This article has a talk page!Dr. Mario & Puzzle League is a compilation of Dr. Mario with awfully remixed music and a fairyless/Yoshiless/Pokémonless version of Puzzle League (aka Tetris Attack, aka Panel de Pon) with a wide selection of game modes.
Unused Graphics#
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This needs some investigation. |
"Try Again?", "Yes", and "No" graphics can be found in Puzzle League, but not used; the game always ends or automatically restarts after dying. The palette for Yes and No might be incorrect. Oddly enough, these are used in the game's demo!
These graphics are loaded into VRAM upon entering the Dr. Mario title screen and, given their order, are intended to spell out "Press Any Button". The final game uses "Press Start" instead, most likely because pressing B takes the player back to the game selection screen. Since the graphics loaded into SRAM already contain all the letters for the "Press Start" message, the unused letters B, N, Y, U, and O remained.
Sprites for the Pupuri character on a daffodil (featured in Nintendo Puzzle Collection along with the link feature in this game) and some clouds and flowers are loaded into VRAM on the Puzzle League title screen, but go unused. They would have been used for a title screen reminiscent of Panel de Pon. The character still appears via image 4 and the 15th background image in the game.
Leftover Developer Text#
Within Dr. Mario, three "bmg" files can be found containing Japanese text. The latter two of these are used in the help menu, but the first contains developer-related text. All of it seems to have been accidentally copied into the ROM from Densetsu no Stafy 3 (this text starts from offset 5A6AE1 in Shift JIS in a Densetsu no Stafy 3 ROM). Translations are provided below.
カラーへんこうてすと
カラー３
カラー７
カラー１２
カラーへんこうてすと２
システムカラー
テストメッセージ
グッズ１０
テストメッセージ
オラ！ おせーぞ！
アクションは だいたい
思い出せたか？・・・ったく
しんじゅ★は ５コ あつめると
元気が ひとつかいふくすんねんで
にいちゃん おぼえてる？
さっ・・さすがに そこまでは
わすれてねーだろ・・な？
スタフィー？
おっ・・おい！ なんとか
いえよオメェ・・・
こりゃ さきゆきふあんだ・・
わからないことがあったら
なんでも うちに
はなしかけるんやでー！
コラ！ でしゃばるんじゃねぇ！
それは『たよりになってかっこいい
オレさま』の しごとだ！
まあいい・・とにかく とちゅうで
わからないことがあったら・・
なんでも オレさまたちに
はなしかけるんだぞ！」
わかったな？
テストだぜ！
１２３４５６７８９０１２３４５５６７
１２３４５６７８９０１２３４５５６７
１２３４５６７８９０１２３４５５６７
テストだぜ！
１２３４５６７８９０１２３４５５６７
１２３４５６７８９０１２３４５５６７
１２３４５６７８９０１２３４５５６７
テストだぜ！
１２３４５６７８９０１２３４５５６７
オラ！ テストめっせーじだ！
スピンしたら オレさまが
とびだすぞ！
アニメへんこうてすとだ！
アニメへんこうてすとだ！
アニメへんこうてすとだ！
アニメへんこうてすとだ！
アニメへんこうてすとだ！
アニメへんこうてすとだ！
アニメへんこうてすとだ！
アニメへんこうてすとだ！
アニメへんこうてすとだ！
アニメへんこうてすとだ！
アニメへんこうてすとだ！
アニメへんこうてすとだ！
いちど とびだしたら
へやを へんこうするまで
じめんには もどらないぞ！
これは テストようの
メッセージデータじゃよ・・・
テストをおのぞみじゃな？
かいわよびだし
かいわきりかえ
おーぐらでもよびだし
かいわよびだしのテストじゃよ
かいわきりかえのテストじゃーー
つぎのページはべつのてきすとを
ひょうじするぞい！
おーぐらでもをよびだすのじゃ・・
かいわしゅうりょうなのじゃ！
かいわよびだしテストですよ
かいわきりかえテストですよ
このかいわが おわったら
かいわモードはしゅうりょうする
はずです。Color-change test
Color3
Color7
Color12
Color-change test2
System color
Test-message
Goods10
Test-message
Hey! You took a long time!
Do you remember how
to use Actions?... Ugh.
Hey, brother! Do you remember that
when you collect 5 pearls,
your life is healed by one?
Y-You couldn't have forgotten
something that simple, right?
