# Dr. Mario
**Dr. Mario** (ドクターマリオ) is a falling-piece action puzzle game developed and published by Nintendo, first released for the Family Computer in Japan on July 27, 1990 and for the [Nintendo Entertainment System](https://www.edgepedia.org/nintendo-entertainment-system) in North America on October 31, 1990[1](https://www.nintendo.com/jp/famicom/software/hvc-vu/index.html) • [2](https://www.gamespot.com/games/dr-mario/reviews/). Mario appears as a doctor who throws two-segment vitamin capsules into a medicine bottle to destroy viruses; the player clears pieces by aligning four or more of the same color in a vertical or horizontal line[3](https://www.nintendo.co.jp/clv/manuals/en/pdf/CLV-P-NAAXE_en.pdf). The game spawned a series spanning the [Game Boy](https://www.edgepedia.org/game-boy), Super NES, Nintendo 64, WiiWare, and mobile devices[2](https://www.gamespot.com/games/dr-mario/reviews/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original release | Famicom: July 27, 1990 (Japan); NES: October 31, 1990[1](https://www.nintendo.com/jp/famicom/software/hvc-vu/index.html) • [2](https://www.gamespot.com/games/dr-mario/reviews/) |
| Developer / publisher | Nintendo[2](https://www.gamespot.com/games/dr-mario/reviews/) |
| Genre | Matching/stacking, action puzzle[2](https://www.gamespot.com/games/dr-mario/reviews/) |
| Core rule | Four or more capsules and viruses of the same color in a vertical or horizontal line are cleared[3](https://www.nintendo.co.jp/clv/manuals/en/pdf/CLV-P-NAAXE_en.pdf) |
| Pieces | Six capsule types (red-red, red-blue, blue-blue, red-yellow, yellow-yellow, blue-yellow) and three virus colors (red, blue, yellow)[3](https://www.nintendo.co.jp/clv/manuals/en/pdf/CLV-P-NAAXE_en.pdf) |
| Settings | Virus level sets the starting virus count; speed is Low, Med, or Hi[3](https://www.nintendo.co.jp/clv/manuals/en/pdf/CLV-P-NAAXE_en.pdf) |
| Two-player win condition | First player to win three rounds, each marked by a crown, wins the match[3](https://www.nintendo.co.jp/clv/manuals/en/pdf/CLV-P-NAAXE_en.pdf) |
| Music | Two in-game tracks, "Fever" and "Chill"[4](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/classic-nes-series-dr-mario-review/1900-6112134/) |
## Gameplay
The playing field is a bottle. Capsules fall two halves at a time, and the player can move, rotate, and drop them as they descend[3](https://www.nintendo.co.jp/clv/manuals/en/pdf/CLV-P-NAAXE_en.pdf). A virus is destroyed when it becomes part of a vertical or horizontal line of four or more same-colored capsule halves or viruses; a line of capsules in a different color from an adjacent virus leaves that virus in place[3](https://www.nintendo.co.jp/clv/manuals/en/pdf/CLV-P-NAAXE_en.pdf). When capsules are cleared, any capsules resting above them fall down, which is the basis of chain reactions in which one clear triggers another[1](https://www.nintendo.com/jp/famicom/software/hvc-vu/index.html).
**Difficulty settings.** The menu offers two adjustable parameters. The virus level sets how many viruses are in the bottle at the start, with the count rising as the cursor moves right; on the Game Boy version, each increase of one virus level adds 4 viruses[3](https://www.nintendo.co.jp/clv/manuals/en/pdf/CLV-P-NAAXE_en.pdf) • [5](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/gameboy/563270-dr-mario/faqs/67275/basics). The speed setting (Low, Med, Hi) sets how fast capsules fall[3](https://www.nintendo.co.jp/clv/manuals/en/pdf/CLV-P-NAAXE_en.pdf). In both one-player and two-player games, the fall speed increases slightly with every 10 capsules that appear[1](https://www.nintendo.com/jp/famicom/software/hvc-vu/index.html).
**Game over.** In the one-player game, clearing every virus completes the stage; if capsules fill the bottle up past the bottom of the bottle neck, the game ends[3](https://www.nintendo.co.jp/clv/manuals/en/pdf/CLV-P-NAAXE_en.pdf).
## Two-player mode
Two players play simultaneously in separate bottles, and the first to clear all of their viruses wins the round[3](https://www.nintendo.co.jp/clv/manuals/en/pdf/CLV-P-NAAXE_en.pdf). Each round win awards a crown, and the overall winner is the first to collect three crowns; a player whose bottle fills past the neck loses and gives the opponent a crown[3](https://www.nintendo.co.jp/clv/manuals/en/pdf/CLV-P-NAAXE_en.pdf). Each player can set their own virus level and speed, which allows a handicap for the weaker player[3](https://www.nintendo.co.jp/clv/manuals/en/pdf/CLV-P-NAAXE_en.pdf).
**Attacks.** Chain clears are the offensive tool. Clearing two lines at once drops 2 half-capsules on the opponent's side, three lines drop 3, and four lines drop 4; clearing more than four lines still sends only 4[1](https://www.nintendo.com/jp/famicom/software/hvc-vu/index.html). In the NES code, when both players clear their last virus on the same frame and player one has fewer than two crowns, both players are awarded a crown, but if player one already has two crowns the match is awarded to player one with no draw indication[6](https://wiki.drmar.io/index.php?title=Mechanics_%28NES%29).
