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Dr. Mario (video game)
Encyclopedia
is an action puzzle game designed by Gunpei Yokoi and produced by Takahiro Harada. It was developed and published by Nintendo
for the Nintendo Entertainment System
and Game Boy
console
s 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 virus
es. 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. 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
.
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
, 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 level
s, 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.
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 score
d 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.
and Game & Watch
handheld systems, and produced by Takahiro Harada, who also acted as producer of the Metroid
series. The game's music, later re-used and arranged
in games such as Super Smash Bros. Brawl
, was composed by Hirokazu Tanaka
, who is now president of Creature Inc., a subsidiary of Nintendo owning one-third of the copyright over the Pokémon
franchise.
s Top 200 Games list, by ScrewAttack
as the seventh best Mario game of all time, and by IGN
as the 51st best NES game of all time. 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.
s that were released on various Nintendo consoles. The original version's multiplayer was ported to two Nintendo arcade systems in 1990: the Nintendo Vs. System (under the title Vs. Dr. Mario) and the PlayChoice-10
. 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), and then bundled with a version of the Puzzle League
series in 2005 under the title Dr. Mario & Puzzle League. 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. 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 . On June 1, 1998, it was re-released again in Japan as a downloadable game for Super Famicom Nintendo Power cartridge
s, then on the Game Boy's Nintendo Power service in 2000. On July 27, 2011, the Game Boy version was made available on the Nintendo 3DS
's Virtual Console
service for download.
, released in 2001 for the Nintendo 64
, features several game modes and was the first game in the series to feature a plot, with Wario
and several other characters from the Wario Land 3
game. Dr. Mario Online Rx
, released in 2008 for the Wii
, added the option to play online against other players using the DS Download Play system. The most recent title, Dr. Mario Express
, released in 2009 for the Nintendo DSi
does not support multiplayer gameplay.
in the 2001 game Super Smash Bros. Melee
, where he attacks by throwing capsules. The game's sequel, Super Smash Bros. Brawl
, also features the original version of Dr. Marios "Fever" background music theme and a version of the "Chill" theme arranged
by Masaaki Iwasaki, who composed exclusively for games released by Data East
up to 1999. A version of the game called Dr. Wario and replacing Mario's character with another Nintendo character, Wario
, was included as an unlockable minigame in the Game Boy Advance
game WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames!. 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," which is played by using the system's touch screen.
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
for the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
and Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
s and released in 1990 and 1991.
The game focuses on the player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
Mario
Mario
is a fictional character in his video game series, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
, who assumes the role of a doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and is tasked with eradicating deadly virus
Virus
A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...
es. 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
Level (video gaming)
A level, map, area, or world in a video game is the total space available to the player during the course of completing a discrete objective...
.
Dr. Mario received positive reception, appearing on several "Best Nintendo Games of All Time" lists. The game was both ported
Porting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
and remade for many Nintendo consoles, including a re-release in 2004 on the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
as part of the Classic NES Series
Classic NES Series
The Classic NES Series in North America are a series of Game Boy Advance games that were originally released on the Nintendo Entertainment System emulated on the Game Boy Advance...
.
Gameplay
In the falling block puzzle game Dr. Mario, the video game character MarioMario
is a fictional character in his video game series, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
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
Tetris
Tetris is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union. It was released on June 6, 1984, while he was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...
, 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 level
Level (video gaming)
A level, map, area, or world in a video game is the total space available to the player during the course of completing a discrete objective...
s, which is accomplished by eliminating all viruses from the playing field. A game over
Game over
Game Over is a message in video games which signals that the game has ended, often due to a negative outcome - although the phrase sometimes follows the end credits after successful completion of a game...
occurs if capsules fill up the playing field in a way that obstructs the bottle's narrow neck.
Players can select the degree of starting difficulty
Difficulty level
In general usage, difficulty level refers to the relative difficulty of completing a task or objective.In computer and video games, the term specifically delineates the ease or difficulty with which an average user may complete a game or a part of a game. Arcade games as well as many early console...
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 score
Score (game)
In games, score refers to an abstract quantity associated with a player or team. Score is usually measured in the abstract unit of points, and events in the game can raise or lower the score of different parties...
d 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.
