Editing Dr. Mario (game)

|release='''Famicom/NES:'''<br>{{flag list|Japan|July 27, 1990<ref>{{cite|url=https://www.nintendo.com/jp/famicom/software/hvc-vu/index.html|title=ドクターマリオ|publisher=Nintendo Japan|language=ja|accessdate=August 13, 2024}}</ref>|USA|October 14, 1990<ref>{{cite|author=Sakai, Kazuya, kikai, Rachel Roberts, and Jenny Blenk, editors|date=2019|title=''[[The Art of Super Mario Odyssey]]''|format=First English Edition|location=Milwaukie|publisher=[[Dark Horse Books]]|isbn=978-1-50671-375-5|page=360}}</ref>|Europe|June 27, 1991|Australia|June 27, 1991}} '''VS. System:'''<br>{{flag list|USA|August 1990<ref name="rpmag">"Nintendo Bows VS. Dr. Mario Pak At San Diego Distributor Meeting" (RePlay Magazine Vol. 16 No. 1, August 1990)</ref>|Australia|1990|Europe|1990}} '''Nintendo PlayChoice-10:'''<br>{{flag list|USA|August 1990<ref name="rpmag"/>|Europe|1990|Australia|1990}} '''Game Boy:'''<br>{{flag list|Japan|July 27, 1990<ref>{{cite|url=https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n02/dmg/vua/index.html|title=Dr. MARIO|publisher=Nintendo Japan|language=ja|accessdate=August 13, 2024}}</ref>|USA|December 1, 1990<ref>''Super Smash Bros. for Wii U'' [[smashwiki:Masterpieces|Masterpieces]]</ref>|Europe|April 30, 1991}} '''[[LodgeNet|LodgeNet (Super NES version)]]''':<br>{{flag list|USA|Unknown year, between 1995 and 1999<ref group=note>Exact date unknown due to no known information. Earliest known document (as of July 10, 2024) about it is from August 29, 1999 (https://snescentral.com/1/0/1/1019/pdf/drmario.pdf). No similar documents for any game was dated earlier than August 1999, at which point LodgeNet installations for [[Nintendo 64]] was in process. The LodgeNet-exclusive ''Noughts & Crosses'' had a copyright year of 1998, but the overall Gateway System launched in 1993.</ref>}} '''Satellaview:'''<br>{{flag list|Japan|March 30, 1997}} '''[[Player's Choice]] (Game Boy Version):'''<br>{{flag list|USA|September 1, 1997<ref>{{cite|url=https://archive.org/details/nintendo-1997-e-3-press-kit|title=Nintendo E3 1997 Press Kit|publisher=Nintendo of America|language=en|accessdate=November 10, 2024}}</ref>}}'''Super Famicom ([[Nintendo Power (cartridge)|NP]]):'''<br>{{flag list|Japan|June 1, 1998<ref>{{cite|url=themushroomkingdom.net/games/drm-np|title=''Dr. Mario'' (NP)|publisher=The Mushroom Kingdom|accessdate=June 1, 2024}}{{better source}}</ref>}} '''Game Boy (NP):'''<br>{{flag list|Japan|March 1, 2000}} '''Game Boy Advance (NES version):'''<br>{{flag list|Japan|May 21, 2004<ref>{{cite|url=www.nintendo.co.jp/n08/fmk2/dr_mario/index.html|title=ファミコンミニ／ドクターマリオ|publisher=Nintendo Co., Ltd.|language=ja|accessdate=January 16, 2025}}</ref>|USA|October 25, 2004<ref>''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'' {{iw|smashwiki|Chronicle}}</ref>|Europe|January 7, 2005<ref>{{cite|url=www.nintendo.com/en-gb/Games/Game-Boy-Advance/Dr-Mario-266584.html|title=Dr. Mario {{!}} Game Boy Advance {{!}} Games {{!}} Nintendo UK|publisher=Nintendo UK|language=en-gb|accessdate=January 16, 2025}}</ref>}} '''[[Virtual Console#Nintendo 3DS|Virtual Console (3DS) (Game Boy version)]]:'''<br>{{flag list|Japan|July 27, 2011|Europe|March 22, 2012|Australia|March 22, 2012|USA|October 4, 2012|South Korea|May 18, 2016}} '''[[Virtual Console#Wii U|Virtual Console (Wii U) (NES version)]]:'''<br>{{flag list|Europe|February 13, 2014|Australia|February 14, 2014|Japan|February 26, 2014|USA|March 27, 2014}} '''NES Classic Edition/Famicom Mini:'''<br>{{flag list|Japan|November 10, 2016|Australia|November 10, 2016|USA|November 11, 2016|Europe|November 11, 2016}} '''Nintendo Entertainment System - Nintendo Switch Online:'''<br>{{flag list|USA|September 18, 2018|Japan|September 19, 2018|Europe|September 19, 2018|Australia|September 19, 2018|HK|April 23, 2019|South Korea|April 23, 2019}} '''''The UFO cover-up. (NES version)'':'''<br>{{flag list|USA|December 12, 2018|Japan|December 12, 2018|Europe|December 12, 2018|Australia|December 12, 2018}} '''Game Boy - Nintendo Switch Online:'''<br>{{flag list|USA|March 11, 2024<ref>{{cite|language=en-us|author=@NintendoAmerica|date=March 11, 2024|url=https://x.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1767362397239443881|title="''Oh yeah! Three classic games featuring Mario are now live for #NintendoSwitchOnline members! #GameBoy: ☑️ Dr. Mario Game Boy Color: ☑️ Mario Tennis ☑️ Mario Golf''"|publisher=X|accessdate=July 4, 2024}}</ref>|Japan|March 12, 2024|Europe|March 12, 2024|Australia|March 12, 2024|South Korea|March 12, 2024|HK|March 12, 2024}}

In this game, the interface is presented with a giant bottle, which features a grid that is 8 tiles long and 16 tiles tall. When the stage starts, viruses will populate the bottle, and they come in three varieties: Chill (blue), Fever (red), and Weird (yellow).

