Mario vs. Donkey Kong (NSW) Review

Released early this year, Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a Nintendo Switch remake of the 2004 Game Boy Advance original. How does it compare to the 2004 classic? Better? Worse? Somewhere in between? Let's discover the answer with this SuperPhillip Central review!

A Toy Story

Feuds that stand the test of time: Pepsi and Coke, the New York Yankees and the Mets and yes, perhaps the greatest* of them all--Mario and Donkey Kong! (*Probably not.) Ever since the character known simply as Jumpman scaled ladder after ladder, hurdled over barrel after barrel, and rescued the damsel in distress from the angry ape himself, the rivalry persisted. Sure, it's simmered since 1981, with the pair cordially participating in everything from revving it up on the racetrack to teeing it up on the links, but now and again the rivalry bubbles to the surface between these two gaming icons. 

The original Mario vs. Donkey Kong debuted on the Game Boy Advance in 2004. Now, twenty years later we see a full-fledged remake on the Nintendo Switch, complete with new content, new worlds, and plenty of puzzle-platforming fun to be had. However, is this remake enough of an upgrade to justify a purchase, or is this a game you shouldn't toy around with playing?

Our story is simple. One day, while flipping through the channels on TV, a comfy, cozy, lounging Donkey Kong stumbles upon a commercial for the newest, hottest toy around--the Mini Mario! Filled with an immense desire to get one of these for himself, DK runs with great haste to his local toy store. However, sadness and disappointment fills his gorilla heart, as the toy is sold out everywhere! While most would shrug and move on--most aren't Donkey Kong! He barges into the Mario Toy Company's factory and nabs each and every Mini Mario in the production pipeline. Running off with a bag full of Mini Mario toys, Mario himself discovers the caper and chases after Donkey Kong. Thus, our game begins.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong plays similarly to the 1994 Donkey Kong game on the original Game Boy. The structure is slightly different, having Mario platform his way through two sections of level: one where he must locate and carry a key to its locked door (making sure to not leave a picked-up key sitting idle for too long, lest it respawns at its original location), and the other where he must retrieve a stolen Mini Mario. 

Different colored buttons and blocks, but Mario can manage!

Each of the game's eight worlds consists of six base levels, and after the first level of each world is completed, players can choose to take on the remaining five in any order (something new to this remake). After all six levels have been successfully completed, two more levels become available, one after the other. One is a Mini Mario level where Mario needs to guide pursuing Mini Mario toys to a toy chest in a Lemmings-style fashion, while the other is a showdown with Donkey Kong via boss battle. The latter pits Mario in an arena against his big ape rival with different methods and means to deal damage. Four hits, whether that's with picked up barrels, enemies, or even dropped fruit in the case of the second world's encounter, is all it takes to temporarily subdue the great gorilla.

"Come back here, you big-a monkey!"

Thankfully, Mario has a huge repertoire of moves at his disposal, and most, if not all of them, will come into play to assist him through all of these puzzles and platforming challenges awaiting him, DK battles included. From jumps and flips to reach higher platforms, to handstands that prevent the portly plumber from getting hit from falling debris from above, Mario's movements and maneuvers in general are easy to pull off and seldom frustrating.

Mario's not showing off here--he's doing a handstand to block these falling bricks!

As for the base levels, Mario vs. Donkey Kong consistently introduces new concepts and mechanics throughout its eight worlds and multiple levels, keeping the experience fresh. That's whether they be obstacles, hazards, or enemies. For instance, Mario Toy Company, the first world in the game, introduces obstacles like red, yellow, or blue buttons that turn on/off different platforms, ladders, and springs of the same color. Meanwhile, the next world, Donkey Kong Jungle presents players with vines and ropes that Mario must cling to all the while avoiding the fireballs spat out by Piranha Plants. 

It's a jungle out there, but Mario's prepared!

With this Nintendo Switch remake of Mario vs. Donkey Kong, two completely new worlds are included: Merry Mini-Land and Slippery Summit, serving as worlds four and six respectively. Merry Mini-Land features fans that can carry objects, enemies, and Mario across chasms to be helpful, or can block Mario's path to be more a hinderance. By hitting buttons to turn fans on and off, players can proceed through levels, making this theme park more manageable. Meanwhile, Slippery Summit features--as the name of the world suggests--slipping and sliding around courtesy of the world's ice physics. Sure, this makes for more difficult platforming, but also would make Scott Hamilton back in the day eat his heart out with the impressive kinds of jumps Mario can dole out on ice!

Merry Mini-Land is one of two new worlds debuting in the Nintendo Switch remake of Mario vs. Donkey Kong.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong on the Nintendo Switch is an easier experience than its Game Boy Advance original version for several reasons. For one, Mario doesn't lose a life upon falling from a steep drop. Second of all, the scoring system from the original GBA game is gone, too. Now, getting a Perfect in a level is as simple as collecting all three presents in a single run and beating said level. 

Furthermore, Nintendo has opted to give beginning players and less astute platforming fans an easier go of it with Casual Style. This makes it so players aren't rushed with a time limit, they begin with five hits before they perish as opposed to just the one in Classic, and even if they do lose all five bubbles, they return to one of the in-level checkpoints made possible in Casual Style, which Classic Style lacks altogether. This mode also makes it so certain enemy placements are altered or removed completely. It's a nice mode to make the game more accessible for younger and beginning platforming players, though more skilled players will find the base game already too easy to begin with.

