Donkey Kong '94 was an insane bait and switch on the Game Boy

[xyla]

Just found my old yellow Game Boy Pocket while at home with DK '94 with it. Played for a while and was hit with a huge nostalgia flash.

When I got the game back then I knew nothing about it - old school Donkey Kong wasn't my type of game and this looked exactly like it: Cartridge has classic DK art, first 4 levels looked like DK, played like DK and even sounded like DK. For a handheld version of the game that wasn't really bad.

Then after the fourth level you get a cut scene and then you move on to a world map - wait what?
You get a different mission objective. Find the key and take it to the keyhole - DK is only there as a mid-world boss and boss. Everything looks different. New enemies get introduced. Then you find out you have a way more expanded move set including the second higher jump we would later find in Mario 64? The game transitions into the puzzle platformer genre - maybe even invented it, no idea if there were some before.

I was blown away by this game back in the day.

And later that same year the Donkey Kong IP would be re-imagined from the ground up on the SNES.

 

[Ninjadom]

Fantastic game. Definitely Top 10 best game on the old Gameboy. Played in Color on the Super Gameboy too, with a controller.

 

[Kouriozan]

Yep I loved it too, as well.
Such a fantastic game, I'd like to replay it someday.

 

[Psamtik]

Finally played through it a few weeks ago, and it is - full stop - the best game I've played in 2020.

 

[panama chief]

It was a classic. I mostly fell in love with the movement.

 

[Moff]

Top5 gameboy game

 

[PsionBolt]

Right? It's pretty incredible. A vastly under-recommended classic, in my books.

It also makes me very sad that the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, which began as an excellent follow-up to DK '94, decided to become Lemmings instead. That first game was more or less everything you could want out of a DK '94 sequel.

 

[SpiderLink]

Played it to death when I was a kid. Super underrated.

 

[mopinks]

it's the Game Boy's crown jewel

a tiny dang masterpiece

 

[xyla]

Fantastic game. Definitely Top 10 best game on the old Gameboy. Played in Color on the Super Gameboy too, with a controller.

Click to shrink...

Yes! That border was also fantastic! I still have a Super Game Boy, but I don't own a working SNES anymore - would love to give this another go at some point.

 

[Robin64]

Damn shame this never happened.

 

[apocat]

Best gameboy game alongside Links Awakening and Tetris. It's so very very good.

 

[thomasmahler]

Yup. I borrowed the game for a day from a friend in school back then (We traded Link's Awakening vs. DK94) and felt a bit meh about the trade cause I thought it was just same old Donkey Kong. Then I beat the first couple of stages and my mind was blown. I know I kept the cart for a good 2 weeks or so after that and played it every day til I finished it. And yeah, when I got my Link's Awakening cart back, naturally my save state was deleted and he hadn't even made it through the first dungeon.

 

[sir_crocodile]

I think it had been spoiled for me in a magzine beforehand lol

 

[caffe misto]

Best Donkey Kong game by along shot.

 

[Red Liquorice]

Right? It's pretty incredible. A vastly under-recommended classic, in my books.

It also makes me very sad that the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, which began as an excellent follow-up to DK '94, decided to become Lemmings instead. That first game was more or less everything you could want out of a DK '94 sequel.

Click to shrink...

The GBA game is one of my all time favourite games, the sequels - I played the first one briefly and never paid attention to any others, very disappointing sequels. Maybe they're good for what they are I don't know, but they weren't what I wanted from that series.

 

[Mr Swine]

one of the finest 2D platformer ever made.

 

[Exile In Mudville]

I've honestly never once been convinced that there's been a great Donkey Kong game since this one.

Even though I was initially impressed with the visual tricks they pulled off with them, I'm still not sold on the game play of DKC or the follow-ups despite trying them multiple times. While the first one was only a few steps behind DK '94, the rest of Mario vs. DK sort of lost the plot with puzzle direction as mentioned above. Don't even talk to me about DK64.

 

[Parthenios]

DK's tower slowly moving closer in level backgrounds is one of my all-time favorite flourishes in gaming.

 

[Burai]

I think it had been spoiled for me in a magzine beforehand lol

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It's clear from the back of the box that it isn't just classic Donkey Kong. It mentions 100 levels. I don't think many would have bought it if it were just those four classic stages for £30.

 

[Molten_]

Yeah, it's probably my fav game boy game period. Even more so than link's awakening.

