In today’s Nintendo Direct presentation, we got details on many things. Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars was one of them. The game was first revealed last year at E3. It continues the style of most of the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series. However, this time it will be available on both the Nintendo 3DS and the Wii U. If you buy it on one system, you will get a free download code for the game on the opposite system. So buy it once, and you can play it on both systems! That is a very nice little deal. You can even share levels between the two versions of the game, too (via Miiverse)!
At its heart, Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a simple puzzle game, and of course fun to play. You must guide your toy Mario’s to the goal. However, there are hazards along the way to protect them from, such as dangerously pointy spikes! As with previous entries in this series, you can create your own levels and play levels others have made. This is where a new wrinkle enters into the mix as well.
As you can see from the image above, you can earn stars now. Upon completing a stage, you will earn 1 to 3 stars depending on how well you did. The trophy on this screen will also have a different appearance (bronze, silver, or gold) based on how well you did. This mechanic of earning up to 3 stars is not new. It has appeared in other Nintendo titles such as the NES Remix games, or in the Mario Kart series (as the 3 highest ranks you can achieve).
So this leaves the all-important question. What are these stars for, and why is the game subtitled Tipping Stars? Are you going to be tipping some helpful Lumas along the way for their services? No, probably not! Are you going to tip something over with the weight of your massive collection of stars? That’s not very likely either! Instead, stars you earn can be used to unlock new parts to use in the level editor. Ah, but that is not quite all. There is an additional use for stars…
The image above shows the in-game shop, where you can use stars to buy new parts for the game’s stage editor. As mentioned a moment ago, there is one other thing you can do with stars. If you like a level someone made, you can tip them a few stars. This can help them make better levels by helping them to unlock new stage parts. The game’s subtitle makes a little more sense now, doesn’t it?
Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars will be available exclusively on the Nintendo eShop starting on March 5th. And remember, when you get one version of the game, you get a free download code for the other version, too!
