Dr. Mario (video game)

Dr. Mario
Developer(s)	Nintendo R&D1
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Producer(s)	Takahiro Harada[1]
Designer(s)	Gunpei Yokoi[2]
Composer(s)	Hirokazu Tanaka[3]
Platform(s)	NES, Game Boy, Satellaview, Super Famicom (Nintendo Power), Game Boy (Nintendo Power), Game Boy Advance, Virtual Console (Nintendo 3DS)
Release date(s)	July 27, 1990 NES[4] JP July 27, 1990 NA October, 1990 PAL June 27, 1991 Game Boy[5] JP July 27, 1990 NA December, 1990 EU April 20, 1991 Satellaview[6] JP March 30, 1997 SFC Nintendo Power[7] JP June 1, 1998 GB Nintendo Power[8] JP March 1, 2000 GBA (Classic NES Series)[9] JP May 21, 2004 NA October 25, 2004 EU January 7, 2005 3DS Virtual Console[10] JP July 27, 2011
Genre(s)	Puzzle
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: E [11]

Dr. Mario (ドクターマリオ, Dokutā Mario^?) is an action puzzle game designed by Gunpei Yokoi and produced by Takahiro Harada.^[1][2] It was developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy consoles and released in 1990 and 1991.

The game focuses on the player character Mario, who assumes the role of a doctor and is tasked with eradicating deadly viruses.^[12] As a falling block game, the player is tasked with destroying the viruses populating the on-screen playing field with the use of colored capsules that are dropped into the field. The player manipulates the capsules as they fall so that they are aligned with viruses of matching colors, which removes them from play. The player progresses through the game by eliminating all the viruses on the screen in each level.

Dr. Mario received positive reception, appearing on several "Best Nintendo Games of All Time" lists.^[13][14][15] The game was both ported and remade for many Nintendo consoles, including a re-release in 2004 on the Game Boy Advance as part of the Classic NES Series.^[9]

Gameplay

Dr. Mario focuses on eliminating the viruses in the playing field by aligning them with capsules of matching color.

In the falling block puzzle game Dr. Mario, the video game character Mario plays the role of a doctor dropping two-colored medical capsules in a medicine bottle representing the playing field. This area populated by viruses of three colors (red, yellow, and blue). In a manner considered similar to Tetris,^[16] the player manipulates each capsule as it falls, moving it left or right and rotating it such that it is positioned alongside the viruses and any existing capsules. Objects are removed from the playing field when four or more objects of matching color are aligned in vertical or horizontal configurations. The main objective is to complete levels, which is accomplished by eliminating all viruses from the playing field. A game over occurs if capsules fill up the playing field in a way that obstructs the bottle's narrow neck.^[12]

Players can select the degree of starting difficulty any time a new game is started. The initial level chosen determines the number of viruses to clear, and the game speed option changes how fast the capsules fall in the bottle. The player is scored based solely on the elimination of viruses, not on the time taken to complete the level or the number of capsules used. Additonal points are awarded when multiple viruses are eliminated at once, but no additional points are awarded for initiating chain reactions, in which the elimination of one set of objects triggers the elimination of another set. The game speed is also a factor in how the game calculates scoring; higher speed levels award more points.^[12]

Multiplayer

Dr. Mario offers a competitive multiplayer mode in which two players play in separate play fields. The players compete to clear his own play field of viruses before the other does. Eliminating multiple viruses or initiating chain reactions can cause additional capsules to fall into the opponent's playing field. A player wins a single game upon eliminating all the viruses or if the other playing field fills up. The first player to win three games wins overall.^[12]

Development

Reception

While parents were critical of the premise due to its inclusion of medicine in a children's game,^[17] Dr. Mario received overall positive reviews. The game was rated the 134^th best game released on a Nintendo system in Nintendo Power's Top 200 Games list,^[13] by ScrewAttack as the seventh best Mario game of all time,^[14] and by IGN as the 51^st best NES game of all time.^[15] IGN also rated the game's soundtrack, which was composed by Hirokazu Tanaka, as seventh in its list of the top ten greatest 8-Bit soundtracks.^[18]

Legacy

Dr. Mario spawned a number of remakes and ports that were released on various Nintendo consoles. The NES version was ported twice to the Game Boy Advance, first in 2004 as one of the thirty games in the Classic NES Series (known as the Famicom Mini Series in Japan),^[19] and then bundled with a version of the Puzzle League series in 2005 under the title Dr. Mario & Puzzle League.^[20] An enhanced remake of Dr. Mario was paired with Tetris on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in the compilation game Tetris & Dr. Mario, released on December 30, 1994.^[21] This version of Dr. Mario was re-released in Japan on March 30, 1997 as a stand-alone title for the Satellaview, an add-on for the Super Famicom, under the name Dr. Mario BS Version (Ｄｒ．マリオＢＳ版^?).^[6] On June 1, 1998, it was re-released again in Japan as a downloadable game for Super Famicom Nintendo Power cartridges, then on the Game Boy's Nintendo Power service in 2000.^[8] On July 27, 2011, the Game Boy version was made available on the Nintendo 3DS's Virtual Console service for download.^[10] After the commercial success of this game, further titles of the Dr. Mario series were released on the Nintendo 64, Wii and Nintendo DSi consoles.

