Donkey Kong 94

I recently made the transfer from my junky old 3DS XL to one of those new 2DS XLs, and the switch has got me digging through my very small collection of 3DS Virtual Console games. The one Ive latched back onto is the oft-overlooked Donkey Kong for Game Boy, commonly known these days by its more specific working title, Donkey Kong 94. Its a fascinating artifact, a game that tricks you into thinking its just some lame Game Boy remake of old-school Donkey Kong, only to reveal its an entirely new, brilliant puzzle-platformer once youve beaten the original games levels.

Even the game it turns out to be isnt quite what it seems. On the surface, its a mixture of Donkey Kong with the puzzling and object-lifting from Super Mario Bros. 2. You enter a stage, and you have to reach the key and carry it back to the locked door at the start, probably collecting some Donkey Kong-esque bonus items along the way. (Collect them all and you can win some extra lives.) But on a deeper level, I could never shake the feeling that its a missing link between the limited run-and-jump move-set of Marios oldest adventures and the expanded acrobatics he developed during his Nintendo 64 days. Two of the more advanced moves from Mario 64 are taken straight from Donkey Kong 94: the backflip, performed by suddenly changing direction and immediately jumping, and the high jump, performed by jumping while crouching. (Technically, pressing jump while crouching puts Mario into a handstand. Another press of the jump button from that position executes the big leap, but its close enough. This is also another link to Super Mario Bros. 2, which included a super-jump you charged up by crouching.) Besides the fact that these maneuvers add a ton of depth to an otherwise relatively simple game, its just so amazing to think it was a freakin Game Boy title that laid some groundwork for Marios move to 3-D. People did some astounding things with that little wonder.

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This overlooked Game Boy game is the missing link in Mario's evolution - A.V. Club