65%NES

After the falling block puzzle game was popularized by Tetris in the mid-80s, it seemed like everyone was trying their hand at their own version of a simple yet addictive puzzle game. This would include, of course, Nintendo, the developers of the Nintendo Entertainment System, essentially the de facto home console at the time, especially in North America. While the company was the publisher of Tetris at the time, its massive success on home consoles, PCs, and in arcades showed that there was certainly a market for more games like it. This era was no stranger to knock-off titles and cheap imitators, though, and if Nintendo wanted to get the public's attention, it would take the star power of their most well-known mascot. The fruit of that labor was 1990's Dr. Mario, a puzzle game in which the titular character matched different color pills with viruses to eliminate them. And while it would have been easy for Nintendo to solely rely on the mustachioed hero's likeness to move copies, Dr. Mario, impressively, mostly succeeds on its own merits.

As with many puzzle games, the core appeal of Dr. Mario is its easy-to-learn, harder-to-master gameplay loop. Each stage generates a certain amount of viruses, which must be cleared by connecting them to matching colored pills, which fall from the top of the screen. The first few levels serve mostly as a type of tutorial, so that by the time the game gets challenging, you have a full familiarity with the admittedly limited mechanics. A game like this isn't really going for depth, though; it's the classic match-3 (or, rather, 4) gameplay that so many enjoy. Its challenge comes from the large number of viruses placed at once and the fact that during the later levels, many of them are placed towards the top of the screen. Clearing these in tight spaces can be tricky, and it's really satisfying to make split-second adjustments and plans in order to make sure every pill falls into place. But even when the top layers are cleared, there's still some challenge that remains; the speed at which pills drop will increase over time, so unless you're moving quickly, you could end up with another highly stacked pile, this time of pills instead of viruses. Dr. Mario encourages strategy and planning, but it also encourages you to not act carelessly—a balance that all good puzzle games have.

The best parts of the game are when you feel like you're being tested fairly, like there's a solution to any situation. Dr. Mario generally gets this right, but the last few levels are probably a bit too RNG-based. Depending on the color pills you get and where the viruses are, it seems like some setups are just guaranteed to make you lose in some of the first few turns; there doesn't seem to be any general consensus on whether the last levels are always beatable. Fortunately, for those just trying to solve the final levels, you don't have to start from scratch every time you fail, and you're free to select whichever level and speed you wish at any time. This is a useful feature that not many puzzle games implement, Nintendo developed games included, and it makes the randomness of the final stages a lot easier to swallow.

Dr. Mario has a fairly decent multiplayer mode, too, which also allows each player to start on their preferred level of choice, making for a more balanced experience for players with varying skill levels. That's especially nice because Dr. Mario doesn't quite have the longevity of others in its genre. Once you defeat the 20th level, you'll end up replaying it infinitely until you eventually lose. Especially since your chance to pass it relies a lot on good fortune, it can feel a bit pointless when most of your time is spent in the very first few stages of the level. Starting from level 0 offers a more enjoyable experience (and the best chance to get a high score), but if you can consistently reach level 20, then it can feel a bit pointless, as there's no way to improve your score in levels 0 through 19. A mechanic where you earn extra points for a perfect clear or earn bonus points if you finish the level in a certain amount of time would have added to the replayability here.

Even if Dr. Mario would never quite live up to the heights of the game it was inspired by—few games do, really—but it's more than worthy of its success. It's quietly one of the most memorable and recognizable Mario spin offs of all time; while many learned of Dr. Mario from his appearance in the Super Smash Bros., the game has appeared on basically every Nintendo console, either by way of a port, enhanced edition, or via the virtual console. It's probably a simple game to port, but even after all this time, it's a pretty fun one to play, too. It's usually good for a quick burst of fun, in both single and multiplayer, and thanks to its long-lived history, it's kind of hard to imagine a Nintendo console without it.

60%Nintendo Switch

Very fun puzzle game. Addicting but not on the level of Tetris, Columns, or Panel de Pon.

85%NES

Can one really "complete" a game like this? I don't know, but I still go back and play a few games now and then. One of my all time favorite puzzle games.

80%Game Boy

IZUMI MARIO. Real nice, quick fun. Also gets darn hard at the higher levels.

50%Game Boy

Such a frustrating puzzle game, made worse by the Game Boy's limited color palette

80%NES

Simple yet addicting puzzle game.

70%Nintendo Switch

A very difficult and "Big Brain" puzzle game but super super fun to play

70%NES

A classic for many -- I can see the magic, but for me it's simply a solid, worthwhile genre game from the olden daze. I've never been big into the Tetris-likes, except for brief fancies of Tetris Attack, Mean Bean Machine, and Tetrisphere as a tyke, so I'm not really the target audience for Dr. Mario.

The one aspect I really wasn't keen on is that the first few minutes of every level are uniformly the most difficult -- when there's just not enough space to maneuver and stack the colours. It'd often come down to random chance of being able to mash the left and right buttons fast enough, but the only reason I say that is because I'm trash at these games.

Those first few minutes can be brutal. Once you get past that hurdle, though, the flow of the game really opens up and gets addictive. Turn your brain off (only just enough) and just let it guide you.

70%Nintendo Switch

Solid puzzle game.

70%NES

fun game to play in the background, it is pretty hard if you haven't played a game like this before

80%NES

Simple but addictive puzzle game whose nuances you start appreciating as you get more into it; first you just knock out viruses from the top, then you set up combos, then you get them from underneath and the top, then you get them from the side.

Higher speeds are pretty tough, and the game will continue on endlessly if you're really a pro and into it.

Not much music but what's there is kind of fun for a while and is as addictive as the gameplay.

60%NES

its no puyo puyo but its still good puzzle fun and a decent way to kill a few minutes.

80%Nintendo Switch

Great puzzle game that I go back to all the time.

60%Nintendo Switch

A cute and fun Tetris-like game with an unbelievably catchy theme, but got far too repetitive for its own good. Highly don't recommend completing this game, as all enjoyment will be vacuumed out by the end. Just pick up and play it whenever you're in the mood.

50%Nintendo Switch

It feels so unbelievably long to complete with no variations with the levels aside from adding more viruses and having them closer to the top. I wouldn't be so bored with playing it if it was just shorter to play.

70%NES

Great idea for a puzzle game, but it gets very repetitive to me.

80%NES

Classic. Always fun to play competitively.

70%Nintendo Switch

In Dr Mario you drop coloured pills into a medicine bottle to try and kill the different coloured viruses, by matching the pill colours with the Virus colours. It sounds like an easy concept but when you can have up to 84 Viruses its pretty hard. This game is a pretty unique match 3 game, making it stand out against so many others. I enjoyed it but I had a lot more trouble then I would with Tetris or columns.

90%NES

Classic NES puzzle game that I can always get into.

80%Game Boy

A solid puzzle that takes the Tetris basics and redefines it enough to be a completely new game and thoroughly polished with small details like the virii suffering as their colors get eliminated.