There is only one character that you can live off of. One fictional entity that has grown so far beyond his source material that you’ll find him plastered onto everything except the roof of your home. This character is Mickey Mouse, but Mario doesn’t fall too far behind him. Plastering Mario’s name on something guarantees it won’t fail, and Nintendo will often abuse this fact.

Dr. Mario is a very simplistic NES puzzle game. A set of viruses have hit the Mushroom Kingdom that only Dr. Mario can solve! There are three virus types, indicated by color, that you must stack with three pills to eradicate. There are two types of pills, and Dr. Mario will throw them randomly. You can spin pills to better position them. If you have a stack of pills that goes all the way up to the top, you die.

Dr. Mario, especially the NES original, is harmless but forgettable. The series has never had the pull that Tetris does. There’s a ton of strategy and adrenaline, but I’ve never found it fulfilling. Even with friends, Dr. Mario is typically the last thing on my mind. In fact, I forgot to add it to the list of games for this series of reviews. I’ve never been inclined to play for more than five minutes, and I doubt I’ll ever touch this version ever again.

HAL Labs made a lot of weird decisions developing Super Smash Bros. Melee, but the most confusing are the clone characters. Five series newcomers who take every last one of their moves from an established fighter from the roster. All of them have their claim in gaming history — except Dr. Mario. Over the years, he’s gained a few key differences. The good doctor is slower, hits harder, throws the megavitamins that made him famous, has a stomp arial and tornado special move, and his cape reflector will propel him backward. Regardless of my dislike for Corrin, or how often I forget that Olimar is even on the roster, Dr. Mario will always confuse me the most.