In this reimagining of the original Donkey Kong arcade game, Mario's quest to save Pauline doesn't end after just 4 stages - Donkey Kong gets right back up and kidnaps her again, leading to another 97 stages of platformer and puzzle action.

In every normal stage, Mario must find a key and take it to the door Donkey Kong escaped through in order to continue the chase. Every 4th stage is a battle against Donkey Kong - In most of these, you must simply reach Donkey Kong to clear the stage, but in the final level of every world, you must pick up the barrels or enemies Donkey Kong throws at you and throw them right back at him to make him run away.