Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem

Overview

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem is the fourth game in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series. It was released in North America on November 14, 2010 and will be released in Japan on December 2, 2010.

Story

It's the grand opening of Mario's new amusement park, and he is giving away Pauline toys to the first 100 guests. Arriving as the 101st guest, Donkey Kong misses out on a toy and instead kidnaps the real Pauline. Mario then chases after Donkey Kong with his army of Mini toys.

Gameplay

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem plays like the previous games in the series. The difference is that you don't have direct control over the Mini-Marios this time around, except starting them. The game is more focused on making a path to the goal for them by making bridges, placing springs etc. Guide them all to the exit door to clear the area. Unlike the previous game, you have to make a combo chain thorugh the door with all Mini-Marios, too slow and the door is blocked resulting in a Game Over.

This game, unlike the previous game also, will not tolerate any destroyed mini-Marios, if one is hit, it's game over.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem is broken up into 8 stages (Attractions), plus Special stages and Expert stages as well as a plus mode. Each has a theme that unifies the areas on each stage. Stages consist of 8 areas, a boss battle and a mini game. The 4th and 8th areas are special because they feature an extra mechanic. The 4th area of each stage is a mulitdoor one where you not only have to lead Mini-Mario to his door, but a mini-Toad, mini-Peach, mini-DK and mini-Pauline as well, each of them has their own door they need to enter to complete the stage, the 8th areas requires that the sole mini-Mario with a key attached to him is the first to enter the goal door before the other Marios can walk through it.

This game also features "MINI GUIDE" similar to the Super Guide in most recent Nintendo games, it appear on the Game Over screen after losing a area enough times.

After the main game you can try Plus Mode which will make you tackle the same stages, but requires you to guide your marching toys into the goal door in a specfic order, not doing so will result in game over.

Mini-Mario's behavior:

• He always start by standing still, tap him or remove the solid floor under him and he will start walking in the direction he is facing.

  

• Hitting walls will make him go the opposite direction.
• If a walking Mini-Mario touch another Mini-Mario not yet activated, he will activate him too and they will both walk in the same direction.
• If two already activated Mini-Mario bounce into each others, they both turn to the opposite direction.
• He can jump up one-block tall edges.
• When in midair, he always fall straight down.
• Mini-Mario can't survive a long fall.
• Mini-Mario will use goal doors, pipes, springs, ladders and so on automatically when close to them.

Construction Zone

Construction zone makes a return and is similar to the one in the previous game. You can submit you creations online and download others.

Once you complete a attraction in the main game, you can use that attractions theme and tools in the construction zone.

Controls

Much of the game is controlled with the stylus.

Stylus Controls:

• Tapping on a mini will activate the mini at which point it will continue to walk forward until it hits an object and turns around.
• Slide the stylus from one rivet to another will create a girder. You can create either beam girders (from red rivets) or conveyor belts (from purple rivets)
• Place, remove springs, moveable pipes and wooden blocks.
• Create/ remove ladders between two blue rivets vertically.

Button Controls:

• up, down, left, right - scroll around the screen
• A, B, X, Y - scroll around the screen
• Left Trigger - Display help mode
• Right Trigger - Display map

Collectables

Mini-Mario's can collect these things in within a area:

• M-Coin: There is one in each area in a tricky spot, you can also win up to three of these in each mini-game. The more you of them you collect, more Special Stages will be available.
• Card: One in each area, collect them all in one attraction and they will spell out MINIMARIO, this unlocks that attraction's Mini-Game
• Coins: There is regular coins and huge coins scattered around the area. Collect them to increase your score, if you hope to beat the default hi-score you need to grab them all.
• Extra Girder/ Conveyors / Ladders pieces: Add to the number of amount you can use in that area, the big ones is woth 10 pieces.
• Hammers: When Mini-Mario thouch these he start swinging them for a short time, any breakable blocks or enemies in his path will be destoyed or stunned.

Objects

Use these things to help Mini-Mario to the door.

