About

Dr. Mario is a spin-off character in Nintendo's Super Mario series. Since appearing in an eponymous 1990 NES game, the character has remained popular thanks in part to his recurring appearances in the Super Smash Brothers series and some side games.

History

Dr. Mario debuted in 1990's Dr. Mario for the NES and Game Boy.^[1] In the game, Mario takes on the profession of a doctor rather than a plumber. Unlike traditional Super Mario titles, gameplay in Dr. Mario is puzzle rather than platforming focused with tile-matching gameplay reminiscent of later games like Bejeweled.

The game spawned several sequels, including Dr. Mario 64, Dr. Mario Online Rx, and Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure.^[2] The game was celebrated as one of Nintendo's best by several publications, including Nintendo Power and Screw Attack.^[3]

Super Smash Brothers Appearances

The character has appeared as a playable fighter in three of the five Super Smash Brothers games: Melee, 3DS/Wii U, and Ultimate. The fighter has a very similar moveset to Mario with subtle differences, like throwing medicine caplets as opposed to Mario's fireballs.

2019 Mobile Game

On February 1st, 2019, Nintendo announced that a mobile Dr. Mario game for iOS and Android, Dr. Mario World was in development and scheduled for a summer 2019 release.^[4]

Twitter users joked about the discrepancy between Dr. Mario titles and Super Mario titles. A tweet by @MercuryCrusader gained 40 retweets and over 320 likes (shown below, left). User @SB2749 made a similar joke, gaining over 20 retweets and 320 likes (shown below, right). The news was covered by Twitter Moments.^[5]

Search Interest

External References