This article is about the game. For the doctor persona of Luigi, seeHistory of Luigi § Dr. Mario series.

Dr. Luigi
Logo of the game For alternate box art, see therelated gallery.
Developers	Arika[1] Nintendo SPD Group No. 2
Publisher	Nintendo
Platform	Wii U
Release dates	December 31, 2013[?] January 15, 2014[?] January 15, 2014[?] January 15, 2014[?]
Languages	English (United States) English (United Kingdom) Japanese French (Canada) French (Europe) German Italian Spanish (Latin America) Spanish (Europe)
Genre	Puzzle
Ratings	ESRB: - Everyone[?] CERO: - All ages[?] PEGI: - Three years and older[?] USK: - All ages[?] ACB: - General[?]
Modes	Single player, multiplayer online
Format	Wii U: Digital download
Input	Wii U: Wii U GamePad Wii Remote Classic Controller Wii U Pro Controller
Serial code	WUP-WAQE-USA

Dr. Luigi is the sixth installment in theDr. Mario series. The game was released exclusively for theNintendo eShop on theWii U as part ofthe Year of Luigi. As the title suggests, the game starsLuigi in a game very similar toDr. Mario. UnlikeDr. Mario,Dr. Luigi still wears his signature cap, rather than a head mirror, making it the onlyDr. Mario game where Luigi wears his signature cap, although he would later wear the head mirror beginning withDr. Mario: Miracle Cure.

Dr. Luigi was eventually removed from the Wii U Nintendo eShop after its discontinuation on March 27, 2023, making it no longer possible for players to purchase the game. However, players who purchased the title before this date can still play it as long as it is on their Wii U console. On April 8, 2024, theNintendo Network service was terminated, making the game no longer playable online.^[2][3]

Gameplay[edit]

The gameplay ofDr. Luigi

The gameplay is very similar to the originalDr. Mario game. Players must eliminate viruses by stackingCapsules on them so that a row of four or more of the same color is created. The objective for all the game modes is to eliminate all the viruses in the bottle, and in the multiplayer modes, be the first to eliminate all the viruses in the bottle. If the capsules stacked up to one of two middle columns in the topmost row, usually a capsule, the next capsule is blocked, causing the player to lose. In multiplayer games, losing this way is an automatic victory for the opponent. As a first in theDr. Mario series, if a capsule is within a narrow gap and thus cannot rotate horizontally while vertical (or vice versa), rotating it will cause the colors of the capsule to switch places. This only applies to Retro Remedy.

In this game, there is a new game mode called Operation L that involves the use of L-capsules, which are multicolored L-shaped capsules in reference to Luigi's initial. Rather than controlling a single capsule piece with two halves, the player controls two capsules (each with two halves) held together in a blister pack so that they form the letter "L". After any part of the L-capsule lands on something, the blister pack will disappear, which causes the individual capsules to fall if they are not supported. If a capsule match is made after the L-capsule lands, the match will take priority, otherwise the capsules will succumb to gravity. Because of the larger capsule pack in Operation L, if one of the two middle columns in one of the two topmost rows is occupied from stacked capsules, the player will lose when the next piece is brought into the bottle.

The pattern of colors for the L-capsules is different based on the speed selected in the settings. For the Low and Med settings, the set of capsules will consist of three pieces of one color and one piece of another color, where the three pieces are the vertical capsule and the half of the horizontal capsule that touches the vertical capsule. For the High setting, the color configuration is that both halves of one capsule has one color and the other capsule has another color on both halves, resulting in two pieces of each color. Similar to single capsules in other modes, both parts of the pattern can be of the same color.