A nice touch is how typical Mario enemies are crafted to look just like toys, such as these Thwomps.

Mario's adventure doesn't come to a premature end after the initial eight worlds are finished and DK has been beaten. No, Donkey Kong is not one to back down so easily. After all, the game is just a 2-3 hour jaunt that way. What follows are eight more worlds--specifically Plus Worlds--to take on. These aren't just the same experiences as the base game in more difficult forms. Instead, Mario is tasked with guiding one Mini Mario apiece safely to a door. If either Mario himself or the toy take damage within the level, it's mission failed. I found these levels to be a bit more frustrating, understandably, than the base game. I don't gel too well with escort missions in any game, really, due to the AI not always being the brightest, so having the latter half of Mario vs. Donkey Kong being chockful of these types of missions in level form wasn't the most appealing proposition to me. That said, with enough patience and perseverance (and let's not forget the most important aspect--lives), I got through it no worse for wear.

These Mini Mario levels near the end of each of the first eight worlds can be a tad tricky to figure out.

In addition to the Plus Worlds, Mario vs. Donkey Kong on Nintendo Switch features an all-new Time Attack mode, featuring the ability to take on levels as fast as the player possibly can, all the while attempting to clear target times. Unfortunately, this aspect of the game is merely for personal bragging rights as no online leaderboards are available nor do you unlock anything for beating each level's time. Not that one necessarily needs the carrot on the stick to motivate themselves to play more, but for me personally, I found there to be no real motivation to beat my best times in each level. It's nice to have the option, for sure, but the implementation feels half-hearted. 

One thing that does extend the otherwise rather short playtime of Mario vs. Donkey Kong is that of local co-op play. This changes up the dynamic of the game and its levels considerably. Two well-in-tune players can split up tasks amongst themselves to make for a more efficient run through each level. The big difference between solo play and co-op play is that both players need to retrieve a key and take it to the locked door. The door is essentially "double locked", requiring one floating silver key and the one traditional golden key that must be picked up and "delivered" to the door. I played co-op with my older brother, and this was a great deal of fun. It was so much so, that I really wish that there would have been online co-op available as well, which would have greatly increased my enjoyment and time with the game. Alas, could have, should have, Nintendo did not.

Carefully surveying a given level is seldom not the "key" to solving it.

I don't think Mario vs. Donkey Kong on the Game Boy Advance aged well graphically. To put it bluntly, it aged as well as Donkey Kong's banana hoard after he's left it rotting for two years. Ew. Even I'm grossed out by that mental picture. Regardless, the Nintendo Switch remake presents a more pleasant visual style, complete with crisp and clean polygon models, lovely and beautiful backdrops for each world and level, and lots of cute touches in animations--specifically with our two stars, Mario and Donkey Kong. The music is quite delightful, offering what I'd call a smooth jazz, easy listening soundtrack, almost Muzak in its implementation. It hits the right notes, most importantly.

Overall, Mario vs. Donkey Kong's remake on the Nintendo Switch delivers an engaging, albeit short-lived experience, full of puzzles and platforming peril to enjoy. Lackluster replay value keeps it from being a hearty recommendation, so it might be best to wait for a once-in-a-blue-moon sale for the game to go on discount before investing in this rivalry's return. Still, you could do far worse than toying around with Mario vs. Donkey Kong. The issue here is that you could also do much better, too.

[SPC Says: C+] 

Super Mario Bros. Wonder (NSW) Review

A Super Mario Bros. Wonder review on SuperPhillip Central more than a half year after the fact? ...For what reason? It certainly isn't to be timely, that's for sure. Sometimes, though, I just want to write about something that excites me, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder definitely is such a game to do that. It did it for me back when I originally played it at launch, and it does to this day. Here's my review.

A Sense of Wonder

For over a decade, the 2D Mario series has felt rather complacent, sterile, and lackluster with repeated trips to take water from the New Super Mario Bros. well. Perhaps Nintendo discovered there was nothing more to take from the well (and fans might argue that happened several entries ago), as now 2D Mario has been taken back to the drawing board. What has returned in the New Super Mario Bros. series' place is one of the most imaginative, well designed, and creative entries the 2D Mario platforming series has seen in, well, decades, with the--wait for it--wonderful Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild before it, Super Mario Bros. Wonder takes conventions of its past games while turning them upside down on their head to make for a touch of unpredictability, imagination, and evolution not seen in the line of games for a looooong time.

Every adventure starts somewhere, and this one starts with Mario and company (including playable Luigi, Peach, Daisy [!!!], Toads, Yoshis, and Nabbit) being welcomed to the Flower Kingdom, a neighboring land adjacent to the Mushroom Kingdom. There, Prince Florian and his followers greet Mario and friends to their side of the world. Unfortunately, the welcoming party quickly turns sour when Bowser enters the fray, stealing the Wonder Flower that Prince Florian was to present to Mario and his friends. This merges Bowser with the Flower Kingdom's royal castle, transforming Bowser into a flying fortress, locking the Flower Kingdom's denizens in their homes. It's now up to Mario and friends (alongside Prince Florian in a non-playable capacity) to help liberate the Flower Kingdom from Bowser's shenanigans.

Bowser and causing chaos--name a more consistent Mario series pair.

The journey to battle Bowser begins within Pipe-Rock Plateau, where players are presented with pretty breezy platforming challenges to ease them into the action. Levels begin in a linear order, however, quickly into the world players discover one of the first new additions to make Super Mario Bros. Wonder more interesting. 

