Dr. Mario & Puzzle League
Dr. Mario & Puzzle League, also parsed Dr. Mario / Puzzle League, is a puzzle game released for the Game Boy Advance in 2005. It was developed by both Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. The game is a 2-in-1 Dr. Mario remake and Puzzle League (known as Panel de Pon in Japan). The game was released alongside the Game Boy micro in Japan. It is the last Dr. Mario-related game to have a physical release, as all subsequent games were only made available as a digital download.
Puzzle League's name likely comes from Pokémon Puzzle League, a game based on Tetris Attack, which in turn is based on the Japan-exclusive title, Panel de Pon.
A browser game, Dr. Mario Vitamin Toss, was released as a promotional tie-in with Dr. Mario & Puzzle League.
Gameplay[edit]
Dr. Mario is aesthetically similar to Dr. Mario 64. Like Dr. Wario, an unlockable minigame from WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!, its bottle is 13 cells tall instead of the standard 16. Puzzle League is completely changed from the original Panel de Pon. The graphics closely resemble those of the Game Boy Advance multiboot version from Nintendo Puzzle Collection.
Both games have a multi-pack multiplayer mode, but can download a demo version to another Game Boy Advance using only one cart. The demo version of Dr. Mario features limited animation and Nintendo Entertainment System-styled graphics and soundtrack. The demo version of Puzzle League features a small animal (Pupuri from Panel de Pon in Nintendo Puzzle Collection) on the side that calls out when blocks are cleared.
Both games have an unlockable mode in which the player must hold the Game Boy Advance vertically, allowing for a larger playing field. The player can unlock this mode by clearing level 20 in single player. Puzzle League's vertical mode can be unlocked if the player scores at least 10,000 points in Endless mode.
Reception[edit]
| Reviews | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Reviewer, Publication | Score | Comment | |
| Craig Harris, IGN | 7.8/10 | "Both these games still work out great on the Game Boy Advance, but it's a missed opportunity for Nintendo to offer up the same impressive presentation it did for Panel de Pon as it did on the N64 and Game Boy Color. Instead, the company quickly threw two games on a cart and called it a day. The games certainly stand on their own, and for a good price. Just don't expect any huge production and you'll be satisfied." | |
| Frank Provo, GameSpot | 8/10 | "If you're a puzzle game fanatic, you won't go wrong adding Dr. Mario/Puzzle League to your collection. Sure, the overall presentation is lacking energy, but the gameplay in both games, particularly Puzzle League, is compelling enough to keep you coming back time and time again." | |
| Kristan Reed, Eurogamer | 7/10 | "As a package it's excellent to have two timeless games to dip back into whenever you feel like it, but there's still the niggling feeling that Nintendo's pricing strategy for such things is bordering on insane. When similar puzzle titles can be bought in enormous compendiums on other systems for next to nothing, you have to wonder how it's possible to charge full price for two ancient puzzle games. So that leaves us with a dilemma: we love both games dearly, but would we pay what Nintendo's asking? Not in a million years. One to snaffle up in the post-Christmas sale, for sure." | |
| Aggregators | |||
| Compiler | Platform / Score | ||
| Metacritic | 74 | ||
| GameRankings | 76.44% | ||
Gallery[edit]
- For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Dr. Mario & Puzzle League.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ドクターマリオ&パネルでポン Dokutā Mario Ando Paneru De Pon |
Dr. Mario & Panel De Pon |
Trivia[edit]
- This game was released on the 20th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. in Japan.
- This is the last game in the Dr. Mario series to have a physical release. Every game released after it was only made available as a digital download.
- The game was originally announced as Dr. Mario & Tetris Attack.[1]
