Dr. Mario is a pretty fun puzzle game where you use vitamins to destroy viruses. It uses similar rules to Tetris 2, but it does the formula much better. I guess this could be considered a falling block game, but I’m not entirely sure.
It is a fun little puzzle game where you have to match your colored pills with the viruses. Once you line up four of the same color, that line disappears. Like Tetris, this is one of the games I remember playing at someone’s house. I don’t remember renting it, though.
This game was released on a bunch of platforms. When I looked up some information on this, I wasn’t expecting to see an arcade version of the game. Dr. Mario was released in 1990, which was around the time that Nintendo abandoned the arcades. It is one of those fun little things that isn’t totally relevant, but is fun to know.
It has been a little while since I’ve played this game. I thought I had already reviewed it on the NES, but I got it confused with the Game Boy version. Anyway, let’s get into the game and see what it has to offer.
TLDR: A fun puzzle game that lacks the content that would make it amazing.
Narrative
Nintendo gave Dr. Mario a little story. After playing a bunch of sports games recently, I’m so glad that there is a story here! Back in 1990, I didn’t really question why Mario was suddenly a doctor, and I can only imagine that I was in good company.
So, Mario is a doctor now, and he has a job at the Mushroom Kingdom Hospital. He’s a researcher working on viruses. Which means the bar is pretty low for scientific research in the Mushroom Kingdom. I mean, if you look at the manual (Link), you’ll see that Princess Peach is a nurse. I’m glad that she took the time to get her degree.
Granted, she’s listed as Nurse Toadstool, so maybe it’s her body double. I’m thinking about this way too much. Well, one of their experiments went sideways, and now Mario needs to stop the spread of these viruses with vitamins. Sure, why not?
I’m glad that there is a story. It isn’t necessary for a game like this, but it is fun that it’s there. Nintendo did a good job with explaining what is going on, even if this is a paper-thin plot.
Gameplay
Dr. Mario is a fun take on the match-three and match-four genre of puzzle game. It didn’t push any boundaries when it comes to the gameplay, but Nintendo did a solid job of putting a theme in this game. Everything fits together quite well.
Much like Tetris, the game speeds up as it goes on. You can also select what level you want to start at. This acts like a difficulty setting, even though there isn’t really one in the game.
This is a match-four game. You need to get four pieces of the same color to score points. This can be any combination of pills and viruses, as long as they share a color. Each pill has two parts, and they can be two different colors.
To advance to the next level, you have to eliminate all the viruses. It is fairly easy at the beginning, but gets harder as the game goes on. The reason for this is that the game speeds up with each level. Most puzzle games do this, and it usually works quite well.
If you were tired of playing Tetris, then this would’ve been a fun option. It helps that Mario is attached to it, which gave it some name recognition back in the day. Nintendo did this a lot, and it probably helped some mostly forgettable games garner a little attention.
Visuals
The graphics are good for what they are. Dr. Mario relies on colors, and they’re easy to see. This isn’t a graphically impressive game, which isn’t a real problem for a game like this. You just need to be able to see the different colors.
There isn’t too much to this game from a visual standpoint. The playfield is a little small when you look at the whole screen. It is in the center, and the bottle shape of things fits the overall theme of the game.
Because everything is color-coded, it is easy to see what you have to do. The only drawback is if someone is color blind. I seriously doubt that Nintendo was thinking about that when they made this game. I don’t have this problem, but you can always play the Game Boy version of the game.
The best thing I can say about the graphics is that they don’t interfere with the gameplay. I like how bright and colorful this is, and it is easy to see what you have to do. Even when the game speeds up, it still looks good. Nintendo does a good job of working Mario into the game by having him shown in each level.
7.5/10. This is a solid puzzle game. While I like Dr. Mario, I don’t think it is as good as some of the other Puzzle games. It has good gameplay and graphics, but lacks some of the features that elevate other games in the genre.
Pros
- Fun Gameplay
- Nice Graphics
- Pick Up and Play
Cons
- Lack of Game Modes
- No Story Mode
- Can get boring
Conclusion
I want to say that my friend Joey rented this once, and we didn’t play it for long. It was one of those games that felt like a dud of a rental, or simply something that we forgot about. Most of the time, we were playing World Class Track Meet because his family bought the version of the NES that had the triple cart.
Instead of the Mario/Duck Hunt cartridge, this one had the Mario/Duck Hunt/World Class Track Meet. It also came with the Zapper and the Power Pad. Joey was the only person I knew who had the Power Pad, and I don’t think he had any other games for it.
Anyway, I’m pretty sure that he rented Dr. Mario. The game left enough of an impression on me that I bought it in the early 2000s. No idea when, but I did buy the game. After messing around with it, I put it on a shelf and forgot about it.
There are other puzzle games that took this formula and made it their own. Even Nintendo did this with Wario’s Woods. Given the choice between the two games, I would pick Wario’s Woods. There just isn’t enough there when it comes to Dr. Mario.
If you like this post, check out some of my others. Such as NFL Blitz 2000 or NBA Hoopz.