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Discussion Am I missing something with Dr Mario?

BombChorizo

BombChorizo

Moblin
I've tried multiple Dr Mario games throughout the years, but they've never hooked me. In comparison, I've sunk countless hundreds of hours into Tetris and Puyo Puyo games. In Tetris, I can visualize what I need to do to get 4-line clears. In Puyo, I can visualize and build combos. With Dr Mario, I can't find the flow and I seem really bad at it.

Now that NSO N64 is out, I'm tempted to give Dr Mario 64 a shot. Is it any different than the others? Should I approach the gameplay a certain way to feel more strategic? Maybe they're just not for me?
 
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I didn't think this game was that beloved to begin with, so I don't think you're crazy for that.

I mean, remember how limp the reaction was to Dr. Luigi or the Dr. Mario phone game?
 
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Already played about 2 hours of DrM64 too. I do wish it had the exact same mechanics as Tetris when it comes to moving blocks to the side when "grounded" before a final connect, but otherwise it's a terminal addiction for me.
 
This is something of an observation that I have made: beyond the first Dr. Mario games (the NES and Game Boy), none of the other Dr. Mario games have anywhere near as much success as the first ones did, since none of the others were million-sellers. Even Dr. Mario 64, the only other fully-packaged game, didn't appear to incite much enthusiasm. Every other Dr. Mario game are either digital-only (e.g. Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure) or part of a compilation (e.g. Puzzle League + Dr. Mario). It felt like there is a lack of confidence for Dr. Mario to be a full product, given how the games don't tend to have much features, and even a few games have removed certain features like how in Miracle Cure, you can't even choose the music to play! Not to mention, Dr. Mario 64 is still the only Dr. Mario game to allow for 4 players.

The fact that Dr. Mario World introduced so much new to the series made it the most innovative and has the most exciting features by default, since the series felt historically been resistant to innovation. Compare this to something like Mario Kart, where every game introduced a lot of exciting features that they don't seem as revolutionary come Mario Kart Tour. I guess Dr. Mario being a Smash original fighter (no epsilon to indicate Echo Fighter) didn't really help the series that much. I guess that's what happens when the character is not designed with the puzzle game in mind, instead being an alternate Mario.

I kind of felt that perhaps Dr. Mario lacks a lot of draw that other Mario spin-off series are known for: things like the ability to play as your favourite characters (another reason World felt like a revelation) and being easy to pick up and play (capsules have rigid movements that made it more difficult to gauge their movements). I also felt that the versus mode in the traditional games are not very easy to get into due to their overall slow speed compared to the thriving Tetris and Puyo Puyo versus metagames, which makes World better because by contrast, it is fast-paced even compared to Miracle Cure (despite the power up additions).

Personally I felt that the fact that the series doesn't really evolve that much made it a relatively dull Mario series. The gameplay is fine but it felt like the same game even in different iterations. At least with something like Mario Golf or Mario Tennis, the developers allowed room to push the series into new directions, making them felt fresh. If the series were to evolve, I think they should look at the advantages that World introduced and incorporate it into the main games, as otherwise the mobile game was discontinued for naught, and that would be a shame.

Thank you for reading.
 
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winstein said:
This is something of an observation that I have made: beyond the first Dr. Mario games (the NES and Game Boy), none of the other Dr. Mario games have anywhere near as much success as the first ones did, since none of the others were million-sellers. Even Dr. Mario 64, the only other fully-packaged game, didn't appear to incite much enthusiasm. Every other Dr. Mario game are either digital-only (e.g. Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure) or part of a compilation (e.g. Puzzle League + Dr. Mario). It felt like there is a lack of confidence for Dr. Mario to be a full product, given how the games don't tend to have much features, and even a few games have removed certain features like how in Miracle Cure, you can't even choose the music to play! Not to mention, Dr. Mario 64 is still the only Dr. Mario game to allow for 4 players.
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Thanks for posting this. I think you have great insight on why the series isn’t more popular. Maybe innovation would help but I’m not convinced the core gameplay is that compelling to begin with.

Sounds like I’m not the only one. I guess I always thought the series had a bigger, if still niche, fanbase and I was an outlier.
 
