-----------------
Table of Contents
-----------------
1. Introduction
2. Version History
3. The Controls
4. The Story
5. The Basics
6. Starting a Game
7. Strategies
8. Conclusion
---------------
1. Introduction
---------------
Doctor Mario was another puzzle game cashing in on the popularity of Tetris.
The game originally was released on the NES. It spawned sequels on the Nintendo
64 and on the Gameboy. The original NES version was re-released on the Gameboy
Advance, and also on the SNES in Japan, under the title, 'BS Doctor Mario'.
This version of the game plays exactly the same as the original Dr Mario
except it has updated graphics. This FAQ will cover how to play, the controls,
and will even include a few strategies to help you win. If you notice an
error in this FAQ, see the 'Conclusion' section to find my email address. Enjoy
the FAQ!
------------------
2. Version History
------------------
Version 1.00 - 6th March 2007
-----------------------------
First complete version of this FAQ. Also the first public release.
---------------
3. The Controls
---------------
Menu controls are as follows:
Up/Down - Choose option
Left/Right - Select option value
START - Proceed to the next menu/Start game
Game controls are as follows:
Left/Right - Move pill left/right
Down - Send pill quickly to the bottom
A - Rotate pill
B - Rotate pill
START - Pause the game
------------
4. The Story
------------
Mario has had many adventures but now he's growing old and gets a job at the
Mushroom Kingdom Hospital. One day at work, Nurse Peach runs into the office
and says: "Doctor Mario, a new virus has been discovered and it's attacking
every patient at the hospital. You must do something." Dr Mario says: "Luckily,
I've been developing a new anti-virus that should do the trick. I'll wipe out
the virus for you!"
-------------
5. The Basics
-------------
On the game screen, you'll notice that there is a jar shape in the middle of
the screen. Dr Mario stands to the right with a pill in his hand. This is the
pill that will be thrown into the jar next. Each virus is a certain colour and
to get rid of one virus, you have got to make a straight line of four matching
colours out of pills and viruses. When a line of four or more is made, the
pills and virus are removed from the screen and your score goes up. It's not as
easy as that unfortunately. Each pill is made from two different colours, and
not every pill will fit every colour virus. The pills can come in the following
combinations.
_________________ _________________
/ Yellow | Yellow \ / Red | Red \
\_________________/ \_________________/
_________________ _________________
/ Blue | Blue \ / Red | Yellow \
\_________________/ \_________________/
_________________ _________________
/ Yellow | Blue \ / Red | Blue \
\_________________/ \_________________/
The viruses come in Red, Blue, and Yellow so matching up the wrong colour will
mean you have to get rid of the colour you've covered the virus with first. For
example. see the diagram below:
Step 1: You accidently place a blue part of a pill on the yellow virus.
_____________
/ Blue | Blue \
\_____________/
|Yellow|
|Virus |
|______|
______
| Blue |
|Virus |
|______|
Step 2: You now have to get rid of the blue pills before you can tackle the
yellow virus. You place a few more blue pills on top of the existing one.
_____________
/ Blue | Blue \
_____\_____________/
/ Red | Blue \
\____________/______
/ Blue | Blue \
\_____________/
|Yellow|
|Virus |
|______|
______
| Blue |
|Virus |
|______|
Step 3: By extreme luck, another pill with blue on each side is dropped, giving
you the chance to knock off all the blue pills you've built up.
This row of blue pills disappears,
letting you attack the yellow
virus beneath.
|
|
V
_____________
/ Blue | Blue \
\_____________/
/ Blue | Blue \
_____\_____________/
/ Red | Blue \
\____________/______
/ Blue | Blue \
\_____________/
|Yellow|
|Virus |
|______|
______
| Blue |
|Virus |
|______|
Step 4: As the blue pills are removed, the other sides of the pills fall down
as far as they can. The red one to the left falls to the bottom, and the three
blue ones to the right fall on to the blue virus. As there are now four blues
in a row, the blue virus is eliminated., moving you closer to completing the
level. The diagram here shows you what the level looks like after everything
has been removed.
______
|Yellow|
|Virus |
|______|
_____
/ Red |
\_____|
When all of the viruses in a level have been cleared, the game moves on to the
next level. When you finally reach level 20, and you complete it, you've
finished the game, so well done!
------------------
6. Starting a Game
------------------
When you turn on your SNES and select 'Start Game' from the main menu, you are
taken to a screen with various options on it. This screen lets you customise
the playing arena and various aspects of the gameplay. The options you can
choose are shown below.
Virus Level - 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20
- This lets you jump straight to a certain level of the game. If it
is your first time playing, it's just best to start at level 1.
Speed - Low,Med,Hi
- This option lets you select how fast Mario throws the pills into the
jar. If you choose a faster option, you will have less time to see the
pill before Dr Mario throws it into the jar.
Music Type - Fever,Chill,Off
- This just lets you choose which type of music to have playing in
the background during levels, or none at all. This option is in
here just so you can choose the music you like best. It has no
effect on the game itself.
Once you've finished with all the option choices press the START button to
begin your adventure in fighting viruses.
-------------
7. Strategies
-------------
Dr Mario is quite easy in concept, but if you want to rack up as many points as
possible, you will have to learn how to place pills in cunning places and to
use the correct pill at the correct time. I've put together a list of helpful
hints and tips that will help you to get the highest score possible.
- Have a rubbish dump for unwanted pills. Quite a lot of the time you will be
looking for a specific pill to put in a specific place. However, the chances
of that pill appearing next are quite slim. Have a specific place in the jar
that's empty of viruses for you to put pills that aren't needed. This means
these pills don't clog up the important areas where all the viruses are.
- If there's a virus with 3 pills of the same colour on it, and another virus
of a different colour below that, try and find a pill that has two colours on
it: the colour of the virus with 3, and the colour of the virus beneath.
Rotate it so the colour of the below virus is on the top, then place it. This
way, the four coloured pills and a virus will be eliminated, and you've
already got one pill towards clearing the next one.
- To clear more viruses with less pills, find two viruses of the same colour
that are level but three or four spaces apart. Fill up the space between with
the correct coloured pills, but make sure there never are four touching each
other. Place another pill in the middle to join them up, and thus eliminating
two viruses with one pill, giving you exta points. You can try this strategy
with more than two viruses if you like, although it's less likely to work.
-------------
8. Conclusion
-------------
The only site with permission to host this FAQ is www.gamefaqs.com and if you
see this on another site, email me at:
bodo_parkour [at] hotmail [dot] co [dot] uk
This guide is Copyright (c) 2006 Bodo_parkour and it may not be reproduced
under any circumstances without my express permission.
This FAQ was written free of charge and no profit has been made for it, except
the satisfaction of knowing there is one less game without an FAQ.
I'd like to thank the following people:
- Me for writing this FAQ.
- CjayC for running and maintaining GameFAQs.
- You for reading and hopefully enjoying this short FAQ.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of file
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
