Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure

Overview

Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure, known in Japan as Dr. Mario Gyakuten! Tokkouyaku & Saikin Bokumetsu, is a falling-block tile-matching puzzle game developed by Arika and published digitally by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan on May 31, 2015, with an overseas release on June 11, 2015. Since the closure of the platform's eShop on March 27, 2023, there is currently no way to purchase it.

A sequel to the 2013 Wii U game Dr. Luigi, Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure features all three variants of the classic Dr. Mario series from the previous game (including "Dr. Luigi" for L-shaped dual-capsule pieces and "Virus Buster" for touch-screen controls), along with a new "Miracle Cure" power-up mechanic (with a curated single-player campaign to help ease use of it) and support for Download Play multiplayer.

Gameplay

Dr. Mario / Dr. Luigi

Utilizing standard controls, Dr. Mario and Dr. Luigi provide the traditional Dr. Mario experience, with Dr. Mario using classic single-capsule pieces and Dr. Luigi using L-shaped dual-capsule pieces (which rotate similar to Tetris tetrominos).

Both game styles share the same three game modes:

• Endless - Single-player, single-stage mode returning from Dr. Mario 64, with additional rows of Virus blocks rising from the floor after a short time. It utilizes the Miracle Cure mechanic.

• Classic - The series's traditional single-player, stage-based mode. It does not utilize the Miracle Cure mechanic.

• Vs. - One-on-one mode that can be played in a player-vs-player (Local Play, Download Play, or Online Play) or player-vs-CPU scenario, with or without the Miracle Cure mechanic. The game does not include the alternate "Flash" mode.

New to the series is a single-player campaign, known as "Miracle Cure Laboratory", containing a collection of 60 curated stages, most of which make use of the Miracle Cure mechanic.

Miracle Cure

New to the series is "Miracle Cure", an optional gameplay mechanic using a gauge that fills up over time (with clears filling it up faster). When the gauge is full, the next piece is a single power-up block that can perform one of the following:

• Capsule Blaster - When cleared, it also clears all capsule blocks of the same color from the board. Rarer White ones clear all capsule blocks.
• Virus Blaster - When cleared, it also clears all viruses of the same color from the board.
• Zapper - When placed, it clears all blocks in its row, its column, or both.
• Exploder - When placed, it clears all blocks surrounding it (along with one extra on each cardinal direction).

In addition, the VS. mode includes a special Miracle Cure (stylized with an exclamation mark) that immediately activates one of three power-downs for the opponent: "Reverser" (which inverts their horizontal controls), "Locker" (which restricts them from rotating their piece), and "Booster" (which speeds up their drops).

Virus Buster

Based on the mini-game of the same name from the Brain Age series, Virus Buster ("Saikin Bokumetsu" in the Japanese version) is a variation of Dr. Mario that utilizes the system's touch controls on a smaller 6×12 playfield. Like the system's Brain Age games, this is designed to be played with the handheld sideways, holding it like a book.

Players use the stylus to manipulate each falling capsule, tapping them to rotate them and dragging them to move them (although they cannot be dragged up the playfield). Unlike the other modes, players can drag capsules and half-capsules that fall from clears below them (for easier chain reactions), but new capsules can drop at their own pace (with larger groups of capsules dropping as the player lingers in the Level).

Along with the standard single-player mode, this game includes Local and Download Play multiplayer for Virus Buster in both Battle and Co-op modes. The Co-op mode has both players sharing a single board, similar to the variant in Dr. Mario Online Rx.

This variant does not make use of the "Miracle Cure" mechanic.