Dr. Mario: Difference between revisions

'''Dr. Mario''' is the persona [[Mario]] takes in the [[Dr. Mario (series)|''Dr. Mario'' series]]. Under this identity, Mario dons a lab coat, a head mirror, and a stethoscope around his neck. He first appears in his titular game, ''[[Dr. Mario (game)|Dr. Mario]]''. Dr. Mario and [[Nurse Toadstool]], his assistant nurse, work at the [[Mushroom Kingdom Hospital]], where Dr. Mario eliminates Viruses and other diseases by using [[Megavitamin]]s, which has been the standard for subsequent games starring him. Dr. Mario also appears as an unlockable fighter in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'', ''[[Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS]]'' / ''[[Super Smash Bros. for Wii U|Wii U]]'', and ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'', where he is considered a separate character from Mario.  

[[File:MarioDMNES.png|thumb|Dr. Mario, as seen in his [[Dr. Mario (game)|titular game]].]]

Compared to his appearence in artworks and on the cover, in gameplay, his hair and mustache are lighter, almost orange, his headband is white, and he has no gloves on.

Dr. Mario also received several subtle aesthetic changes, most of them reflecting Mario's changes over time. In particular, in some sprites, he gained a tie, which has since become a staple of his design. However, unlike in the cover and in artworks, his stethoscope is still directly around his neck, his tie is blue instead of red, his headband is white instead of grey, his doctor's coat has no buttons or pockets, and he wears a tank top instead of a shirt.

In the [[WiiWare]] game ''[[Dr. Mario Online Rx]]'', players can control Dr. Mario or any Mii stored in their [[Wii]]. Dr. Mario serves a similar role as his debut game; he takes Megavitamins from his bag and throws them into the bottle, using them to defeat viruses. His design is consistent, with blue eyes, a buttoned coat, a shirt, a red tie, a grey headmirror, fair skin and the stethoscope has an altered position, now being along his shoulders.

In the [[DSi]] game ''[[Dr. Mario Express]]'', he plays the same role as he does in ''Dr. Mario Online Rx'', but unlike the Wii version, his model is cel-shaded, giving him a more cartoonish look.

Dr. Mario, as well as his brother, Dr. Luigi, appears in the compilation in ''[[Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure]]'', which includes "Dr. Mario", the standard gameplay where Dr. Mario assists players destroy viruses, as well as two additional modes, "Operation L" from ''[[Dr. Luigi]]'', and "Virus Buster". One new clearing method Dr. Mario can use is the Miracle Cure, which is a gauge that, once filled, can be used to destroy all Viruses and Megavitamins of the corresponding color, drop a bomb to remove adjacent Viruses and Megavitamins, or clear an entire column.

Dr. Mario reappears in ''[[Dr. Mario World]]'' alongside several other doctor characters.

In a version update, both Dr. Mario and Dr. Peach received [[Fire Mario|Fire variants]], which gives them a lab coat and stethoscope over their normal Fire form outfits. Dr. Fire Mario improves upon Dr. Mario's skill by removing pieces that require multiple matches to clear otherwise. In a following update, [[Luigi]] and [[Rosalina]] continued this theme.

Dr. Mario makes his first 3D appearance and his first overall appearance in the [[Super Smash Bros. (series)|''Super Smash Bros.'' series]] in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'', where he appears as an unlockable character. He can be unlocked by beating Classic or Adventure mode with [[Mario]] without losing any lives or by playing 100 Melee matches, and then defeating him in the immediate subsequent match on [[Peach's Castle]]. Unlike in his home series, Dr. Mario's design is somewhat modified for his appearance in ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'', with a brown headband and a blue stethoscope, but the most noticeable change being a pair of dark gray pants. Dr. Mario's weight is 100 units, similar to Mario.

