- NA release: 9th April 2001
- EU release: N/A
- NA release: N/A
- Developer: Nintendo
- Publisher: Nintendo
- N64 Magazine Score: 43%
Dr. Mario is a long-running puzzle series that started off on the NES, and even inspired a similar game from Nintendo called Tetris 2. In Dr. Mario, you have to match four or more of the same colour, but instead of just creating combos, you have the objective of clearing all the viruses from your play area by including them in a colour match. Each piece you play only consists of two parts, and you have to carefully place them so you don’t end up blocking yourself. It’s simple, but fun.
The N64 version doesn’t do a lot of new stuff, outside a four player mode. The presentation looks nice, even if it’s very cheap (with the characters in the game being static images pasted on wooden blocks for the story mode). This sort of game is better suited to downloadable services- which is what later Dr. Mario games did.
Fine
So, is that is? Yup. That’s Dr Mario 64. The developers haven’t even attempted to dress it all up with exciting animations or special effects. It’s a pretty dismal package, all told, whose only purpose is to flesh out Nintendo’s ever-dwindling release list. A complete waste of your – and our – time.
Geraint Evans, N64 Magazine #56
Remake or remaster?
A new version would be nice – a small downloadable title that just makes the game look cleaner in HD would be great.
Official Ways to get the game
There is no way to buy a new copy of Dr Mario 64, the only official way to play is to rent it via the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack.
Europe
Japan
North America
N64 Games by Date
1997: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
1998: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
1999: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2000: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
I still don’t understand why this is based off of Wario Land 3 of all things…
That said, 4 player is neat, but it’s very choppy. Not nice to actually play
I’ve only played one Wario Land (the second game), so I had no idea it was based on something specific.
About that… according to the TCRF page, the characters were originally going to be more traditional; but seem to have been all changed to Wario Land 3 characters rather late in development… for some bizarre reason.
To be honest though, that’s the most notable thing about this game; because it is a very poor version of Dr Mario otherwise.
Also, fun fact, this game came on the smallest cartridge to ever grace the N64 (a mere 32mbit/4MB, the same size as DKC on SNES). This was a budget release in every sense of the word.
I played Dr. Mario 64 not too long ago. My general sentiment was that this focus on Multiplayer was a mistake, and it ill-suits this series, which is all about relaxing catharsis and taking your own rhythm. The multiplayer mechanics themselves were also far more frustrating than competitive.
That said, there is a mode in this game that works: Flash Mode. Basically, there’s three specific viruses that each player needs to get rid of, and whoever does it first, wins. It’s a much better idea for Dr. Mario multiplayer, and it’s a shame that the game didn’t go for that ruleset as the default.
Despite my criticisms, I do love Wario Land 3, and this game happens to be the one other piece of media that acknowledges its existence. I’ll always be fond of it for that reason.