There are certain parts of each world map that are open, available to traverse at the player's leisure. Here, players can select which levels they'd like to tackle, or if one is generally deemed too challenging (all levels are ranked in difficulty by the number of stars they possess--one for easy, five for most difficult), they can skip it altogether. The main roadblock to progressing is having a required amount of Wonder Seeds, collected from levels in various ways. These Wonder Seeds serve as essentially the keys to unlock the way to progress in each world. 

Choose your level in these more exploratory sections of world map!

In standard levels, there are up to three Wonder Seeds. Most levels just have two, while ones with secret exits can have three. One Wonder Seed is available after finding and engaging with a Wonder Flower. These flowers are generally hidden in each level, though some are right out in the open. When players walk into them, these Wonder Flowers create all kinds of psychedelic and wacky effects to the world around them. Some cause pipes to start crawling along the ground, some inflate your character like a balloon as you guide them through the sky, some slow down or speed up enemies and obstacles in levels, while one early example summons a chorus of singing Piranha Plants who perform from in and out of their pipes. 

One of the earliest Wonder effects turn normal warp pipes into warp pipes that do the worm!

Wonder Flower aren't random in the sense that a given level will always have the same effect, but it's always a surprise on a first playthrough to stumble upon one and not know what you're going to get and what the game has in store for you. Many of the effects brought a great amount of delight and giddiness to me, never knowing what to expect and constantly being amazed at what I was witnessing. Sure, the effects aren't anywhere close to surprising on a second playthrough, but they seldom grow tiring still.

There are eight main "worlds" in Super Mario Bros. Wonder (seven story-related worlds, including one which serves as a hub world of sorts with its own series of levels, and one "special" world), and these tend to break away from the New Super Mario Bros. template rather well, as opposed to being traditional "grass world", "snow world", and "desert world" theming. Yes, while there are indeed grass worlds, snow worlds, and desert worlds Mario and friends embark in, these sort of flip the script and feel more than mere simple templates. 

This new species of Mario enemy kicks back whatever you throw at them.

Levels, as expected from the Mario series, constantly bring fresh platforming mechanics, enemy types, and obstacles into the fold, and that's not even including all of the previously mentioned Wonder Flower effects. The point here is that you're seldom, if ever, left wanting for new ideas or find yourself bored with what's being presented. From levels with completely new enemies like hippo-like, rolling, bouncing Hoppos, or Hoppycats, spiked foes that jump when players jump, to unique obstacles and theming, Super Mario Bros. Wonder certainly promotes freshness and newness in almost every facet of its package. Perhaps the irony here is that there feels a heck of a lot more "new" in Super Mario Bros. Wonder than there was in the entire New Super Mario Bros. series.

Fire Mario and Piranha Plants--a rivalry as old as time itself.

Speaking of, the Mario series is known for unique power-ups, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder brings some new ones into the fray. Apart from the Super Mushroom, Super Star, and Fire Flower, every other power-up in Wonder is brand-new. For instance, the Elephant Fruit turns players into a bipedal rotund elephant, able to use their trunk to swipe away enemies, smash otherwise indestructible blocks, and even carry water in it to splash dried flowers and other objects. Then, there's Bubble Flower, giving Mario and friends the ability to trap foes into tossed out bubbles, capture faraway items and coins, and even use them as a quick means to bounce off of them to reach new heights. Finally, there's the Drill Mushroom, which grants Mario and crew digging and drilling capabilities. Solid floors and ceilings can be drilled into, discovering new areas, and causing pain to unsuspecting enemies. Each of the new power-ups have their fantastic uses, and while Elephant Mario is no doubt my favorite of the bunch and the one I showed a preference to, I loved shooting bubbles and digging through floors all the same.

What do you get when you cross an Elephant Toad with a Pokey? Elephino! ...What.

Other than power-ups, there is another major component in mechanic form that is of Badges. These are items that can be equipped to give players a certain benefit in levels (or in some cases, a disadvantage). Only one Badge can be equipped at a given time, and their effects range from granting players a Super Mario Bros. 2-style crouching high jump, to virtually turning Mario into Spider-Plumber, giving him the ability to launch out vines from his hand to attach to just out-of-reach walls. There's a Badge that gives players a parachute to glide more safely downwards and across large distances, a Badge which causes players to perpetually dash, and one that even turns the entire cast invisible! Your mileage may vary on its usefulness, though!

Before most Badges are given to Mario and friends, players must complete a tutorial/trial level featuring the Badge as a means to practice and get acquainted with it. These short stages are terrific test grounds to learn and utilize each Badge's abilities, and the goal of collect all three purple 10-Flower Coins in each training level (these NSMB Star Coin-like collectibles are also in each standard SMB Wonder level), ensures you're getting the most out of each Badge. 

Adding to the newness of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, the standard local multiplayer is here and accounted for--though this time around players can't directly interact with one another--but also there's online multiplayer, too. This allows you to create friend lobbies or more excitingly, enables you to play levels while seeing the live transparent characters of other players. It's a more community-driven experience, as if you jump into a pit or take damage as Small Mario, for example, you'll briefly turn into a ghost that frantically swim through the air, either becoming revived by another player or by reaching a standee placed by another player. This online aspect is almost a must for the Search Party levels, where you have to track down five Wonder Tokens deviously hidden within these special-themed scavenger hunt-style levels.