## Relationship to Tetris
Dr. Mario is a falling-piece puzzle game in the Tetris tradition, and contemporary reviews routinely made the comparison[7](https://superluigibros.com/dr-mario/) • [4](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/classic-nes-series-dr-mario-review/1900-6112134/). The differences are structural: instead of clearing full rows, the player matches colors around fixed targets (the viruses), and the bottle starts pre-filled with those targets, which one reviewer compared to Tetris's B-type mode with its starting garbage pieces[8](https://www.honestgamers.com/15179/game-boy/dr-mario/review.html). Reviewers also noted that the game sends unneeded capsule colors at critical moments, in the same way Tetris withholds the straight piece, and that Dr. Mario plays more like a puzzle of placement than a game of reflexes[4](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/classic-nes-series-dr-mario-review/1900-6112134/) • [8](https://www.honestgamers.com/15179/game-boy/dr-mario/review.html). The Super NES compilation *Tetris & Dr. Mario* paired the two games on one cartridge[2](https://www.gamespot.com/games/dr-mario/reviews/).
## Later releases
The formula was reissued across Nintendo platforms. GameSpot lists versions on the NES, Game Boy, Super NES, and [Game Boy Advance](https://www.edgepedia.org/game-boy-advance), including the 2004 [Classic NES Series](https://www.edgepedia.org/classic-nes-series) re-release on GBA[2](https://www.gamespot.com/games/dr-mario/reviews/). *Dr. Mario 64* (2001) adapted the game for four players on the [Nintendo 64](https://www.edgepedia.org/nintendo-64), and *Dr. Mario Online Rx* appeared as a WiiWare launch title[9](https://www.metacritic.com/game/dr-mario-64/critic-reviews/?platform=nintendo-64) • [10](https://www.metacritic.com/game/dr-mario-online-rx/critic-reviews/). The GBA compilation *Dr. Mario & Puzzle League*, created by Game Freak, was added to the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack library in 2025[11](https://childrenssoftware.com/pdf/may06flower.pdf) • [12](https://www.gamesradar.com/games/platformer/nintendo-finally-adds-the-first-wario-land-to-switch-online-with-almost-every-other-game-in-the-series-already-available/). Nintendo's Japanese Famicom page lists the original as playable on modern hardware including the Switch and Wii U[1](https://www.nintendo.com/jp/famicom/software/hvc-vu/index.html).
**Dr. Mario World.** Nintendo's mobile entry launched on iOS and Android on July 10, 2019, ahead of the previously announced Mario Kart Tour[13](https://techcrunch.com/2019/06/18/dr-mario-is-in-on-ios-and-android-july-10/). It reworked the formula into a stage-based game with character assistants and doctor skills rather than the classic bottle[14](https://www.mariowiki.com/Capsule). Critics were divided: the iOS version scored a 58 Metascore, with 6 positive, 6 mixed, and 5 negative reviews among critics, though [Game Informer](https://www.edgepedia.org/game-informer) scored it 88 and called it the most dramatic reinvention of the series since its inception[15](https://www.metacritic.com/game/dr-mario-world/critic-reviews/).
## Reception of the original
The original NES game holds a 66 Metacritic score aggregated from critics, and GameSpot's review of the GBA re-release scored it 7.4 out of 10, praising the two music tracks as the highlight of an otherwise minimal presentation[2](https://www.gamespot.com/games/dr-mario/reviews/) • [4](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/classic-nes-series-dr-mario-review/1900-6112134/). A retrospective assessment notes the game's pitch-perfect difficulty, its status as a novel twist on the puzzle classic, and its excellent two-player mode[16](https://electronicsandbooks.com/edt/manual/Magazine/R/Retro%20Gamer%20UK/75.pdf).
## References
1. [ドクターマリオ | ファミリーコンピュータ | 任天堂](https://www.nintendo.com/jp/famicom/software/hvc-vu/index.html)
2. [Dr. Mario Reviews, GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/games/dr-mario/reviews/)
3. [Dr. MARIO Instruction Booklet, Nintendo (CLV-P-NAAXE)](https://www.nintendo.co.jp/clv/manuals/en/pdf/CLV-P-NAAXE_en.pdf)
4. [Classic NES Series: Dr. Mario Review, GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/classic-nes-series-dr-mario-review/1900-6112134/)
5. [Dr. Mario Basics Guide, GameFAQs](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/gameboy/563270-dr-mario/faqs/67275/basics)
6. [Mechanics (NES), Dr. Mario Wiki](https://wiki.drmar.io/index.php?title=Mechanics_%28NES%29)
7. [Dr. Mario Series (SNES, 1990) — Complete Guide, Super Luigi Bros](https://superluigibros.com/dr-mario/)
8. [Dr. Mario (Game Boy) Review, HonestGamers](https://www.honestgamers.com/15179/game-boy/dr-mario/review.html)
9. [Dr. Mario 64 Critic Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/game/dr-mario-64/critic-reviews/?platform=nintendo-64)
10. [Dr. Mario Online RX Critic Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/game/dr-mario-online-rx/critic-reviews/)
11. [FEATURE REVIEWS, May 1, 2006, Children's Software Revue](https://childrenssoftware.com/pdf/may06flower.pdf)
12. [Nintendo finally adds the first Wario Land to Switch Online, GamesRadar](https://www.gamesradar.com/games/platformer/nintendo-finally-adds-the-first-wario-land-to-switch-online-with-almost-every-other-game-in-the-series-already-available/)
13. [Dr. Mario is in (on iOS and Android) July 10, TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2019/06/18/dr-mario-is-in-on-ios-and-android-july-10/)
14. [Capsule, Super Mario Wiki](https://www.mariowiki.com/Capsule)
15. [Dr. Mario World Critic Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/game/dr-mario-world/critic-reviews/)
16. [Retro Gamer UK issue 75](https://electronicsandbooks.com/edt/manual/Magazine/R/Retro%20Gamer%20UK/75.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Board, card, and puzzle games › Puzzles › Puzzle video games*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license