Standard Edition
StandardIn the box
- Game Boy cartridge
- Box with cover art
- Instruction booklet
Game Boy
NES
Dr. Mario
Dr. Mario is the 1990 Game Boy puzzle game where Mario drops coloured vitamin capsules to wipe out viruses, with a two-player versus mode.
PuzzleStrategy
- Update patch
- No patch
- Time to beat
- about 2.9 hours
- Plays offline
- Yes
Overview
Dr. Mario (stylized as D℞ MARIO) is a 1990 puzzle video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy. A spin-off of the Mario series, it is a falling block puzzle game in which the player's objective is to destroy the viruses populating the on-screen playing field by using colored capsules that are automatically tossed into the field by Dr. Mario. The player manipulates the falling capsules, to align the same colors, which destroys viruses. The player progresses through the game by eliminating all the viruses on the screen in each level. The game was produced by Gunpei Yokoi and programmed by Takahiro Harada, with the soundtrack composed by Hirokazu Tanaka.
Dr. Mario was a commercial success, with more than 10 million copies sold worldwide across all platforms. It received generally positive reviews, appearing on several lists of "Best Nintendo Games of All Time". It has been ported, remade, or had a sequel on every Nintendo home console since the NES, and on most portable consoles, including a re-release in 2004 on the Game Boy Advance in the Classic NES Series. It was modified into minigames in WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames!, Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day!, and Brain Age: Concentration Training. Dr. Luigi is a spin-off for Wii U, released on December 31, 2013, as part of the Year of Luigi celebration.
Official trailer
Gameplay Video. Watch on YouTube
Gameplay
Dr. Mario (Game Boy) Playthrough - NintendoComplete, NintendoComplete. Watch on YouTube
Screenshots
Game details
- Genres
- Puzzle, Strategy
- Developer
- Nintendo
- Publisher
- Nintendo
- Series
- Dr. Mario
- Platforms
- Nintendo 3DS, Game Boy
- Modes
- Single player
- Yes
- Local multiplayer
- Yes
- Online multiplayer
- No
- Co op
- No
- Age ratings
- CERO
- A
Release dates
| Platform | Region | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Game Boy | Japan | 1990-07-27 |
| Game Boy | North America | 1990-12-31 |
| Game Boy | Europe / PAL | 1991-04-30 |
Editions
Space and patches
Update patchNo patch
DLC
No DLC. Game Boy games had no downloadable content.
Playable today
Playable offline todayYes
No online features; every mode works today on the cartridge. The cartridge runs on any Game Boy, Game Boy Color or Game Boy Advance, and the game is on Nintendo Switch Online. The two-player mode needs a second Game Boy and cartridge.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Ever released on disc | Yes, on Game Boy cartridge |
| Ever released in the store | Yes, 4 October 2012 On the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console. Later in the Game Boy library of Nintendo Switch Online on 12 March 2024. |
| In the store to buy today | No The 3DS shop has closed. Playable with a Nintendo Switch Online membership. |
| Can be downloaded again if you already bought it | Yes 3DS Virtual Console purchases can still be downloaded again. The Nintendo Switch Online version needs an active membership. |
| Disc runs with no patch | Yes |
| Disc runs with the final patch | Does not exist No patch was ever released. |
| Has online features | No |
| Online servers running today | Does not exist |
| Playable offline today: campaign | Yes |
| Playable offline today: local multiplayer | Yes Two players race to clear their own fields of viruses. |
| Playable offline today: online multiplayer | Does not exist No online play. |
| Playable offline today: DLC | Does not exist No DLC. |
Online
Plays offlineYes
Reception
- Critics
Outlet Score Scale ACE 510 1000 Joystick 93 100 Zero 89 100
Staff and cast
- Staff
Role Name Developer Nintendo R&D1 Publisher Nintendo Producer Gunpei Yokoi Programmer Takahiro Harada Artist Hiroji Kiyotake Composer Hirokazu Tanaka
Notes for collectors
- Released on the same day as the NES version in Japan, 27 July 1990.
- Mario tosses coloured capsules into a bottle; line up matching colours on the viruses to clear them. A chain of four or more plays the Super Mario Bros. star music.
- The two-player mode has each player clearing their own field first.
- Dr. Mario has sold more than 10 million copies across all versions.
Credits
- Publisher
- Nintendo
- Developer
- Nintendo R&D1
- Released
- 1990-12-31
- Age rating
- Not rated (pre-ESRB, before 1994)
- Region
- US
- Time to beat
- about 2.9 hours
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