Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure

This article is about the seventh console installment in the Dr. Mario series. For the key item from Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, see Miracle Cure.

Template:Infobox Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure is the seventh main installment in the Dr. Mario series, released for Nintendo 3DS in 2015. It was the final title in the Mario franchise to be released with Satoru Iwata as its executive producer before his death on July 11, 2015 (discounting posthumously-released titles).

Gameplay

Basic gameplay of Dr. Mario mode.

A new feature included only in Dr. Mario mode is the titular Miracle Cure. A Miracle Cure can be obtained by filling up a gauge that sits beside the bottle, and each Miracle Cure comes in the form of an item with a unique effect. Most Miracle Cures have a beneficial effect for the user, but certain Miracle Cures can only be found in Vs. Battles, where they can disrupt the opponent. When Miracle Cure is enabled, there is a gauge with one of the listed Miracle Cures below, and once it is filled, the next piece will be the designated Miracle Cure while the next capsule will be put on hold until the Miracle Cure dropped. The gauge will gradually fill as time passes, and it will also fill when a capsule match is made, where it fills up faster the more viruses and/or capsules are cleared. Once the Miracle Cure is placed in the stage, the gauge will be empty and another Miracle Cure will be shown at the top of the gauge.

The single player mode consists of two types: Miracle Cure Laboratory, which is a collection of pre-designed stages, and Custom Clinic, which the player can configure the course settings and play. In Custom Clinic, there are three modes to choose from: Dr. Mario, which is the series' standard gameplay; Dr. Luigi, which is the "Operation L" gameplay mode as seen in Dr. Luigi; and Virus Buster (Germ Buster in UK), in which players must drag continuously falling capsules onto the Viruses. For the Dr. Mario and Dr. Luigi modes, Miracle Cure can be enabled or disabled, which changes if it is available in Vs. CPU mode; however, Classic is only available if Miracle Cure is off, whereas Endless is only available if Miracle Cure is on.

In Classic mode and Vs. CPU mode, the player can choose the starting level and speed in which the capsules fall. In Vs. CPU mode, the speed in which the capsules fall is also correlated to the CPU's difficulty, where it is Easy difficulty at Slow speed, Normal difficulty at Med (medium) speed, and Hard difficulty at High speed. For Virus Buster, the player can choose the starting level and the difficulty, which is based on not only the speed in which capsules drop but also how soon the amount of capsules added to the stage are increased. In Virus Buster only, the starting stage can go past level 20 as long as the player reached it. In both Classic mode and Virus Buster mode, the score that the player obtained in the stage is not saved between levels, meaning that after eliminating all the viruses and proceeding to the next stage, the score is reset to zero, although the high score is still tracked.

For Endless mode, there are no settings to select, meaning that just selecting Endless starts the game. For Endless mode, there are a few differences between it and the Classic mode. For one, there are no levels in Endless, so the player will keep playing in the same stage for as long as possible. Another difference is, in regards to the Dr. Luigi mode, the two capsules in each L-capsule piece are each like-colored, unlike in the other modes where the default L-capsule have one like-colored capsule on the longer side and another capsule where the half that touched the first capsule is the same color as it. A minor difference is that in Endless, viruses will stay in the status screen even though all viruses of that color are currently eliminated, which is unlike Dr. Mario 64's endless mode where the virus of that color will be gone if all matching viruses are currently absent (they will reappear if that colored virus appear again). At certain points in Endless, the objects in the stage will be pushed upwards from the bottom, which the player will be informed ahead of time based on a countdown and a number (between 1 and 4) of rows at the top. The countdown is based on the amount of capsule or Miracle Cures placed on the stage. Also, if all viruses in the stage are eliminated, the stage will be pushed up automatically to provide new viruses. If an object goes past the top due to being pushed, the game ends.

There is also a multiplayer mode, which features online and local multiplayer. When playing locally, there are two options: Local Play, which allows two players with a copy of the game to play, and Download Play, in which the other player must connect to the system via 3DS download play to play with the player who owns the game. In this, players can play the classic Dr. Mario multiplayer, or one of two modes for Virus Buster; a mode in which players must match three capsules to destroy all Viruses, and a mode in which both players must work together to destroy the Viruses. Dr. Mario mode in multiplayer also includes its own Miracle Cures, such as speeding up the drop rate of the opponent's capsules, reversing their controls, and preventing them from rotating a capsule.

Unlike past Dr. Mario games, the music that plays in the stage cannot be chosen, nor can it be turned off. In fact, the music could change between levels for Classic mode. The music will be randomly chosen between Fever and Chill in the Dr. Mario mode, the music is between Drowsy and Dizzy for the Dr. Luigi mode, while the music is between a slower and calmer version of either Fever or Chill in Virus Buster.

After every 30 minutes, there will be a message in which the player is advised to take a break.

Miracle Cures

This is a list of Miracle Cures that can appear when Miracle Cure is enabled.