According to [[Masahiro Sakurai]], the creator of the [[Super Smash Bros. (series)|''Super Smash Bros.'' series]], the concept of a slower, yet stronger Mario was originally considered to be used for [[Wario]]. Due to time constraints, however, this concept was instead given to Dr. Mario.<ref>[http://sourcegaming.info/2016/01/31/dufl-sources/ The Definitive Unused Fighters List in Smash – Source Translations]</ref>

The overwhelming majority of Dr. Mario's moves are nearly identical to his normal self's, although his attacks nevertheless have a few distinct traits. In addition to his aforementioned higher strength, Dr. Mario throws [[Megavitamin]]s instead of [[Fireball]]s; his forward smash uses electricity instead of fire; he uses the white-colored [[Super Sheet]] instead of the [[Cape]]; and his [[Super Jump Punch]] is stronger, but hits a fewer amount of times. Dr. Mario also cannot wall jump in this game, unlike Mario. Contrary to his trophy's description, Dr. Mario's jump height and running speed are actually the same as Mario's; additionally, his air speed is faster than his regular counterpart's.

Dr. Mario returns in ''[[Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS]]'' and ''[[Super Smash Bros. for Wii U]]'' as an unlockable fighter, along with fellow cut characters from ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' [[Mewtwo]] and [[Roy (Fire Emblem)|Roy]]. Unlike Mewtwo and Roy, however, he is included with the initial release of the games, whereas Mewtwo and Roy are available as DLC fighters. To unlock Dr. Mario in the Nintendo 3DS version, players must either complete Classic Mode with Mario on at least 4.0 intensity, or play 60 Smash matches. Afterward, the player must defeat him on [[Mushroomy Kingdom]]. In the Wii U version, players can unlock Dr. Mario by completing a Master Orders ticket with a difficulty level of Hard or higher, or by playing 50 Smash matches. Afterward, the player must defeat him on [[Delfino Plaza]].

Dr. Mario's design is now a composition of his appearance as of ''Dr. Mario 64'' and his dark gray pants from ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'', although with a few original changes from this game: his stethoscope has a slightly different color scheme, his pants are rolled up to his ankles and his neck is longer due to the graphics. To reflect this change, Dr. Mario can wear tie equipment to boost his defense stat instead of the overalls equipment his normal self uses. However, he also uses the gloves and shoes equipment for attack and speed like Mario does. Unlike in ''Melee'', however, Dr. Mario now functions like a stronger, yet slower Mario due to built-in equipment. Almost all of his moves deal 1.12× more damage than Mario's; conversely, his base ground mobility is Mario's multiplied by 0.832, and his base air mobility and base jump/double jump heights are Mario's multiplied by 0.808. These multipliers result in Dr. Mario being distinctly affected by passive [[equipment]] physics, in which he specifically possesses a +15 Attack value and a -50 Speed value. Because of this, he can KO opponents more easily than Mario due to a larger variety of finishing moves, but at the cost of being one of the slowest characters in the game and giving him a very poor approach and recovery despite his [[Dr. Tornado]] being capable of extending it. Dr. Mario's weight, like Mario's, is decreased to 98 units.

Dr. Mario retains his moves from ''Melee'', except that he can now [[Wall Jump|wall jump]] just like Mario, though his Super Sheet no longer stalls him in midair, while custom versions of his neutral, side, and up special moves are shared with Mario. However, the custom versions of Dr. Tornado are instead shared with [[Luigi]], owing to Mario having [[F.L.U.D.D.]] as his down special move since ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl''. Dr. Mario's [[Final Smash]], [[Doctor Finale]], is a variation of Mario's [[Mario Finale]] that is stronger and uses giant [[Megavitamin]]s instead of giant, streaming fireballs. Dr. Mario has also gained two new taunts, a new idle animation, a new entrance animation, and a new victory animation that replaces the victory animation he shared with Mario in ''Super Smash Bros. Melee''.

Dr. Mario returns as an unlockable playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''. He shares several changes with Mario, but he was buffed overall. He retains many of his moves from the previous installment, with two exceptions: his down air has changed from a corkscrew dropkick to a double foot stomp, which is capable of [[meteor smash]]ing an opponent if it hits with his feet and launching them away if his at his chest, and he also receives a new back throw, in which he lifts the opponent above him and then powerfully launches them away with a single arm, thus slightly decloning him from Mario. Dr. Mario's side special, Super Sheet, has a new animation distinguishing it from Mario's [[Cape]] where he swings the sheet upward, but is otherwise functionally unaltered. His Megavitamins are better and more versatile projectiles, with their higher angle, increased hitlag, decreased ending lag, larger size, better hitbox placement and increased knockback giving them combo ability at the cost of losing the ability to lock, and his Dr. Tornado is more versatile, with a drastic increase its power, better utility for recovery and gives Dr. Mario super armor for five frames from frames 5-9 if he uses it on the ground. Additionally, his grab attack animation is now one-handed like with Mario. Dr. Mario's walking and running speeds are slightly increased, but at the cost of lower jumps and air speed; the entirety of his moveset receives a slight damage increase: Dr. Mario's damage multiplier is increased from 1.12x to 1.175x, while his grounded and aerial mobility use a negative multiplier with an unspecified value.

