, there's that. Didn't think of that because, as you said, Mario wasn't the main character.

Yeah, the only game where Mario let the darkness take him, sort of.

[OB1]

Speaking of Mother, I just found out that the guy who composed the music for those games also did the music for Takeshi Kitano's recent Zatoichi remake! Very cool music.

[Dark Jaguar]

If you said that sentence to just about ANYONE in America, they wouldn't have the slightest idea what you were talking about.

I myself would like to know what Zatoichi is.

[OB1]

I was mainly speaking to GR, since just like me he is a fan of Asian cinema. Frankly I don't give a damn if most of American knows what I'm talking about or not. ;) I kid, I kid.

Zatoichi is a famous cinematic figure in Japanese history, as there were 26 movies and 100 tv episodes in his series from the early 60's to 1989, and then a remake directed and starring Takeshi Kitano in 2003. And unbelievably, only one man played Zatoichi (not counting the 2003 version) in all 26 movies and 100 tv episodes, the great Shintaro Katsu (who died in 1994). And even more unbelievable than that is that each and every movie (and all of the tv episodes that I've seen) is excellent. Try maintaining that level of quality for so long, Hollywood!

Anyhow, Zatoichi is the most popular anti-hero in Japanese film, a blind swordsman who, like many blind people of the time, wandered from village to village, giving massages to people (the occupation of nearly all blind people in the Edo period) and gambling for money, as well as saving innocents from corruption and oppression. Even though he was blind he possessed amazing swordsmanship skills. In Asian fiction it's common for a hero to have a disability such as blindness but become more powerful thanks to other senses or functions, such as hearing in Zatoichi's case. It's a very entertaining series, and if you're a fan of Sergio Leone westerns you'll probably love Zatoichi as well.

[A Black Falcon]

Oh yes, there's that. Didn't think of that because, as you said, Mario wasn't the main character.

Yeah, the only game where Mario let the darkness take him, sort of.

Mario doesn't just rescue the girl at the end of Donkey Kong, he takes the monkey as a prisoner as well! One wonders why this dark side of Mario's hasn't come through in any of his other games... :D

[OB1]

Yeah, I kind of expected that when Miyamoto said the next Mario game would be more mature than Mario 64. Sunshine certainly would have been different with a Mario who captures animals and fights their young. :D

[A Black Falcon]

Mario, Big Game Hunter! Use Mario's rifle to go a huntin'! If you get good enough, you could try to track such elusive animals as Yoshis!

[Dark Jaguar]

But Mario wasn't exactly being evil capturing the villian. The big problem with super heros is they always let the villian go, or do that pretty often. It's EVIL to do that, knowing that very villian may just kill someone if left unchecked!

He was just being evil trying to kill Jr.

Hey OB1, if he's saving innocents, how is that an ANTI-hero? Is he hated and scorned or something?

[Great Rumbler]

I've got the Zatoichi remake and OB1's right, it is a very good movie. And all the blood is CG!!

[OB1]

The original Zatoichi series is a lot better though. :)

DJ, an anti-hero is "a main character in a dramatic or narrative work who is characterized by a lack of traditional heroic qualities, such as idealism or courage."

Zatoichi doesn't go around trying to save peoples' lives, he just wants to be left alone. However if he sees someone getting hurt for example, he will try and save them.

[Dark Jaguar]

I understand what one is, but you didn't say he just wants to be left alone and the trouble comes to him. Now I know. Okay then, anyway...

[A Black Falcon]

But Mario wasn't exactly being evil capturing the villian. The big problem with super heros is they always let the villian go, or do that pretty often. It's EVIL to do that, knowing that very villian may just kill someone if left unchecked!

He was just being evil trying to kill Jr.

Hey OB1, if he's saving innocents, how is that an ANTI-hero? Is he hated and scorned or something?

That's what you get when you add goodness to the badguys... moral grey areas...

On that note, can you think of any other word in American English properly spelled two different ways? (IMO 'theatre' is not correct American English... :) )

[OB1]

Coliseum.

[Great Rumbler]

Coloradoflandersons.

[OB1]

Yeah.

[A Black Falcon]

Hmm... blond and blonde? Or is that another 'English spelling, US spelling' thing...