Dr. Mario & Puzzle League: Difference between revisions

Dr. Mario & Puzzle League
Developer	Nintendo SPD Group No.2; Intelligent Systems
Publisher	Nintendo
Platform(s)	Game Boy Advance
Release date	September 13, 2005[?]; November 4, 2005[?]; November 28, 2005[?];
Language(s)	English (United Kingdom); English (United States); French (France); German; Spanish (Spain); Italian; Japanese;
Genre	Puzzle
ESRB:	- Everyone
PEGI:	- Three years and older
CERO:	- All ages
ACB:	- General
USK:	- All ages
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Format	Game Boy Advance: Game Pak
Input	Game Boy Advance: Gamepad
Serial code(s)	AGB-BZPJ-JPN; AGB-BZPP-EUR; AGB-BZPE-USA; AGB-BZPU-AUS;

Latest revision as of 18:44, November 12, 2024

Dr. Mario & Puzzle League (also formatted as Dr. Mario / Puzzle League),^[1] known as Dr. Mario & Panel De Pon in Japan, is a "2 in 1" game for the Game Boy Advance. Dr. Mario is an enhanced remake of the original Dr. Mario, with many of the graphics similar to those of Dr. Mario 64.

Puzzle League's name comes from Pokémon Puzzle League, a game based on Panel de Pon. This version, however, is a very simple form of the game.

Gameplay[edit]

Dr. Mario[edit]

Gameplay in Dr. Mario

Dr. Mario mostly resembles the Nintendo 64 version, Dr. Mario 64. Much like the earlier Dr. Mario games, a vitamin match of four or more of the same color in a line (either a row or a column) that include any viruses will be cleared. In the multiplayer modes, if a match of two or more lines are made in a move, up to four garbage (depending on amount of lines cleared) are sent to their opponent, and the colors of the garbage are determined by the lines cleared. Like Dr. Wario, the unlockable minigame from WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!, its bottle is 13 cells tall instead of the standard 16. There are three modes in this mode:

Classic: Clear all the viruses in the bottle. Clearing level 5, 10, 15, or 20 in either Med or High speed will result in a short intermission where the three viruses sit on a tree while something flies over them. The flying objects are the same as found in the original Dr. Mario.
Vs. CPU: Be the first to eliminate all viruses in the bottle. The player can also win if their opponent's bottle blocked at the top-middle.
Flash: Be the first to eliminate all three flashing viruses in the bottle, one for each color. The player can also win if their opponent's bottle blocked at the top-middle.

Because of the smaller bottle size in this game, the amount of viruses for each level is different from the rest of the series. The amounts apply to both Classic and Vs. CPU:

Level	Viruses	Level	Viruses	Level	Viruses	Level	Viruses	Level	Viruses	Level	Viruses	Level	Viruses
0	3	1	5	2	7	3	9	4	11	5	14	6	17
7	20	8	23	9	26	10	29	11	32	12	35	13	38
14	41	15	45	16	49	17	53	18	57	19	62	20+	68

Puzzle League[edit]

Puzzle League is completely changed from the original Panel de Pon. The graphics closely resemble those of the GBA multiboot version from Nintendo Puzzle Collection. There are six modes for this game:

Marathon: Clear as many block as possible before getting a game over from a block reaching the top.
Vs. CPU: Compete against a CPU player in one of the three objectives. The CPU's difficulty can be adjusted between a value from 1 to 20, with a higher value making for a more challenging opponent. If one of the player's blocks collide with the top of their field, they will lose, regardless of how well they did against their opponent.
- Vs. Garbage: Clearing combos and chains send garbage blocks to the opponent. Any block that reaches the top will cause the opponent to lose. A handicap can be set for either player, which determines the amount of time the player is given before they lose, should a block reach the top (the higher the percentage, the more time is given for the grace period).
- Vs. Timed: The one who scores the most within a 2 minute time limit wins.
- Vs. Line: The fastest to clear past the line wins.
Timed: Within 2 minutes, the objective is to obtain the highest possible score.
Line: Within a limited set of levels, clear blocks until there aren't any more above the line.
Garbage: Clear as many blocks as possible, similar to Marathon, except garbage blocks occasionally drop from the top.
Puzzle: Within a limited set of levels, clear all blocks within a limited number of moves. Using a hint will, in addition to being shown the next move, add 5 minutes to the timer. This is the first iteration of the game since the SNES versions to reuse the original set of puzzles.

For all modes except Line and Puzzle, a setting can be set for the speed in which blocks move and disappear, where the slower settings increase the ease in which chains can be mode, whereas the faster settings allows the blocks to be moved and cleared faster. For Line and Puzzle, they instead have a Train mode, where any cleared levels can be played again.

Vertical Mode[edit]

Vertical Mode in Dr. Mario

Both games have a Vertical Mode that can be unlocked, where one tilts the Game Boy Advance 90° counterclockwise to play, allowing for a higher resolution of the playing field. The controls using the D-pad is changed to account for the different view, while the controls for the other buttons remain the same. To unlock Vertical Mode for each game, the ending must be reached individually, meaning that unlocking for one game doesn't unlock it for the other. For Dr. Mario, this involves beating level 20 in Classic, while for Puzzle League, it involves either reaching a score of at least 10000 in Marathon, completing level 6-5 in Line mode, or completing 6-10 in Puzzle mode. Classic is the only mode available for Dr. Mario, while for Puzzle League, three of the six modes are only available: Marathon, Timed, and Garbage. For Dr. Mario, the only thing in display is the field, meaning that the stage information like the score, the amount of viruses left, and the speed are not shown. However, the stage information is shown in all available modes in Puzzle League.

Multiplayer[edit]

Both games have a Single-Pak and Multi-Pak multiplayer mode, and can also be used to upload a demo version to another Game Boy Advance using only one cart. The demo version of Dr. Mario features limited animation and an NES soundtrack. The demo version of Puzzle League features a small animal (Pupuri from Panel de Pon in Nintendo Puzzle Collection) on the side that calls out when blocks are cleared. The demo of Puzzle League is also the same demo from Nintendo Puzzle Collection.