Dr. Mario / Puzzle League

"Two of the best puzzle games all in one of the best systems!"

Dr. Mario goes long ways back. Puzzle League has a little history but not as much as Dr. Mario does. Dr. Mario was once a Nintendo Entertainment System game all the way back in 1990. Dr. Mario has had many other games after that like Dr. Mario for the GameBoy and the Dr. Mario/Tetris for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. So Dr. Mario has had a long history. Puzzle League have had a little history but not much. Puzzle League was originally a Super Nintendo Entertainment System game which was originally called Tetris Attack. A few years later, they came up with a Pokemon Puzzle league for the Nintendo 64 and the Nintendo GameBoy Color which features Pokemon characters. Then, there is this game which contains both Dr. Mario and Puzzle League.

Is this one of those games where Dr. Mario and Puzzle League are all one game?
Don't worry, its not like Tetris 2 where you have Tetris pieces but you have the game-play of Dr. Mario. You can actually select Dr. Mario or Puzzle League in this game, amazing. It's not Dr. Mario and Puzzle League all mixed into one. It's not two separate game packs, it's actually only one game pack with both games on it.

How do you play Dr. Mario/Puzzle League? I want to determine if I should get it or not.
Dr. Mario is a fun puzzle game similar to Tetris where you have to put four colors in a row in order to make the pieces disappear. Sounds easy, right? However there are viruses that you have to give rid of as well which make this game harder. As you get further throughout the levels, the viruses start to increase in population. It's a bit hard but once you master it, it's quite fun to play so good luck. Puzzle League is a very addictive fun game for the GameBoy Advance! I usually never use exclamation points but I just did because it's a really fun game. In Puzzle League, you have to put three colors horizontally or vertically in a row in order to give rid of them; However, you don't control where you drop the pieces like you do in Tetris or Dr. Mario; you can switch the pieces but only horizontally as the number of pieces start to increase. It's a bit confusing at first but will get really fun as you proceed in the game so happy playing!.

How are the graphics for Dr. Mario/Puzzle League?
The graphics like the tree on the title screen are done very well but the title screen don't really matter as much as the game does. The colors come in very nicely and the backgrounds are perfect so there isn't much of a problem here.The only problem is that the pieces and viruses are a bit too small. There possible to see but Nintendo still should have made the pieces bigger like they did with Puzzle League. I give the graphics the rating of nine out of ten for having small pieces. For Puzzle League, most of the graphics here are good and don't need to be changed. The backgrounds that you can pick are detailed and the pieces itself are well done in the game. However, the computers screen screen is all gray so you cannot tell if the computer is cheating or not. It is capable of having colors but for some reason, there all gray on the computers side of the board. I give the graphics the rating of eight out of ten because of the computer screen.

How good are are the controls for Dr. Mario/Puzzle League?
For Dr. Mario, the controls don't need any improvements, there perfect for a game like this. Absolutely no harm done for this game. I will give the controls a ten out of ten because of the perfect controls. The controls for Puzzle League are also perfect and also need no improvements just like Dr. Mario. I will give the controls a ten out of ten because of the perfect controls.

Are the features of Dr. Mario/Puzzle League good?
The controls for Dr. Mario don't need anything gone but they should have kept that marathon feature in the game. The features of Dr. Mario like two player mode and classic modes are perfectly needed in the game. My favorite mode is the mode where you can play against the computer. The modes make the game a lot more interesting and entertains you longer than it does for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Puzzle League does have a lot of good features like garbage mode or my favorite, computer mode; but some other modes like vertical mode are not needed because vertical mode in nothing different only the screen is tilted 90 degrees left.

How is the sound for Dr. Mario/Puzzle League?
I wouldn't worry about the sound for Dr. Mario. The music isn't the exact same but still has the beat as it used to. For that, I will give it a nine out of ten. The sound is perfect for Puzzle League as well. The only difference from Pokemon Puzzle League is the music and sound. The sound is a lot different from Pokemon Puzzle League but still works for this game and Thats why I gave it a ten out of ten.

Will I ever play this game again?
For the most part, yes. Sometimes you might get a bit frustrated with the games and stop playing it but I'm sure your bound to play it again.

Should I buy or rent Dr. Mario/Puzzle League?
It would make more sense to buy because once you play it; your not going to want to stop. Then you will have to take it back. If you buy it, you will have it for as long as possible until you get sick of it; which isn't too likely to happen. So I would buy it this game for the GameBoy Advance.

Graphics (Dr. Mario)
9 - 10

Graphics (Puzzle League)
8 - 10

Controls (Dr. Mario)
10 - 10

Controls (Puzzle League)
10 - 10

Sound (Dr. Mario)
9 - 10

Sound (Puzzle League)
10 - 10

Buy or rent?
Buy

Note: There is no story line for Dr. Mario/Puzzle League.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 01/20/06