“Super Mario Multiverse” – Dr. Mario (NES/GB) by Jeremy Nation

Celebrating The Mario Multi-Verse: D℞. Mario

by Jeremy Nation (@ETH_Nation)

At some point during the late 80’s Mario reflected on his life. What he saw was a hot mess.

The plumber had suffered a dire episode following the rescue of Princess Peach Toadstool from Bowser. Some believe it was brought on by excessive mushroom consumption. Others say it was post-traumatic stress syndrome after Mario stomped so many goombas, koopa troopas, and others mercilessly to death. In some cases Mario had incinerated entire villages with his bare hands, other times flying into a star-induced colorful rage while smashing his body into foes and obliterating them.

In his darkest hours, Mario would black out completely, rambling on and on about tossing magic potions on the ground to make doors appear. In some cases he trespassed onto local farmland and destroyed thousands of dollars worth of produce, ripping plants up from the ground and tossing them everywhere. Sometimes he would scream about eggs flying at him. The ensuing lawsuits from such incidents landed the manic mustachioed menace in an extended forced hospitalization, during which he would eventually stabilize.

While he tried to put the past behind him, Mario would remain troubled throughout his exploits adventuring across a wide range of kingdoms, rescuing one princess after another. Occasionally he would find time to participate in extracurricular sporting activities. Surely it can be said that there were good days. But, unfortunately, Mario was not the only person to suffer as a result of serving the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario’s brother Luigi, once thought to have been the stronger of the two, had slowly begun to lose his mind as well.

The first manifestations of his illness took the form of hallucinations; Luigi claimed he was seeing ghosts. He was ultimately diagnosed with an acute case of paranoid schizophrenia. Perhaps it was due to years of being dragged into so many misadventures by his older brother, or perhaps it was a hereditary trait both the brother’s shared. In any case, Luigi’s condition continued to deteriorate, despite the best efforts of friends and family to help him cope.

Feeling only himself to blame, Mario decided to make a change. After years of struggling to make ends meet as a blue collar worker, Mario went back to school to get his MD.

Initially things went well for Mario. He applied for grants and was able to take night classes. In addition to plumbing he was able to handle his and Luigi’s share of the bills moonlight as a referee, on a wrecking crew, and for a cement factory. But between the multiple jobs, taking care of his brother, and night classes the pressure was mounting.

When Luigi’s hallucinations of ghosts began to become more frequent, and violent,  Mario had no choice but to have his brother placed in a nearby care facility located in a once decrepit remodeled mansion. With Luigi in the hands of professionals, Mario was able to focus on school and excelled in his studies. He was accepted to med school and on track to get his degree.

But tragedy never strayed far from Mario’s path. The day before his graduation he was caught by campus police in possession of size altering mushrooms. Hours before reaching his ultimate goal, Mario found himself disgraced and expelled. Sadly, he would never officially get his MD.

Desperate and penniless, Mario refused to turn his back on his brother. He took his newfound medical knowledge to the streets where he would go on to procure a wide range of prescription pharmaceuticals. Using jars filled with pathogens, Mario continued to experiment with combinations of various neurotransmitters and antipsychotics. He strived to find Luigi a cure. 

After years of illicit research Mario ultimately prevailed in treating his brother by having Luigi act out capturing the various ghosts he was hallucinating, guided by the hands of medical professionals in the mansion turned care center. 🍄

Initially released on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Gameboy on July 27, 1990, D℞. Mario represents a unique departure from the depiction of Mario as a blue collar worker. Although it has been confirmed by Mario’s creator, Shigero Miyamoto, that the plumber isn’t really a licensed doctor, what the game lacks in certification it makes up for with tight controls, deceptively elaborate puzzles, and pathologically catchy music.

Those of us old enough to remember this game’s original launch will never forget seeing pixelated blorp screens, blowing into their cartridges and restarting their NES. D℞. Mario features Tetris style gameplay wherein medicine bottles containing numerous pathogens in a trio of red, yellow, and blue hues await annihilation. Mario tosses an endless slew of two-colored pills, six color combinations in all, into the bottles. The player can manipulate these pills in 90-degree increments in either direction, and move them left and right as well as with, but not against, the force of gravity. Getting the right color combination can become difficult when things begin to stack up. Match four colors of a kind or three against a pathogen and they are eliminated from the field. Clear all the pathogens to move to the next level. However, if you fail and pills reach the top of the jar, it’s game over.

Image from LJersy80.

D℞ Mario also features a two player mode in which opponents can compete to clear their fields first against one another to win. When you clear your field faster than your opponent additional obstacles fall onto their field. The first player to rack up three victories overall wins.

Image from NESGUIDE.

