If "Mario and Yoshi" and "Tetris 2" joined together and had a baby, this game would probably be the result. Praised for it's simple game yet engaging game play and awesome music, it became a classic, yet not everyone is aware of this game. Although it is popular, it is not quite as popular as Tetris in the terms of, well, everything. To be honest, I'm just expecting something like Tetris two, only Mario themed. But I should play it, as I have been wrong with games before. Get your white coat and some pills, as we look into Dr Mario.

The story? Apart from Mario throwing pills into a jar to kill germs, then no, but this leaves lots of questions. When did Mario get a degree to be a doctor? I didn't know you needed to be a plumber to be a doctor. Why is that jar so big? Why is Mario treating the germs in the jar and not in patients? The list could go on. And even if the jar was just bigger so you could see what's inside it, then it would look weird if someone walked in just to see Mario throwing pills in a tiny jar and missing several times, and then when he does get one it, he gets it in the wrong place. Maybe I'm going to deep in this one.

The menu screen even looks like the menu in "Tetris 2" and "Mario and Yoshi", you can choose the level (how filthy the jar is in terms of germs), how fast you want the game to be, and the music. The selection of music is a choice of two, Frantic or Chilled. Frantic is the one everyone knows, and is - in my option - far better than chilled. You can see why, because after you hear Chilled, you don't really remember it. But with Frantic, it just matches the game so well.

The game is that you have to free the jar from germs (don't ask me why). As Mario throws the pills, you stack them, much like Tetris. You start with three germs, and you have to stack a row of four or more of the same colour to make that row disappear. This will only work only if the row is completely horizontal or vertical. If it's "T" shaped or boxed shaped, it won't work. When you clear all the germs, you advance to the next level. It seems that every five levels you complete, you get a cut-scene, like that of Pac-Man.

This idea seems old and recycled. After Playing Tetris 2, I don't see much difference in the game play. It is far more challenging than Tetris 2 when you get to the higher levels, but that's about it. It is nice that gravity is involved with this game, and  you can score some combos if your lucky, but it feels like I'm playing a simplified version of Tetris 2. Having the speed set to medium for beginners makes the game a lot harder than it seems, as when I played it, I only had enough time to make the decisions, and even then, almost half of them were mistakes. So I set the speed to low, and now it's more relaxing.

The graphics aren't bad, the colours and design are colourful, the germs expressions are nice, and the cut scenes aren't bad. The game is about addictive as Tetris 2. Sorry, I keep referring this to Tetris 2, but the games are so similar. Apart from the music and art, the game play is almost the same, only Tetris 2 has lots of different coloured blocks, while this game has the same sized pill. I wonder what the different colours are mean to represent? Different types of medicine? Or are the germs just allelic to the same colour they are? Oh the irony....

What else can I say? The controls are, you guessed it, very much the same to Tetris and Tetris 2. You can rotate the pill with the A and B button. A good tip is not to place colours over over colours. I helped! =3     After a while, I find myself not trying as hard as before to get a good score or get as far. Wait, does this game even have a score? I think I'm mistaking some parts of this game for Tetris 2! I can't even remember what the title screen for Dr Mario sounded like. If there's one thing to blame, it's Tetris 2. I must have said it over ten times already. If I had not played that game, then maybe this would appeal to me more.

Overall, I give this game a 7.8/10     Tetris 2, Tetris 2, Tetris 2, Tetris 2, Tetris 2, Tetris 2, Tetris 2, Tetris 2, Tetris 2! That's all this game reminds me of. The main difference that this is on the NES, and is loved, while Tetris 2 is on the Game Boy, and is often over looked. As you read this, you're probably saying "There's a Tetris 2?" or wondering "What is he talking about?", but I assure you, Tetris 2 is as real as you or I. I'm not mad! Back to the point, if you haven't played Tetris 2, then this game is great to play, and who knows, some people might say Tetris 2 is too much like Dr Mario. It's funny how that works. I'm not saying what came first, or if it was a case of someone stole an idea, it's just that....well, you probably know what I'm going to say.

A fun game, but can get boring after about two hours play. Although the Frantic music can get you in the mood to play, the boost is short lived and relies on you to focus more and more on the task at hand with just your wits. It's a nice way to pass the time, but there are better, more entertaining games with better motivating music out there. The original Tetris is a good example of this.

Tetris 2 actually came after Dr. Mario. So those people that say Tetris 2 copied off of Dr. Mario are right.

Dr. Mario is a hopelessly addicting game to me. There is in face a score counter, and making chains will increase it faster. It's a lot like Tetris, but with slightly different thinking.