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The Dr. Mario series is a sub-series of puzzle-themed games by Nintendo featuring the character himself named Dr. Mario using Megavitamins to clear viruses. It plays similar to Tetris, though with the goal to match 4 of the same colored pieces with one of the pieces being a virus.

Games[]

Dr. Mario[]

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Dr. Mario was the first game in the Dr. Mario series; it was released for the NES and for the Game Boy in 1990. The game brought the basic concept of the series to the players' attention immediately, as they would start the game off having to reorganize falling Megavitamins in order to eradicate viruses from the screen. Once all viruses has been eliminated, the player would move on to the next level. As the game progressed, each level rose in difficulty, providing more viruses for the player to eliminate and less space to maneuver the Megavitamins in. Dr. Mario was ported and remade many times after its original release.

VS. Dr. Mario[]

Dr. Mario was later released on the VS. System under the title VS. Dr. Mario. This edition of the game eliminated the Slow Mode of the game; it also made racking up points more difficult. In the original Dr. Mario, the points received for eliminating a virus would double with each one that disappeared; in this version of the game, only an additional 200 points would be rewarded for each virus that was eliminated.

Dr. Mario (game watch)[]

Dr. Mario is a version of the original game of the same name adapted into an LCD game built into a Game Boy-shaped wristwatch. It was manufactured by Mani and licensed by Nintendo in 1992.[1]

Dr. Mario 64[]

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Dr. Mario 64 is the third installment in the Dr. Mario series; as its title suggests, it was released on the Nintendo 64 in 2001. The concept from the original Dr. Mario had continued in this installment, with the only major change being a graphics update. The player still had to reorganize Megavitamins in their respective color pattern in order to eliminate viruses. This game also featured a Story Mode. In this mode, Wario is introduced to the series. Dr. Mario and Wario must retrieve the Megavitamins that had been stolen. However, all the battles were against the computer.

Dr. Mario Online Rx[]

Dr. Mario Online Rx (known in Europe and Australia as Dr. Mario & Germ Buster) is a game specially made for WiiWare, released in 2008. It had no story mode, unlike Dr. Mario 64, but the player can play with others online via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. It's also possible for the player to play as their own Mii. It actually contains two games: the original Dr. Mario, and Germ Buster (known in NTSC regions as Virus Buster), a game originally from Brain Age 2 (known in Europe as More Brain Training of Dr. Kawashima). Germ Buster is a special game that uses the motion control of the Wii Remote, to move the Megavitamins to the Viruses. Germ Buster includes a Co-op mode in the main game self, so, if there is any other Wii Remote on, the player of that Wii Remote can play too, to help the first one. In Germ Buster the player can press on Miis too (while playing) to let then say something in a text bubble. Pressing on Viruses outside the bottle (again while playing), they'll laugh happily to the player. Players can also send demo versions of Dr. Mario Online Rx to friends, but WiiConnect24 is needed. Also, in the Demo version, the player can only play online with another friend.

Dr. Mario Express[]

Dr Mario Express (DSiWare)

Dr. Mario Express (known in Europe and Australia as A Little Bit of... Dr. Mario) released on DSiWare in 2009, features gameplay that is very similar to Dr. Mario Online Rx, but the Virus Blaster minigame is not included and there is also no multiplayer feature. This was the first Mario DSiWare game.

Dr. Luigi[]

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Dr. Luigi is the sixth game in the series released on Nintendo eShop on Wii U, in celebration of the Year of Luigi As the title suggests, the game features Luigi instead of Mario. Additionally, the game introduces a new mode, called Operation L, in which the player must eliminate viruses using L-shaped pairs of megavitamins.

Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure[]

Dr Mario Miracle Cure

Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure is a game in the series for Nintendo 3DS, released exclusively on Nintendo eShop in 2015. It features a new item called "Miracle Cure" that has a random helpful effect on the playing field.

Dr. Mario World[]

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Dr. Mario World is a game in the series for mobile devices. It was initially released on July 9, 2019, and features several doctors with different abilities.

References in other media[]

Super Smash Bros.[]

The series includes the character, as a part of the roster in Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Melee also included a synthesized version of the Fever theme that alternatively played on Mushroom Kingdom and Mushroom Kingdom II. This song returned on PictoChat in Brawl and the 3DS version. Brawl also had a metal version of Chill played on Flat Zone 2. Both these songs returned in the Wii U version on the Flat Zone X. The Wii U version also has a new remix of Chill that plays on 75m.

Brawl also had stickers of Dr. Mario, a Capsule, and all three Viruses. They are listed under Nintendo Puzzle Collection.

WarioWare[]

In WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!, there is an unlockable minigame called Dr. Wario. This is a modified rendition of Dr. Mario for the NES.

Brain Age[]

Brain Age 2 includes a minigame called Virus Buster which is essentially a touch-based simpler version of Dr. Mario. This mode was later integrated into future versions of Dr. Mario.

References[]

  1. The Dr. Mario Watch. Game Watch Guys. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
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