The following is taken from my Dr. Mario Express Review: Dr. Mario (for those who do not know) is Nintendo’s answer to making an addictive puzzle game all the way back in 1990 on the original NES. The play area is a bottle and there are viruses placed throughout the level (placement and amount is based on level) that are red, blue, or yellow. The goal is to get rid of these viruses by placing matching color pills on them. Make 4 in a row of the same color (not 3 like is common in many puzzle games) and they disappear. The pills are split into two halves, so sometimes you’re dealing with too colors at once. If the pills reach the top of the bottle then you lose. Like any classic puzzle game the simplicity is what makes it good because you can pick it up and play while getting better to get to higher levels. Nintendo had a hit on their hands and it was released later to the Game Boy, The Super Nintendo, Game Boy Advance (both as an NES Classic release and as a double game cart along with Puzzle League), Nintendo 64, and now on the Nintendo Wii as part of its WiiWare service in the form of Dr. Mario RX Online. They have also released the “Express” version on DsiWare which is basically this Wii game with features stripped out. You can check that review by clicking here.

In this version of Dr. Mario there are 2 modes: Dr. Mario, and Virus Buster. Dr. Mario mode is the classic mode that fans will remember. You play the game holding the Wiimote sideways like the original NES controller and have a few options to work with. There is 1 or 2 player local or 2 player using Nintendo WFC (online play). There are also online leaderboards to go along with the game as well for those that care. When playing single player you can play Classic mode, VS. CPU, and Flash. Classic and VS are self explanatory, and Flash mode is competing against the CPU as well, but this time it is just to see who can clear the flashing viruses faster. When playing 2 player mode (either local or online) you can play Classic or Flash as well. A nice feature is that you can send a limited version to a friend in your region to be able to play online with if they don’t have it. Each mode also has the usual options to set speed, level, difficulty, and music. Dr. Mario Online also has Mii support which replaces the portrait of Mario with your Mii in a labcoat. It’s minor, but it’s nice to see more Mii support in games.

I played online a few times, and outside of the usual hassle of swapping friend codes it works really well. As with most Wii games there is no voice chat either, but before and after the game you can send some preset messages. You can play against random people as well and it keeps track of wins and loses. After you’re done you do have a choice for a rematch as well and you get a score that goes up and down based on wins and losses. It’s a nice addition, but it would be nice if they patched it to add WiiSpeak support.

Virus Buster is played using the Wii Remote’s pointer. Rotate the capsule with the A or B button and you can grab a capsule by holding the A or B button. Movement is done through the cursor. Game plays just like regular Dr. Mario but controls done that way instead of the “classic style.” Cool to use the motion controls, but sometimes hard to do what you want. Sometimes you’ll rotate when you want to move the piece, sometimes hold when you want to rotate. Not idea for the higher/faster/harder levels. While this is going on, a group of Mii doctors are running up against cartoon versions of the viruses. Better suited for the DS, which has Dr. Mario Express and is inexplicably missing this mode.

This may all seem good and well, but in the end it is still just Dr. Mario again with a few more features. Nintendo is asking 1000 Wii Points which is $10. $10 for a polished NES game is kind of hard to swallow when there are new/original games on WiiWare (let alone other download services) for that price or less that give you more to do. I enjoy playing it having not owned it on any system previously, only playing at friend’s houses, but those that purchased it in the past may have trouble biting the bullet unless online play is really that important to you. I found it was worth it, but maybe you will need me to send you the limited version for you to see for yourself.

4/5 stars – A classic puzzle game for a reason with a few new additions that are enjoyable. A bit steep of an asking price, but more features than Dr. Mario Express on DsiWare. May not be worth it to others who have already bought the game 10 times already.

Right now I just have Bird & Beans,  I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES 1N 1T!!1 and Streets of Fury.

Dr. Mario (for those who do not know) is Nintendo’s answer to making an addictive puzzle game all the way back in 1990 on the original NES. The play area is a bottle and there are viruses placed throughout the level (placement and amount is based on level) that are red, blue, or yellow. The goal is to get rid of these viruses by placing matching color pills on them. Make 4 in a row of the same color (not 3 like is common in many puzzle games) and they disappear. The pills are split into two halves, so sometimes you’re dealing with too colors at once. If the pills reach the top of the bottle then you lose. Like any classic puzzle game the simplicity is what makes it good because you can pick it up and play while getting better to get to higher levels. Nintendo had a hit on their hands and it was released later to the Game Boy, The Super Nintendo, Game Boy Advance (both as an NES Classic release and as a double game cart along with Puzzle League), Nintendo 64, and most recently on the Nintendo Wii as part of its WiiWare service in the form of Dr. Mario RX Online.

So with so many versions released, what sets the DSiWare version apart? What does it include? Well you get Classic and Vs. CPU modes, that is it. There is no multiplayer at all. Local play should have been there at the very least, but I also would have liked to have seen online play. You have to have Wi-Fi to download the game so you know the owners of the game are using the internet. The Virus Buster mode from the WiiWare version is also missing. The reason I mention that is because this is based off of the WiiWare version and not any previous version. WiiWare has the main game, Virus Buster, and online play all in the same package, so this is definitely "lite/express." It does store your high scores locally though, but again, some online features would have been nice as some online leaderboards could really extend the life of this title.  The Virus Buster mode, as mentioned in my review for Dr. Mario Online, would have been an even better fit on DS than on Wii, but here we are without it.  For more information on Virus Buster mode, check out my review of Dr. Mario Online.

This is still a classic game and they are only asking $5 for it which is the cheapest any version has been released at. As I mentioned before there was a GBA game that also had Puzzle League but with the DSi there is no GBA port anymore and now Puzzle League has a DSi version as well (review coming soon), so you could pick up both games for the price of the GBA cart.

3 ½ out of 5 stars – A classic game at a great price, but despite price is missing some key features that could have really set this version apart from others. Nintendo needs to start thinking of things like that if they want DSiWare to succeed. Enough with the "Express" versions of games and give us some full featured products please. A good deal overall, so comes down to if you really need another version or not.