Mario vs. Donkey Kong launched today, February 16. If you didn’t preorder a copy and you don’t mind waiting until next week to start playing, Geek Alliance has deals on both the North American and region-free import editions. The NA version is available for a 10% discount (five bucks off), while the international edition is slightly less at $42 (down from $50). The latter is still in English and will operate like normal on a North American Nintendo Switch. The only difference is the ratings board logo (it won’t be ESRB).
At the time of writing, there were around 170 copies of the North American edition in stock and 800 international copies. As such, we wouldn’t be surprised to see both sell out in the coming days. Earlier this week, Geek Alliance had roughly 300 copies of the NA edition.
Your order comes with free USPS ground shipping, with a delivery window of three to five days. Naturally, shipping times will vary by location, and even though Geek Alliance ships worldwide, buyers outside of the US should be aware it can take weeks for your order to arrive. If you want to start playing this weekend, you could start playing as early as Saturday with Prime shipping at Amazon. Alternatively, you could order online and pick up your copy at your local Best Buy, Walmart, or Target.
Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a remake of the first entry in the series that originally released on Game Boy Advance. It brings new features such as cooperative play and reworked graphics. At the heart of the action is a mixture of platforming and puzzle-solving, making it more methodical than most side-scrolling Mario games. If you are a fan of the classic Donkey Kong arcade game or the Game Boy edition of Donkey Kong, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy Mario vs. Donkey Kong.
The remake earned a 7/10 in our Mario vs. Donkey Kong review. “Mario vs. Donkey Kong feels very retro in certain respects,” critic Steve Watts wrote. “It’s designed to be played in short bursts, which can feel anachronistic on a modern handheld hybrid that’s perfectly suited for long play sessions. But it’s also a throwback in the best ways, recapturing the clever aha moments of puzzle-platforming that made its predecessors so memorable, all while packing distinct visual improvements and quality-of-life tweaks that bring out its charm like never before.”
Mario vs. Donkey Kong Deals
Mario vs. Donkey Kong listings at major retailers
Again, unless you care about getting a North American copy for your collection, it might make sense to save a few bucks by opting for the imported version, as it offers English language support and will work on Switch without issue. The only scenario where you could potentially run into issues is if DLC is announced for Mario vs. Donkey Kong. You’d have to buy the DLC from the eShop associated with the base version of Switch games. However, DLC for a remake like Mario vs. Donkey would be very abnormal.
Looking for more Switch deals? Best Buy and Target each have a handful of Nintendo Switch exclusives on sale for low prices. Check them out below:
Nintendo Switch game deals at Best Buy
$30 price is for My Best Buy Plus/Total members. $40 for non-members.
Nintendo Switch game deals at Target
Editor’s note: Article updated on February 16, 2024