Image	Name	Description
	Capsule Blaster R	Clears all red capsules.
	Capsule Blaster Y	Clears all yellow capsules.
	Capsule Blaster B	Clears all blue capsules.
	Capsule Blaster Z	Clears all capsules.
	Virus Blaster R	Clears all red viruses.
	Virus Blaster Y	Clears all yellow viruses.
	Virus Blaster B	Clears all blue viruses.
	Horizontal Zapper	Clears everything in its row.
	Vertical Zapper	Clears everything in its column.
	+Zapper	Clears everything in both its row and its column.
	Exploder	Clears everything in the indicated area that surrounds it.
	Reverser	Exclusive to Vs. Battles. Inverts the left and right controls on for a short time.
	Locker	Exclusive to Vs. Battles. Makes it impossible to rotate capsules for a short time.
	Booster	Exclusive to Vs. Battles. Makes capsules drop faster for a short time.

Miracle Cure Laboratory stages

Training

• 1: Intro to Dr. Mario
• 2: Intro to Dr. Luigi
• 3: Advanced L-Capsules
• 4: Blasting Capsules
• 5: Z-Blasting Capsules
• 6: Blasting Viruses
• 7: Zap Attacks
• 8: Explosive Treatments
• 9: Miracle Cure Combos
• 10: Shocking Sabotages

Basic

• 1: On Call with Dr. Mario
• 2: On Call with Dr. Luigi
• 3: Mushroom Medic
• 4: Fire Flower First Aid
• 5: Efficient Treatment
• 6: Chain Training
• 7: Step It Up
• 8: Rainbow Riot
• 9: Step It Up 2
• 10: Rainy-Day Remedy
• 11: Head-to-Head Challenge
• 12: Head-to-Head Challenge 2
• 13: One-Move Medication
• 14: Four-Move Medication
• 15: Rapid Remedy
• 16: Pot Luck
• 17: Rapid Remedy 2
• 18: Two-Move Medication
• 19: Be the Best!
• 20: Be the Best! 2

Advanced

• 1: Coin Collector
• 2: Bottled Bottle
• 3: Grin and Bear It
• 4: Mining for Miracles
• 5: Virus Valley
• 6: Harmonic Healing
• 7: Superstar Science
• 8: Vertical Zapper Zinger
• 9: Exploderama
• 10: Musical Mayhem
• 11: P Switch Pushover
• 12: Rainbow Road
• 13: Three-Move Medication
• 14: Zap to Zilch
• 15: A Heartfelt Battle
• 16: Vertical Zapper Dropper
• 17: Strawberry Crop
• 18: Leave No Leftovers
• 19: Miraculous Recovery
• 20: Arch Nemesis
• 21: Butterfly Buster
• 22: The Hidden Heart
• 23: Ten-Chain Champ
• 24: Buried Treasure
• 25: Speedy Treatment
• 26: Controlled Demolition
• 27: Zap the Left, Blast the Rest
• 28: Stair Builder
• 29: Red and Blue Maze
• 30: Royal Radiance

Reception

Reviews
Release	Reviewer, Publication	Score	Comment
Nintendo 3DS	Marcel van Duyn, Nintendo Life	8/10	"Featuring three different game modes from throughout the franchise's history, as well as preset scenarios to clear and online multiplayer, this is easily the most packed Dr. Mario game yet. There's a ton of different ways to play, so if you don't fancy Miracle Cure or Dr. Luigi, for example, you can easily leave them untouched and still have a lot to do. Those that are into head-to-head battles will find the online mode quite entertaining as well."
Nintendo 3DS	Chris Carter, Destructoid	9/10	"When all is said and done though, there really isn't a whole lot to Miracle Cure if you aren't going to play multiplayer with a friend who shares your passion. I really wish Nintendo showed a bit more effort when it comes to solo play, as the standard "missions" aren't cutting it. I would kill to see a new storyline (like Dr. Mario 64) incorporated into the franchise, one that unites both Mario and Luigi against a common foe. For now, there's only so much pill-dropping that I can take. If you're a Dr. Mario junkie, you can probably pull the trigger on Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure just to see what the fuss is about in regards to the power-ups. For everyone else, just stick with Dr. Luigi until Nintendo decides to overhaul the formula a bit more."
Nintendo 3DS	Jason Venter, GameSpot	7/10	"Considering how long Dr. Mario has been around, the modifications here serve as a pleasant surprise and manage to inject a fresh element into a puzzling experience that is by now a bit long in the tooth. Even without the new content, Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure is a worthwhile addition to the serious puzzle fan's gaming library. It just doesn't offer enough that's new compared to Dr. Luigi to warrant a glowing recommendation if you already invested in that other recent release."
Aggregators
Compiler		Platform / Score
Metacritic		69
GameRankings		70.53%

Gallery

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  Key art

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  Japanese logo

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  Dr. Mario

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  Dr. Luigi

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  Viruses

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  Play Nintendo

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  Play Nintendo

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	Dr. Mario ギャクテン！特効薬 ＆ 細菌撲滅 Dokutā Mario Gyakuten! Tokkōyaku & Saikin Bokumetsu	Dr. Mario: Reversal! Miracle Cure & Virus Buster

Trivia

• In South Korea, this game was released as an exclusive bundle game of Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. It was only downloadable from May 26 to August 31, 2016.