_____ _____ _ _ _____ _____ ____
| __ \ | __ \ | \ / | /\ | __ \ |_ _|/ __ \
| | | || |__) | | \ / | / \ | |__) | | | | | | |
| | | || _ / _ | \/ | / /\ \ | _ / | | | | | |
| |__| || | \ \ / / _ | |\ /| | / ____ \ | | \ \ _| |_| |__| |
|_____/ |_| \ \/ / (_)|_| \/ |_|/_/ \_\|_| \_\|_____|\____/
> <
/ /\ \ FAQ / Strategy Guide
/_/ \_\ Version 1.0
*******************************************************************************
Written by Rei_diate (
[email protected])
*******************************************************************************
_________________
(Statistical Data )
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Released - 1990 on the NES, re-released for Color Gameboy.
Players - One or two Player Simultaneous
Genre - Puzzle
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__________
( CONTENTS )
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
1. Story
2. Basic Gameplay Info
i) Controls
ii) Menu Screen
·Virus Level
·Music
·Speed
iii) Game Play Screens
·One Player Screen
·Two Player Screen
iv) Winning in One and Two Player Modes
3. Handy Charts and Tables
i) Scoring System
ii) Viruses Per Level
4. Virus Elimination
i) Horizontal and Vertical elimination
ii) Elimination Tips and Tricks
·Don't Make It Harder on Yourself
Continuos Capsule Elimination
·Coming Up From Below
·End levels
·Horizontal Multiple Kills
·The Waste Area
5.End Bits
· Regarding E-mail
· Mandatory Legal Stuff and Disclaimers.
===============================================================================
STORY
===============================================================================
(Extract from Instruction Booklet)
MY NAME IS DR. MARIO. How's it going? Over the past few years, I've been
involved in some pretty wild adventures. Now, believe it or not, I work in the
virus research lab at Mushroom Kingdom Hospital. Today I'm about to begin my
research as usual.
"Dr Mario something has happened!"
"What's wrong, nurse Toadstool?"
"One of the experiments has gone
out of control. The viruses are
spreading quickly"
"Oh No! We've got to do something!.
I have just developed a new vitamin
that should be able to take care
of it. I sure hope this works!"
===============================================================================
BASIC GAMEPLAY INFO
===============================================================================
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
i. Controls
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Control Pad: ·LEFT - Moves vitamin capsules left.
·RIGHT - Moves vitamin capsule right.
·UP - Does not have function in the game play.
·DOWN - Makes the vitamin capsule drop faster.
+Control Pad moves cursor on the menu screen
A BUTTON - Rotates vitamin capsule right (clockwise).
B BUTTON - Rotates vitamin capsule left (anti- clockwise).
START BUTTON - Starts the game & Pauses/Unpauses during game play.
SELECT BUTTON - Moves cursor on title screen.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ii. Menu Screen
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Once you have selected one or two player Game, there are a few choices you have
to make.
_____________
( Virus Level )
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The virus level is chosen by moving the yellow arrow along the meter from left
to right. The higher a level you choose, (indicated by the number in the green
box) the more viruses you will start off with. There are 21 levels to choose
from (0-20)
_______
( Speed )
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
There are three speed settings, from which to choose from. They are Low Med and
Hi. Speed can be changed to make the game more challenging or to improve your
skills in the game. When Playing the game the speed increased after about every
ten capsules that are dropped.
____________
( Music Type )
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
There are three music settings in the game. They are fever, chill and off. The
choice of music impacts little on the game play, although the faster music does
give a sense of urgency, which in higher speed games helps you get going.
**Note**
In a two player game each player can choose their own speed and level, but the
two must agree on music. The level and speed options can be used as to give one
player a handicap.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
iii. Game Play Screens
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
___________________
( One Player Screen )
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
When playing the game it is important to know what the game screen can tell you
in terms of progress, status and settings.
The top left corner of the screen contains a yellow and pink clipboard. It
shows you the Top Score and your current score.
Below this are the three viruses. As you play they dance around in a circle.
When you kill a virus the same coloured virus in this corner will fall on his
back, or similar. When you kill every virus of that colour the same coloured
one in the corner will fall on his back again then disappear.
The middle of the screen in dominated by the virus bottle. In which you have to
kill the viruses.
The clipboard in the bottom right corner of the screen tells you which level
you are on, the speed you have chosen and the number of viruses currently alive
in the bottle.
Above the second clipboard is Dr. Mario himself. He throws the pills into the
bottle that you must use to kill the viruses. If you have the chance look up
every now and then to see which pill Dr. Mario is about to throw to quickly
plan your next move.
**note**
Every five levels you clear you will see "Something Special" (as Nintendo says)
but don't get ready to change your underwear just yet, it isn't that exciting.
___________________
( Two Player Screen )
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The two player screen is essentially more crowded than the one player.
The Main part of the screen consists of two bottles side by side. The bottle
closest to the left of screen is for player one and the bottle on the right is
for player two. Instead of the happy big nosed doctor showing you which pill
falls next, the next pill is in the neck of each bottle.
In between the bottles there is a clipboard that contains six boxes. Each time
you beat your opponent you will gain a crown in the boxes nest to your
clipboard. When your get three you are deemed overall winner.
Below the clip board is a smaller clipboard with the amount of viruses each
player has left. The amount of viruses each player has left is closest to
their bottle.
Up the very top of the screen in between the bottlenecks is a clipboard that
tells you which player owns which bottle, the level and speed that each player
has chosen
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
iv. Winning in One Player and Two player modes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Essentially there is only one way to win in one player mode. You have to
eliminate all of the viruses.
In two-player mode however you can win two ways in two-player mode. You can
either be faster than your opponent and kill all the viruses quicker or the
other player can fill the bottle up to the top and you win by default.
The extra nasty feature of this game is that if you eliminate two or more rows
or columns (horizontal and vertical kills) at once in two player mode. Two
Singular pill pieces will fall at random on your opponent's side. This helps to
fill your opponents side quicker and hinder their colour matching. Nasty don't
you think?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
v. Pills and Viruses (Weapons and Enemies)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are six types of pills
___________
( BLUE|BLUE ) - Used to eliminate blue viruses only.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
___________
( RED | RED ) - Used to eliminate red viruses only.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
_____________
(YELLOW|YELLOW) - Used to eliminate yellow viruses only.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
___________
( RED |BLUE ) - Used to eliminate red, blue or both.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
_____________
( RED |YELLOW) - Used to eliminate red, yellow or both.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
_____________
( BLUE |YELLOW) - Used to eliminate blue or yellow or both.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The Three viruses are Red, Yellow and Blue and are placed in random order, in
the bottle, when you start.
===============================================================================
3.Handy Charts and Tables
===============================================================================
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
i.Scoring System
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This table is taken directly from the Dr. Mario instruction booklet.
__________________ ______________________________
|NUMBER OF VIRUSES | LOW | MED | HIGH |
| ELIMINATED | SPEED | SPEED | SPEED |
|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|
| 1 | 100 | 200 | 300 |
| 2 | 200 | 400 | 600 |
| 3 | 400 | 800 | 1200 |
| 4 | 800 | 1600 | 2400 |
| 5 | 1600 | 3200 | 4800 |
| 6 | 3200 | 6400 | 9600 |
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
**note** Multiple kills do not multiply your score.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ii. Viruses Per Level
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
__________________
| LEVEL |NUMBER OF| **Note**
| | VIRUSES | The colour and placement of the virus is
|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| random. Which Virus you are left with last
| 00 | 04 | often doen not have to do with the initial
| 01 | 08 | amount of them, rather the placement.
| 02 | 12 | ie. There may be 50 red viruses and 20 blue
| 03 | 16 | viruses. All of the red viruses are close to the
| 04 | 20 | top however, do you kill them first.
| 05 | 24 |
| 06 | 28 |
| 07 | 32 |
| 08 | 36 |
| 09 | 40 |
| 10 | 44 |
| 11 | 48 |
| 12 | 52 |
| 13 | 56 |
| 14 | 60 |
| 15 | 64 |
| 16 | 68 |
| 17 | 72 |
| 18 | 76 |
| 19 | 80 |
| 20 | 84 |
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
===============================================================================
4. Virus Elimination
===============================================================================
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
i. Horizontal and Vertical Elimination
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The aim of the game is to eliminate viruses. This can be done by matching
vertically or horizontally four pill parts of the same colour as the virus.
There are two main ways you can do this.
For Example:
B= Blue
R= Red
Y= Yellow
|B | B| - Pills can be stacked over the virus of the same
|B | Y| colour to eliminate the Virus VERTICALLY.
|B | R|
(Bv)- virus
_ _ _
|R|Y|Y| - Pills can be stacked on their side, next to the
Virus-|Bv|B|B|B| virus to eliminate it HORIZONTALLY.
¯ ¯ ¯
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
i. Elimination Tips and Tricks
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are several "tricks" and tips you can learn in Dr. Mario that will help
you win quicker and easier.
__________________________________
( Don't make it harder on yourself )
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
- Be aware of how you place the pills. An incorrect placement could make it
much harder for you in the long run.
For Example,
|B | B| - You are about to eliminate the blue virus.
|B | Y| The pills stacked on their side will fall
|B | R| directly down onto the red virus when you do.
(Bv)
(Rv)
|* |
|* | - Virus and pills disappear
|* |
(*)
| B|
| Y| - The remaining pill pieces have now fallen
| R| of the red virus, leaving you to get rid of
(Rv) the blue and yellow pill bits before you do.
To get rid of them you must stack 3 of the
same colour on the exposed piece.
________________________________
( Continuous Capsule Elimination )
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
- Pill pieces falling down can some times be used to your advantage. If you
place them carefully so that the right colour falls on the right virus.
For Example,
|B | R| - The blue virus is about to be eliminated.
|B | R| Because you have stacked three blue/red pills
|B | R| onto of it the red will fall on the red
(Bv)
(Rv)
|* |
|* | - Virus and pills disappear
|* |
(*)
| R|
| R| - The remaining pill pieces have now fallen
| R| on the red virus. It will also be eliminated.
(Rv)
|* |
|* | - All viruses and pills have disappeared.
|* |
(*)
| *|
| *|
| *|
( *)
This method of elimination is called Continuous Capsule Elimination
______________________
( Coming Up from Below )
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
If your remaining pills are up high or if you see an available opening, you
may be able to destroy pills from below rather than stacking them on top.
This method requires patience you have to select and stack the right pills
underneath the virus and be confident that you can put them underneath in time.
(Bv)
|B | R| - The blue and red pills have been stacked so that they
|B | R| kill the red and blue viruses. the red is killed from above,
|B | R| the blue from below.
(Rv)
__________
(End Levels)
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The end levels of a game are always going to be hard, but they need not be
impossible. I found that if you tend you plough a hole down wards you usually
end up stuck with no where to go. Try to remove each horizontal line, its
harder at first but you tend not to get yourself stuck. However, use common
sense if you see a chance to get rid of a lot of pills fast by "drilling down",
then do it just be mindful of the possible consequences. This tip may not work
for you, but it helped me greatly.
___________________________
( Horizontal Multiple Kills )
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Some of the most useful advice I can give you is to consider the pill placement
carefully. Don't always just concentrate on the virus and throw everything at
it. If you widen your perspective and try to place pills so that they kill
multiple viruses you will win much quicker.
For example
__ __ __
(bv)|B ||B ||B | - Although at first it looks as if you have covered
(rv)|R ||R ||R | the three blue viruses (bv), in actuality you have
(yv)(bv)(bv)(bv) killed the blue virus(bv) and red virus (rv) horizontally.
When killed they will disappear and the three blue
viruses(bv) will be freed up to kill.
________________
( The waste area )
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
If you can see an area during your game that is fairly empty, you may be able
to make it a waste area. Although as your skills develop you will be able to
use nearly each and every pill, a waste area can be very useful. In the empty
area you have found assess whether or not pills could be stowed there without
interfering with any of the viruses you have to kill. If you are confident that
the area is empty enough, put pills there that you can not find a use for. If
you try to stack them according to colour, You may be able to destroy excess
pills and keep your waste area fairly empty. It can then be reused over and
over.
If there are two viruses in line with each other but not onto of each other you
can use this to your advantage
===============================================================================
5.End Bits
===============================================================================
Regarding E-mail
All questions, comments etc may be directed to me through my e-mail address at
[email protected]. However, if your e-mail does not get answered within the
time frame you thought it would, BE PAITENT. I cannot stress this enough. I am
a relatively busy person, so if I don't answer you it means my uni assignments
took priority or you are a person who asks dumb questions. If you are the kind
of person who sends repetitive e-mail like "When are you going to answer my
question?" or "Did you get my last email?" I will not answer you at all and
I'll block your address. Drastic action, I know, but entirely necessary.
MANDATORY LEGAL STUFF & DISCLAIMERS
-----------------------------------
As much as I love getting you and I into heated legal battles, that make
small time country hick lawyers rich, I don't particularly feel like it at the
moment, so abide by these "guidelines" and we'll all be happy.
This FAQ was created with the intention it be posted at;
www.gamefaqs.com
Quite frankly, I would like to keep it this way!!.
If however you desperately want to post it on another website please ask me!!.
Don't bother though, if you aren't prepared to do the following
·Tell me where you wanna put it and why.
·Promise you won't be making any money out of it. This includes advertising
on the page.
·Promise me also that your site has NOTHING to do with pornography or related
material.
·Not alter it in any way, this includes adding or deleting material, ESPECIALLY
adding your name to the list that gamefaqs is on.
Dr.Mario and all related characters are trademarks of Nintendo Pty. Ltd.
© Copyright 2000 Rei_diate
-