• Red girder: You can connect them between two red rivets to make bridges, walls or slopes. It is limited how many of them you can have in the area, if you run out of them you remove a girder and place it in a new spot.
• Conveyour girder: Same as red girders, but these force the Mini-Marios in a set direction. These can be connected with purple rivets. Just like red girder, they're limited.
• Purple and Yellow Springs: These can be set and removed on set loacations, it's limted how many of them you can have in the area, so remove a spring and then place it to the new spot if you run out. Mario jumps on these automatically when nearby, the purple ones gives you most height while the yellow ones give you most distance.
• Pipes: There are 3 type of pipes in this game. The connected ones, warp pipes that teleports you to another pipe with same color and pipes you can remove an place somewhere else.
• Ladders: There are ladders that Mini-Mario will climb up and down automatically when nearby it, blue ladders can be created and removed by connecting two blue rivets. The amount you can have at the same time is limited like the red girder.
• Conveyour button: Tapping this button will reverse all conveyour belts in the area.
• Enemy block: Is a transparent block that isn't solid, but if a enemy walks into it and become trapped, it will become solid to walk on.
• Cannons: There a two types of cannons, rotating ones and those who goes on a path facing in a set direction. It can hold unlimted Mini-Marios and if you tap it, it will launch every Mini-Mario it holds at the same time. Mini-Marios will become cannon balls going in straight line until they hit something solid, while like this, they can hurt any enemies and break sand blocks.
• Magnet block: When Mini-Mario walks along these he can walk on walls and ceilings.

  

• Sand block: Yellow blocks that can be destoryed with hammers, walking on top of them will make them slowly disappear.
• Removable blocks: Tapping this will make it disappear, tap it again and it will reappear. Often seen around magnet stages in the main game.
• Spikes: Simply put, avoid these surfaces.

Enemies

Watch out for these:

Mini-Shy Guy: Contact with these will destroy Mini-Mario. Get rid of them with hammers or sliding into them.

Living flames: A living flame that moves around and can climb ladders. Hammer him to get rid of him or make him fall into spikes.

Brown DK robot: Any Mini-Mario that runs into him will be juggled. Any means of escape is either if you can reach ground above him or another hammer-wielding Mini-Mario stuns him.

Grey DK robot: Walks around and kidnap any Mini-Mario he comes across, if he get them all it's game over. Rescue his victims by stunning him with a hammer.

Electric ball: These annoying enemies will zap Mini-Mario on contact, you will find them in stages with magnet surfaces. They move along the magnet surface and go the opposite direction when hitting a dead end.

Mini-Pokey: A Pokey that moves around and hurt Mini-Mario, that's it. He being in the area usually means there is yellow enemy blocks in the area somewhere only he can make solid.

Mini-Snifit: Shoots a set of five bullets in the direction he is facing, pay attention to the sounds he makes to know when he his about to fire a new set.

Piranha Plants: A immobile enemy, some of them shoot fireballs that bounce 180 of solid objects.

Default hi-scores and trophy

Each area has a default hi-score for you to beat. In order to get these you pretty much have to collect all the collectables and be fast enough to stand a chance.

If you do so, you earn a trophy for that levels.

You use trophys to attempt the Expert Areas.

Stages

Stage 1: Coaster Hills - Introduce Red girder.

Stage 2: Jumpy Jungle - Introduce Yellow and Purple springs.

Stage 3: Teatime Twirl - Introduce Conveyour belts.

Stage 4: Warped Mansion - Introduce moveable pipes.

Stage 5: Sandstorm steps - Introduce blue ladders.

Stage 6: Cosmic adventure - Introduce magnetic blocks.

Stage 7: Cannon cove - Introduce cannons.

Stage 8: Super Skywheel - Introduce blocks that trap enemies.

Final: Skywheel - Final battle with Donkey Kong.

Special Stages: As you collect Mario coins you unlock areas in the final stage.

Expert stages: Earn Trophys to try these ones.

Mini-Boss Stages: In all of the boss stages Donkey Kong sits up on a platform holding Pauline. You have to use the tools from the stage to navigate to different objects flanking DK. There are 3 objects, and the stage ends when Donkey Kong is hit by all three.

Mini Game: The mini-games involve guiding Minis that fall from the sky down in to boxes below. There are 5 boxes which chance value periodically. The values can be x4, x2, x1 and x-1. In another version of it, the mini-game is about placing the right toy into correct box instead. In plus mode the mini-games have insant game over spike traps. Each stage's mini-game uses the new skills and objects in the level. Doing good in these earns you 3 M-medals.