In single-player mode, D℞. Mario’s levels are episodic in progression. Eventually, this break between levels can make the change in falling speed seem starker as the game goes on. Since the action is divided among screens, you get a mental break between levels. Some might think this makes the game more forgiving. But at level 24 the rate at which the pills fall is blinding, leaving absolutely no room for error. Coupled with the fact that there are multiple color arrangements of pills and combinations of pathogens to dispatch, D℞. Mario creates a quite formidable challenge to even the most seasoned gamer.

When it was initially published, D℞. Mario was not met without controversy. Amid a blooming opioid epidemic and the still waging War on Drugs, the game was caught between worlds. On one side concerned groups were railing against the animated depiction of pills, worrying it would be a gateway to children. On the other side, avid fans were happy to receive a unique and distinct puzzle-solving game. 

Regardless of the sensational waves it may have caused, D℞. Mario proved to be one of the most iconic titles in the catalogue, cementing itself in history forever as a classic puzzle game. Over the years, D℞. Mario would continue to be released in additional incarnations in the ongoing line of Nintendo consoles, providing generations of gamers an opportunity to play a timeless classic.

Gameplay: 8/10

D℞. Mario doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to gameplay; you know what you’re going to expect. The challenge is progressive so newcomers can take it slow, while veterans have the option of adjusting the game’s settings for a higher scale of difficulty in single player rounds.

Image from TrueMillionGamer.

In one-player mode defeating the game on various difficulties brings players to a cuts screen depicting an animation where trio of pathogens gaze at the sky from the canopy of a tree. The animation changes based on the difficulty you set the game to.

Ultimately both single and multiplayer modes of D℞. Mario hit a wall with repetitiveness. Extended play diminishes the motivation to complete the game on its hardest difficulty settings.

Challenge 10/10

This game will challenge you. Whether you’re a newcomer or veteran, the game will ultimately test your mettle. As the number of pathogens increase, the difficulty incrementally increases. Before a single or two-player game begins, players can adjust the settings to customize a game’s difficulty as well as the accompanying music. This allows someone who is unfamiliar to start at the lowest level and enjoy a progressive experience. Otherwise seasoned players have the option of starting off at a higher level, so they can jump right into frenzied puzzle solving.

Image from NESGUIDE.

Obviously, when going head to head with an opponent in the two-player mode, the difficulty is variable. Still, D℞ Mario manages to strike a balance since players can adjust their personal difficulty to reflect their skill level. Less experienced players can gain an advantage by solving their puzzles faster and putting obstacles into their opponents field. So, it’s possible for a novice player to trip up a veteran. This acts as an equalizer, and is a solid example of how gameplay can support a game’s challenging aspect in unexpected ways. 

Accessibility 9/10

Although a classic, D℞. Mario continues to reach audiences around the world. It has been released in one form or another on every Nintendo console, and recently a mobile version of the game was released on iOS and Android handheld devices. Generations have continued to embrace D℞. Mario’s simple yet elegantly challenging puzzle-solving experience for 30 years

Replayability 7/10

While engaging, D℞. Mario’s gameplay is double-edged; the redundancy will ultimately drive players away. Every level is essentially the same. Where other games offer dynamic environments or changes in scenery, D℞. Mario offers only the grind of clearing the field of pathogens. While it is extremely gratifying to succeed against the games harder levels, a sense of the rut is palpable.

Image from NESGUIDE.

Visuals 8/10

D℞ Mario is a testament to the old saying: sometimes simple is best. The animated dancing pathogens and their wriggling bottled counterparts are visually evocative without distracting from puzzle solving. At the same time, D℞ Mario makes use of visuals to communicate what to expect next by showing you which pill Mario is about to hurl into the bottle. It’s possible to be overwhelmed easily in D℞. Mario, and the graphics do a fine job of expressing the mounting urgency as things escalate and the possibility of a game over screen becomes nearer.

Image from BlueMoon95.

Audio 10/10

D℞. Mario’s songs are earworms. Originally composed by Hirozaku Tanaka, aka Chip Tanaka, whose talents can be heard on iconic titles including Metroid, Kid Icarus, Super Mario Land, Tetris, Mother, and EarthBound.

Listen for yourself, courtesy of Niko’s 8BitStereo.

Image from NESGUIDE.

Personal Score 10/10

My earliest memory of D℞. Mario is quite fond. It was one of the first games my father and I played together, thanks to the two-player mode. It was also one of the first games my father took a liking to when it came to the single-player mode, and I had a rare opportunity to see him playing something. These experiences would become rarer and rarer over the years, until the last time I saw him gaming when I came downstairs to get a glass of water some night in 1996 only to discover him running around collecting stars in Mario 64. ⭐

Image from TrueMillionGamer.

Wahoo! You are a Super Reader! But the adventure doesn’t stop here… There’s more of this project in another castle! This article is just one level in an entire Super Mario Multiverse, a galactic collaboration between writers around the world sharing a bit of our hearts and memories about our favorite Mario games. Visit the Center of the Multiverse to see more: