It’s a rare day that doctors are running ahead of schedule. Fortunately, today is just such a day as Dr. Mario, the classic 1990s Nintendo puzzle game, has landed in the App Store one day early.
Originally expected to drop July 10, Dr. Mario instead went live today. It’s free to download, although there are in-app purchases available for those who hate the idea of socialized health care.
For those unfamiliar with it, Dr. Mario is somewhat similar to Tetris. In Nintendo’s falling-block puzzle game, you use colored capsules to destroy viruses populating the screen. These are thrown by Mario, who must align similar colors of capsule to remove viruses, before moving on to the next level.
Dr. Mario on iOS
To make things a little different from the original, Nintendo added a social element to the 2019 iOS version of Dr. Mario. You can send and receive stamina-giving hearts to friends, or “turn up the intensity on your virus-busting by challenging others to a one-on-one showdown.”
The one potential downside of Dr. Mario is the fact that, like many of Nintendo’s other mobile games, you’ll need constant internet connectivity to play it. That’s not exactly a deal-breaker, but it does throw a slight spanner in the works when it comes to playing on your commute.
Unless you’re lucky enough to have an all-you-can-eat data plan, that is!
