History VideoGame / DrMario

Mario in this game has changed from a plucky plumber to a determined doctor who has to destroy all of the viruses (red, yellow and blue ones). He uses a series of capsules to eliminate them (when four capsule pieces/viruses of the same color line up in a row).

* HospitalHottie: [[AllThereInTheManual As seen in the manual for the game]], Princess Peach is a nurse at whatever clinic Mario oversees.

''Dr. Mario'' proved just as addictive as its puzzle game parent. "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CB1fFeb1n8 Fever]]" and "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsBtQCDbTWc Chill]]", the game's two main themes, are almost as iconic as "[[VideoGame/{{Tetris}} Korobeiniki]]". Two other tunes, "Cough" and "Sneeze", have also been present since the N64 iteration.

* PublicDomainSoundtrack: The first five notes of The Flea Waltz (known in Japan as "Neko Funjatta"[[note]]"I stepped on a Cat"[[/note]]) can be heard in some versions when Mario accomplishes certain feats, such as making combos or attacking the other player.[[note]]This is, sending the other player "garbage" capsules.[[/note]]

* TheBusCameBack: Update 1.05 of ''Dr. Mario World'' brought back Wario as an unlockable playable character, 18 years after ''64''. His outfit, however, is redesigned 16 years after ''Mega Microgame$''.

* TotemPoleTrench: Dr. Goomba Tower from ''Dr. Mario World'' is a tower of three goombas with a lab coat draped over it. The lab coat is wide open, so they're not even trying to pretend that they are a single six-foot tall goomba.

* ''Dr. Mario World'' (UsefulNotes/IOSGames and AndroidGames)

* EnemyMine: In ''Dr. Mario World'', the viruses wreak havoc across the Mushroom Kingdom, including Bowser's minions. This leads to Bowser teaming up with Mario and Peach, explaining his role as a doctor in the game.

* TheBusCameBack: ''Dr. Mario World'' brought back Wario as an unlockable playable character, 18 years after ''64''. His outfit, however, is redesigned 16 years after ''Mega Microgame$''.

* NintendoHard: Good luck.

* ''Dr. Mario World'' (IOSGames and AndroidGames)

->''"The pills Dr. Mario throws to destroy the viruses are in fact the major threat. The viruses in the bottle can never actually do any harm. In fact, it is the pills that can do harm, causing the player to lose the game if they obstruct the neck of the bottle. Thus ''Dr. Mario'' is, as a game, one about bad medicine."''
-->--'''[[http://projectnes.blogspot.com/2011/01/doctor-who-and-healing-of-death-dr.html El Sandifer]]'''

* NoEnding: The "Fever Clear," "Chill Clear," and "Game Over" songs go on for several seconds before abruptly cutting off.

* AscendedExtra: In most media outside the game, the Viruses are given their own powers and personalities relating to the sickness they instill. Two of them are also named after the tunes in the game, the other one being "Weird", the Yellow Virus. In the games, they're simply obstacles.

* Dr. Mario is a recurring fighter in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' as a MovesetClone of the regular Mario, appearing in ''Melee'', the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U games, and ''Ultimate''.

The game made an appearance as a minigame in both ''VideoGame/{{WarioWare}} Inc.: Mega Microgame$'' ("Dr. Wario", which is pretty much a sprite swap of the NES version) and ''VideoGame/BrainAge'' ("Virus Buster", which introduced touch controls to the series). Dr. Mario is a recurring fighter in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' as a MovesetClone of the regular Mario, appearing in ''Melee'', the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U games, and ''Ultimate''. The viruses appear as enemies in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga'' and ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam''.

This game has been on the following systems:
* UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem
* UsefulNotes/GameBoy
* UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem (in a double pack with ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}'')
* UsefulNotes/{{Nintendo 64}} (''Dr. Mario 64'', featuring characters from ''VideoGame/WarioLand3'' as opponents, notable for being the only time VideoGame/{{Wario}} characters appear in the extended Mario universe)
* UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance (in a double pack with ''[[VideoGame/PanelDePon Puzzle League]]'' and as the aforementioned "Dr. Wario")
* UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube (''Dr. Mario 64'', as part of the [[NoExportForYou Japan-only]] ''Nintendo Puzzle Collection'')
* UsefulNotes/WiiWare (''Dr. Mario Online Rx'', an online-capable version)
* UsefulNotes/NintendoDS[=iWare=] (''Dr. Mario Express'')
* UsefulNotes/WiiU (''Dr. Luigi'', a MissionPackSequel to ''Dr. Mario Online Rx'' which celebrates Advertising/TheYearOfLuigi by replacing Mario with Luigi and introducing the "Operation L" mode)
* UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS (''Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure'', which introduces power ups to the series and features Dr. Mario and Dr. Luigi together for the first time)
* Main/IOSGames and Main/AndroidGames (''Dr. Mario World'', first entry for mobile devices)

* SuddenNameChange: As of ''Dr. Mario World'' for mobile devices, the Viruses are named Red, Blue and Yellow instead of Fever, Chill and Weird. To be fair, the original names haven't been used in quite a while, either.

* UsefulNotes/NintendoDS[=iWare=] (''Dr. Mario Express'' on the [=DSi=]'s Virtual Console)

* WithLyrics: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc-EP-0xEDQ Of the background music]].

[[caption-width-right:300:''[-[[{{Music/Brentalfloss}} "Brightly colored pills! They'll cure all your ills!\\
Just as long as you've got fever or the chills!"]]-]'']]

[[caption-width-right:300:''[-[[{{Music/Brentalfloss}} "Brightly colored pills! They'll cure all your ills! Just as long as you've got fever or the chills!"]]-]'']]