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 Even as Nintendo was busy securing the
rights to release Tetris on the NES you can bet that they were preparing
at least one Tetris clone in-house so that they could make even more
money off of Tetris. Of course
when Tetris became a smash hit on the NES, Nintendo released at least
four Tetris knockoffs not counting the many knockoffs released by third-party
companies. By far the most popular
and successful of the many Tetris clones was the first one released – Dr.
Mario.
Dr. Mario came out in October
1990 a little less than a year after Nintendo released their own version
of Tetris. It was heavily hyped in
Nintendo Power and has remained one of the more popular games released
for the NES, surpassing even Tetris according to many people. Like Tetris, the game features pieces
that fall from the sky and if your screen ever fills up your game
ends. In Dr. Mario, though, the
pieces that fall are medicine tablets that can be red, yellow or
blue. The medicine tablets are
used to defeat viruses that are present on the screen if you place three
pills of the same color on top or on the side of a virus, it will destroy
the virus. Once all the viruses
are destroyed, you move on to the next stage. If your pills ever reach outside of the
jar (your screen) then it is game over.
Like Tetris, Dr. Mario is a
relatively simple concept that can be very addictive. What really made Dr. Mario popular was
the fact that there was a competitive two-player option that was sorely
lacking from Nintendo’s Tetris. In
Dr. Mario you can choose the amount of viruses you want on the screen and
the speed you want the pills to fall at.
This is great in two-player because if you are playing someone who
is at a different level than you, you can always handicap the match so it
is even. This great concept is so
much better than even Tengen’s lame two-player version of Tetris. That is why I consider Dr. Mario to be
the best two-player Tetris style game, while Nintendo’s Tetris holds the
crown for being the best one-player version.
In all fairness though, some
agents don’t like the two-player mode.
The catch in that mode is when you complete to viruses or more at
the same time you punish your opponent by slowly dropping random pills on
to their screen. You can’t speed
them up so you lose valuable time and they also could screw up your
plans. I think this is a fun mode
though because the game’s momentum can change at any time if you get on a
roll.
Dr. Mario remained popular on the
Nintendo Power Top 30 Poll all the way until the end. It charted on 45 issues and was the 8th
most successful game of the NES era.
Like so many other NES classics, it never did pass up Super Mario
Bros. 3 to claim the top spot.
Positives:
Dr. Mario has a lot going for
it. It has addictive gameplay,
great controls and a fun two-player mode.
The game was developed by Nintendo and features Mario so you know
that it is going to be a high quality release. You can choose from 20 different levels
to start at, which affect how many viruses fill up the screen. At Level 20 virtually the entire screen
is full of viruses. You also get
three speeds to play at. This
gives the game a lot of lasting power since you get a bunch of different
options. Any high quality Tetris
clone is going to be a fun game since the basic premise is great and this
one is no exception.
Glaring
Negatives:
Well, the game certainly isn’t
unique. Why play this game when
you could just play Tetris?
Although you are offered a lot of levels to choose from, you aren’t
offered a second game mode like in Tetris. Some agents don’t really like the
two-player mode. They feel that
the punishment of receiving random pills that drop slowly down the screen
is too harsh because you just have to sit there and wait for them to drop
and a good player will just continue to make doubles on their side and thus
continuing the cycle. Personally,
I like this punishment because it can change the tide of the game at any
time if someone gets on a roll. Of
course it is very harsh if you aren’t good and you are playing someone
who is really good.
Graphics
and Sound: Good
The graphics are very clear but nothing
special since there isn’t much of a need for graphics. The sound is solid, you can choose from
a couple different tunes if you are so inclined. The colors are nice and bright and if
you notice some of the viruses do funny things on the side of the  screen.
Gameplay
and Controls: Very Good
Dr. Mario’s controls are superb. Of course, since it is a puzzle game if
the controls weren’t good then the game would be terrible.
Features:
2-player mode
Other than a two-player mode
there really isn’t much to this game.
You do receive a fun little screen featuring viruses sitting
serenely in a tree after every five levels you beat. If you are patient, you will notice a
different object fly across the screen each time.
Fun?:
Yes
This game is pretty fun in the
one-player mode but doesn’t have the same lasting appeal as Tetris. The two-player mode never gets old,
though.
Challenge:
On Level 20
Once you get up there in levels,
the game can be very challenging to beat.
It even goes all the way to 24 but after that it just repeats 24
over and over. Good luck on those
final levels.
Replay:
Yes
That is the whole point of Tetris
knockoffs. Just when you think you’ve
had enough you get pulled back in for another hour.
2
Player: Yes
This game is fun one-player but
is awesome because of its great two-player mode.
Online
Manual?: Yes at Nintendo Age
http://www.nintendoage.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=Element.View&egID=700&lgID=307
Bottom
Line: For anyone except Tetris Haters.
Dr. Mario is not quite as good as
Tetris but its two-player mode is my personal favorite of all of the Tetris
clones on the NES. You can really
adjust the levels for two players of different talent levels to make any
match even. This is a must buy if
you are a fan of Tetris but not necessary if you don’t enjoy those kinds
of games.
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