Starfy?
H-hey, c'mon,
say somethin'...
Oh, this can't end well...
If you don't understand
something, come and
talk to me at my house!
Hey! Don't butt in!
That's my job,
I'm the 'cool and reliable' one!
Whatever... Anyway, en route,
if there's something you don't understand...
You can come and
ask us anything!"
Got it?
Test!
123456789012345567
123456789012345567
123456789012345567
Test!
123456789012345567
123456789012345567
123456789012345567
Test!
123456789012345567
Hey! This is a test message!
If you Spin, I'll
pop out at you!
Animation-change test!
Animation-change test!
Animation-change test!
Animation-change test!
Animation-change test!
Animation-change test!
Animation-change test!
Animation-change test!
Animation-change test!
Animation-change test!
Animation-change test!
Animation-change test!
Once you leave,
you can't come back to ground level until
the room changes!
This is something test message data
for testing with...
Wanna test something?
Conversation Caller
Conversation Switcher
Call an Ogura
This is a test for the conversation-calling function.
This is a test for the conversation-switcher.
The next page will show some
different text!
So you wanna call an Ogura or something...
Conversation finished!
This is a test of the conversation caller!
This is a test of the conversation switcher!
When this conversation finishes,
conversation mode should
end.(Source: eientei95 (finding the text); Torchickens (finding the origin of the text), Bluesun (translation))
Save Data Version Number#
The ROM contains two copies of a version number related to Dr. Mario. The first one is used in the Dr. Mario save data. It is unknown if the version number is for the save format or the game.
Japan |
USA |
Europe |
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(Source: Original TCRF research)
S-Hard and V-Hard#
This game has unused references to difficulties levels beyond Fastest/Hard. In all releases of the game, S-Hard and V-Hard can be loaded if using a code. If choosing the option in the options screen, it will only load the last Game Lv. you set it to. By changing the value 03005BB2:06 (US Score Attack), 03005BB4:06 (US Time Attack), or 03005BB7:06 (US Garbage Attack) will display the S-Hard text, 03005BB2:07 (Score Attack), 03005BB4:07 (US Time Attack), or 03005BB7:07 (US Garbage Attack) will display the V-Hard text. 
By using codes: 03002A54:03 (US), 03002B74:03 (JP) for S-Hard, and 03002A54:04 (US), 03002B74:04 (JP) for V-Hard. For Score Attack in 1p or Vs. Com use codes: 03002A67:01 (US), 03002B87:01 (JP) for 1 minute, and use 03002A67:02 (US), 03002B87:02 (JP) for 20 seconds.
Regional Differences#
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This needs some investigation. |
General#
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The Dr. Mario logo was changed from the one of the NES title screen to the one seen on the NES version's box/cartridge art. The Panel de Pon logo was changed completely due to the title difference.
To accommodate the larger logo, the copyright info was moved downward a bit while the ampersand was made smaller and moved upward a bit.
Dr. Mario#
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Per the main title screen.
Puzzle League#
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Per the main title screen. Due to the larger logo, "PRESS START" was shifted downward.
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The changes relate to removing the name "Panel de Pon" in the international releases. The first image was replaced with a stack of the game's titular panels, while the 2nd image removes the Japanese image 2's 3rd image text and the final image was simply replaced with a Nintendo logo facing 90 degrees with red arrows pointing through it.
An exclusive background image for the Japanese release, removed due to the international name.
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In international releases, the game level text is referred to as slowest, slower, slow, fast, faster, and fastest while in Japanese releases refers to them as slow3, slow2, slow1, easy, normal and hard respectively.
Japan |
USA |
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Slow3 |
Slowest |
Slow2 |
Slower |
Slow1 |
Slow |
Easy |
Fast |
Normal |
Faster |
Hard |
Fastest |
References#
- ドクターマリオ＆パネルでポン↩︎
- Tose - GDRI :: Game Developer Research Institute↩︎
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl Chronicle↩︎
- Dr. Mario & Puzzle League | Game Boy Advance | Games | Nintendo UK↩︎
- Updated Australian Release List - 28/11/05 - PALGN Video Game Feature - PAL Gaming Network. "1st December 2005 Dr Mario & Puzzle League"↩︎
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The Puzzle League series | |
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SNES |
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Nintendo 64 |
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GameCube |
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Game Boy (Color) |
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Game Boy Advance |
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Nintendo DS |
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