No matter who you are, you most likely know who Mario is. Mostly known for using his high jumps to defeat a Koopa King to save Princess Peach. However, in Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini Land Mayhem, this is far from the truth. Mini Land Mayhem is a puzzle game instead, and instead of Mario, you will be controlling small, toy versions of Mario, as well as toy versions of Toad, Princess Peach, and Donkey Kong.


   You control them in a stage that could be as small as a 20x20, to huge stages, that reach 100x100. There are tons of obstacles, such as spikes, Snifts, and Thwops, trying to destroy the toys. And if they do, you have to start the stage all over. You win once you get all your toys to the door at the end.


   This was released on the Nintendo DS, and took advantage of the dual screens perfectly. You get a map up top, and the game area on bottom. You tap the toys to make them start moving. Once they start though, they won’t stop until they reach the end, or die before that happens. To keep them from dying, you can place springs, conveyer belts, and girders in designated areas of the screen to help them reach their goal.



   Story: 6.5 - So, Mario and Pauline are opening a new amusement park called Mini Land. And the first 100 people to show up get a free Pauline toy. Donkey Kong hears about it, and comes to get his own free toy, plowing through Toads to get one. Although, he’s too late, as he is the 101st person to arrive. Outraged, he takes the real Pauline, and Mario has to go after him, with only these toys to get her back.


   Although the story never really progresses, the intro is shown in two ways at once. On the top screen, you get art panels of what’s going on, and the bottom is more like a cut scene. It’s cool to see both at once, and it’s done really well.



   Gameplay: 9 – The gameplay is really good. The puzzles are designed really well, with coins and other goodies spread around the level, and getting all of them is the only way to get a perfect score. I found myself going back through old levels to get the perfect scores a lot, because they are really fun to replay. And it’s also cool that many levels have multiple ways to win, so if you find that you can’t get a high score, you might just be looking at that puzzle the wrong way.


   It’s really fun, and it’s surprisingly fast paced, especially near the end of the game, where you need to be quick when you place your items, because you have a limited amount that can be on screen for each level. And once you beat the game, there is a hard mode, which puts a whole new spin on the game, and even though you are actually replaying the same levels, they still feel fresh.

   The boss fights are pretty good as well. Instead of getting to the door, you must get three mini Marios up to Donkey Kong to try to get Pauline from him. These are more about timing and skill, more than puzzle solving, as there aren’t real puzzle elements in it. Although they are fun, sometimes it can come down to a luck factor, because Donkey Kong will sometimes throw Fireballs, barrels, or make your items useless at some times, but there doesn't seem to be a real pattern to it.



   Graphics: 9 – The graphics do everything they need to do. The backgrounds don’t ever blend with the environment, and everything is a big enough size where you can tap it when you need to. Everything is colorful, and besides maybe 1 or 2 enemies, the enemies stick out enough where you can easily plan for them. The Minis’ animations are very toy-like, and move like real wind-up toys move. Really, the only things off about the graphics are Mario and Donkey Kong, who look a bit bubbly, and strange. Although, Mario is only seen in cut scenes, and Donkey Kong is only seen in boss battles, so it’s not a real problem.



   Sound: 7.5 – The music in this game is usually pretty mild. It never overtakes the gameplay, and is usually just sticks in the background. Most of the tunes are more timid versions of other Mario songs from the respective areas of the game. Nothing spectacular, but not bad either.


   The sound effects are really good though. The toys make nice little sounds if you touch them, and their walking sounds like a wind-up toy. A sound effect plays after getting rid of, or placing items, which when trying to do the level fast, is really helpful. The games’ sound effects overall have a very nice charm to it, which match the cute art style perfectly.



   Depth/ Addictiveness: 9.5 – Overall there are 20 worlds in all, with 16 of them having 8 normal levels, a mini game, and a boss fight. 2 worlds have 20 levels, and the other two have 10 levels. Even though each level that isn't a mini game or boss fight is the repeated on the harder mode (which is included in these stats), like I said, they feel like fresh, new levels. And to unlock some of them, you need to get perfects on lots of the levels. This makes you go back to old levels, and although sometimes tedious later in the game, the levels are all fun to play again.


   After you finish all of these levels, you might be wondering what do now. Well, there is a feature with will keep you playing for twice as long. There is a Construction Mode, where you can build your own puzzles. You can use everything from the main adventure, and use it in your creation. This provides you with limitless possibilities to create amazing levels, whether they are hard, or complete themselves automatically if you choose.


   The construction mode also features online connectivity. You can upload your tracks with the world, and people can download them, and play them. You can also download other people’s tracks. Playing other people’s custom made tracks are really fun, and getting your track highly rated feels like a real achievement. There is also a challenge mode, where you must create a track using certain circumstances. You can also play and judge other submissions. I’ve never found these all that fun, because of the more limited creativity, but I can see why this could be a fun idea.



   Difficulty: 8.5 – The difficulty usually varies, for the first 8 worlds. The first level is usually simple, showing off the new power you obtain. The fourth level involves having to get each character into their own separate door, and for the last level, the door is locked, and the Mini Mario with the key must go in the door first. After you get past those though, it gets a lot tougher. The special worlds will make the Minis move immediately, meaning you have no time to survey the level. Not to mention, the puzzle difficulty goes up quite a bit from earlier levels.


   The hardest part is getting the perfect scores though. If you play the game through, and want to unlock everything, it’s going to be a real challenge. Certain levels can only be unlocked with perfect scores. But the game is never unfair. It’s difficult, but there aren’t any areas that you won’t be able to figure things out when looking long enough.



   Overall: 9.2 – This game is really fun. Probably my favorite puzzle game that I’ve played. The charm of the simplistic art style and music works well, and the construction mode add much more depth to the game. Really fun game, and if you like puzzle games, then you should definitely give this one a try.

A user of this : Thanks. The perfect scores do get really hard, especially in the special levels. Really, the construction mode could be a game on it's own though. It's awesome.

I want to say something...

That's a... leet post you've got there. HAHAHAHHAHAHHA. (You know, because it's 1337 words?)

Anyways, awesome review. I've played Mini Land Mayhem before. I LOVED it, and it matches up with your review. Nice job at all of the details, and depth you go into. I agree with your difficulty part the most, lol. Like you guys said, perfect scores are just... murder to me.

But, yeah. Awesome job.

goodboy : Well, maybe I'm the only that enjoyed getting perfect scores on every level. I don't know, I just liked the challenge of it. Well, I'm glad to see that other people like this game as well. Really enjoy this game!