Dr. Mario World Release Date Revealed

Today, out of nowhere, Nintendo announced that Dr. Mario World — it’s January-announced mobile game — is releasing worldwide on July 10 via Android and iOS devices. At the moment of publishing, additional ports haven’t been announced, and it’s unclear how much the game will cost, but presumably it will be free. To accompany the release date announcement, Nintendo has also provided the game’s first-ever trailer, which you can check out above.

As for a console Dr. Mario game, there’s still been no word from Nintendo. In other words, you’re just going to have to settle for this if you want to play the classic series. Here’s a rundown of the game, courtesy of Nintendo:

• Use your puzzle skills to eliminate pesky viruses! – Match capsules with viruses and watch them disappear! Simply match three objects of the same color vertically or horizontally to clear them. Take your time, because each puzzling stage’s configuration of viruses must be cleared using a limited number of capsules.
• A colorful cast of viruses has Dr. Mario’s world in a panic! – Dr. Mario and friends have put on lab coats and grabbed capsules! Now they’re ready to eliminate those unruly viruses.
• Hundreds of stages over many different worlds need saving, with new worlds coming on a regular basis!
• Play together with friends and family around the world! – You’re not in this alone—send and receive stamina-giving hearts to use in stage mode! Then, show off your puzzle-solving progress. In versus mode, you can challenge others to a one-on-one showdown!

For those that don’t know: Dr. Mario debuted back in 1990 as an action-puzzle game from Gunpei Yokoi and via the NES and Game Boy. It’s a falling block puzzle game, which were admittedly more popular back then, where your objective is to destroy the viruses populating the screen by playing colored capsules that are tossed into the field by good ol’ Mario, who is a doctor on the weekends. As the capsules fall, players manipulate them to align similar colors which removes the viruses. The original is widely considered one of the best Nintendo games of all-time, which makes it a bit disappointing to see it now sidelined to being just a mobile game.