QCF: Dr. Luigi

nfluenza, acute coryza, or in my case at the time of writing this, Bronchitis, are but a handful of the many viruses and illnesses we encounter through the years we live and breathe; in spite of the medical advances accomplished by mankind; we still face the threat of these infections to this day.

Which is why it truly speaks to the aptitude of Nintendo’s charm when they can translate the process of fighting infectious viruses through the aching road to medicinal recovery into something fun to play. Dr. Mario, a first-party brain teaser within the Big-N’s stable, still commands a strong following since it’s NES days, but time hasn’t been kind to the Italian physician.

The addictive puzzler has always lacked the depth of its peers to excel beyond the narrow scope of its core fundamental mechanics—which is why Dr. Luigi is more than just a second opinion.

 The year of Luigi has influenced the engineering to sequel that refreshes the formula in all the right ways and stands tall with the strongest doctrine of the franchise has seen yet.

Puzzle games are afforded the luxury of reiterating the same novelties they’re cherished with little or no change and hardly any of the criticism for it either; it’s what’s kept the iconic Plumber practicing medicine on the side for so long, but thankfully his second fiddle brother brings something new to the table. First and foremost, Dr. Luigi may have some new tricks but for those worried, half of it is very much same traditional gameplay of Dr. Mario and it’s completely intact within Classic mode.

This play style is largely unchanged and is exactly what it suggests; you associate the right color of pill with the right virus and after three, they pop and this continues until you clear the board.

Classic will be instantly familiar to anyone who’s ever played any of the other titles, but fortunately is just only one of the modes available; not to discredit these dynamics as the gameplay is still more than competent to serve any new comer or purist, but the real meat to be consumed in the main course is Operation L.

The gimmick behind Operation L is the actual pills that the green doctor prescribes; they’re made of two pills at once in the shape of L. While at first impression, the mechanic sounds like another superficial nod to celebrate the Doctor, they possess a number of dynamics that completely change up the way viruses are approached. For the first time in the history of the series, you can now eliminate the colored germs from the sides instead primarily having to take them out from the top. This new element alone introduces an entirely new factor towards the placement and dictation of your pill drops—which are now much harder to navigate and maneuver through the waves of bacteria when in the shape of a bulky awkward L.

The L Pill also has its own dynamics, when rotated and hooked into a position where the two pills are no longer resting upon one another for support, they’ll break apart, which if placed right, allows for a new degree for chaining for score competing that was never possible in the franchise before. The addition of these mechanics bring with them a slew of caveats as well; the process of delegating pills not only by orientation or color, but orientation, color, and real estate along with the added effect of horizontal clearing significantly reinvigorates the rusted foundation of Dr. Mario’s formula in exciting ways.

Virus Buster also makes a welcome return from the previous WiiWare entry, and what was a novel but mostly clumsy idea on the Wii, is now a much more gratifying mode of play that’s better accommodated by the facilities of the Wii U.  Virus Buster demands higher level of attentive player input as you manipulated multiple pills on a zoomed in board, and instead of sloppy twists and fumbles with a Wiimote to the screen, it’s all played off of the Gamepad. The accuracy behind the stylus not only allows for more frenetic difficulties to happen but the added benefit of playing with the Gamepad in the taté position plays as though it’s intuitively native to the structure of  Virus Buster, making this its best iteration yet.

Aside from all of the refinements and new content, there’s one last little niche that can be layered on top of all of the modes with a heavy competitive emphasis that intensifies pill dropping like never before--Flash mode. The stipulations center around the germs that are flashing and without having to clear all of the viruses, they’re destruction means an instant victory; whether it’s against the AI or a friend, the calculative nature within Dr. Luigi’s storied puzzle mechanics are almost thrown out the window now that the conditions favor the fastest physician to the task, coupling this into a game of Operation L can be one of the most complex and rewarding experiences the series has accomplished yet.

The online play is upgraded thanks in large to a much more sophisticated net code and the more advanced online capabilities of the Wii U, between Operation L  or Classic and whether Flash mode is activated, gameplay is fluid and seamless. The only major flaw is that the fantastic 4-player multiplayer venture from the Nintendo 64 iteration is still MIA with Dr. Luigi only allowing for two players at once be it local or online. The presentation is some of the best and comical to derive from it’s silly premise, everything from Luigi chasing the new germs around his country doctor-styled clinic to his dancing jigs between each pill drop, the whimsy is in high service this time around and the soundtrack even has new tracks with some catchy remixes.

This Doctor isn’t the same one with all of those shitty used Highlights magazines in the waiting room that you’re accustomed to; Luigi came with his Master’s Degree in tow, and practicing Nintendo’s brand of medicine has never felt this satisfying. You can find Dr. Luigi up on the eShop for a healthy fifteen dollars, and if you’re in need of a familiar yet new way to tease your brain make yourself an appointment because the Doctor is most certainly in.