Dr. Mario (series)

The Dr. Mario series is a puzzle-themed sub-series of the Mario series. The series stars Mario's medical alter ego, Dr. Mario; on occasion, Nurse Toadstool also appears in the series. The series has elements similar to that of Tetris; the main concept of the game being that the player must stack Megavitamins, (rather than blocks), in a colored order so that they can eradicate the viruses that stand in the way to victory.

Dr. Mario
Dr. Mario was the first game in the Dr. Mario series; it was released for the NES in 1990. The game brought the basic concept of the series to the players' attention immediately, as they would start the game off having to reorganize falling Megavitamins in order to eradicate viruses from the screen. Once all viruses has been eliminated, the player would move on to the next level. As the game progressed, each level rose in difficulty, providing more viruses for the player to eliminate and less space to maneuver the Megavitamins in. Dr. Mario was ported and remade many times after its original release.

Vs. Dr. Mario
Dr. Mario was later released on the Nintendo Vs. System under the title Vs. Dr. Mario. This edition of the game eliminated the Slow Mode of the game; it also made racking up points more difficult. In the original Dr. Mario, the points received for eliminating a virus would double with each one that disappeared; in this remake of the game, only an additional 200 points would be rewarded for each virus that was eliminated.

Dr. Mario 64
Dr. Mario 64 is the third installment in the Dr. Mario series; as its title suggests, it was released on the Nintendo 64 in 2001. The concept from the original Dr. Mario had continued in this installment, with the only major change being a graphics update. The player still had to reorganize Megavitamins in their respective color pattern in order to eliminate viruses. However, this game also featured a Story Mode. In this mode, Wario is introduced to the series. Dr. Mario and Wario must retrieve the Megavitamins that had been stolen. However, all the battles were against the computer.