was a 2019

match-three A tile-matching video game is a type of puzzle video game where the player manipulates tiles in order to make them disappear according to a matching criterion. In many tile-matching games, that criterion is to place a given number of tiles of the ...

mobile game developed and published by Nintendo in collaboration with

Line Corporation Line Corporation is a Tokyo-based subsidiary of Z Holdings, which is jointly owned by Softbank Group and Naver Corporation. The company's business is mainly associated with the development of mobile applications and Internet services, particular ...

and

NHN Entertainment NHN Corp. () is a Korean IT company that started its business as a game company called Hangame in 1999. Currently its main businesses can be categorized as Cloud, Fin-Tech (cross-border e-commerce, payment), Entertainment (game, webtoon, musi ...

. Nintendo officially announced on July 28, 2021 that the ''Dr. Mario World'' service would end on November 1, 2021 at 2 AM North American Eastern Standard Time. The game was shut down at 2 AM North American Eastern Standard Time with no reasons specified, rendering the game completely unplayable.

Gameplay

In ''Dr. Mario World'', and similar to prior '' Dr. Mario'' games, the player removed viruses from the screen by matching their colors with that of a pill capsule. The player oriented a single pill capsule against an array of viruses and obstacles. As the pill began to drift upwards, the player could rotate and horizontally move the pill such that, when settled, the pill's color would match at least two similarly colored viruses in a vertical or horizontal direction. The level was complete when all viruses are removed. The player was able to float multiple pills at once and even drag pills through obstacles to specific positions as long as the pill feasibly fit. Later levels added additional elements, such as shielded viruses and destructible blocks to complicate the removal of viruses. Other levels had additional requirements for completion, such as extracting hidden coins from blocks. Upon filling a "skill meter", the player could activate a special ability once or twice in each level. Different special abilities were associated with the game's playable characters. For example, Dr. Mario could remove the entire bottom row on the game screen, Dr. Yoshi removed three on-screen items at random, and Dr. Peach could remove a full column. The player could also purchase power-ups through real-money microtransactions to instantaneously fill the skill meter. At the time of launch, ten playable characters were available, with Dr. Mario as the default character. Following the completion of the first five stages, the player could choose to continue using Dr. Mario, or they may have elected to switch to either Dr. Peach or Dr. Bowser. Players were also given the option to enlist "assistants" that provided the player with benefits during gameplay; for example, Pokey granted the player a 10% chance of earning an additional 3 seconds in timed stages, and

Koopa Troopa Koopa Troopas, known in Japan as , are fictional footsoldiers of the turtle-like Koopa race from the Mario (franchise), ''Mario'' media franchise. They are commonly referred to generically as Koopas, a race that includes Bowser, Bowser, King of ...

granted 50 bonus points for each remaining capsule at the conclusion of a stage. Additional doctors and assistants were acquired at random using either coins accumulated during gameplay or diamonds purchased with real-world currency. Similar to other mobile match-three games, such as ''

Candy Crush ''Candy Crush Saga'' is a free-to-play tile-matching video game released by King on April 12, 2012, originally for Facebook; other versions for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and Windows 10 followed. It is a variation of their browser game ''Ca ...

'', the game was monetized through timers, currencies, and purchasable digital items. For example, the player used "hearts" to play a level, which replenish over time. The player could use coins and diamonds to purchase new characters/abilities, power-ups, and bonus pill capsules. The player received coins for completing daily activities. Diamonds packs were purchased in exchange for real-world money through the

app store An App Store (or app marketplace) is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not include the running of the c ...

. The game had a simple single-player campaign and a "versus"

multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system ( couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...

mode. ''Dr. Mario World'' required a constant Internet connection.

Development

The game was released for Android and

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...

mobile platforms in 59 territories on July 9, 2019. In July 2021, Nintendo announced that they would be shutting down ''Dr. Mario World'' in November of the same year.

Reception

The game received "mixed or average reviews", according to

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

. ''

Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two to ...

'' reported not feeling forced to spend real money through the game's monetization mechanics. ''

Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. History ...

'' also criticized the monetization model, writing, "It's a shame Nintendo cut and ran with microtransactions after one misstep, their first, no less, in the mobile market." ''

Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...

'' found the gameplay to be addictive despite the monetization model and wrote more positively, giving the game 8.75 out of 10. ''

Nintendo Life Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British mass media company based in Brighton. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and oth ...

'' called the title "a game of two halves", heavily praising the multiplayer component while criticizing issues present in the single-player mode. Within the first three days of the game's launch, ''Dr. Mario World'' had over two million downloads and 100,000 spent.

Notes

References

External links