That Red Koopa Troopa looks like they're about to get their just deserts.

While there is indeed a lot of good and greatness in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, there are some aspects that could be improved. Continuing with a lot of the Super Mario series' history with difficulty, the main game isn't too daunting or challenging. It's not until the special world levels that things get truly tricky--including one of the most arduous platforming endurance runs in Mario series history! Furthermore, the boss battles apart from the game's final encounter, range from Bowser Jr. to... well, Bowser Jr. You fight him no less than four times in the entire adventure with no other boss in sight save for the big bad Bowser himself. 

The presentation of Super Mario Bros. Wonder goes above and beyond as well. No doubt listening to the feedback of New Super Mario Bros. being a bit sterile and bland in its visuals, Wonder goes the complete opposite direction. Perhaps the greatest standout and star of the presentation show here is that of the animations. Everything from the way Mario and Luigi will run into pipes and reach out for their missing hats, to the way characters display excitement upon bouncing off blocks and enemies, or even the way enemies express fear with eyes widening as Elephant Mario comes rampaging towards them--it all kicks up the presentation to new, seldom explored levels in 2D Mario history. Whether they're big touches or small, everything goes a long way to making this Flower Kingdom expedition more animated and exhilarating than ever before.

New and old haunts arrive in Super Mario Bros. Wonder by the truckload. You never know what to expect.

The soundtrack, while not the most memorable or catchiest in Mario series history, does hit some high notes here and there. The main overworld theme, used in promotional trailers and serving as level one's song, is one of my favorites, but even castle and airship themes (though the latter is a remix of Super Mario Maker 2's SMB1 airship theme) do wonderfully and set the tone for adventure well!

At the end of the day, Super Mario Bros. Wonder is indeed "another 2D Mario game", but it's definitely and decidedly more than just that. It's been injected and reinvigorated with so much freshness, inventiveness, and personality that it takes an established formula of more than 35 years and retools it to make it still feel (and actually be) creative and new. I marvel at how Nintendo can keep Mario as relevant today as he and the series proper were back in 1985, and with continued innovation, lack of playing it safe, and brilliantly conceived and executed ideas as seen in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, I can imagine Mario staying relevant for another 35 years at this rate.

[SPC Says: A]

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble (NSW) Review

We're not slowing any signs of slowing down here at SuperPhillip Central. A new review is here for a relatively new game, too. Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble rolled exclusively onto the Nintendo Switch last Tuesday. Here is the SPC review!

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'. Keep those monkeys rollin'!

It's been--what--ten years since a wholly original Super Monkey Ball game graced our presence. Can you believe that? After the rather excellent Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania in 2021, which compiled stages from Super Monkey Ball 1, 2, and Deluxe into one package, Monkey Ball fans like myself have been feverishly hoping, anticipating, waiting, and praying with paws together for SEGA to roll out a new game. Now, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble is here, and it features hundreds of brand-new stages, an all-new multiplayer mode, and a fresh mechanic to, well, freshen the rolling action up. Does all of this set up Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble for a freshly ripe experience, or is it rotten from the inside out?

Super Monkey Ball's main claim to gameplay fame as a series is its stage-tilting action to move your monkey in a ball through hundreds of progressively more difficult stages. The goal is to reach the end of each stage without falling off (or as the announcer loves to harp, "Fall OUT"), and it's honestly a literal goal too, as your ball needs to cut through the tape of the orange, circular goal to clear the stage successfully. You'll get lots of moments where you "kiss" the goal, only to bang off the edge of it and fall out, or worse yet, run out of time in a stage because you were too careful and cautious about falling off! Oh, it happens far too often... at least for me!

AiAi and the Super Monkey Ball gang are back, and this time... it's still not personal!

There are ten initial worlds in Banana Rumble (with more to unlock after the fact), taking players through an abundance of challenges and locales, from the cute and cozy Banana Farm that eases players through their pacing to get their footing--or rather, rolling into the game to later worlds that really dial up the difficulty considerably to almost fiendish levels, Banana Rumble's Adventure Mode is about a 4-6 hour affair. That's if you're just rolling through stages trying to clear each stage. This mode can also be played locally with up to four players via split-screen, offering the ability for all players to roll around stages at the same time. If just one player clears the stage, all players do. You can also have collisions with other balls off or, if you like some added chaos and carnage, you can have them on, too. Mwahaha!

Colorful worlds abound and await in Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble!

Banana Rumble also arrives with its own story in its Adventure Mode, introducing various new characters to go along the familiar and trusted Monkey Ball crew of AiAi, MeeMee, Baby, GonGon, and others. It features cute, animated, voiced (in monkey gibberish, I do believe) cutscenes following the story of AiAi and friends meeting a mysterious monkey named Palette, who searches for her missing Papa. AiAi and pals agree to help by finding the Legendary Banana treasure which Palette says will help in searching for her father. Thus, the motivation to roll through 100 stages commences! Well, that outside of the good times and fun the Super Monkey Ball games generally provide!

This time around, this latest installment of Super Monkey Ball takes a new mechanic out for a spin--and quite literally, too. It essentially borrows a chapter out of Sonic the Hedgehog's playbook--a fellow SEGA all-star--with the spin dash. Unlike past Super Monkey Ball games implemented multiple new game mechanics that served as a banana-split to the fanbase in popularity--whether that's motion control, touch controls, the ability to jump, or heaven forbid, Banana Blitz's boss battles--Banana Rumble's spin dash works wonderfully and feels like a natural evolution of the series' gameplay. Dare I say, it's going to be a bit difficult to return to past or future games in the franchise without this mechanic. I love it so much. Mere gimmick, this ain't.

