Dr. Mario 64 – Reminiscing
by Ryan Craig
For much of my life, video games have brought tremendous joy. I used to stay up late with friends to complete a game that we got from a video rental store earlier in the day. I would exult with my best friend every time we defeated a boss in Double Dragon III. I attended a bachelor party where the groom had a Nintendo 64 hooked up to a big screen TV so we could play Smash Bros. and Goldeneye. Even now I play games with my teenage sons and discuss the tiny details from the latest Nintendo Direct. However, this joy has not been a constant. In order to explain, I feel that a little background information is necessary.
I have been married for almost 20 years. I won’t lie and say that everything has been easy. Sure, we’ve had our struggles and arguments. There have been tough discussions about money and even difficulties conceiving children. We have also had our fair share of good times, too. This isn’t one of those stories. This is a tale of woe and despair. It is about someone who has ruined a special part of our marriage. A part that will most likely never return. I don’t know who is to blame, so I leave it in your hands.
Back in 1990, a well-known plumber by the name of Mario took a break from toppling overgrown gorillas and temperamental tortoises to earn an advanced degree. It was then that Dr. Mario entered my life. We had a lot of fun together. I felt like he understood me. I was a fan of Tetris, but it never held as much sway over me as destroying colored viruses with pills vitamins. Dr. Mario and I spent many hours together, but as with many things, we eventually took a break. I went off to college and he returned to his princess rescuing duties.
Fast forward to the year 2001. I am now married and back to playing video games after a short break while in college. My wonderful bride surprised me with a Nintendo 64 for a wedding present, and I have been steadily increasing the library of games for it. One of our favorites to play as a newlywed couple was Mario Kart 64. We had ferocious competitions with each other to go along with the imprinted “A” on our right thumbs from holding down the accelerator button. It was always good, clean fun.
As we were walking through a mall in San Antonio, I noticed that in the video game store there was a sign with information about pre-ordering Dr. Mario 64. I turned to my wife and said, “I love Dr. Mario!”
She replied, “Me, too!”
“So, should we put down the money for a pre-order?” I asked her.
“Sure,” she said. “That could be a fun game to play together.”
It was at that time that dark, ominous storm clouds began to gather over our young marriage, but we were completely unaware. Young love and all that, you know.
Finally, the day arrived for us to pick up the game. I think we were both excited, but neither of us had a clue what a third wheel would do to our marriage.
The play was just as we remembered it from the old NES version. Match four pieces of the same color in a row or column, and they would disappear along with any included viruses. Once all of the viruses were gone, you could move on to the next level that contained even more viruses that needed clearing. Eventually the viruses would overwhelm the screen, and the blocks would pile up so high that the game would be over. Well, that was just the single-player classic mode. No harm, no foul.
There were many other modes for us to try that were not available on the NES cartridge There was a brand new story mode. In this mode, you had to defeat computer-controlled opponents in a classic PvP matchup. As you progressed through the story, the opponents offered more and more difficult challenges. They moved lightning-fast and created crazy combos. Each victory felt significant and worthy of a celebration.
There were a few other modes as well that offered new takes on the single-player experience, but our focus was on the competitive two-player mode. Please don’t think that this was the first time we played video games together in a competitive setting. We had spent countless hours playing Mortal Kombat II on the SNES while we were dating. She especially liked Kitana. I was thrilled that she enjoyed playing games, let alone one such as MKII. “Could this really be the woman that I’m going to marry?” I wondered to myself. “I am the luckiest guy in the world!”
Mario Kart 64 shifted the needle of competitiveness in our marriage. All of a sudden it seemed like less of a game and more like a metaphor for life. We went all in and held nothing back. Neither one would relent, and the races could be quite bitter. My wife plays very well, and there is something about her that changes when she is going up against me. She is a different person. She sheds her timidity and embraces a cloak of ferocity. She did the same thing for the few college classes we took together. I wasn’t even trying to compete when it came to grades, but she felt that she had to up her game. Mario Kart was no different.
After a few months, she played less and less. I think we both thought that Dr. Mario 64 would change all of that. We were wrong, plain and simple.
Again, my wife plays very well, however, when it comes to Dr. Mario, I am slightly better. Dr. Mario is one of my favorite games, and I have invested a lot of time in it. I would include this on my top 5 games of all time, and it definitely makes the list of “Desert Island” games.
When we played together, I would constantly frustrate her by dropping trash on her side when I completed multiple matches in a single move. (As the trash slowly drops down the opponent’s well, they are unable to do anything other than wait it out.) While the trash descended and she impatiently waited, I was setting up more combos. This snowballed out of control and sucked any fun out of the game for my wife. Towards the end of time with the game, she was just going through the motions. She expected me to make a combo out of every vitamin drop, and it created anxiety, anger, and animosity in an otherwise peaceful person.
Oh, Dr. Mario 64! What have you done?!…
Needless to say, it didn’t take long for Dr. Mario 64 to transition from a two-player experience into a single-player slog. I lost a competitor, but even more importantly I lost my gaming companion. Gaming with my wife has never been the same. Perhaps I should have thrown a game every now and then, or maybe I should have stopped gaming altogether when I got married. I would love for my wife to be excited about gaming, but it appears that time has passed.
It has been years since I last played Dr. Mario 64, but my love for the series has never waned nor has my competitive spirit. I continue to play Dr. Mario on the Switch, and I relish the competition I now get from playing with my teenage sons. I never let up or take it easy. If they beat me, then they will know that they beat me at my best. It builds character, right?
Wahoo! You are a Super Reader! But the adventure doesn’t stop here… There’s more of this project in another castle! This article is just one level in an entire Super Mario Multiverse, a galactic collaboration between writers around the world sharing a bit of our hearts and memories about our favorite Mario games. Visit the Center of the Multiverse to see more:
