Dr. Mario

"Dr. Mario's Got The Cure!"

Dr. Mario is a persona of Mario seen in the Dr. Mario series of puzzle games, as well as various other Mario titles.

He is also a playable character in Nexed - While he is very similar to Mario, he is not a Remix Fighter due to the severity of the changes made.

Real-World History
The original Dr. Mario was initially titled "Virus"; While the gameplay was similar, the plot involved curing sick animals, with the only Mario element being a nurse character who resembles Nurse Toadstool. At one point in development, the game was reworked into Dr. Mario, featuring Mario wearing a doctor's coat and stethoscope.

After the success of Dr. Mario, Mario's new persona would go on to star in the Dr. Mario series of spinoff games, the latest entry being the now-defunct Dr. Mario World, released for smartphones in 2019. The Dr. Mario persona has also been referenced in other Mario titles, such as Super Mario Maker and Super Mario Odyssey, the latter featuring Dr. Mario's head mirror and coat as a costume for Mario to wear.

On some occasions, Dr. Mario has been treated as an entity seperate from that of Mario. The most notable example of this is the Super Smash Bros. series, where Dr. Mario appears in Melee, for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, and Ultimate as a playable character. Another example can be found in the Super Mario Kodansha manga.

Gameplay Information
"If you're feeling ill in the Mushroom Kingdom, there's only one doc to call; Dr. Mario! With a supply of Megavitamins and medical know-how, he's able to take care of the fever, chills, or whatever viruses come his way! It can be a stressful job, but it seems to be just another job for Mario!

...or is it? When Mario entered the Nexus Tournament, a identical doppleganger of his medical persona appeared as well! Is this a clone? A Mario from another universe? Mario from the future? Whatever the case, Dr. Mario's here, and he's got one perscription - victory!"

Naturally, Dr. Mario bears many resemblances to Mario. The two share a handful of moves, making it easy for players of one character to adjust to the other. However, Dr. Mario has two key differences; He is heavier than the base Mario, making it harder to KO him. In addition, many of his attacks and attributes, such as his Virus Buster mechanic and Down Special, apply debuffs to opponents.

However, with Dr. Mario's higher weight comes lessened mobility, hampering his ability to recover to the stage. In addition, some of his capabilities are lesser than those of the base Mario; For instance, his reflector option only covers half the range of Mario's Star Spin, making him more vulnerable. Overall, Dr. Mario is considered an "advanced" version of Mario; He is able to do things that Mario can't, but tends to be less forgiving when it comes to misusing attacks and properties.

Moveset

 * Virus Buster: Dr. Mario's Neutral Special, Megavitamins, allows him to create color chains to potentially apply a major debuff to opponents. This mechanic is named after the mode of the same name from Dr. Mario Online Rx.
 * Dr. Mario's HUD features a small "pill box", displaying the colors of his next Megavitamin. When a Megavitamin is thrown with **Dr. Mario's Neutral Special, coming in contact with it will cause an opponent to gain a "pill" above their head of the Megavitamin's color.
 * Being able to acquire four "pills" of the same color on one opponent will cause them to become "cured", making them lighter and weaker for the remainder of their current stock. However, hitting an opponent on one color chain with a Megavitamin of an opposing color will break the chain, removing all of the opponent's pills.
 * Dr. Mario's Megavitamins come in three colors; Red, blue, and yellow. Pills can either be one solid color, or display two colors; The latter acts as a "wild card" of sorts, being able to continue color combos of either color.

Grounded Attacks

 * Jab: Dr. Mario throws a quick punch, resembling the first hit of Mario's attack combo in Super Mario 64, which also serves as Dr. Mario's jab in the Super Smash Bros. series.
 * Dash Attack: Dr. Mario pulls out a medical stretcher and rides it forward.
 * Forward Light: Dr. Mario throws a straight kick.
 * Up Light: Dr. Mario throws a spinning uppercut.
 * Down Light: Dr. Mario throws a legsweep.
 * Forward Strong: Dr. Mario thrusts both palms forward, with his hands having electrical properties. This stems from his forward smash in the Super Smash Bros. series.
 * Up Strong: Dr. Mario throws an arching headbutt reminscient of his up smash in the Super Smash Bros. series.
 * Down Strong: Dr. Mario holds out one hand on each side of himself, with his hands having electrical properties.
 * Counter: Dr. Mario headbutts the opponent.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Air: Dr. Mario spins with his arms outstretched, being able to deal multiple hits of damage. This resembles the Dr. Tornado from Super Smash Bros..
 * Forward Air: Dr. Mario throws an overhand punch, being able to spike opponents.
 * Back Air: Dr. Mario throws a dropkick behind himself.
 * Up Air: Dr. Mario throws a backflip kick.
 * Down Air: Dr. Mario stomps downwards with both feet, being able to spike opponents.

Grabs / Throws

 * Grab: Dr. Mario grabs the opponent with one hand, using the other to put his stethoscope on the opponent's chest.
 * Pummel: Dr. Mario squeezes the opponent.
 * Forward Throw: Dr. Mario pulls out a stretcher and places the opponent onto it, sending it forwards.
 * Back Throw: Dr. Mario spins the opponent around before throwing them behind himself.
 * Up Throw: Dr. Mario tosses the opponent into the air before uppercutting them.
 * Down Throw: Dr. Mario throws the opponent onto the ground before placing his palms onto them, giving them an electric shock.

Stage Intro
Dr. Mario walks onto the stage, checking his clipboard, noticing the opponent, and putting it away.

Taunts

 * Dr. Mario juggles Megavitamins, referencing promotional art for Dr. Mario.
 * Dr. Mario shrugs at the camera, resembling his appearance on the Game Over screen of Dr. Mario.
 * Dr. Mario raises his fist after spinning, resembling his victory animation from Dr. Mario World.
 * Dr. Mario taps his foot with a pondering expression, resembling his title screen animation from Dr. Mario and his render from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Victory Animations
Dr. Mario's victory theme is an extended version of the Versus Victory jingle from Dr. Mario, followed by a remix of the results theme, which replaces the standard results music.
 * A random Virus (Fever, Chills, or Weird) is seen laughing on-screen before being hit by a Megavitamin and launched away. Dr. Mario then walks onto the stage, dusting off his hands before posing.
 * Dr. Mario dusts himself off before twirling and posing with his fist in the air, resembling his victory animation from Dr. Mario World.
 * Dr. Mario tosses Megavitamins twice before posing with one in each hand, resembling a victory animation from the Super Smash Bros. series.

Colors / Costumes


Trivia

 * Dr. Mario was originally designed as an alternate costume for Mario (with Cappy taking the form of Dr. Mario's head mirror), but was turned into a full fighter when Faz had an idea to make him more unique, that being the Virus Buster mechanic.
 * Dr. Mario's splash text, Level 3 Nexus Attack, taunts, victory animations, and colors were all reused from the costume.