The character of Dr. Mario appears as a secret fighter in the 2001 game Super Smash Bros. Melee, where he attacks by throwing capsules.^[22] The game and its sequel also feature arranged versions of Dr. Mario's "Fever" and "Chill" background music themes.^[23] A simplified version of Dr. Mario appears in the Nintendo DS game Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day! as a minigame called "Virus Buster,"^[24] which is played by using the system's touch screen.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Producer Takahiro Harada on Wario Land: Shake It!". GameSpy. 20 November, 2008. http://wii.gamespy.com/wii/wario-land-shake/932035p2.html. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "You're Pretty Negative!". Shigesato Itoi Asks in Place of Iwata: Super Mario Bros. 25th Anniversary. Nintendo of America, Inc.. 24 September 2010. http://us.wii.com/iwata_asks/mario25th/vol1_page2.jsp. Retrieved 25 September 2010. 
3. ^ Masahiro Sakurai (22 May 2007). "The Musicians". Smash Bros. Dojo!!. Nintendo of America, Inc.. http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/music/music01.html. Retrieved 25 September 2010. 
4. ^ "Dr. Mario". TMK. http://themushroomkingdom.net/games/drm-nes. Retrieved 13 November 2011. 
5. ^ "Dr. Mario Releases". GiantBomb. http://www.giantbomb.com/dr-mario/61-17641/releases/?r=93437. Retrieved 13 November 2011. 
6. ^ ^{a b} "BS Dr. Mario". TMK. http://themushroomkingdom.net/games/drm-bsx. Retrieved 13 November 2011. 
7. ^ "Dr. Mario (Japanese)". AllGame. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=29845&tab=screen. Retrieved 13 November 2011. 
8. ^ ^{a b} "Nintendo Power". NinDB. http://www.nindb.net/system/nintendo-power.html. Retrieved 13 November 2011. 
9. ^ ^{a b} "Dr. Mario (Classic NES Series)". IGN. http://gameboy.ign.com/objects/676/676648.html. Retrieved 6 November 2011. 
10. ^ ^{a b} "Dr. Mario (3DS Virtual Console / Game Boy)". NintendoLife. http://3dsvc.nintendolife.com/games/gameboy/dr_mario. Retrieved 6 November 2011. 
11. ^ "ESRB ratings". ESRB.org. http://www.esrb.org/ratings/search.jsp?titleOrPublisher=dr+mario&rating=&ratingsCriteria=&platforms=&platformsCriteria=Game+Boy%2CNintendo&searchVersion=compact&content=&searchType=title&contentCriteria=&newSearch.x=0&newSearch.y=0. Retrieved 13 October 2011. 
12. ^ ^{a b c d} Dr. Mario Instruction Booklet. Nintendo. 1990. NES-VU-USA. 
13. ^ ^{a b} "NP Top 200". Nintendo Power 200: pp. 58–66. February 2006. 
14. ^ ^{a b} Gametrailers.com - ScrewAttack - Top Ten Mario Games
15. ^ ^{a b} "51. Dr. Mario". Top 100 Best NES Games of All Time. IGN. http://www.ign.com/top-100-nes-games/51.html. Retrieved 10 October 2011. 
16. ^ "Describing how the game works is best done by taking Tetris, adding Connect 4 and throwing in Dominoes." (Dillon, Tony (November 1990). "Dr Mario". ACE (38): p. 91. )
17. ^ Slaven, Andy. "Video Game Bible, 1985-2002". p. 102. http://books.google.com/books?id=PnPRd6QwvbQC. Retrieved 10 October 2011. 
18. ^ "Top Ten Tuesday: Best 8-Bit Soundtracks". IGN. 8 August 2007. p. 1. http://games.ign.com/articles/811/811667p1.html. 
19. ^ Harris, Craig (16 April 2004). "Famicom Mini Series 2". IGN. http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/507/507113p1.html. Retrieved 10 October 2011. 
20. ^ Burner, Rice (5 December 2005). "Dr. Mario & Puzzle League". GamePro. http://www.gamepro.com/article/reviews/50335/dr-mario-puzzle-league/. 
21. ^ "Tetris & Dr. Mario". IGN. http://cheats.ign.com/objects/012/012479.html. Retrieved 13 November 2011. 
22. ^ "Super Smash Bros. Melee Guide & Walkthrough - GameCube - IGN". IGN. p. 4. http://guides.ign.com/guides/16387/page_4.html. Retrieved 10 October 2011. 
23. ^ Sakurai, Masahiro (April 3, 2008). "Full Song List with Secret Songs". Smash Bros. DOJO!!. Nintendo. http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/music/music24_list.html. 
24. ^ McWherter, Michael (2007 May 25). "Brain Age 2 Impressions". Kotaku. http://kotaku.com/263388/brain-age-2-impressions. 

External links

• Dr. Mario at MobyGames
• Dr. Mario at NinDB
• U.S. Patent 5,265,888, which covers the game