Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move

Genre: Puzzle

Players: 1, Local Wireless Content Sharing

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Review:

Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move is a Puzzle game released on Nintendo 3DS in 2013. While this is technically the fifth game in the Mario Vs. Donkey Kong series, it plays differently than the Puzzle-Platformers that form the rest of the franchise, instead being closer to classic Puzzle games like Pipe Dream where players must place a path leading from an entry pipe to an exit pipe.

It’s not just the gameplay that makes Minis on the Move completely different from the other games in its series, it’s also the presentation – while players have an easy-to-parse cartoony 2D map on the bottom screen that they interact with using the touchscreen, the top screen displays the map and characters in full 3D. It maintains the cartoony look of the series as a whole, but looks quite good, if a bit simple due to the limited size of this game’s levels. These visuals are backed by the series’ usual roboticized voices for its “mini” characters, and a Jazzy instrumental soundtrack that’s not especially to my liking, but it works well enough for the game.

As for that gameplay, Minis on the Move doesn’t just copy the formula of an old Puzzle game and leave it at that, it actually adds some fun and interesting mechanics that truly make this game unique, such as a well of pieces that players need to use or risk losing the game if it fills up, garbage can tiles that players can dispose unwanted pieces into to get a super-helpful wild piece, and so on. Elements like these are frequently introduced throughout the game, and make it fun and interesting.

I should also mention that this game features a slew of minigames that are quite fun in their own right, with players controlling Mario using either a touchscreen crank or a slingshot like a 3D version of the Angry Birds games. This adds a lot of wonderful variety to the game and give players something to do in between the game’s puzzles. And of course there’s also a custom level builder, something that’s become standard for this series (and once again, rendered somewhat less useful now that the game’s online play is no more).

If I had to make one complaint here, it’s the lack of an endless mode – it would have been great to try to keep a Mini moving on a board while figuring out how to make use of pieces before the well fills up. And while there are plenty of fun game modes here, I still feel like an endless mode would have really made this a game you’ll want to keep coming back to.

However, while it may lack that endless mode, Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move is still a superb Puzzle game, one that goes in a completely different direction from every other game in the series, and ends up being one of the best games in the franchise as a result. If you’re a fan of Puzzle games and even if you don’t care for the other games in the Mario Vs. Donkey Kong series, this is a game well worth playing on Nintendo 3DS.

tl;dr – Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move is a Puzzle Game that’s drastically different from the other games in this series, with players laying down paths for the robotic Minis to follow, much like the classic game Pipe Dream. While I wish there were an endless mode here, there’s still plenty of other content to keep you engaged. If you enjoy Puzzle games, this is well worth a look.

Grade: B+

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