My favorite thing is the sheer variety. The game has a huge list of creative and varied worlds, with good level design and unique mechanics around every corner.

Also, it invented the side-flip and triple jump (sorta) before sm64, which is actually kind of insane if you think about it.

 

[mclem]

It's a brilliant game, but I'm amazed so many people were surprised by the bait-and-switch. The manual doesn't hide it in the slightest!

Edit: And the back of the box, as mentioned above:

 

[Allan Holdsworth]

Check out Mario vs Donkey Kong on GBA.
Shame we never got another. Even though I enjoyed all the subsequent Mario vs DK games (and even the Pipe Mania-esque Mario and Donkey Kong), they kind of ran out of ideas with Tipping Stars and the amiibo game. It's time for a DK 202x.

 

[Layla]

most memorable bit for me was after beating the game I replayed the first few levels. all the new moves Mario can make were there from the beginning but you just didn't know about them! doing the handstand jump on the first DK screen and just scooting up there was hilarious.

 

[Hours Left]

It's an amazing game, and introduced Pauline's current (superior) design too.

 

[Brazil]

I never really liked the original Donkey Kong as a kid, so the bait and switch didn't work on me and I ended up missing out.

I finally have it a shot decades later on the 3DS Virtual Console and absolutely loved it. Such an ingenious little game. Probably among the platform's best.

 

[L Thammy]

Backflip your way through 25m in like two seconds.

I'm convinced that 3D Mario's moveset is based on this game.

 

[Opposable]

As others has said, the game box, instructions, advertising, pr, reviews made no secret of this. I assume most people who were 'bait and switched' played on an emulator.

 

[fiendcode]

DK94 is the secret best Mario platformer.

 

[Symphony]

29 posts and not a single mention of the music? Shame on you all, DK 94 had one of the original GB's greatest jams.

 

[BPHusker]

Damn shame this never happened.

Click to shrink...

What is this? A proper sequel?

 

[bomma man]

Backflip your way through 25m in like two seconds.

I'm convinced that 3D Mario's moveset is based on this game.

Click to shrink...

Mario 64 started development in 94 so it almost certainly did.

 

[Fuzzy]

Check out Mario vs Donkey Kong on GBA.
Shame we never got another. Even though I enjoyed all the subsequent Mario vs DK games (and even the Pipe Mania-esque Mario and Donkey Kong), they kind of ran out of ideas with Tipping Stars and the amiibo game. It's time for a DK 202x.

Click to shrink...

Cross your fingers for DK24.

 

[Hasney]

It's a brilliant game, but I'm amazed so many people were surprised by the bait-and-switch. The manual doesn't hide it in the slightest!

Edit: And the back of the box, as mentioned above:

Click to shrink...

As others has said, the game box, instructions, advertising, pr, reviews made no secret of this. I assume most people who were 'bait and switched' played on an emulator.

Click to shrink...

Most of my GB games were second hand, cart only jobs my parents found cheap. So it was a total surprise.

 

[fiendcode]

What is this? A proper sequel?

Click to shrink...

Donkey Kong Plus. It was a GC/GBA title from NST that was basically DK Maker. Eventually it dropped the GC/Maker half of the project and refocused into Mario Vs DK on GBA.

 

[BPHusker]

Donkey Kong Plus. It was a GC/GBA title from NST that was basically DK Maker. Eventually it dropped the GC/Maker half of the project and refocused into Mario Vs DK on GBA.

Click to shrink...

Maybe it will make an appearance in this thread... https://www.resetera.com/threads/up...nk-to-the-past-f-zero-super-mario-rpg.254724/

 

[shoptroll]

Fantastic game. Definitely Top 10 best game on the old Gameboy. Played in Color on the Super Gameboy too, with a controller.

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Playing it on a Super Gameboy was fun times. Really good showcase of what they could do with the expanded color palette options. Also the better Pauline voice sample.

 

[Kinsei]

I got the game on the 3DS virtual console when it came out thinking it was just a portable version of the NES Donkey Kong. The fact it even had 50m surprised me, let alone the rest of the game. It's a gem of a game.

 

[xyla]

Right? It's pretty incredible. A vastly under-recommended classic, in my books.

It also makes me very sad that the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, which began as an excellent follow-up to DK '94, decided to become Lemmings instead. That first game was more or less everything you could want out of a DK '94 sequel.

