^ _____________________________________________________ ^ ^/ \^ .'¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯'. ^/ \^ // \\ | Please click the link above to recommend this FAQ | // \\ / ¯| |¯ \ | to other users. This is the best way you can show | / ¯| |¯ \ ¯| | | |¯ | your appreciation for my FAQs. Thank you very much! | ¯| | | |¯ | | | | '._______________________________________________________.' | | | | |_|¯|_| ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ |_|¯|_| _______________________________________________________________________________ Blitz Knight Stunt Presents: ____ __ __ _ | _ \ _ __ | \/ | __ _ _ __(_) ___ | | | | '__| | |\/| |/ _` | '__| |/ _ \ | |_| | | | | | | (_| | | | | (_) | |____/|_|(_) |_| |_|\__,_|_| |_|\___/ W E ' R E J U S T P I L L - P O P P I N G A W A Y . . . Dr. Mario FAQ Authored by: Bkstunt Contact: Email: Faqs @ Bkstunt . Com Facebook: Facebook.com/Bkstunt Website: Bkstunt.com ============================================================================== - TABLE OF CONTENTS - ============================================================================== Note: Press Ctrl+F and enter in the code to skip to that section. - Introduction.......................................................[DM-INT] - Controls...........................................................[DM-CON] - Game Options.......................................................[DM-GOP] - How To Play........................................................[DM-HTP] - Cool Things........................................................[DM-COL] - Credits............................................................[DM-CRE] ============================================================================== Introduction ===================================================================[DM-INT]=== Hey guys, Bkstunt here doing a guide on the GameBoy Game Dr. Mario. What's there to say about Dr. Mario that hasn't been said? Nothing! It's a classic puzzle game that's been around since the Nintendo era, first coming out in 1990. From there is was ported over to the Game Boy (which is what this faq is fore) as well as multiple other platforms over the years (SNES, Nintendo 64, etc...). This guide is a direct result of Gamefaqs collection of faqers trying to put up a complete FAQ for EVERY GameBoy game that was ever released. I found it hard to believe that a game like Dr. Mario hasn't been covered. I mean, it's a relatively simple game (especially compared to other puzzle games out there) and it's such a BIG name. Speaking of the GameBoy Completion Project, if you want to help we'd love to have you on board. These older games AREN'T that hard to write for! You can find the gamefaqs topic about it here: o http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/2000094-faq-contributors-general/56763726 You can find the webpage that was made for it here: o http://www.gameboycp.webs.com Anyway, enjoy the guide. Below is the rest of the stuff I put in all my guides, so feel free to shoot me an email or whatnot! ========== FOLLOW ME! ========== Want to talk about some games!? Maybe throw out some ideas for what YOU want to see me write about next? I made a facebook account for just that reason! You can 'Like' me at: ==================== Facebook.com/Bkstunt ==================== I also have a website you can visit to see what other guides I've written, as well as see upcoming projects. I've also written a TON of reviews that will go up there (You want to play GOOD games, right?!). =========== Bkstunt.com =========== So between those two sites, come on over and say 'Hi!' sometime. ========= Donations ========= First of all, let me say that my primary motivation for writing guides is, and always will be, for the gamer. However, as I've learned by writing just a few guides on new games, it can hit your pocket book! I wish they'd give me these games so I could crank out great guides, but they don't! Ah, maybe one day! Until then, if you've found this guide helpful please consider donating to help me offset my costs. You can donate to my paypal account below: ======= PAYPAL: ======= Paypal ID: Gregorio31 @ Gmail . Com Hey, it's WAY better than paying $20 for a guide, right? Even the smallest amount will be appreciated. ======= AMAZON: ======= ALTERNATELY, if you shop at Amazon.com (who doesn't?!) you can ALSO help me out by shopping through me! It doesn't cost you a SINGLE CENT either, which is kick-ass. All you do is visit my webpage's donation page below: ========================== Bkstunt.com/donations.html ========================== Once you are there, you can click on the AMAZON link at the top and shop as normal. 4% of what you buy will then be sent to me. Please be sure to send me an email so I can thank you personally as well! Or just send me an email to say "Thanks!" Every one of those I read makes my day! ~ Bk Onto the table of contents, and don't forget to have fun! ============================================================================== Controls ===================================================================[DM-CON]=== Here you can find the controls for this game. There's more than I thought there would be! I usually do fancy ASCii art, but not for GameBoy games... Directional Pad: Controls pills. ** Pressing DOWN will make pills drop faster. A Button: Rotate Pill Clockwise. B Button: Rotate Pill Counter-Clockwise. Start Button: Pauses Game Select Button: Not Used. ============================================================================== Game Options ===================================================================[DM-GOP]=== When you start a game, you'll be given an option to either play in ONE Player Mode or TWO Player Mode. One Player Mode is pretty self-explanitory. Two Player Mode requires you to have a link cable, two systems, and two copies of Dr. Mario. You can then play head to head, in a series of best-of-three games where whoever finishes off their viruses first wins. Single Player Mode on the other hand has some options, see below: o VIRUS LEVEL Here, you select what LEVEL you want to play. That's right, ALL of this games levels are available right from the start. You can start on the beginning level, level 0, where you will face FOUR viruses or you can start on the last level, level 20, where you will face EIGHT-FOUR viruses. o SPEED Here you select what speed you want to play at. Your options are: - LOW: Pills fall at a rather slow pace, making the game much easier on the player. - MED: Pills fall at