Depending on how long you hold the B button as well as which direction you hold the left stick,
these factors determine how fast and how far of a speed burst courtesy of the spin dash your monkey will get.

Performed by holding down the B button and then letting go of it whilst pointing the analog stick forward, the spin dash propels your monkey of choice in their ball forward with a sudden burst of speed. This helps in charging up ramps without worrying about losing momentum, great for lipping off ramps and short edges of stages, and most interestingly, allows for some phenomenal speed run opportunities for most stages. 

Sure, a lot of the time the speed run opportunities boil down to tremendous trial and error and even some luck with spin dashing into a corner or ledge to "jump" and skip a large portion of stage or even hop all the way to the goal, but it's positively thrilling and rewarding when you accomplish such a feat. It's absolutely awesome to rush your way through a stage without doing it the "intended way".

Shortcut and skip opportunities alike are present for proficient spin dashing players.

I put "intended way" in quotes because each stage presents players with three missions apiece to optionally complete. The missions are always the same requirements, just varying in the amount one needs to reach to accomplish them. For instance, as it pertains to speed running and clearing a stage the unintended way, there is a mission to complete a stage within a usually strict time limit. Generally, most stages require a skip via a well-placed spin dash or series of spin dashes to meet and beat these times. The other two missions in each stage feature finding, collecting, and reaching the goal with a Golden Banana, and grabbing a certain amount of bananas within a stage. 

Those are the stage missions, at the very least. There are also various in-game missions outside of stages that can be completed, too. These missions award points that are the currency to be used in the in-game shop. Here, you can purchase different clothing, balls, gear, animations, and more with the points you earn from completed missions. Needless to say, there is a LOT of content even in the single-player mode to be found in Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble.

Camera got you flustered? Press the right shoulder button to get it centered back behind
your monkey in a snap! It's a lovely quality of life addition!

But, what of the multiplayer component within Banana Rumble? While this iteration of Super Monkey Ball lacks the familiar and celebrated party games of past entries (sorry, friends, Monkey Target is nowhere to be found here), what does take their place is that of battles pitting you against 15 other players. Battling with randoms mostly consists of one or two other real players and a bunch of other bots, but I'm happy at least that bots are an option to make the matches less empty. At any rate, the online matches switch between different modes at random, throwing you back to an empty waiting room of sorts where you can roll around for fun and while you wait for the next match to fill up. Once it does, you're thrown into a match.

Matches are relatively short affairs depending on the mode chosen. Really, you can find yourself waiting in the lobby longer than you actually play a match. That said, matches feature races from point-to-point along a perilous sky high road with multiple twists, turns, and obstacles to them; there are matches where you attempt to destroy robots for points; matches consisting of grabbing the most bananas; matches that are like a Hot Potato, keep-away game with bombs, where the players who remain holding a bomb by the end of one of five rounds don't earn points while the players who successfully passed off their bombs to other players or avoided getting a bomb altogether earn points; and finally, a match type where two teams of eight players apiece claim goals for points with the harder to reach goals awarding more points than those that easier to roll through.

These match types can all be played offline with bots solely (and locally as well), but there is an incentive to play online at least once per day. You get a lucky ticket each day for participating in an online match, which rewards you with a rare clothing item or gear for your Monkey Ball. There are seasons with exclusive unlockable gear that can be earned through merely playing online, as well. There's hardly a grind to speak of, too, and no further real world money must be paid to complete the season pass, as it were.

Doctor, Doctor, give me the news. I got a bad case of dizziness from all this rambunctious rolling!

I mentioned Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania (the 2021 game) back near the beginning of this review. While that game was entertaining as all get out, it did have one issue that many veterans of the Super Monkey Ball franchise held a grievance with. That was that the physics weren't 1:1 to the classic Monkey Ball games from the GameCube originals. It is my pleasure to alleviate any concerns that the physics in Banana Rumble resemble Banana Mania's relatively "off" feel of rolling your monkey about. Instead, Banana Rumble feels like the closest we've gotten to the originals without actually BEING the originals. A pleasant surprise, but a welcomed one.

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble delivers an exhilarating package all in all. It features the most consistency of any Monkey Ball game since 1 & 2 back in the early 2000s. A long time to wait, for sure, for consistency. Everything from the stage design, to the challenge level, to the amount of content to sink one's teeth into like a delicious banana, to the all-new spin dash make for a terrific entry in the series. The latter of which is such a great inclusion for both gameplay and speed-running (or is it speed-rolling?) purposes. I can't imagine moving forward with the Super Monkey Ball series and not seeing the spin dash return. That's how game-changing and elevating it is. While the unsteady framerate of Banana Rumble is less than stellar (in and out of multiplayer, even), and said multiplayer modes are a bit lesser than their old school counterparts (but still fun--don't get me wrong), Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble for all intents and purposes is Super Monkey Ball 3 in everything but name only. I can think of no greater compliment!

[SPC Says: B+]

Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (GBA, NSO) Retro Review

We're continuing our Mario retro review theme from a few weeks ago with a look at one of Mario's greatest 2D adventures turned portable on the Game Boy Advance. It also received a release on Nintendo Switch Online's Expansion Pass. I'm talking about Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3. 