After a combo is created, the colors on the opponent's next capsule changes

The result of a combo behaves differently for Operation L. In Retro Remedy (which consists of the classic Dr. Mario gameplay), after a player created a combo of multiple matching lines cleared in a single move, the opponent will receive two to four half-capsules based on the amount of capsule matches. In Operation L however, when a player performed a combo of multiple matching lines cleared in a single move, the opposing player's upcoming capsule will have its colors changed. Another difference is the speed in which stray capsules fall after they are split: the speed in which stray capsules drop in Operation L is fast, akin to holding down for dropping the capsule; On the other hand, the speed of falling capsule pieces in Retro Remedy is similar to previous games, where the pieces fall more slowly, akin to leaving a capsule to fall on its own at High speed.

Another difference between the two modes is the amount of viruses. The amount of viruses for each level in Operation L is different from Retro Remedy. Both of them start with 4 viruses at level 0, but while the latter adds 4 more viruses for every extra level, the former only adds 1 extra virus per extra level. For example, at level 20, Retro Remedy starts with 84 viruses (4 + 20 * 4), while Operation L starts with 24 viruses (4 + 20 * 1) at the same level. The maximum amount of viruses that appear at the beginning of the level is 40 viruses in Operation L, and 96 viruses in Retro Remedy, which are reached at the minimum level of 36 and 23 respectively.

LikeDr. Mario Online Rx, if the player completes the 5th, 10th, 15th, or 20th level in the Med or High speed, or only the 20th level in the Low speed, a cutscene of Luigi and the viruses is played, and completing the 20th level at High speed in Classic one-player mode results in the credits rolling. The credits can be viewed again from the menu after viewing it once. Also, if the player has reached a level higher than 20 in Classic (applies to both Operation L and Retro Remedy) or Virus Buster, they can continue from that level, but only for that specific mode and Speed / Difficulty. In other words, the level progress is separately tracked for each combination of mode and Speed / Difficulty.

On occasion, the player will have the option to post onMiiverse after completing a stage. As the service was shut down in November 2017, nothing can be posted there as of that date.

Cutscenes[edit]

• Beating level 20 on low speed has Dr. Luigi drinking tea, but then looks in surprise because the viruses are also having tea.
• Beating level 5 on medium speed has the viruses playing around Dr. Luigi while he is asleep, but the viruses leave when Dr. Luigi wakes up and looks around before going back to sleep.
• Beating level 10 on medium speed has Dr. Luigi chasing the viruses running with his cap, stethoscope, and bag.
• Beating level 15 on medium speed has Dr. Luigi juggling capsules and the viruses juggling each other.
• Beating level 20 on medium speed has Dr. Luigi walking past three capsules, which have the viruses inside of them.
• Beating level 5 on high has Dr. Luigi cowering because he thinks there is a monster under the curtain, but it turns out to be the viruses.
• Beating level 10 on high has Dr. Luigi taking objects out of his bag.
• Beating level 15 on high has Dr. Luigi reading a magazine, while the viruses prank him by putting sauce into his tea, and when he drinks it, he falls onto the floor.
• Beating level 20 on high speed has Dr. Luigi twirling, pumping his fist, and jumping in celebration.

Game modes[edit]

• Operation L: The new mode inDr. Luigi. In this mode, players use L-capsules to eliminateviruses.
• Retro Remedy: This is the classic mode ofDr. Mario. Similar to Operation L, the player uses capsules to eliminate viruses. However, the player uses normal capsules to eliminate viruses.
• Virus Buster: In this mode, only touch-screen controls are used. After a while on the same stage, two capsules appear, and then three. The gameplay is similar to theVirus Buster mode inDr. Mario Online Rx. The GamePad's display can be switched between vertically or horizontally by pressing the button.
• Online Battle: LikeDr. Mario Online Rx, the player can play with friends, or play with other players around the world in a Worldwide game. For Worldwide, the game's matchmaking will attempt to match up with a player of a comparable rating, though if it takes too long a player of a higher difference in rating will be matched up with. The modes available are Operation L and Retro Remedy.

The music selection is between Dizzy, Drowsy, a random selection between both themes, or to disable music for Operation L, whereas it isFever, Chill, a random selection between both themes, or to disable music for both Retro Remedy and Virus Buster, though for the latter, the rendition of the theme is slower and calmer.

