Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars
| Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars | |
|---|---|
 Cover artwork of the European Wii U version | |
| Developer(s) | Nintendo Software Technology[1] |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Director(s) | Stephen Mortimer |
| Producer(s) | Akiya Sakamoto |
| Composer(s) | James Phillipsen |
| Series | Mario vs. Donkey Kong |
| Platform(s) | Wii U, Nintendo 3DS |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Puzzle |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars (マリオ vs. ドンキーコング みんなでミニランド) is a puzzle video game developed by Nintendo Software Technology and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. It is the sixth game in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, and was released worldwide in March 2015 on the Nintendo eShop for all regions. This is the first Nintendo-published title to support a cross-purchase concept, and the first Nintendo 3DS title to support Miiverse stamps.
Gameplay
The game returns to the two-dimensional side view of the first Mario vs. Donkey Kong game. The player must guide marching toy characters to the end of each level by connecting vertices with lines drawn on either the 3DS touchscreen or Wii U GamePad to create ramps or bridges to help the toys cross gaps or avoid hazards. Every last level has a Cursed Mini Mario. The player will need to guide the marching toy character to Cursed Mini Mario as Cursed Mini Mario can't enter the Goal Door.
Development and release
A Mario vs. Donkey Kong tech demo was revealed at Game Developers Conference in March 2014 to show off the Nintendo Web Framework, a set of tools for developers to make Wii U games with common simple programming languages such as HTML5.[4] In Nintendo's pre-Electronic Entertainment Expo 2014 Digital Event video presentation, the game was confirmed to release on Wii U in 2015.[1] Nintendo announced the final title, release dates, and confirming the Nintendo 3DS version in a January 2015 Nintendo Direct presentation, and that the game will support both cross-platform play and cross-buy concepts.[note 1][2] The game came in physical optical discs and 3DS game cards in Japan, and whilst Wii U and Nintendo 3DS game cases were available at retail in Europe, they did not include physical media, but rather a printed download code to be used in the respective Nintendo eShop.
Reception
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Tipping Stars received mixed-to-positive reviews, with an aggregate Metacritic score of 70/100 for the Wii U version.[5] IGN gave the game a 6.8/10, praising the challenge of the game and large amount of content, but complained about the lack of new ideas.[7]
Notes
- ↑ Cross-buy means that a single purchase on either the Wii U or Nintendo 3DS eShop allows the user to download the game on both devices. Cross-play means that the user's saved progress and user-created levels will appear on both devices.
References
- 1 2 Campbell, Evan (2014-06-10). "Mario vs. Donkey Kong Coming to Wii U". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 2014-09-10. Retrieved 2015-01-14.
- 1 2 3 Calvert, Darren (2015-01-14). "Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars Due in March and Will be Cross-Buy on Wii U and 3DS". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 2015-01-14. Retrieved 2015-01-14.
- ↑ Nintendo Direct 2015.1.14 プレゼンテーション映像 [Nintendo Direct 2015.1.14 Presentation Picture] (YouTube video) (in Japanese). Nintendo Co., Ltd. 2015-01-14. Event occurs at 12:58. Retrieved 2015-01-14.
- ↑ Karmali, Luke (2014-03-21). "GDC: Mario vs. Donkey Kong for Wii U Surfaces". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 2014-10-26. Retrieved 2015-01-14.
- 1 2 "Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars for Wii U reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2015-03-12.
- ↑ Saas, Don (2015-03-05). "Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 2015-03-13. Retrieved 2015-03-12.
- 1 2 Graeber, Brendan (2015-03-12). "Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars Review - IGN". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 2015-03-21. Retrieved 2015-04-28.