Dr. Mario World is a match-three mobile game developed and published by Nintendo in collaboration with Line Corporation and NHN Entertainment. It was released for Android and iOS platforms on July 10, 2019.
Dr. Mario World is a puzzle game in the Dr. Mario series for iOS and Android smartphones. The game was originally set to release on July 10, 2019, but ended up being released a day earlier on July 9. It is a free to download game with in-app purchases that was co-developed by Nintendo, LINE, and NHN Entertainment, and was available initially in 59 countries/regions including Japan and the United States. The game supports multiple languages including Japanese and English. Dr. Mario World is the second Mario game for mobile devices, following Super Mario Run, though it is the first free-to-play mobile game featuring microtransactions and gacha mechanics in the Mario series. Like Super Mario Run, the game requires a constant internet connection to play.
Dr. Mario World takes advantage of the touchscreen controls of the smartphone, where players can drag capsules with the touchscreen to eliminate viruses, though the core gameplay is slightly tweaked in the single player as opposed to prior Dr. Mario titles in that players solve puzzles with a limited number of capsules rather than infinite capsules against a time limit. New gameplay elements include four introduced colors of viruses: green, light-blue, purple, and pink viruses, which occur mixed in the regular red, blue, and yellow viruses later in the game. Dr. Mario World features the debut of playable Mario characters as doctors than prior Dr. Mario games. These doctors have special abilities which help clear levels more easily. In addition, doctors can be paired with a wide variety of assistants, which constitute primarily of generic Mario enemies. As well as having a single player mode, Dr. Mario World introduces a competitive versus mode, where players battle against opponents online in a gameplay style similar to the traditional Dr. Mario games.
A virus outbreak has occurred in the Mushroom Kingdom, infecting Koopa Troopas, Toads, and Shy Guys, where Dr. Mario hunts down viruses to save the locals. Dr. Toad instructs Dr. Mario on how to eliminate viruses in the first demo level, featuring only red viruses. By the 3rd (11th in version 1.10) level, Princess Peach notices that the Toads need her help while Bowser wants to take care of the viruses affecting his minions himself, so they join Dr. Mario as playable characters.
As with previous Dr. Mario games, the main and most common objective is to eliminate all of the viruses on the screen by connecting capsules of the same color to each of them, although instead of the capsules descending, the game’s gravity is directed upwards with the viruses positioned towards the top of the screen. The player first drags a capsule from the bottom of the screen onto the field to use it, and can drag it again to move it or increase its “falling” speed, or tap it to rotate it horizontally or vertically; if there is an open space for the capsule to fit through, players may drag the capsule towards that open space as well. Viruses are eliminated if three (as opposed to four) or more of the same color are matched. If a player uses a half of a capsule to eliminate viruses, the other half remains, and players can drag it around as an ordinary capsule if it is free to go up the screen. Players earn a rainbow capsule if they make seven matches that eliminate viruses; these rainbow capsules can be used in tandem with pills of any color to eliminate viruses, though they take up only one tile on the screen. The classic red, blue, and yellow viruses return, while new green, purple, light-blue, and pink viruses make their debut.
Depending on the level, various obstacles may appear on the field, including Empty Blocks and Brick Blocks and viruses can be hidden inside of the Brick Blocks. Different-colored shells and exploders can also appear among the viruses which, when matched with capsules of the same color, clear out viruses on the same row and eliminate surrounding viruses, respectively. In the same manner of activating the aforementioned items, players can obtain a skill charger that fully fills out their doctor’s skill meter. Viruses can be trapped in ice, which requires two clearings to destroy them, encased in bubbles, which shield them from capsules once before they disappear, or trapped in cages, being released only after clearing a lock on the field.
Special items can be used prior to entering a stage and while in the middle of a stage which aids players to clear the stage. Dr. Toad gives out free items for a trial use, but after the single use, players need to purchase the items with diamonds or coins.
Initial release date: July 10, 2019
Engine: Unity
Publisher: Nintendo
Producer: Hideki Konno
Genre: Puzzle video game
Platform: Android
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nintendo.zama