I remember receiving a Game Boy Color in my youth and felt uninspiring with it and being too busy enjoying my Nintendo 64 anyway, then I realized that few years later that was because they were shovelware plus Pokemon.
Thanks to the Nintendo eShop, I can finally experience what I was missing with the original Game Boy and my first purchase was Donkey Kong '94. Once I accidentally letting Mario to perform a back flip, it was my most astonishing viewing experience and I can’t believe that It take me this long to notice that the little device is more than just a Pokemon system.

Mario’s athletic abilities are what really stand out from Donkey Kong ’94. He doesn’t need a 64 bit posture to obtain the moves such as handstand, high jump, and spinning on a rope. I’m not the only one who is fascinate by his skills, there’s a theatrical presentation with live audience witnessing Mario’s acrobatics during the game’s title screen. Even The game demonstrates the fascination with cutscene interludes that show specific ability that will be helpful to progress further. Since this is a Virtual Console game after all, it will be even more helpful by selecting Manual on the home screen and learn to do a back flip a head of time.

The story is identical to the first Donkey Kong game on the arcade. Donkey Kong kidnaps Pauline and Mario must save her from his banana stinky breath. After a sense of déjà vu of completing the first four stages, Donkey Kong isn’t giving up without a fight and kidnaps Pauline again while Mario pursuit towards more complex stages which features building bridges and using enemies as accessible platforms. In order to complete these complex stages, Mario must obtain a key that will open a lock door that leads to the next stage. Once Mario obtains the key however, he can no longer perform his athletic abilities. Unless throwing the obtain key, a normal jump is the only Mario ability in which transforms a stage from an acrobatic playground into a delicate platformer. The Donkey Kong segments are more tradition to the original arcade than the stages.

Obtaining the Key, any other held object,acts as a Super Mushroom. Receiving a hit from an enemy or a projectile will stun Mario and let go of the key and he must quickly obtain it back before it vanishes and must go back to obtain the key again. Unfortunately, this tactic won’t work when falling from a deadly height as Mario instantly let’s go of it and then lands head first. The key also acts as a weapon to toss at enemies.

Mario won’t know what type of stage he's in unless he listens to the catchy tunes. From brain teasing levels to aggressive platforming, these stages can be determine by music. The fade background lets you know what world Mario is currently in and while in detail, they’re no match for the richness of the level design.

Donkey Kong ’94 is an excellent game that proves that handheld experiences will obtain the same fun, challenge, and rewarding accomplishment as a console game. Mario’s athletic abilities will hook you in from the beginning and will slowly departure the sense of freedom as Mario progress further to a real meat of the game. Take a bow Mario.

9/10 - Sometimes there's a flaw in the hit detection but other then that this is a must buy.

9- Awesome This game has little in the way of flaws, and is a highly enjoyable experience.

Head to the Nintendo eShop for screenshots and video.