Nintendo surprised us all with the announcement of Mario vs Donkey Kong: Minis March Again during the E3 conference and if you have been waiting to use those 1000 free DSi Points you obtained when you purchased and registered your DSi, maybe now you have that opportunity. We take a look to see if this is a must own game and perfect expansion you’ve been looking  to spend those point on your new DSI, or not.

Gameplay

Mario vs Donky Kong: Minis March Again is an expansion to the 2006 DS title Mario vs Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis. If you have played or owned that title, then you’ll feel right at home here. For those who haven’t, your goal is to assist Mini Mario characters through various stages collecting coins and cards before reaching the exit. After a series of levels, you take your Minis and use them in a battle against Donkey Kong.


As you progress through the game’s stages, your objective is always the same but getting to the exit will vary. Every level has a certain amount of blocks that can be triggered and altered to assist your Minis. The early stages won’t have too many restrictions but as you get further through the game you will have added obstacles that will factor into your strategy. You will encounter enemies, conveyor belts, magnetized sections and even a few other things that will have to be dealt with before you can reach the exit.

The levels themselves are not too difficult. Depending on if you simply want to take the various Minis from each level and just get to the end, you can complete most stages in about a minute or so. Those who want to collect 1-Ups, coins and Special Letter cards, will spend a bit more time. There is a scoring system as well so those looking to get a Gold Star Rating will want to collect everything in the shortest amount of time.

Unlike the previous Mario vs Donkey Kong games, here you need to have all the Minis reach the goal. If one dies or doesn’t reach the exit in time, you fail the level. This adds a bit more strategy but still doesn’t make the game overly difficult.

The game’s Level Editor abilities in The Construction Zone has expanded to create incredible results. In March of the Minis, you were pretty limited to what could be uploaded and downloaded. Thanks to the hardware space of the DSi, you can download over 140 different levels as well as create and upload your own for anyone around the world to play and rate.

As you progress through game’s main story, you unlock more levels templates to use; the options available can have you lost for a long time. There are already a slew of great levels already created and more and more are expected over the course of time. The Construction Zone is also extremely easy to pick up and use that just about anyone can create something to share.

Graphics and Sound

Some would expect that DSiWare games are limited in what they can do due to perceived limitations of the DS. Those people are grossly incorrect. You will be hard pressed to think that this is not a regular cartridge title. The game looks absolutely fantastic with such stunning use of colors. The game is vibrant with everything from the Minis, the enemies and even Donkey Kong looking gorgeous. Even in the level editor, you’re not restricted with the look for your potential levels and it’s glad to see a game like this exist.



The regular Mario music is on hand here. There is a bit of voice-work done by Mario along with grunts and yells from Donkey Kong, but for the most part, the game relies on the sound effects of the Minis and the items in the levels. The music available in each stage won’t stand out on any level, but it certainly is catchy and will stay in your head long after you’ve closed your DSi

Value

Considering this is a mere 800 DSi Points, this comes in at a mere 8 bucks, or about the price of a meal.  Just by registering your unit, with Club Nintendo, your entitled to 1000 points, making this game free to pick up with some change left over.  The Construction Zone alone is worth the price of admission and will have you playing this for a very long time. Even if you’re not the creative kind of person, there are already dozens of levels available to download and play includding a lot of challenging ones that you will keep you busy.

Conclusion

Without a doubt, this is the first true ‘must-own’ DSiWare title available. Mario vs Donkey Kong: Minis March Again is a simple and fun title that will have you spending hours enjoying the gameplay involved. Those who played the GBA original or the DS follow-up will feel right at home, while those who missed out on either will certainly find an easy to pick-up and enjoy experience. Again, with your DSi already filled with the necessary points to get this, it’s virtually a free title that you’ll enjoy. If you’ve already used your free points, I strongly suggest getting some more so you don’t miss out on all the fun.