Excellent game! I've played the original Dr. Mario before, and I've played the SMS port here, so I decided to compare it to my experience with the original FC/NES version.
The visuals and music are probably my favorite part. The former is an excellent showcase of what the SMS is capable of, something many games from the era often didn't leverage hard enough. The latter is arguably on par with some Sega Pico tunes I've heard (namely the ones I've heard through VGM ripping them) and I mean this as a good thing; They're nice and chill and perfectly fit what's going on in the game. I wish there was a sound test or something (unless there is one, and I didn't see it) since I'd love to just listen to the tracks at my leisure outside of the gameplay.
Now my only criticism is really the play control/physics. Compared to Dr. Mario, the lack of DAS (Delayed Auto Shift), the inability to rotate the pills in the opposite direction, as well as being unable to rotate pills into certain gaps, or even just pause the game, makes it feel less responsive and more sluggish and janky to a more experienced player. I've considered using a debugger and a few other tools to implement a fix to the controls myself, but I've been busy with my own projects I need to finish, so I don't think I'd get to it anytime soon, plus I'd prefer to have the developer themselves give the approval or fix for such a thing.
Despite that, the game is, quite unironically one of the few games on the console I could justify playing for extended periods, it's that good compared to the rest of them! I would totally buy a physical copy if it released!
edit: I'm told the SMS version has better controls on a real SMS... And yet has issues on the Megadrive's compatibility mode, which is what I used to play this. That's really weird, since I haven't had this issue before.
thank you for your feedbacks! Can you explain what DAS is, the lack of timer reset on the auto fall after entering a D-pad command? I'm aware of the counterclock wise pill rotation, I will probably implement this but only for physical releases. The pause is coded on the pause button console only, on real hardware. Concerning the MD compatibility, I haven't tried that, I just received a cheap converter and will give it a try. I use GBDK kit for dev, maybe there is something not managed well in that test case.
Mmm, probably, but my interest is on mainstream 2D consoles with a good C devkit. For example, I don't think people would be interested in a port for PSX or Dreamcast, those are 3D machines. On the other end, Sega Saturn has a great reputation for 2D stuff.
I also have another rule, being able to test on real hardware on my side, which means getting the console and a flash card, in the long run, it costs a lot.
I think there would be interest for a PSX version, at least in Japan. 2D games were the console's life over there for quite a while, compared to how it was marketed in the USA, where it was trying to compete with the N64's 3D more directly. "O-chan no Oekaki Logic" among other titles are pretty good examples of successful 2D puzzle outings on the console.
Merci :) je peux pas vraiment faire mieux sur MS, il faut savoir qu'un décor est composé de tuiles de 8x8 pixels, mon aire de jeu fait 16 tuiles ( 128 pixels ), je serais obligé de passer à 16x16 pixels par tuile si je veux faire plus gros, donc 256 pixels de haut et ça dépasse la limite de 192 pixels de la console. Sur GG ça passe de justesse car l'écran fait 144 pixels de haut. Ce type de jeu est taillé pour de la portable, c'est moins évident sur de la console de salon.
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This game would be a great fit for the Neo Geo CD if a port is possible. That is a decently powerful console that is starving for quality content.
Excellent game! I've played the original Dr. Mario before, and I've played the SMS port here, so I decided to compare it to my experience with the original FC/NES version.
The visuals and music are probably my favorite part. The former is an excellent showcase of what the SMS is capable of, something many games from the era often didn't leverage hard enough. The latter is arguably on par with some Sega Pico tunes I've heard (namely the ones I've heard through VGM ripping them) and I mean this as a good thing; They're nice and chill and perfectly fit what's going on in the game. I wish there was a sound test or something (unless there is one, and I didn't see it) since I'd love to just listen to the tracks at my leisure outside of the gameplay.
Now my only criticism is really the play control/physics. Compared to Dr. Mario, the lack of DAS (Delayed Auto Shift), the inability to rotate the pills in the opposite direction, as well as being unable to rotate pills into certain gaps, or even just pause the game, makes it feel less responsive and more sluggish and janky to a more experienced player. I've considered using a debugger and a few other tools to implement a fix to the controls myself, but I've been busy with my own projects I need to finish, so I don't think I'd get to it anytime soon, plus I'd prefer to have the developer themselves give the approval or fix for such a thing.
Despite that, the game is, quite unironically one of the few games on the console I could justify playing for extended periods, it's that good compared to the rest of them! I would totally buy a physical copy if it released!
edit: I'm told the SMS version has better controls on a real SMS... And yet has issues on the Megadrive's compatibility mode, which is what I used to play this. That's really weird, since I haven't had this issue before.
thank you for your feedbacks!
Can you explain what DAS is, the lack of timer reset on the auto fall after entering a D-pad command?
I'm aware of the counterclock wise pill rotation, I will probably implement this but only for physical releases.
The pause is coded on the pause button console only, on real hardware.
Concerning the MD compatibility, I haven't tried that, I just received a cheap converter and will give it a try. I use GBDK kit for dev, maybe there is something not managed well in that test case.
Would it also be possible to port it to some of these systems?
Watara Supervision, Mega Duck, SG-1000, Amstrad CPC, MSX, PC-8801, PlayStation, 3DO, C64, Uzebox, Apple II, Neo Geo CD or Wonderswan?
Mmm, probably, but my interest is on mainstream 2D consoles with a good C devkit. For example, I don't think people would be interested in a port for PSX or Dreamcast, those are 3D machines. On the other end, Sega Saturn has a great reputation for 2D stuff.
I also have another rule, being able to test on real hardware on my side, which means getting the console and a flash card, in the long run, it costs a lot.
I think there would be interest for a PSX version, at least in Japan. 2D games were the console's life over there for quite a while, compared to how it was marketed in the USA, where it was trying to compete with the N64's 3D more directly. "O-chan no Oekaki Logic" among other titles are pretty good examples of successful 2D puzzle outings on the console.
Mmm, anyway, I'll need a cheap solution to play homebrews on my PS1 first ( like the PS2 FBMC ), I'll see then if can port it.
Great stuff :)
thank you!
An awesome version of Dr.Mario but prettier!
thank you!
7 months later and this is still an incredible alternative to Dr.Mario!
Heck, even more fun more than the original Dr.Mario!
It's so simple, so clean, and so cute! Really admirable!
Thanks a lot! glad you like it :)
Génial sur Game Gear, par contre sur Master System tu comptes utiliser plus d'1/4 de l'écran? Car là ça fait vraiment petit..
Merci :) je peux pas vraiment faire mieux sur MS, il faut savoir qu'un décor est composé de tuiles de 8x8 pixels, mon aire de jeu fait 16 tuiles ( 128 pixels ), je serais obligé de passer à 16x16 pixels par tuile si je veux faire plus gros, donc 256 pixels de haut et ça dépasse la limite de 192 pixels de la console. Sur GG ça passe de justesse car l'écran fait 144 pixels de haut. Ce type de jeu est taillé pour de la portable, c'est moins évident sur de la console de salon.