Dr. Mario 64
Nintendo 64
Nostalgia Factor:
I've always been a Dr. Mario fan. It's never been my favorite puzzle series (that award goes to Tetris or Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine), but that doesn't mean I don't like it. My ex-girlfriend Jessica and I used to have mammoth playing sessions with our friends on the NES version of Dr. Mario. Whenever I think back on my time with the series, it always brings a smile to my face.
That said, I haven't played a Dr. Mario game in, geez, over 10 years now. I didn't really intend to return to the series anytime soon, but I was randomly scrolling through my RetroPie's game list the other day when I saw Dr. Mario 64 on there. I figured I'd pop it on for a few minutes to see how it was, and before I knew it, it was 2 AM and I'd played the game for over two hours.
I figured I'd already sunk that much time in the game, might as well turn it into a full playthrough followed by a full review. And here we are.
.jpg)
Story:
This game's story mode is classic Mario fun. Everyone in the Mushroom Kingdom is getting sick, so Dr. Mario gets his Megavitamins together to go around and heal everyone. These Megavitamins can cure anything!
Both Wario and an the evil Dr. Scienstein hear about these magical Megavitamins and, in separate attempts, try to steal them. The evil scientist gets away with the vitamins, and Mario and Wario give chase to him. Along the way, they get into "battles" with other characters - and you have to defeat them in a head to head puzzle in order to advance the story.
You can take control of either Mario or Wario in story mode. Both games play out exactly the same, from what I can tell, with slight differences made to the game's story depending on who you pick. Altogether, this isn't the deepest storyline of all time, but it is still pretty fun.
And I did not know this, but apparently all the enemies are from Super Wario Land 3, so in a way this game acts a sequel to that one.
Gameplay:
There are many different modes to select from when playing Dr. Mario. I already mentioned story mode, which is mainly what I played. There's also a classic mode, where you just play by yourself for a high score. There are a few other modes to pick from, but I didn't really give them much time. They are all minor variances on the same core Dr. Mario gameplay. Races, time attack, that kind of thing. There's a two player mode as well, of course. In fact, I believe you can actually play this with up to four players. I didn't test out the multiplayer mode, though. I guess I'll have to wait till my son is older, because I think of all the puzzle games out there, he'd like this one the most. Right now, I just don't have anyone to play against.
If you don't know how Dr. Mario works, I'll break it down for you. When you start, there are many different viruses on the screen. Each of these viruses is one of three different colors. It is your job to line up the virus with three pills of the same color, making four straight colors in a row. Do that, and the virus and the pill pieces disappear from the screen. Yay! One down, many more to go.
Pill pieces fall from the top of the screen, similar to how the shapes fall down when you are playing Tetris. You can rotate them to your liking. The main goal of the game, aside from eliminating the viruses, is to create combo moves. When you destroy a virus, any puzzle pieces stacked on it will fall. If these pieces fall and create another four-color combo - you get a bonus. If you are playing against an opponent, getting a bonus will drop random blocks on your enemy - messing up any plans they might be brewing.
That's really all there is to this game - matching four colors in a row. You can attack things head-on or you can aim for setting up big combos when your pieces fall. Either play style is fine. I find that if I go out of the way looking to set up a big combo, it often backfires on me. One mistake and you are buried and you lose.
Story mode took me about an hour to get through. It's fun, it's challenging, and it's also very addicting. I did not expect to sink as much time into this game as I did. It's just so darn good.
Graphics:
It is not often you see a fully 2D game for the Nintendo 64. It seems like every game from this era was all about showcasing 3D this and 3D that. I think it looks and plays really good! Bright colors, fun pixel art. Maybe it isn't as sharp as something you'd see on, say, the Sega Saturn, but it still looks good.
This game won't win any awards for its graphics, but for a Dr. Mario game they do the job. Can't complain about that!
Sound:
I actually prefer the 8-bit Dr. Mario soundtrack to this one, but that doesn't mean it is not good. The music does its job. Just like the graphics. This isn't really a game you play to be blown away by its amazing presentation. The gameplay speaks for itself.
.jpg)
Overall:
What a fun game. The fact that I was just looking for something to play for five minutes, and I ended up sinking hours and hours into this should tell you something about how fun it is. It's so addicting! The gameplay of Dr. Mario definitely has not aged. You can't go wrong with this game if you are a fan of the genre.
Is this the definitive version of Dr. Mario? I don't know. I've only played the NES version. But due to the wealth of options, the story mode, the updated graphics, and the fact that you can play this with four people makes me inclined to give a hesitant yes to that question.
If you like Dr. Mario and you like puzzle games, there is no reason you should not like this. The only thing keeping it from getting a higher score is the fact that I've only played the game a day or two and I already feel like I've seen everything it has to offer, and am ready to move on. But still, very fun game.
THE GRADE:
B+
If you liked this review, check out some of my other game reviews:
For a complete index of all my past posts and game reviews, click
>HERE<
No comments:
Post a Comment