Click to shrink...

Yup, it's not that there are nearly enough Lemmings likes, but why did they have to chose this one to become one of all games?
Was never really fond of the new art style either - main reason why I never played the GBA version. Does it hold up?

 

[Stopdoor]

Donkey Kong '94 is a great game but tbh I think people give its novelty too much credit in comparison to Mario vs. Donkey Kong. The level design is just way tighter in that game and offers strong satisfaction to go back and perfect them for speedruns by unlocking expert levels. One big memory of Donkey Kong '94 is how a lot of levels have tons of dead space and the collectible items didn't serve much of a purpose.

Sure, it has the slightly goofier toy theme but it also has a few of its own soundtrack grooves.

 

[TreIII]

When I finally got around to trying this a couple of years later ('98-99), I absolutely loved it.

I still hope that one day, we'll get yet another like it. After all the Mario vs. DK games, a revamp that takes it back to '94 one more time and builds up would be most excellent.

 

[Stopdoor]

Yup, it's not that there are nearly enough Lemmings likes, but why did they have to chose this one to become one of all games?
Was never really fond of the new art style either - main reason why I never played the GBA version. Does it hold up?

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I kind of elaborated on it my last post but I think the GBA game is mad underrated. Just the theme is a bit goofier.

 

[mopinks]

the physics in Mario vs. DK just don't feel right compared to DK '94

every time I try to go back to it I lose steam real quick

 

[Kinsei]

Yup, it's not that there are nearly enough Lemmings likes, but why did they have to chose this one to become one of all games?
Was never really fond of the new art style either - main reason why I never played the GBA version. Does it hold up?

Click to shrink...

Mario vs DK is still very good.

 

[xyla]

Damn shame this never happened.

Click to shrink...

Just read about that shortly before making this thread - a pity it didn't happen. Would have been another good case for GBA/GCN connectivity too.

Best gameboy game alongside Links Awakening and Tetris. It's so very very good.

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Add in Mario Land 3: Wario Land and you've got a fantastic top 4 brewing.

It's clear from the back of the box that it isn't just classic Donkey Kong. It mentions 100 levels. I don't think many would have bought it if it were just those four classic stages for £30.

Click to shrink...

It's a brilliant game, but I'm amazed so many people were surprised by the bait-and-switch. The manual doesn't hide it in the slightest!

Edit: And the back of the box, as mentioned above:

Click to shrink...

While my parents were pretty okay with me gaming, they never supported it by buying me games. I had to fund that myself from the beginning, so every game I ever bought that wasn't a pack in during that time was used. And most like traded in for another game at the same time. Most of the time when a carnival was in town there were also a lot of vendors and some sold used games and took trade ins. I was mostly ripped off in hindsight, but it was the only stuff I could afford from my allowance and later on small jobs like being a paper boy.
So it was carnivals and flea markets and the games were mostly years old. And who would have money for any magazines when that could be used to buy games? Exactly.

So it was just the cartridge with a protection cover near a 100% of the time.

Most of my GB games were second hand, cart only jobs my parents found cheap. So it was a total surprise.

Click to shrink...

Exactly.

 

[L Thammy]

the physics in Mario vs. DK just don't feel right compared to DK '94

every time I try to go back to it I lose steam real quick

Click to shrink...

The whole package just seems wrong. DK '94 had these really charming scenes between worlds which often shows off a mechanic while we see Mario chasing after DK like a bloodhound. Mario Vs. Donkey Kong has Mario speaking in tongues.

 

[RebelStrike]

This game is really damn good, I played it on the 3DS several years ago. I played the first Mario vs. Donkey Kong game before this and I'd have to say '94 is better.

 

[Aprikurt]

Donkey Kong '94 is a great game but tbh I think people give its novelty too much credit in comparison to Mario vs. Donkey Kong. The level design is just way tighter in that game and offers strong satisfaction to go back and perfect them for speedruns by unlocking expert levels. One big memory of Donkey Kong '94 is how a lot of levels have tons of dead space and the collectible items didn't serve much of a purpose.

Sure, it has the slightly goofier toy theme but it also has a few of its own soundtrack grooves.

Click to shrink...

Yeah but Donkey Kong 94 came out in 1994 dude

 

[Xavi]

It's on my Top 10 games of all time. Masterpiece

 

[Zalman]

It's arguably the best Game Boy game.