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Donkey Kong '94 was an insane bait and switch on the Game Boy
- Thread starter xyla
- Start date
Can't tell if maybe you're being ironic but yeah, that's my whole point about novelty? I mean, just because it was new doesn't make it defacto "better".
Mario vs. Donkey Kong also had its own cool bits of novelty and even its own bait-and-switch - it was awesome beating the "Final Boss" and it turned out there was pretty much double the game there with a whole set of "Plus" levels with a whole different mechanic added in. And then the True Final Boss apes the original game's Final Boss as an awesome throwback, I mean, the polish was all there. It's a great game.
I really don't understand this opinion, the DKC games have tight controls, really good level design and amazing music. The DKC circlejerk hatefest is honestly baffling to me. Not trying to say your opinion is invalid, but I really just cannot relate. Pretty much all the major DK games have been fantastic, DK64 aside.
You know, I just booted both games up just to really compare and I can see that yeah, I guess the original has a more slippery feel that gives it that kind of action game goodness, but I don't really have any problem with the change in Mario vs. Donkey Kong - it just feels more precise, which is kind of a good thing for such a tight puzzle game. Less fighting with the physics is a good thing imo when trying to nail the precise movements for the speedrun route, or at least it's more accessible.
Best GB game. Best Donkey Kong game. One of Nintendo's best games-- period.
watch this show up on these nintendo leaks just like Dr. Mario and the english language rumble Mario 64 did lol
Damn shame this never happened.
watch this show up on these nintendo leaks just like Dr. Mario and the english language rumble Mario 64 did lol
The play style never clicked with me, can't help it. Sure it's well designed, but so are the Yoshi's Island games and I never really "got" those either, Sonic had fooled me 3 times too many on flashy platformers with not enough meat on them, and I kinda crashed with that series on Sonic and Knuckles (a month before the first DKC). so maybe it's a residual affect from that. I buried myself in JRPGs immediately after and I was a happy clam.
FWIW, I also didn't click with 3D Zelda games until Twilight Princess or 3D Mario games until Super Mario 3D World, and the only Rare N64 game I liked was Jet Force Gemini. So I'm not really trying to do the contrarian hivemind thing, I just have weirdo opinions.
Oh definitely do! I would love to hear how it holds up for someone who plays it completely fresh.
Oh, hell yes. The fact that the game was way more expansive than the original arcade game blew my fucking mind back in the day. It helps that it is mechanically a massive improvement over the original, making Mario feel good to control despite having much less air control than in Super Mario Bros.
Also, it feels like a 2D prototype for the stuff Miyamoto and co. would implement in Mario 64 - the triple jump, the backflip, etc. Even the tightrope stuff would make a return in Sunshine later on.
Also, it feels like a 2D prototype for the stuff Miyamoto and co. would implement in Mario 64 - the triple jump, the backflip, etc. Even the tightrope stuff would make a return in Sunshine later on.
Yup, this is why its the best Game Boy game.
I somehow picked it when I got my Game Boy and by blind luck it was such a fantastic game. I wish they would just remaster it a bit for Switch
I somehow picked it when I got my Game Boy and by blind luck it was such a fantastic game. I wish they would just remaster it a bit for Switch
Yep, I was the same as you. My parents bought me a Gameboy with this game as a reward for getting a bunch of 90+ scores on my transcript in elementary school. I had already played the NES Donkey Kong game, so when I got to the fourth level and saw the twist, I was floored lol.
Goddamn this game was great. I replayed it some years back and it 100% holds up. It's so fun.
Goddamn this game was great. I replayed it some years back and it 100% holds up. It's so fun.
They were pretty messy generally until the very late 00s. Crystalis GBC and RR64 especially stand out, not in a good way.
Ugh, didn't expect to be reminded of RR64 in here. Not on of the best ports.
Good point! Reminds me of how Nintendo prototyped BOTW in the original 2D Zelda form.
I love this game, one of my favourites. It took me a long time to beat it, Airplane world kept killing me at first and I can still hear the song for that world in my game. The movement in it was great, handspring jumps were always fun. I remember they had levels that were almost empty and you built temporary platforms and ladders to get around, and I'd be running through as fast as possible while the timing music would tick down.
$4 on the 3DS eShop, but I've never played it before and wonder if I'd have the patience for it..
Definitely, and I remember it had a crazy number of worlds. Little me was giddy whenever I progressed and found there was even more game behind the game. Last boss was bonkers too iirc
Lode Runner and Jumpman came out in 1983. Wizard/Ultimate Wizard came out in 1984. Arguably, Miner 2049er came out in 1982 (arguable because I don't think it hits the puzzle aspect much.)