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.Development
Dr. Mario was designed by Gunpei Yokoi, creator of the Game BoyGame Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
and Game & Watch
Game & Watch
is a line of handheld electronic games produced by Nintendo from to . Created by game designer Gunpei Yokoi, each Game & Watch features a single game to be played on an LCD screen in addition to a clock and an alarm ....
handheld systems, and produced by Takahiro Harada, who also acted as producer of the Metroid
Metroid
is an action-adventure video game, and the first entry in the Metroid series. It was co-developed by Nintendo's Research and Development 1 division and Intelligent Systems, and was released in Japan in August 1986, in North America in August 1987, and in Europe in January 1988...
series. The game's music, later re-used and arranged
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
in games such as Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBB or simply as Brawl, is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games, developed by an ad hoc development team consisting of Sora, Game Arts and staff from other developers, and published by...
, was composed by Hirokazu Tanaka
Hirokazu Tanaka
is a Japanese composer and musician, best known for his scores for various video games produced by Nintendo. He is also the current President of Creatures, Inc.-Video game soundtracks:*Radar Scope *Space Firebird...
, who is now president of Creature Inc., a subsidiary of Nintendo owning one-third of the copyright over the Pokémon
Pokémon
is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
franchise.
Reception and Legacy
While parents were critical of the premise due to its inclusion of medicine in a children's game, Dr. Mario received overall positive reviews. The game was rated the 134th best game released on a Nintendo system in Nintendo PowerNintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
s Top 200 Games list, by ScrewAttack
ScrewAttack
ScrewAttack . is a video game-related website that showcases original entertainment for an audience of video game enthusiasts. Its content is also shown on GameTrailers and IGN...
as the seventh best Mario game of all time, and by IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
as the 51st best NES game of all time. IGN also rated the game's soundtrack, which was composed by Hirokazu Tanaka
Hirokazu Tanaka
is a Japanese composer and musician, best known for his scores for various video games produced by Nintendo. He is also the current President of Creatures, Inc.-Video game soundtracks:*Radar Scope *Space Firebird...
, as seventh in its list of the top ten greatest 8-Bit
Chiptune
A chiptune, also known as chip music, is synthesized electronic music often produced with the sound chips of vintage computers and video game consoles, as well as with other methods such as emulation. In the early 1980s, personal computers became cheaper and more accessible than they had previously...
soundtracks.
Re-releases
Dr. Mario spawned a number of remakes and portPorting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
s that were released on various Nintendo consoles. The original version's multiplayer was ported to two Nintendo arcade systems in 1990: the Nintendo Vs. System (under the title Vs. Dr. Mario) and the PlayChoice-10
PlayChoice-10
PlayChoice-10 was an arcade machine which could consist of as many as 10 different games previously available only on the Nintendo Entertainment System home console...
. The NES version was ported twice to the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
, first in 2004 as one of the thirty games in the Classic NES Series
Classic NES Series
The Classic NES Series in North America are a series of Game Boy Advance games that were originally released on the Nintendo Entertainment System emulated on the Game Boy Advance...
(known as the Famicom Mini Series in Japan), and then bundled with a version of the Puzzle League
Puzzle League (series)
Puzzle League is a series of video games published by Nintendo for its various video game consoles. The series began with Panel de Pon in Japan and Tetris Attack in North America, and has since been adapted to many other consoles...
series in 2005 under the title Dr. Mario & Puzzle League. An enhanced remake of Dr. Mario was paired with Tetris
Tetris
Tetris is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union. It was released on June 6, 1984, while he was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...
on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
in the compilation game Tetris & Dr. Mario, released on December 30, 1994. This version of Dr. Mario was re-released in Japan on March 30, 1997 as a stand-alone title for the Satellaview
Satellaview
The is a satellite modem add-on for Nintendo's Super Famicom system that was released in Japan in 1995. Available for pre-release orders as early as February 13, 1995, the Satellaview retailed for between ¥14,000 and 18,000 and came bundled with the BS-X Game Pak and an 8M Memory Pak.The...
