The game, at one point during development, was known under the title of Virus. By the time it was released, Nintendo's mascot Mario was a doctor throwing the pills into the jar of a mix of three different colored cartoon-styled viruses.
The viruses are eradicated by two-colored pills. Four of the same color, either through pills or a combination of pills and one or more viruses, causes the color line to disappear Tetris-style. Any remaining pills then drop down to the viruses below.
The control is satisfyingly simple, making this a true pick-up-and-play experience. The Nintendo Entertainment System controller is utilized perfectly for this. Pills can be moved right and left with the gamepad. Like Tetris, pressing the down button on the four-way gamepad causes the pill to drop faster. Both the A and B buttons are used to rotate the pills. The A button will rotate the pills to the left whereas the B button rotates them to the right.
There are three speeds available, low, medium, and high, or low, med, and hi as displayed in-game. Levels can be chosen, with more viruses being added as the levels progress up to level 20, which has 84 viruses. After a cutscene, the game continues past level 20 however the virus count stays at 84.
Speaking of cutscenes, with the exception of lo-mode with a cutscene that appears only after level 20, they pop up after 5 levels. They consist of objects flying over a tree that contains the three colors of viruses on top. These objects are all somehow satisfyingly weird, ranging from a chicken to a flapping book. The ending cutscene, with the final fate of the viruses, is only shown after level 20 on hi-mode.
The music was created by the chiptune pioneer, Hirokazu Tanaka. The title screen, menu, and cutscenes each contain a different tune. They are quite enjoyable in their own right, however, the tunes that are heard the most are the stage music. There are two to choose from through the menu. Chill is a slower tune, and fever is the quicker of the two. Satisfyingly, these are the most catchy tunes in the game, especially fever. That tune gets stuck in my head occasionally even 30-some-years after I first heard it.
Dr. Mario is a fantastic puzzle game. The two-colored pill formula as well as the controls are easy to understand, making it a true pick-up-and-play type of game. The music is fantastic and extremely memorable. The graphics are fun, especially the wacky cartoon-styled viruses. Dr. Mario is a highly recommended game, especially to falling-block puzzle fans. It is a true classic.
Final Verdict:
5 out of 5
No comments:
Post a Comment