The Mushroom Kingdom cast takes stage once more for a riveting encore performance.

In what must be one of the more absurd naming conventions in gaming history, the Super Mario Advance series saw its fourth entry--this time featuring the third Super Mario Bros. game in all of its remade Super Mario All-Stars glory--with Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3. Of course, Super Mario Bros. 2 was Super Mario Advance, while Super Mario World (aka Super Mario Bros. 4 in Japan) was Super Mario Advance 2, and the completely different series, Yoshi's Island, was Super Mario Advance 3, because Nintendo makes no sense sometimes. Just like calling the Wii successor the Wii U, or calling a revised Nintendo 3DS the NEW Nintendo 3DS XL.

Anyway, mini rant over. Super Mario Advance 4 isn't just the original Super Mario Bros. 3 with the Super Nintendo-style visuals from Super Mario All-Stars. Even still, it'd be a pretty sweet package, if not a bit bare content-wise. In addition to the main game, there is of course Mario Bros., a mainstay of the Super Mario Advance line, but more interestingly, Nintendo added power-ups and even MORE interestingly, never-before-seen levels that could be added to the game via the e-Reader peripheral for the Game Boy Advance original version. The Nintendo Switch Online version comes with them already available in a separate menu. More on those levels later.

Every great platforming adventure has to start somewhere.
Super Mario Bros. 3 begins here in Grass Land's first level.

As for the base Super Mario Bros. 3 game, it's just as fantastic as it's always been. It presents players with over 80 levels of platforming nirvana. The game begins with the easy and breezy Grass Land that helps players find and establish their footing as well as their running and jumping groove. It features simple-enough courses with minimal bottomless pits, not-so-tricky enemy positions, and coins and power-ups aplenty.

World 2, Desert Land, immediately turns up the heat in more ways than one.

From there, the game gets increasingly more complex with worlds with multiple more levels to them on their individual maps. Some of these can be avoided, but in order to get that much-desired "World Complete", you do have to beat every level on a given world's map. Mario and/or Luigi will see themselves braving dangerous deserts (with one infamous level home to a particularly angry Sun), diving into the ocean depths, facing enemies and obstacles of giant proportions, taking a trip to the skies above, chilling out in an ice world, finding their way through a pipe maze, all before reaching the kingdom of Bowser himself in hopes of rescuing Princess Peach. 

Giant Land will have you wondering what Bowser feeds his troops here! Aren't you all big!

Levels include basic left-to-right courses, but also some vertical ones, as well as auto-scrolling courses too, particularly the auto-scrolling airships that round out almost every world save for the last. The levels in general are usually short affairs, able to be run through within a minute or so each, if you're keeping a good pace. This is a positive aspect, as there are no checkpoints in levels, meaning that if you make a costly mistake in a level, you start from the beginning of it. The brevity of levels means that you won't have to make up too much progress with each attempt, and with some of these levels, especially later levels, you'll be making a LOT of attempts.

These auto-scrolling levels, especially in the final world, can make anyone can-"tank"-erous!

Super Mario Bros. 3 is a challenging game. It's by no means "NES Hard", a term coined by fans and players of the era, but it's also not a cakewalk either. With the Super Mario Advance 4 version, niceties like save anywhere, being able to stockpile more power-ups and items in your inventory to use on the map (collected from Toad Houses, Hammer Bros (or some variant of Bro) battles, and other methods from each world's map), and the ability to revisit worlds make for a less frustrating, less agonizing experience.

Mario's "nope-ing" out of being here faster than you can say that enemy's name!

Speaking of challenging levels, perhaps the most intriguing part of the Super Mario Bros. 3 and Mario Bros. package (the latter of which has been in every Super Mario Advance game prior, so it's really well-trodden territory at this point) is that of e-Reader bonus content. Think of it as DLC via scannable cards courtesy of an old Game Boy Advance peripheral--you guessed it, the e-Reader. Thankfully, the recently released Nintendo Switch Online version of the game arrived with the major part of the e-Reader's functionality--new levels made specifically for Super Mario Advance 4--already included. 

It's difficult to speak the importance of all-new 2D Mario levels for when this game originally released. The last full 2D Mario game released prior to the Super Mario Advance series and this fourth installment was Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins waaaay back in 1992. Note: I'm talking about a game with a fully playable Mario, so my apologies to Yoshi's Island, even though one can make a very well presented argument of the contrary. That said, until Super Mario Advance 4, all entries in the Advance series featured no new levels at all, so this was a pretty big deal in many ways. We wouldn't get a new 2D Mario until New Super Mario Bros., which was event unto itself, but I digress there!

The over 30 unique levels featured as essentially bonus DLC to Super Mario Advance 4 are quite extensive and elaborate levels. They're also some of the most difficult in Mario series history. Much like Super Mario Bros. 3's base levels, these e-Reader ones feature no checkpoints, which can make them more frustrating to tackle. This is especially so if you're searching high and low for Advance Coins in each level, or in some levels, the super-hidden, hard-to-reach e-Reader Coins. 

Either way, levels basically take everything from past Super Mario Advance games. Some levels feature plucking up vegetables from the ground or digging into sand a la Super Mario Bros. 2 (aka the original Super Mario Advance), while others feature power-ups like Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World's Cape Feather, enemies like Bumptys of Super Mario World 2: Super Mario Advance 3 fame, and even some challenges grabbed straight from Super Mario Bros. 3, only made harder--like a battle with TWO Boom-Booms as opposed to the usual one. 