a normal pace. This should be considered normal for most gamers. - HI: Pills fall at a rather fast pace, really challenging how far you can think ahead. For experienced players. o MUSIC Here you can select what background music you want to play. You have three options. FEVER is a faster-paced song. CHILL is a slower, funkier song. OFF means no music, of course. ============================================================================== How To Play ===================================================================[DM-HTP]=== The premise of Dr. Mario is pretty simple. Mario stand off to the side of the screen and tosses pills into the bottle. The bottle is the playing area. Inside the bottle (before tossing in any pills) will be a TON of viruses (Virii?). It's OUR job to destroy all these viruses. There are three types of viruses in the game: BLUE, YELLOW, and RED. The color doesn't mean anything special, but is essential to how to destroy them. First, let's go over the pills. There are six types of pills, which I show below. BUT FIRST, realize that we are playing on the GAME BOY. THERE IS NO COLOR ON THE GAME BOY! Therefore everything is in shades of grey. BLACK = BLUE on the Game Boy. GREY = RED on the Game Boy. CLEAR = YELLOW on the Game Boy. Ok, let's go over the pills now. - Blue/Blue .----+----. | BL | BL | '----+----' This pill is great for killing off blue viruses. - Red/Red .----+----. | RD | RD | '----+----' This pill is great for killing off red viruses. - Yellow/Yellow .----+----. | YW | YW | '----+----' This pill is great for killing off yellow viruses. - Blue/Red .----+----. | BL | RD | '----+----' This pill is a hybrid, designed for taking on blue and red viruses at the same time. - Blue/Yellow .----+----. | BL | YW | '----+----' This pill is a hybrid, designed for taking on blue and yellow viruses at the same time. - Yellow/Red .----+----. | YW | RD | '----+----' This pill is a hybrid, designed for taking on yellow and red viruses at the same time. You DESTROY viruses by lining up FOUR blocks (pills) in a row, of course INCLUDING a virus as part of that string. See below: .----. | BL | This pill heading down is about to kill +----+ the RED VIRUS (RV) by making a row of four | RD | red-colored objects, which will eliminate '----' them all. .----+----..----. .----+----. | YW | RD || RV | | RD | BL | '----+----''----' '----+----' However, you REALLY should be aware of your surroundings and look for opportunities to CHAIN TOGETEHR combos. This increases your points that you receive as well. Look at the example below: .----. | BL | This pill heading down is about to kill +----+ the RED VIRUS (RV) by making a row of four | RD | red-colored objects, which will eliminate '----' them all. THEN the blue section of the pill will continue down and connect with the two blue viruses and with the help of the pill under them, will kill off TWO MORE viruses. .----+----..----. .----+----. | YW | RD || RV | | RD | BL | '----+----''----' '----+----' .----. | BV | '----' .----. | BV | '----' .----+----. | RD | BL | '----+----' Don't forget that you can FLIP pills. It is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to KNOW which way is CLOCKWISE and COUNTER CLOCKWISE! Also, you don't HAVE to destroy viruses from above. Be creative! Since the viruses are spread throughout the bottle you can often get away with placing pills UNDER viruses to destroy them: .----. | YV | '----' .----. .----. <-- | YW | | YW | +----+ +----+ <-- | YW | | RD | '----' '----' .----..----. .----. | YV || BV | | RV | '----''----' '----' Also, note that the game features EXTREMELY tight controls. You can literally flip a pill in the below example to make the YELLOW portion line up with the other three yellow squares. You wouldn't think it could flip like that, but it CAN!: .----. | YV | '----' .----..----. .----. | YV || RD | | YW | '----'+----+ +----+ FLIP ---> | YW | | RD | CLOCKWISE!'----' '----' .----..----. .----. | YV || BV | | RV | '----''----' '----' Now, the viruses will appear in the pill bottle in random locations. There's really no way to forecast what you face. However, each level you face throws four more viruses at you: - Level 0: Four Viruses - Level 1: Eight Viruses - Level 2: Twelve Viruses ...... - Level 19: Eighty Viruses - Level 20: Eighty-Four Viruses =============== TIPS & TRICKS =============== On LOWER levels you can use corners of the bottle as a wasteland. Let's face it, you can't use SOME pills if, say, only yellow viruses are left. You can dedicate a corner to dump blue and red pills in until you get the yellow pills you want. Using spaces of the bottle to put pills strategically is always a plus. Speaking of placing pills in certain places, do your best to place red/blue, blue/yellow, and yellow/red pills in their own little sections... On HIGHER levels, when the viruses are packed in the bottle, aim for wiping out pairs of viruses at once. This makes double-color pills especially valuable. Quickly scan the playing field for viruses stacked on top of each other or, perhaps, two spaces apart. REMEMBER, you can destroy viruses HORIZONTALLY as well as VERTICALLY! Honestly, vertical is preferred as you can often "clean up your own mess" that way, but keep your options open. That includes placing pills underneath viruses. I won't lie, level 20 is BRUTALLY HARD. Viruses can appear THREE SPACES away from the top. You have to REALLY practice to stand a chance on the later stages. Practice makes perfect. ============================================================================== Cool Things ===================================================================[DM-COL]=== o Destroy FOUR or more viruses at once and the STAR POWER music (popular from the Super Mario Bros. games, of course) will play! COOL! o Complete level 20 to view a special ending animation. You will also see animations on levels 5, 10, and 15 when your speed is set to HI. - Info taken from the 'CODES' section on Gamefaqs.com, and verified by me. ============================================================================== Credits ===================================================================[DM-CRE]=== Gamefaqs Gameboy Completion Project for providing the motivation. No way I would have done this without that! Starman3 and AWingPilot for the music info, for when you bust 4 or more viruses. R. Harrison and MLewlin for info on the animations, so I knew they existed and could see them. I'll also thank Monster Absolute Energy. It's kept me awake many a night! ~Fin