 

The main objective of the game is to clear the viruses in the bottle. This objective can be fulfilled with the help of multi-colored capsules called vitamin capsules. The vitamins have two segments, where each half can come in three colors, and both halves can even have the same color. To eliminate a virus with them, they must be lined up with at least one like-colored virus in a column or row so that the line consists of at least four in a row or column. When that happens, both the viruses and vitamins in that line disappear. These vitamins can also be cleared if four or more of the same colored pieces are arranged in a line, even if there are no viruses within them. The viruses remaining is represented by the three viruses under the magnifying glass around the bottom-left, where they slowly revolve along the glass. If at least one virus is eliminated, the corresponding virus color will flinch and the viruses will stop moving. If all viruses of that color are gone from the bottle, that corresponding virus under the glass will also disappear after flinching. After a number of vitamins are brought to the bottle, a five-note chime will be played which will signify that the speed of the capsule drops increased.

 

If vitamins are stacked so that one of the two middle spots at the top of the bottle is occupied, the player receives a Game Over.

When a 1-Player game is started, the player has three options: Virus Level, Speed, and Music Type. For Virus Level, one of the 21 levels (from 0 to 20) can be chosen. This determines the number of viruses at the beginning is equal to four times the level number plus four, all the way up to level 20. Although the level number can go up to 24 in the Family Computer and Nintendo Entertainment System version, there will always be 84 viruses at the beginning of levels 20 and above.<ref>{{cite|url=www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwp5OoX4jqA|title=Dr. Mario AI Defeats Level 24 and Beyond|author=Michael Birken|date=June 24, 2017|publisher=YouTube|accessdate=June 1, 2024}}</ref> In the Game Boy version, levels above 20 may be arranged in a way that is impossible to beat. Level 28 is a {{wp|kill screen}} in which Mario does not appear.

 

In a 1-Player Game, the score is tracked. In order to earn points, viruses must be eliminated, as just clearing only capsules or forcefully dropping capsules will not contribute to the score. The amount of points earned from eliminating viruses is dependent on the Speed setting, where the base score is 100 for Low, 200 for Med, and 300 for Hi. Additionally, if the player eliminates more than one virus in a single move, the subsequent viruses contribute more points. After clearing all the viruses and finishing the level, the score is carried over to the next level. The basic scoring is as follows:

In the NES version, a fanfare will not sound after clearing more than one line in a single move. However in the Game Boy version, a fanfare will be played depending on the amount of lines made, and a special fanfare is played after clearing four or more lines in a single move, something that is not present in other versions.

A 2-Player Vs. game mode is also available for selection. In this mode, two players battle to either clear their grid first, or cause their opponent to get a Game Over through causing an object to reach the middle of the topmost row. The game ends after one of the players wins three rounds. The Level and Speed options are chosen independently by each player before the game begins. For the Game Boy version, a Game Link cable is required to play the 2-player Vs. game mode. On the 3DS Virtual Console version, 2-player mode is not supported.

 

During a two-player head-on-head game, whenever a vitamin resulted in a chain or combo with more than one line cleared, a corresponding number of garbage, basically single vitamin pieces of colors based on the colors cleared by a player, will drop into their opponent's bottle at a slow pace, similar to the speed of a capsule falling normally in the Hi speed. The number of garbage that drops depends on the amount of lines cleared, so for example, clearing two lines in a move will cause two pieces to fall. The dropped pieces will simultaneously be either in the odd-numbered columns or even-numbered columns. If two pieces drop, both of them are always four columns apart, and if three pieces drop, they will all be two columns apart of each other and won't be two pieces that will be four columns apart.

After completing certain levels at certain speeds, a short cutscene will occur, along with text that consists of a "CONGRATULATIONS!" message and the Virus Level and Speed that the player has beaten. The cutscenes are different between the NES version and the Game Boy version. If the cutscene has something that moves in it, the text on the screen will disappear or appear depending on the version: they appear before the cutscene is played in the NES version, whereas they start to appear after the cutscene is played in the Game Boy version.

===NES===

Most of the cutscenes start with the viruses sitting on a tree. Graphics for a snowman and a round ball exist that are likely used in a cutscene, but they ended up unused.<ref>{{cite|url=tcrf.net/Dr._Mario_(NES)#Unused_Sprites|title=Dr. Mario § Unused Sprites|publisher=The Cutting Room Floor|language=en|accessdate=June 1, 2024}}</ref>

||The sky gradually changes from bright to dark, after which a UFO floats down to beam the three viruses into it, and then it flies away. While the UFO is present, the music pauses until it goes away, after which the music continues.

 

After the UFO is gone, the sky flashes bright before flashing stars appear and fall from the sky.

Every cutscene starts with the viruses sitting at the sea floor.

|title1=Title

|title2=Select

|file4=DM NES Fever Clear.oga

|title4=Fever Clear

|length4=0:23

|file5=DM NES Chill.oga

|title5=Chill