Hey! You're in the wrong game! ..Aren't you? I guess the rulebook is thrown out of the window in these e-Reader levels!

Super Mario Advance 4 has a similar presentation to that of the Super Mario All-Stars version back on the Super Nintendo. Essentially the visuals were taken almost 1:1 directly from that compilation, much like Super Mario Advance's version of Super Mario Bros. 2. There are some added effects as well as some missing ones, too. The major difference is that of sound. If you're not a stranger to the GBA hardware, particularly that sound chip, then you are familiar with how tinny the monaural sound and music can be. The music is lesser quality than the Super Nintendo version of Super Mario Bros. 3, but serviceable yet as always, suitably catchy as well. Like past Super Mario Advance games, Nintendo laid it thick on the voice clips, so be ready to hear "Just what I needed" from Mario a few hundred times throughout your adventures together.

One of the lovely but perilous world maps Mario/Luigi will find themselves venturing along.

Overall, Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 unquestionably had the most love and care put into it by virtue of the endearingly made bonus levels originally an e-Reader exclusive. Now, with an NSO Expansion subscription, one need not track down packs of cards hoping to get something good out of them. As stated earlier, instead they're all within the game as is. With tight controls that one would expect from the Super Mario series, over 100 levels to enjoy (and curse towards, at times, admittedly), and one of Mario's finest adventures in handheld form, Super Mario Bros. 3 shines like the portly plumber racing through a level with a Starman--colorful and brightly, making Super Mario Advance 4 a fantastic package for any SMB3 or platforming fan in general.

[SPC Says: A]

The Tuesday 10s - My Most Anticipated Games for the Rest of 2024

The Tuesday 10s return this week on SuperPhillip Central. For those uninitiated, The Tuesday 10s--when they happen, at least--occur on Tuesdays and are basically unordered top ten lists. They can be about games themselves, or even game concepts like levels and characters, for instance.

Today, and with this morning's Nintendo Direct behind us, I feel we have a good idea on what to expect for the rest of 2024. That's not considering any surprises or future announcements in the second half of the year, of course. That said, these ten games are the ones that I'm most excited to play for the remaining months of 2024!

After you've peeked at my picks (and hopefully read the rationale behind each of them, too), please feel free to comment below on which games you're most hyped for to round out the year!

Astro Bot (PS5)

What salvaged an otherwise ho-hum (for me, at least) State of Play late last month was the conclusion of the presentation, featuring a trailer starring a lovely little robot that could named Astro Bot. The game of the same name is a major outing for the character, originally seen in different forms in The Playroom VR demo, then the PlayStation VR exclusive Astro Bot: Rescue Mission, which this new PS5 adventure seems to riff off of a teeny bit here and there. 

The PS5 pack-in game Astro's Playroom heralded in a glorious showcase of the DualSense controller, and in general was just a fantastic game to introduce players to their new PlayStation 5 systems. No doubt from the announcement trailer that developer Team Asobi has thrown myriad ideas at the wall, and in my eye, all of them seem to be sticking wonderfully. Here's hoping this ode to PlayStation's history and moreover massively captivating and charming-looking 3D platforming sticks the landing as well when it arrives on PS5 on September 6th.

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero (PS5, XBX, PC)

I can't think of a better tribute in game form to the late, great Akira Toriyama than seeing his Dragon Ball creations and characters comes to life in one of the ultimate 3D fighting game packages. That seems to be what we're going to get with Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero, pitting a multitude of characters from Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, and Dragon Ball Super against one another as a roster that calls back to Budokai Tenkaichi 3's. If you're unaware, that game featured a massive amount of characters to play as, and Sparking! Zero seems to bring with it even more high octane action, eye-melting visuals (in the GOOD way), and multiple story campaigns starring different characters, with Goku's containing the most battles, as expected. Couple this with the ability to create and share your own custom story missions, cutscenes, and battles, and you have one seriously super Dragon Ball game for fans!

Dragon Quest III: HD-2D Remake (NSW, PS5, XBX, PC)

Speaking of Akira Toriyama's works, let's rock a different kind of dragon with the illustrious Dragon Quest series, which Toriyama's art lives on through. During this morning's Nintendo Direct, Nintendo not only revealed more footage from this gorgeous HD-2D remake of Dragon Quest III and--finally--a release date (November 14th, 2024), but also the announcement of the other games in the Erdrick trilogy being remade as well with Dragon Quest I and II in store for next year. It's been almost three years since Dragon Quest III's HD-2D remake was originally announced, and seeing it with a firm release date almost feels like a fever dream, like managing to slay four Metal Slimes in the same battle without any of them fleeing. Like such a battle, the experience of playing--or for some, RE-playing Dragon Quest III will be an absolutely rewarding one. I'm certainly looking forward to it.

