Dr. Luigi

Genre: Match-4 Falling Block Puzzle

Players: 1-2 Competitive (Local, Online)

.

Review:

Dr. Luigi, released on the Wii U in 2013, is a sequel in Nintendo’s long-running Dr. Mario Match-4 Puzzle game series released as a part of Nintendo’s “year of Luigi” push. This entry in the series introduces multiple new gameplay modes and elements, each of which would go on to influence later games in the series.

The presentation here is good, with bright colorful visuals, nice little animations in the gameplay, and good 3D models for Mario and Luigi. This is backed by remixes of the classic Dr. Mario themes, as well as new songs that… well, are nowhere near as good. Overall, this looks quite nice and extremely polished, although of course there’s nothing truly jaw-dropping going on here.

The core gameplay here is split into four modes: Operation L, Retro Remedy, Virus Buster, and Online Battle. Operation L is the main star here, as this new mode adds in L-shaped pairings of pills that give players new opportunities to make matches, but can also more quickly clutter up the playfield. Retro Remedy is a classic mode that plays just like old-school Dr. Mario. Virus Buster is a touchscreen-focused game mode which would later be the apparent inspiration for the mobile game Dr. Mario World. And finally, Online Battle allows players to compete with others online. I’ll note that I was actually able to still find a few stragglers online even in 2022, but don’t expect a flourishing community here.

All things considered, at a price tag of $15, Dr. Luigi is a solid evolution of the Dr. Mario formula that brings a few new inventive game modes and a polished presentation. While it lacks the 4-player gameplay of Dr. Mario 64, and it doesn’t have the further enhancements this series would see in Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure on Nintendo 3DS, this is a solid Puzzle game that fans of the genre who own a Wii U should definitely get ahold of while they still can.

tl;dr – Dr. Luigi is a version of Nintendo’s classic Dr. Mario Match-4 Falling Block Puzzle Game that features a few inventive new game modes and a polished presentation. There’s nothing here that outright revolutionizes the Dr. Mario franchise, but overall this is an excellent entry in the series, and one that fans of the genre will definitely want to buy before the Wii U eShop closes.

Grade: B

^{You can support eShopperReviews on Patreon! Please click HERE to become a Sponsor!}

^{This month’s sponsors are Andy Miller, Exlene, Johannes, Ilya Zverev, Connor Armstrong, Eli Goodman, K.H., Kristoffer Wulff, Stov, and Gabriel Coronado-Medina. Thank you for helping to keep the reviews coming!}