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Don't get me wrong: I do enjoy the series a bit because I have an affinity for puzzle games (including Tetris and Puyo Puyo), but the main thing that prevented it from being a full-on enjoyment is that many of the games don't have much to do. Even then, I appreciated what new things that the newer games introduced, like how Miracle Cure is the first one to have a mission structure and how 64 has a lovably silly Story Mode. It really only took until Dr. Mario World to convince me that the series has a lot of room for improvements, especially since as a mobile game, World tends to be overlooked a lot.

Thank you for reading.
 
Played it as a kid, with not a full back-log like today. It's not as intuitive as Tetris, but the original music was catchy and with time you learn how to combine pills to get combos which is the fun for me.
 
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It is a good game on it's own way, but not a great one. It can be very punishing if you make mistakes. But it can also be very addicting trying to kill all those viruses.
 
I feel like the best one was the Wii version since if you broke apart capsules you could redrag the falling debris. Made it hectic with friends.

Main issue is it just isn’t as elegant as Tetris or Puyo. There’s only three colors, the versus modes aren’t competitive like Tetris or Puyo, also it is weirdly most difficult at the the start of the round rather than as you play. I think getting an hour or two of enjoyment out of it is fine.
 
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I love dr. Mario, it's my favorite party game.

But it's one of those games that can result in a big fight with your family because how screwed you can get from the trash your opponent sends you. Me and my wife never play it together to avoid these :).
 
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The real best puzzle game featuring a doctor as the titular character is Dr Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine.
 
I never cared for dr. Mario. Was never fun to me. Now Wario Woods? That needs more love in life.
 
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It never clicked with me either tbh. However if you start talking about Tetris Attack/Pokemon Puzzle League now you'll reach me.

I really hope Puzzle League makes it out to NSO, that would make for some nice online matches.
 
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I enjoy it, it's fun enough once you get it. I even played the phone game up until they added Petey and the levels became a pain as he wouldn't unlock for me.
 
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Sometimes I think Nintendo are crazy to keep pushing ahead with Dr. Mario and not bring back Panel de Pon which is the far superior puzzle game. I get that the Mario IP is far stronger, but maybe another puzzle collection game is the way to go.

Dr. Mario's best trait is the music anyway. I think my problem with the game is how difficult it is to come back from a close defeat compared to games like Tetris or Puyo Puyo.
 
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wiiucollector said:
Already played about 2 hours of DrM64 too. I do wish it had the exact same mechanics as Tetris when it comes to moving blocks to the side when "grounded" before a final connect, but otherwise it's a terminal addiction for me.
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There is, the margin is just tiny and its mainly for rotation
 
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Why the fuck is my board mostly filled up the moment I start the game? I could lose in like just a few moves.
 
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The core gameplay is just not as good as other puzzlers.

That said, I’m just gonna have to take other people’s word about Puyo Puyo. I don’t think I get it. (fueling the conspiracy that I am secretly Nagoshi)
 
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Did ya'll know that Nintendo actually created mascot costumes for the Viruses from Dr. Mario? They debuted in late 2019 and for some reason haven't been seen since. I missed that apparently.

1600px-NI_Nintendo_Live_2019_Group_Photo.jpg
 
Dr. Mario is just not a very fun puzzle game. I don't hate it but I'd rather play most other mainstream puzzlers.
 
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So I played some Dr Mario 64 last night, finishing the 8-chapter story mode on normal. I had a bit more fun than I usually do with Dr Mario, but it was still mostly frustrating.

My biggest problem is how easy it is to make a mistake, and how hard it is to recover. Cleaning up mistakes is way more frustrating than Tetris or Puyo.
 
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i like dr mario a fair bit and can usually clear level 20+, but i just cannot perform the mental geometry necessary to rack up combos and rain trash on folks in MP

i don't have any problems with tetris or puyo so i'm sure if i spent enough time i could get it, but it just seems so unintuitive for whatever reason
 
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Dr Mario is a lot of fun, the problem is it doesn't have the level of easy depth that the more addicting puzzlers like Tetris, Puyo Puyo, or Panel De Pon do. You can play Dr Mario competitively, and there is even a world championship for it, but it's not as easy of a game to watch or play. Even when you set up a big combo it doesn't have the same level of flashy appeal as a big puyo chain or a tetris clear.
 
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It's literally created for just that awesome theme song. Fever is iconic. Me and my younger sister love that tune to death haha. Yes thanks too smash bros indeed.
 
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