Gameplay
Dr. Mario 64 does little to advance forward where the previous version of Mario left off. It really is almost exactly the same experience you can have playing the NES or SNES versions. There are a few new modes and upgrades to consider, though. Dr. Mario 64 features six play modes including Classic, Story, Vs. Computer, Flash, Marathon, and Score Attack. The Classic mode lets you stack up pills in an attempt to clear as many stages as possible, with Marathon and Score Attack providing the same experience with different objectives. The only real unique addition to the gameplay modes is Flash. It is essentially an extension of the "get rid of the viruses" logic that Dr. Mario is based on. There are a certain number of viruses that flash and glow. Once you get rid of them, you win. This is hardly different than the normal mode, though, as there's little difference in getting rid of flashing viruses or ones that are not.

So all this begs the question: what is really new about Dr. Mario 64? The answer is that there is virtually nothing fresh about it...except the four-player versus modes. You can join up with up to three friends and battle out your aggressions in an all-out free-for-all. Or, via Team Battle mode you and a buddy can take on your two worst enemies. Whether it's a free-for-all or two-on-two battle mode the object is to destroy all the viruses first. During all this you can send garbage onto opponents by getting combos in sets of one, two, three, or four. Four is as many pieces of garbage you can send onto an opponent at once. If you tire of the normal battle mode, though, you can choose to play Flash with up to four players as well. The only downside is that if you play with three players you have to let the computer AI fill the last spot.

In general, there is nothing new here. Granted there are a few new bells and whistles such as the ability to default multiplayer settings with the R-button, or using any C-button to turn on the ghost pill effect, which lets you see where your piece will land via a transparent "ghost." But for the most part, the four-player battles and relatively low price tag ($29.99 MSRP) are the main appeal.

Graphics
This is apparently what you get when you upgrade NES code to SNES code to N64 code. It runs in low resolution and features generally bland, meaningless backgrounds. Even the animations on the characters are extremely boring and repetitive. If you're hoping for pre-rendered backgrounds and lots of clever animations and effects, look elsewhere. This is Dr. Mario, nothing more.

Sound
Nintendo and Newcom sure went out of their way and added one whole new song to this compilation of stale MIDI tracks. The sound effects could very well be ripped from the Game Boy version. Fortunately there's an option to turn the music off, and we highly suggest you replace it with your favorite CD of choice.