Dr. Mario

"Just played for first time in years, still a great game"

Back one summer 10 years ago, my best friend and I played this about an hour a day since we weren't old enough to go anywhere else. I got so good at it and liked it so much that he eventually gave it to me. I probably played it for over 500 hours, who knows. Level 20 Hard? No problem... used to complete it about 95% of the time. It got to the point where my only challenge was to pull out a stopwatch and see how fast I could complete 20 Medium (which, one fluke time, I did in 2min, 23seconds) And then my Nintendo broke, and woe was me. I got the Nintendo emulator on an old computer, but it just wasn't the same as holding those little rectangle controllers.

I just played it last week on a friend's N64, and it still has the same appeal as ever. She thought she was good; I taught her better. Even pulled off a 7-combo (does anyone know if an 8-combo will rain down eight pieces on the other side?).

The best part of the game, hands down, is two-player mode. Almost nothing is more satisfying than the little chime you get when you complete a combo and send a couple pieces over to your opponent's screen. Equally fun is actually watching the pieces fall on their side, ever so slowly, while you get to keep working on that next combo. For a really interesting race, play someone else at Level 1. The greatest agony is waiting for leftover pieces to fall to the bottom after you kill a virus because the whole round only takes about 20 seconds.

Quick ratings:
Sound (9/10): Music is more catchy than Tetris. Even my dad, who never played the game, could be caught whistling the song back when I used to play a lot. I can close my eyes right now and think of the song.
Graphics (7/10): It's a puzzle game on an old 8-bit system. Don't expect too much.
Replay Value (10/10): It's more like an 8/10 if you don't have someone of comparable ability for two-player mode. And it depends on how good you become; if completing 20 Medium is automatic for you, the game might lose a little luster.
Buy/Rent: Are there really places where you can rent this? By all means, buy this game, grab a friend, and play until you start dreaming about those cute little viruses dancing in circles!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/28/01, Updated 12/28/01