Compared to Mario, he is less expressive, and he only smiles in one of his victory poses.

Several of Dr. Mario's standard attacks receive nicknames: up smash is Ear, Nose, and Throat; neutral air is Dr. Kick; forward air is Dr. Punch; down air is CLEAR! (Bone Drill prior to version 2.0.0); and down throw is Hospital Bed.

On a side note, as with several other returning characters, Dr. Mario's victory theme, which is the orchestral arrangement of the level clear theme from ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' (and is shared with Mario, [[Luigi]], [[Princess Peach|Peach]], and in this game, [[Princess Daisy|Daisy]]), has been slightly shortened and sped up compared to the previous installments.  

Dr. Mario's Classic Mode route involves him fighting red-, yellow-, and blue-colored variants of different characters, as a reference to the [[virus]]es from the ''[[Dr. Mario (series)|Dr. Mario]]'' games.

Dr. Mario also makes a small appearance as one of the occupations listed in ''[[Super Mario Bros. & Friends: When I Grow Up]]'' on the "Medical Doctor/Nurse" career page. In ''[[WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!]]'', Dr. Mario appears in a [[Dr. Mario (WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!)|microgame named after him]] based on the NES version of his game. A spoof of the original ''Dr. Mario'' game appears in ''WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!'' called [[Dr. Wario]], though it has no gameplay differences. [[Dr. Mario (WarioWare Gold)|Yet another microgame]] in ''[[WarioWare Gold]]'' stars Dr. Mario. Dr. Mario in is also one of the several characters that compose [[Costume Mario]] in ''[[Super Mario Maker]]''; players can unlock the Dr. Mario costume by using the appropriate amiibo or completing one of the several challenges, which randomly unlocks a costume character. When players use Dr. Mario, sound effects from the NES version of Dr. Mario play, and when {{button|Padup}} is pressed, Dr. Mario takes out a Megavitamin. One of Yoshi's [[List of Yoshi designs in Yoshi's Woolly World|designs]] in ''[[Yoshi's Woolly World]]'' is based on Dr. Mario. Players can scan a Dr. Mario amiibo to unlock the color scheme.

Dr. Mario is a fair-skinned man with brown hair and a brown, ragged mustache, similar to his normal self. Dr. Mario also wears brown work shoes like his normal self, but he dons a doctor's regular form of attire: white pants, a white collared shirt, a red tie, and a white coat, as well as a stethoscope. Despite this, Dr. Mario's design has undergone several changes throughout his history.

Dr. Mario has eight selectable costumes in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series, including his default appearance. Dr. Mario's first alternate costume consists of a green shirt, lime green tie, red coat, light gray gloves, and gray shoes, which is the attire worn by modern nurses. Dr. Mario's second alternate costume consists of a blue shirt and gray gloves, as well as a dark blue tie, which is the attire worn by modern doctors. Dr. Mario's third alternate costume consists of green gloves, shirt, tie, and coat, resembling what modern surgeons wear. Dr. Mario's fourth alternate costume consists of fully black attire, save for the red tie, nicknamed the "Unlicensed Doctor." Dr. Mario's fifth costume consists of a yellow coat, green shirt, dark green tie, and gray gloves, borrowing some elements from his red costume. Dr. Mario's sixth alternate costume consists of a purple coat, maroon gloves, orange shirt, and red tie, having no specific inspiration. Lastly, Dr. Mario's seventh alternate costume consists of purple shoes, a pink coat, lavender shirt, and teal tie, being inspired by Nurse Toadstool's colors.