Collection essentials #278: Tetris & Dr. Mario (SNES)

 

This cartridge combines two beloved NES puzzle games, and gives them a new look and sound. It’s sort of like Super Mario All-Stars, only for fewer games. There’s not a ton to say about it as I’ve already talked about the NES versions of these games. The nice thing about this Tetris compared to the one for NES is that this one actually has multiplayer!

Speaking of multiplayer, there is a special mode that gives this release some unique content. Two players can go head-to-head in “Mixed Match”, where both players are given a time limit and must score the most points before the clock hits zero. The game starts in Tetris’s “B-type” mode where a certain number of lines must be cleared, then a round of Dr. Mario is played until all viruses are cleared, and then the remaining time can be spent racking up points in Tetris’s “A-type” mode. Certainly a solid option for two friends who love these classic games.

Sadly I didn’t know about Tetris & Dr. Mario on SNES when I was a kid. For a long time we had a SNES but no NES, so it would have made a lot of sense to get it, seeing as I had seen and played the NES versions at people’s houses and thought they were really good. But alas, I had to wait until my teen years to get an NES and the original versions. It would have been cool to have this cartridge to play against friends over the years. But, hey, I guess that could happen in the future; it’s an essential after all. Hit me up if you want to have a Mixed Match showdown against me!