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time (NSW)

There is no shortage of fascinating RPGs arriving on consoles and PC this year. While this next game had no presence during today's Nintendo Direct, Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time still is planned to release on October 10th. I absolutely adored the original Fantasy Life on the Nintendo 3DS. Its job-based gameplay where players worked to increase their skills, opted to tackle monsters and other foes in the game's fields and dungeons via action-RPG goodness, and found a nice life for themselves, made for an incredibly addicting game. With new town elements and online play in this new sequel, I'm quite eager to get my hands on Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, and have this be the game which steals all of my time when it launches as a current Nintendo Switch exclusive.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (XBX, PC)

With a less-than-stellar aura surrounding the Xbox brand in recent months--the most important being the closing of some incredible studios and letting go of some tremendous talent--and a seemingly aimless direction for the brand in general, it was important for Microsoft's Xbox to pull off at the very least a competent showing two weeks ago. I'd say, fortunately, the showcase was a success. The reveals were exciting and top-notch, but the game that will most likely release by year's end that most excited me from Xbox's show features one of my favorite fictional characters in film: Indiana Jones. 

Using Harrison Ford's likeness and Troy Baker's serviceable impression of Indy, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a first-person action/adventure game that sees our artifact-finding, temple-exploring, globe-trotting adventurer doing all those things complete with the look and feel of actually playing a film in the series. The humor is so on-point, and one of the best features--at least presentation-wise--that I've seen so far. While there's no firm release date and just a vague 2024, here's hoping Machine Games can deliver a game worthy of the Indiana Jones name--unlike perhaps for some, the last two films in the franchise...

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (NSW)

One of the empty spaces in the Nintendo Switch catalog, at least for me, was that of a wholly new top-down 2D Zelda adventure. Little did I know that with today's Nintendo Direct that not only would we get a wholly new top-down game in the franchise, but it'd literally be a ZELDA adventure! For the first time (no, I don't count the Phillips CD-I games, sorry), Zelda is the primary protagonist in a game for the series her name is attached to. 

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom could have easily been Zelda with bow instead of a sword, and that might have made folks appeased. However, Nintendo, in traditional Nintendo fashion, went above and beyond. Zelda gains a rod that she can use to capture objects like tables, beds, boulders, and even foes to ensnare to do her bidding in what is shaping up to be a truly clever and creative adventure. From the trailer shown, we saw that Zelda can conjure blocks of water to reach higher, other inaccessible areas; she can build stepping stones with beds; and even launch boulders at baddies to truly rock on. We won't have to wait long for Zelda's first foray into adventure when The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom releases on Nintendo Switch on September 26th, 2024.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership (NSW)

Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door have seen recent releases. Now, the trifecta of Mario RPGs is complete on the Nintendo Switch with the announcement of a brand-new Mario & Luigi game! Mario & Luigi: Brothership is an isle-hopping (or is it "isle-launching"?) adventure starring the Brothers Mario with a whole cavalcade of new characters to meet, enemies to defeat, and places to visit and explore. Bros. Attacks return, as does the ability to use Mario and Luigi's unique teamwork abilities to solve puzzles in the overworld areas of the game. It's such a sight for sore eyes to see the return of Mario & Luigi, and such a delightful looking entry as well, both visually and gameplay-wise. We won't have to wait too terribly long for Mario and Green Mario to once again team up together as Mario & Luigi: Brothership sails onto the Switch on November 7th, 2024.

Sonic X Shadow Generations (NSW, PS5, XBX, PC)

While Mario will have lots of fun this year (with more to come on this list), Sonic isn't resting on his laurels. And I must admit, I did NOT expect this much effort to be put into a remaster of Sonic Generations, a game that was already a phenomenal one to begin with. This being the year of Shadow and all, SEGA and Sonic Team have opted to insert Shadow into game into his own adventure, essentially splitting the game into two parts, collectively titled Sonic X Shadow Generations. 

The incredibly well done Sonic Generations half is included, of course--this time adding the Sonic Mania's Drop Dash into the spin of things--while Shadow Generations not only gives the fourth-damn-Chaos-Emerald-seeking hedgehog a suite of remixed stages from his now-storied history in the Sonic franchise and several boss encounters (these first two things currently have an indeterminable amount, but they're immensely polished all the same), but also a Sonic Frontiers-style hub world that connects all of the content together. I'm eager to explore both pieces of this hedgehog game package when Sonic X Shadow Generations boosts onto all current platforms on October 22nd, 2024.

Super Mario Party Jamboree (NSW)

It's been a little bit since Mario last held any kind of new party with his pals (and enemies alike) on the Nintendo Switch. Well, the wait for a new party is over! Mario and the Mushroom Kingdom crew's latest soiree, Super Mario Party Jamboree, is billed as Nintendo as their biggest one yet. With a respectable seven boards (five all-new and two returning from Mario Party 1 and 2 respectively), over 100 mini-games, over 20 playable characters, multiple planned modes, and the ability to play online against up to 20 opponents in Battle Royale-style Mario Party madness, Super Mario Party Jamboree is shaping up to a bash you won't want to miss. RSVP if you'd like to be prepared to par-tay when Super Mario Party Jamboree launches on Nintendo Switch on October 17th, 2024.

Visions of Mana (PS5, XBX, PC)

Harkening back to the age of old-school RPGs while giving off a gorgeous and modern visual presentation package, Visions of Mana is, of course, the latest entry in the long-running Mana franchise. Chosen by the Faerie to revitalize the Mana Tree, a great expedition and grand journey awaits our colorful cast of heroes. The idea of facing off against foes both small and large (especially those Eidolons) sounds incredibly enticing and exciting to me. I absolutely loved the Trials of Mana remake four years ago, so to say that I'm eager to engage with more of the Mana series would be an understatement. Bring it on, Square Enix. I'm ready for some comfort food gaming when Visions of Mana starts its adventure on August 29th, 2024.