The 2024 version of Mario vs Donkey Kong on the Nintendo Switch expands on the original Game Boy Advance game with some additional content, including new worlds. According to Nintendo’s own trailer, the game has “over 130 levels”. But what exactly does that mean?
The number of worlds in Mario vs Donkey Kong is a pretty concrete figure, but the number of levels depends on exactly what counts as a level. I’ve now completed the main game, and I had to complete fewer than 130 levels to do so. But if I count up all of the additional content that unlocks after the credits roll, then Nintendo’s official figure seems about right.
How many worlds are there in Mario vs Donkey Kong?
Altogether, there are eight worlds in Mario vs Donkey Kong, two more than in the original 2004 GBA game. Returning from the original are the Mario Toy Company, the Donkey Kong Jungle, Fire Mountain, the Spooky House, the Mystic Forest, and the Twilight City. These six worlds feature the same levels as in the original game. The two new worlds are Merry Mini-Land and the Slippery Summit, which feature all-new levels. Merry Mini-Land is World 4, and the Slippery Summit is World 6, so some of the worlds from the original game now have new world numbers. The Spooky House is now World 5, the Mystic Forest is now World 7, and the Twilight City is now World 8.
How many levels are there in Mario vs Donkey Kong?
In the main game, each of the eight worlds has nine levels: six regular levels, one Mini-Mario level, one Donkey Kong level, and one bonus Toad level. The bonus Toad levels are very quick and can’t be replayed, so I’m not sure if they count. So, depending on whether the bonus Toad levels count or not, there are 64 or 72 levels across the eight world. Then, on top of that, there’s the final boss level, which is titled “vs. Donkey Kong”, which brings the main game level count to 65 or 73.
But once you beat the “vs. Donkey Kong” level and complete the main game, you unlock a bunch more levels. First of all, you unlock seven “new game+” levels for each world — 6 regular levels and one Donkey Kong level. The new regular levels are completely different from those in the main game l, but the Donkey Kong ones are only slightly tweaked. So again, it’s debatable whether the “DK+” levels count as separate levels, so if we’re being tight, then the total number of levels is now 65 + 48 = 113, or if we’re being generous, it’s 73 + 56 = 129.
We’ve still not reached 130 levels, but completing the main game also unlocks 16 Expert levels (the original game only had 12), and these are all definitely separate levels. This means that if we’re being really strict about what counts as a level, Mario vs Donkey Kong has 129 levels, which is not over 130. But if we’re being as loose as possible about what counts, then it has 145 levels.
