To be honest, at the time this game came out, I didn't have much Mario games to play on the Game boy advance, but then one day, my dad just randomly bought this game for me. I didn't really know what it is, so I wanted to try it out for a bit. This is Mario vs donkey Kong for the game boy advance.

Story-7/10
The game's story begins with donkey Kong watching TV. As he surfs through the channels, he sees a commercial about the new Mini marios, He is rather disgusted with them, but still, Donkey Kong falls in love with the toys instantly. He goes to the toy store, but they are sold out. Donkey Kong turns around and sees the Mario Toy Company and decides to loot the store of all of the toys. Eventually, Donkey Kong checks his bag, only to see all the mini marios he stole have dropped, with Mario, the toys, and three toad employees laughing at him. Enraged, he grabs the three toads, climbs the building, and Mario must rescue the three toads and fight Donkey Kong again. However, he must make his way through the six worlds to get to the battle on the top of the building.

Gameplay-8/10
Each of the game's six worlds is divided into eight levels. For the first six levels withing each world, Mario must find a kay and open up a door to the second half of the level. There, Mario will find the toy that Donkey Kong dropped. Unlike other Mario games, when Mario takes a hit, he loses a life. He can also lose a life from getting squished and falling on from a great height. If the fall is not big enough, Mario may get stunned on his back instead. Mario can defend himself from falling bricks by performing a handstand and having the bricks fall on his feet instead. The seventh level in each world is a mini Mario level. Mario lead the six mini Mario toys he collected back to their toy chest: however he must make sure they avoid obstacles along the way. This leads into a battle with Donkey Kong, with each Mini Mario saved becoming a  "Hit point" for example, if Mario saces all six of the mini Mario toys, he'll be able to be hit six times by Donkey Kong before losing a life.

Graphics-9/10
I must say, the graphics in this game remind me a whole lot of the donkey Kong country titles, that is mainly because they are made with silicon 3D graphics. Other then that, all the characters, background and scenery look pretty neat! All the levels in this game are really bursting with color and atmosphere. So are all the sprites and scenery, for example, Mario himself looks pretty neat! So are all the enemies you'll be encountering and defeating. All enemies in this game are pretty much all original to the game, no recycled enemies, no nothing here. While the game doesn't look as good as other Mario games for the Game boy advance. This game still looks pretty good considering it was made in 2004!

Sound-8/10
Oh yes, the sound in this game has quite possibly the greatest soundtrack I've ever heard in a Mario game! All the music is quite catchy and get stuck in your head for a while. Did I forget to mention this is the first Mario game where our Mario actual speaks full sentences? As seen in the opening cutscene Mario says to Donkey Kong "Hey come back here! No you don't! No you don't! What are you doing? Oh you mama Mia "Italian gibberish" " I tell you, the first time I heard this in the game, I burst out of laughter and excitement! As for the SFX, they are pretty top notch too, although they can quite repetitive after a while...My personal favorite sound effect in this game is the one whenever you collect a present or do anything else.

Addictiveness-8/10
I can't possibly see anyone getting tired of this game, I mean this is a game I will definitely come back to, especially when I'm in a bad mood! This is quite possibly one of the better puzzle platformers you can get on the Game boy advance, heck I don't think there is any other puzzle platformer on the Game boy advance beside this one!

Depth-9/10
Oh yes, the replay value, once you've met certain condition, you can play the EX levels, The EX levels are far more difficult then the regular levels and will require WAY more skill to complete. Besides that, the are also 3 presents to collect in each level, a red present, a blue present, and a yellow present.  I haven't really played the game in a long time, so I forgot what the presents actually do. If you know what they do, just tell me. Oh yeah, the game is over 6 worlds long, so it will probally take you over 3-4 hours to complete.

Difficulty-5/10
Eh, for players like me, the game shouldn't really give you that much trouble, except for some of the boss fights, they can be QUITE a challenge. Like the world 5 boss..."SHIVERS" And the EX levels, besides that, the game is practically a cakewalk to play. Come on Nintendo! I thought your games were supposed to be challenging! Not easy and simple!

Overall-8.2/10
So in general, I HIGHLY recommend this game for you, in case you need a Mario fix, or anything else. I gave this game a 8.2 because how much it offers for you. This game has got to be one of the best puzzle games I have ever played on the Game boy advance! So overall, You can get this game on Amazon or Ebay for pretty cheap, probably for like a dollar or something, thats how much the Game boy advance games at my local used game store cost. So overall, do yourself a favor and pick up this amazing Mario title for the Game boy advance!