Dr. Mario World is Nintendo’s new match-three puzzle game in the long-dormant Dr. Mario series, combining some elements of classic mobile match-3 gameplay with elements of the classic virus killing from the old-school Dr. Mario games. Being Nintendo, of course, they’re going to do it a little bit differently than everybody else.
Your goal is to knock out viruses through level after level, unlock all of the available doctors and assistants (who, of course, are your old Mario universe favorites), and earn coins and gems while managing your lives.
Read on for some tips and cheats for Dr. Mario Universe!
The Gameplay Basics:
The gameplay is entirely different from other match-three games in that you release pills, you rotate them like Tetris pieces (or old Dr. Mario pills). Pills are used for getting rid of viruses. Match three colors together to get rid of pills, viruses, or whatever identically-colored pieces are on the board.
Your doctor has their own specific skill. After stage 10, you will be able to pick a doctor based on their skill, with starting doctors being either Mario, Bowser, or Peach. After level 20, you’ll be able to unlock new doctors, including (but not limited to) the starters that you didn’t pick. And yes, Luigi is one of the doctors too.
The first 19 stages will be extremely easy, but from stage 20 and on, you’ll have significant challenges that will require you to plan out your moves beforehand. Pay attention to what pills you have coming next, and think about where you want to place them so that you can put them down quickly.
Your goal is to win while placing as few pills as possible. If you have a pill piece left over after a combination is made, you can move it around the board as long as it has not floated up to a landing place yet. That means that one pill has the possibility of knocking out up to two virus combinations at once.
Use other pieces on the board to your advantage as well. Shells can be used to knock out an entire horizontal row, for example. Potions can refill the skill meter for your doctor’s skill much faster than just clearing standard combinations can.
Staffing, or: Unlocking new doctors and assistants:
You have a few ways to get new assistants and new doctors. One way to do so is to get summon tickets, which are most commonly earned from bonus levels. The other is simply to earn enough coins or gems to purchase a summon.
The cost is either 4,000 coins or 40 gems. Once you buy a summon, you’ll either earn a doctor or an assistant. You’ll either earn a new one or a duplicate; the more of them you have already, the more likely it is that you will earn a duplicate instead of a brand new one.
If you earn a duplicate doctor, then you’ll improve the skill level of the duplicated doctor. Once your doctor (or assistant) is maxed out, then they will stop being available in the Staffing rotation.
Versus Mode
Versus mode is much like the standard single-player mode, except that, like in other competitive games in the series, you and another player compete against each other for supremacy. The same rules apply as in the single-player stages, but with some modifications that affect who wins and how the winner wins.
For one, a combination of making the most combos and biggest combos is needed. Speed is paramount; you want to be faster than the other guy. But also, try to make combos bigger than 3 in a row (4 and 5 in a row is best), as that will fill the attack bar faster, allowing you to dump more lines on your opponent. Usually, the one who dumps more lines at a higher speed will be the winner.
Doctor’s orders!
Complete the doctor’s orders in order to win coins. Coins have a lot of uses in this game, especially when it comes to unlocking more doctors and assistants, so you want to collect as many of them as possible.
One way to collect them, of course, is simply by beating levels with as many stars as possible. Finish with the highest score possible; the main way to do this is to finish with the most moves left over as possible.
The doctors’ orders are the next quickest way to earn coins. If you haven’t collected from them in awhile, then check the menu to see if you have any available rewards to collect. Otherwise, for any incomplete quests, you’ll be able to see exactly what you have to do in order to complete them.