Like with my two other “Timeless?” posts, I’m going to talk briefly about a memorable game from my childhood, Dr. Mario. I had the opportunity to play this classic over the weekend along with a few other NES games.
Dr. Mario released in 1990 and is a falling block game akin to Tetris. In similar fashion, capsules, which can be rotated, must be matched by color to eliminate nasty viruses. Players can change the game’s difficulty by manipulating the falling speed of the capsules and the number of viruses at the start of each level.
It’s a simple puzzle concept (and one that obviously isn’t original), but one that’s relatively addictive twenty-seven years after the game’s initial release.
When I revisit older games, one of my complaints usually concerns how those games look. I played Dr. Mario this weekend on a giant TV, which really showed the age of the graphics. Despite this, it wasn’t so bad that it kept me from playing multiple versus matches against my friend. In fact, I was surprised at how fun Dr. Mario was after all these years.
Playing versus a friend added to the game’s appeal. Triggering combos to mess with my friend’s efforts was satisfying and made the game more intense. And it was fun adjusting the difficulty levels to see just how fast we could play, which usually ended in immediate chaos.
Another thing that surprised me about the game was the music. The soundtrack is exactly what you’d expect from classic Nintendo: fun and infectious. “Fever” and “Chill,” composed by Hirokazu Tanaka, perfectly fit the humorous conflict between viruses and capsules. That was an odd sentence to write, but it’s accurate.
So with that, my conclusion is that Dr. Mario is timeless. Considering how far games and technology have come, Dr. Mario serves as a reminder that solid game mechanics can persist despite age. Having said that, I wouldn’t mind seeing a remaster of Dr. Mario on the Switch. With some updating, it could be equally as fun against friends and in handheld mode.
Never played this one somehow. Always thought it was just Mario-themed Tetris! Cool concept with the viruses though, I should give it a try 🙂 I actually have it for Gameboy and it would require no effort whatsoever to play it!
Yes! And then let me know if I’m crazy for still finding it fun. Haha.
I’m not sure if a remaster is likely since Sega’s “Puyo Puyo Tetris,” which is similar, was released as a launch title w/ the Switch; but, the game in itself demonstrates how timeless Dr. Mario’s mechanics are. Graphics make come and go, but gameplay is forever~
Maybe it’ll release on the Virtual Console, if that becomes a thing. A girl can dream.
Yeah, even if they release an updated Dr. Mario Online RX (originally for the Wii), I’d be happy. I’d love a newer version with some new modes or maybe even characters, though. With their renewed focus on smaller games and indie titles, it doesn’t seem totally out of the question, but they never have done the series much justice. Hopefully that changes with the Switch!
Some new modes and characters would be pretty sweet!
Great point about the music: Dr. Mario’s tunes are really catchy. I can hear them all in my head just seeing the titles!
I actually listened to a few while working on some writing last night.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
I love me some Dr. Mario. There is a pretty good, slightly updated version of it on the 3DS e-shop that I play from time to time. I’d love for a new version on the Switch though.
I was oddly enough the only person in my house who preferred Fever to Chill lol. I found Chill to be a bit humdrum, but Fever had the frenetic pace that was perfect for the type of game Dr. Mario is! It’s included in the original DS’s Brain Games with only the Fever music as an option, but the melody is more ambient. I found a great orchestral version of the song that captures its spirit very well.
I’ll have to look up the orchestral version!