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A somewhat derivative puzzle game that came in the wake of the immortal Tetris, Dr. Mario somehow still remains an entertaining and addictive game in its own right.


Overview

Dr. Mario (Dokuta Mario in Japan) is a puzzle game developed by Nintendo R&D1 and published by Nintendo. The game was originally released on the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy in 1990. It has since seen many sequels and remakes, such as Dr. Mario & Puzzle League on the Game Boy Advance and Dr. Mario Online RX on WiiWare. The music to the game was composed by Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka.

According to the Instruction Booklet, Mario is now working as a doctor in the virus research lab at the Mushroom Kingdom Hospital. As usual, Dr. Mario is about to begin his research when Nurse Toadstool informs him that several viruses are out of control and spreading quickly. Mario exclaims "Oh No! We've got to do something! I have just developed a new vitamin that should be able to take care of it. I sure hope this stuff works!"

Gameplay



Gameplay in Dr. Mario
Gameplay in Dr. Mario

Dr. Mario is a puzzle game that is very similar to Tetris. Dr. Mario stars Mario as a doctor. In the gameplay, a vitamin capsule is dropped and must be rotated to remove various viruses found in the playing field. These vitamins are colored one of three colors on each side (red, yellow, or blue). The colored vitamin must be matched with the corresponding virus the same color, and after stacking up four of the same color, the virus is eliminated. After destroying all viruses on the playing field, the player progresses to the next level.

The player can select between 21 different levels (0-20), and players who can clear past level 20 can make it all the way to level 40. Each level has a different amount of viruses, and in level 40 there are 84. No more than 84 can fit, making each level after 40 have 84 viruses as well. The player can also select the background music, either Fever or Chill. The speed can also be selected: low, medium, or high.