My friend Dan (hi Dan) told me he was playing Dr. Mario World. I like Dr. Mario quite a bit and I still dump many hours into Dr. Mario on Game Boy. I heard Dr. Mario World was on the way, but I didn’t give it too much thought. There are a lot of mobile game mechanics that I can’t get over, no matter how fun the game is. There was a Jurassic Park builder (was it called Jurassic Park Builder?) that I really enjoyed, but the micro transactions required to progress at a “normal” pace drove me nuts. Maybe some folks have the patience to check in once a day, complete a little task, collect some rewards, and wait 24 hours to do something else. Other folks might not have a problem dropping $3 here or $5 there to keep playing when they’re on a roll. I mean, somebody’s paying to keep this model viable. I am not one of those people.
Final Fantasy Brave EXVIUS is really fun and relatively playable without spending money, as is Pokémon Go, but those feel like exceptions to the rule when it comes to free-to-play games. I went into Dr. Mario World with these negative expectations, and I was ready for disappointment. To my surprise, it felt really good to play. The changes made for a mobile experience work very well, flipping the movement so capsules rise from the bottom to the top of the screen. You can let the pills fall (up) to the viruses, or you can guide the m around the screen, including through obstacles. The stipulation is you can’t move a pill back down the screen from whence it came.
You move from stage to stage across a very Mario-esque world map, collecting coins and ridding each world of viruses. Mario isn’t alone this time. You’ll see many familiar faces, from Bowser to Peach, Luigi to Toad, all donning a stethoscope, ready to drop as many drugs on a problem as it takes to win. There are cool items that show up in stages, like shells that can clear out a row, or bombs that can take out surrounding objects. Each doctor has a unique special ability to help clear the screen.
Versus mode is also very fun. Matches move quickly and are incredibly satisfying. I’ve yet to play against a friend, but the random matchups are smooth and provide some exciting gameplay.
The mobile game-ness still manages to creep in now and again. To play a stage, you have to spend a heart, of which you max out at 5. I think, it seems like it changes sometimes. This isn’t too big of a deal because when you clear a new stage, you earn a heart. When I first started playing, I worked my way through the first world and unlocked some bonus stages. While in a normal stage, you can spend as much time as you want thinking over your moves with no penalty. The bonus stages, however, are timed, and they are tough. I blew through all my hearts trying to clear the first one just when I thought I had it figured out. Then a link to the store pops up where you can buy more hearts with real-life money. I closed the app in a huff and figured I’d never play again.
I’m over a hundred stages into the game now and I’m still having fun. I’m avoiding the timed stages for now because I’m not going to buy hearts or diamonds and I’ll just get frustrated, but otherwise I’m enjoying my time curing the world of disease. Unlocking new doctors and assistants is fun and I can’t wait to collect all of Bowser’s family.
I’m not opposed to paying money for a game, but I really can’t get behind a game that requires the player to spend real money on in-game items. Dr. Mario World does a fairly good job of keeping the game fun even if you don’t spend money on it. I never really feel like my progress is being hindered by a paywall. Running out of hearts (which wasn’t really a problem outside the bonus stages until stage ninety-something) feels like a gentle reminder that I’ve been playing enough for the time being. And even then, I’ll just jump into versus mode for a few matches before ACTUALLY doing something else with my time. If you’re into match-3 puzzle games and/or the Mario-verse, there’s really no reason to not download Dr. Mario World to your phone. Just watch out for the doctor’s bill.
Handheld History 