I was today years old when I found out the game transitions to a puzzle platformer, I just assumed (totally my own fault) that the other levels were just more regular DK levels and had little interest in something like that. Had I known they were more puzzle-like, I definitely would've picked it up when it came out.
It was the early to mid 90s. I can't speak for everyone, but back then I had to go almost exclusively used outside of Christmas and birthdays. This meant going to locally owned used game shops where a lot of your game boy browsing looked like this under a glass countertop with shitty price tags slapped on a corner somewhere.
Damn shame this never happened.
What is this? I don't think I've ever seen this before
It's a really good game, though I wish it had something in the way of like, bonus content. Once you beat the game that's pretty much it.
Though I don't think it'd crack my top 10 Game Boy list, it's still a solid title and a must play for anyone perusing the console's library.
Though I don't think it'd crack my top 10 Game Boy list, it's still a solid title and a must play for anyone perusing the console's library.
to be fair the front cover probably scared everyone away from looking at the back and even less probably read it.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:
you're welcome
One of the best platformers ever.
AND NOT ONLY THAT.
But it also has what is low-key one of the best final boss themes of all time.
It still crazy to me that this track was on a Game Boy.
Hitting that 45 second mark like
AND NOT ONLY THAT.
But it also has what is low-key one of the best final boss themes of all time.
It still crazy to me that this track was on a Game Boy.
Hitting that 45 second mark like
This is a super retro thread i can appreciate and escape to. All this talk of next gen turning me off. Yes this game was amazing even for its time. Couple of gameboy games blow my mind till this day.
Excellent game although I didn't feel it was a bait and switch. It was known ahead of time (via magazines) to be a new game and not a port. And I was used to portable games often having the same name as console/arcade games but being notably different (Battletoads, Bonk's Adventure, Shinobi, etc.).
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One of the best platformers ever.
AND NOT ONLY THAT.
But it also has what is low-key one of the best final boss themes of all time.
It still crazy to me that this track was on a Game Boy.
Hitting that 45 second mark like
Yooooo, this goes harder than any GB track has any right to. Holy shit.
Yep. Not only the Game Boy's best game, but one of the few coded for the Super Game Boy, with extra colors and a custom "arcade cabinet" border.
And if I'm not mistaken, it's also the first Mario game that had his now-signature Triple Jump.
Not true. Once you've beaten it, you now have an arsenal of new skills that you didn't know about during your first run. Now you can try to speed run it. On the first run, 100m is a ten second trek to the top of the girders. On your second run it's possible to do a sub three second backflip run.
They even give you that post-boss time summary to encourage you to break your records and keep replaying.
Loderunner! Of course! I completely forgot about those games - never played them much and never heard of Wizard/Ultimate Wizard before. Does it make any sense to revisit these games?
It was the early to mid 90s. I can't speak for everyone, but back then I had to go almost exclusively used outside of Christmas and birthdays. This meant going to locally owned used game shops where a lot of your game boy browsing looked like this under a glass countertop with shitty price tags slapped on a corner somewhere.
This wakens some memories - not all good though.
I wish Nintendo would use cartridges of this size again - I know it wouldn't make any sense from a practical perspective and take up way too much room in the Switch, but having these sturdy things with actual artwork would be amazing nowadays.
Lode Runner definitely holds up, it's one of those games like Ms Pac-Man that's timeless. It does vary a bit by which version you play. I've been playing the Lode Runner: The Legend Returns version (PS1, Win95) a lot lately and I'd recommend it or one of the original Apple II/C64 versions if you have the means. I picked up Lode Runner Legacy in the Steam summer sale but I haven't played it yet. I don't think I would recommend the NES, Game Boy, or N64 versions due to limited visibility on the first two and a 3-D perspective that doesn't quite work all that well on the N64 version. Lode Runner 2 (Win95) did 3-D well with a fixed isometric perspective.
However, I honestly doubt Jumpman, Miner 2049er, or Wizard hold up without nostalgia. Jumpman and Miner 2049er are fairly basic. I love Wizard, but it's one of those games that tried to push the graphics of the systems it was on rather than find an art style that worked well within the limitations of the system. I love for it to get a Spelunker > Spelunky like treatment (along with Night Stalker and Venture.)
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The game is so good and so surprising. And still my fav design of DK. (Although that Super Donkey design floating around is pretty rad too)
This game was great, I wish they'd take another crack at a modern sequel. Hell, I'd even take an uprezzed Mario Vs. DK just to have this style come back.
