Collection essentials #147: Dr. Mario (Game Boy)

I’ve already talked about Dr. Mario previously. This Game Boy version released on the same day as the more-famous NES version. It’s the same addictive concept, though since the Game Boy lacks color, they had to change the appearance of the pills. Instead of red, blue and yellow, the pills are black, white and dotted. 

The two versions aren’t quite identical though. The Game Boy version is harder, at least when the number of viruses is set to the maximum. This is because they will flood the bottle up to just two spaces below the top of the play area, as opposed to three in the NES version. This means that you will not be able to stack up three pills of the same color to eliminate one virus of the same color right at the start. I’d say the NES difficulty is better and more fair, but the Game Boy version might be enjoyable as an occasional challenge to spice things up once in a while.

I learned of this version in my younger days due to my Uncle Job. He wasn’t a gamer, but he would have a Game Boy that he brought everywhere to play this and just one other game. I saw him play it at various times throughout the years, even into my adulthood. In fact, I even challenged him to multiplayer eventually when I realized I could use my own copy of the game and a link cable. This is an example of the Game Boy’s appeal, games like Dr. Mario appealed to casual fans and the portability was a great convenience.