Sub modes[edit]

In both Operation L and Retro Remedy, there are three modes:

• Classic: Eliminate all the viruses in the bottle. In the 2 Player modes, be the first to eliminate all viruses in the bottle.
• Vs. CPU: Only available in the 1 Player modes. Compete against the CPU to be the first to eliminate all viruses in the bottle.
• Flash: Be the first to eliminate all three flashing viruses, one of each color, to win. In the 1 Player modes, the player compete against a CPU player. There are three difficulties that determine the amount of viruses in the bottle including the three flashing viruses. For Easy, Normal, and Difficult respectively, the amount of viruses are 14, 18, and 22 in Operation L, whereas it's 28, 40 and 52 for Retro Remedy.

Options[edit]

The settings for each game mode is saved separately.

• Quick Drop: Only in both Operation L and Retro Remedy. Enables the ability to instantly drop a capsule.
• Capsule Ghost Image: Only in both Operation L and Retro Remedy. Enables a preview of the capsule landing spot.
• Virus Design: Sets the virus design in the playing field. "A" is the virus designs introduced inDr. Mario, while "B" is the virus designs introduced in this game. The default for Retro Remedy is "A", while the default for both Operation L and Virus Buster is "B".
• Writing Hand: Only in Virus Buster. Changes the orientation of the vertical display based on the writing hand. When using the vertical display, the left-handed option will rotate the screen to the right, while the right-handed option will rotate the screen to the left.

Controls[edit]

• / (left/right): Move capsule
• / (down): Drop capsule
• / (up): Quick drop capsule (requires enabling Quick Drop in options to do so)
• / /: Rotates capsule clockwise
• / /: Rotates capsule counterclockwise
• : In Virus Buster, rotate Gamepad display
• /: Pause game, and display pause menu

Staff[edit]

Main article:List of Dr. Luigi staff

The game was directed by Takao Nakano, Tomoko Nakayama, and Daiki Sasaki. Nakano was previously a game designer forWarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! and a planner forTetris DS. Yoshitsugu Katoh, who previously worked onDr. Mario Express as a planner, reprises his role as a planner and is joined by Hiroshi Nakamichi.

Reception[edit]

Overall,Dr. Luigi received average scores from critics, having a Metacritic score of 65/100 based on 38 reviews.

Gallery[edit]

For this subject's image gallery, seeGallery:Dr. Luigi.

• 

  Luigi as a doctor

• 

  CyanVirus

• 

  Magenta Virus, the first Virus to have a female design.

• 

  Yellow Virus

• 

  A capsule

• 

  An L-capsule

• 

  Cutscene after beating Virus Level 20, High Speed

Multimedia[edit]

Wii U Splash Screen - Plays when the game is loading. Excerpt from the Game Over music, shared withDr. Mario Online Rx.

File info ​

Title Screen - Arrangement of theDr. Mario Online Rx title music.

File info 0:30

Main Menu - Arrangement of theDr. Mario Online Rx menu music.

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Drowsy - Song option in Operation L mode.

File info 0:30

Dizzy - Song option in Operation L mode.

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Cutscene - Plays during level intermissions.

File info 0:30

Help:Media file •Having trouble playing?

Names in other languages[edit]

Notes[edit]

The Year of Luigi is mentioned on the pedestal.

• Some of the music tracks are reused fromDr. Mario Online Rx.
• Even though several games were released during the Year of Luigi, this is the only game that acknowledges the event. As an example, the official label is found on the pedestal that Dr. Luigi stands on during gameplay.

References[edit]

Dr. Luigi coverage on otherNIWA wikis:

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Hard Drop Tetris Wiki

StrategyWiki

The Cutting Room Floor has an article onDr. Luigi.

Wikipedia has an article onDr. Luigi.

• 2013 games
• 2014 games
• Games
• Puzzle games
• Dr. Luigi
• The Year of Luigi
• Games with Nintendo Network

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