, an add-on for the Super Famicom, under the name . On June 1, 1998, it was re-released again in Japan as a downloadable game for Super Famicom Nintendo Power cartridge
Nintendo Power (cartridge)
The flash RAM cartridge was a Japan-only peripheral produced by Nintendo for the Super Famicom and the Game Boy, which allowed owners to download Super Famicom/Game Boy games onto a special flash memory cartridge for less than what the full cartridge would have cost.During the days of the Family...
s, then on the Game Boy's Nintendo Power service in 2000. On July 27, 2011, the Game Boy version was made available on the Nintendo 3DS
Nintendo 3DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo. The autostereoscopic device is able to project stereoscopic 3D effects without the use of 3D glasses or any additional accessories. The Nintendo 3DS features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS series software, including Nintendo DSi software...
's Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
service for download.
Sequels
After the commercial success of this game, Nintendo released several follow-up titles of the Dr. Mario series. Dr. Mario 64Dr. Mario 64
Dr. Mario 64 is a puzzle game based on the original Dr. Mario. It was developed and published by Nintendo, released for the Nintendo 64 in 2001, and is an enhanced remake of the original Dr. Mario, which was released for the NES and Game Boy in 1990.Originally, it was released only in North America...
, released in 2001 for the Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
, features several game modes and was the first game in the series to feature a plot, with Wario
Wario
is a fictional character in Nintendo's Mario series. The character was designed as another antagonist to Mario , and first appeared in the 1992 Game Boy title Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins as the main antagonist and final boss...
and several other characters from the Wario Land 3
Wario Land 3
Wario Land 3 garnered tremendous critical acclaim upon release. GameSpot granted the game a score of 9.8/10 and stated, "As far as platformers go, Wario Land 3 is a game that fires on all cylinders." IGN gave it an outstanding rating of 9.0/10...
game. Dr. Mario Online Rx
Dr. Mario Online Rx
Dr. Mario Online Rx, released as in Japan and as Dr. Mario & Germ Buster in Europe and Australia, is a puzzle video game starring Dr. Mario. It was one of the WiiWare launch games in Japan, Europe, and Australia, and was released on March 25, 2008 and May 20, 2008 . It was released in North...
, released in 2008 for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
, added the option to play online against other players using the DS Download Play system. The most recent title, Dr. Mario Express
Dr. Mario Express
Dr. Mario Express, known in Japan and PAL regions as , is a puzzle video game developed by Arika and published by Nintendo exclusively for DSiWare on the Nintendo DSi platform. The game was first released as a launch title for the DSiWare service in Japan on December 24, 2008, and was released in...
, released in 2009 for the Nintendo DSi
Nintendo DSi
The is a handheld game system created by Nintendo and launched in 2008 and 2009 in Japan, North America, PAL territories, and other regions. It is the third iteration of the Nintendo DS, and its primary market rival is Sony's PlayStation Portable...
does not support multiplayer gameplay.
Legacy
The character of Dr. Mario appears as a secret fighterSecret character
A secret character can be a player character or a non-player character in a video game that must be unlocked by completing a goal within the game...
in the 2001 game Super Smash Bros. Melee
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Super Smash Bros. Melee, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBM or simply as Melee, is a crossover fighting game released for the Nintendo GameCube shortly after its launch in . It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 game Super Smash Bros., and the predecessor to the Wii game Super Smash...
, where he attacks by throwing capsules. The game's sequel, Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBB or simply as Brawl, is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games, developed by an ad hoc development team consisting of Sora, Game Arts and staff from other developers, and published by...
, also features the original version of Dr. Marios "Fever" background music theme and a version of the "Chill" theme arranged
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
by Masaaki Iwasaki, who composed exclusively for games released by Data East
Data East
also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game developer and publisher. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, when it declared bankruptcy...
up to 1999. A version of the game called Dr. Wario and replacing Mario's character with another Nintendo character, Wario
Wario
is a fictional character in Nintendo's Mario series. The character was designed as another antagonist to Mario , and first appeared in the 1992 Game Boy title Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins as the main antagonist and final boss...
, was included as an unlockable minigame in the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
game WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames!. A simplified version of Dr. Mario appears in the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
game Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day! as a minigame
Minigame
A minigame is a short video game often contained within another video game. A minigame is always smaller or more simplistic than the game in which it is contained. Minigames are sometimes also offered separately for free to promote the main game...
called "Virus Buster," which is played by using the system's touch screen.