Wrecking Crew (video game)

Gameplay

The player controls Mario (or Luigi in two-player mode) and attempts to destroy all of a certain set of objects with a large hammer on each of 100 levels. Mario cannot jump because of the hammer's weight. The player can select any level to start on from the title screen. Each level takes place on a playfield divided into an invisible grid, each space of which can contain one object. Objects include destructible walls, pillars, and ladders, indestructible barrels and ladders, bombs that destroy all connected destructible objects, and various enemies that Mario must avoid. Doors may also exist, which can be opened to cause enemies to move harmlessly into the background. The game also introduced a new character, a construction foreman named Spike (believed to be an early version of Wario), who chases Mario and attempts to disrupt him by knocking down objects and causing him to fall to the bottom of the playfield. The player starts the game with five lives and loses a life whenever Mario comes in contact with an enemy or fireball. The game is over when all lives are lost. The game can also be aborted at any time, and must be aborted if Mario becomes trapped in a barrel.

Because Mario lacks the ability to jump, the player must figure out the optimal order in which to destroy objects—for example, if a player destroys a ladder too soon, a wall may become unreachable and thus the player cannot finish the level. Destroying multiple objects in a row (usually with a chain of bombs) scores extra bonus points, and occasionally bonus items may appear that Mario can collect.

Wrecking Crew also features a level editor, which allows the player to design up to four levels. However, the "save" and "load" features were designed for use with the Famicom Data Recorder, a cassette tape device that was only released in Japan, thus rendering the save ability unavailable to North American players. (The game's U.S. manual includes a note stating that the load and save functions "have been programmed in for potential product developments".) When the game was released for Virtual Console in North America, the "save" and "load" features were re-enabled using system storage but the 3DS Virtual Console version can't use these features.

Development

Wrecking Crew was designed by Yoshio Sakamoto. Hirokazu Tanaka composed the game's music.

Audio

A piece of music was remixed for use in the Nintendo GameCube video game Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix . The "Golden Hammer" music from Wrecking Crew was later used in the Wii video game Super Smash Bros. Brawl and plays every time a fighter grabs a Golden Hammer, or on the "Mario Bros." stage. There are also two pieces of music used in Super Smash Bros. For Wii U; one that is a medley of the game's soundtrack, and a remix medley, both of which appeared on the Wrecking Crew Stage.

Re-releases

On December 31, 1985, Nintendo released an arcade version of this game, titled Vs. Wrecking Crew, adding a simultaneous two-player mode.

Wrecking Crew was re-released in 1989 on the Family Computer Disk System, and was later included as the 14th title of the Famicom Mini series on Game Boy Advance in 2004.

The game has been re-released on Virtual Console three times: on Wii in 2007, on Nintendo 3DS in September 2011 as part of the "Ambassador Program", on the 3DS eShop in Japan, North America, and Europe and Australia in September 2012, March 2013, and May 2013 respectively. Wrecking Crew was also released on the Virtual Console for the Wii U system on June 19, 2013 in Japan and on June 20, 2013 in North America and Europe. All Virtual Console versions (except for the 3ds VC version) support saving levels designs, which was not possible in the NES version of the game.

Sequel

Wrecking Crew '98 (レッキングクルー'98, Rekkingu Kurū Nainti Eito) is an action puzzle game released exclusively in Japan in 1998 for the Super Famicom's Nintendo Power download game service and later for the Super Famicom itself. The game is a sequel to the original, which is included as a bonus in the game. Unlike the original, in which the player's objective was to find ways to clear each level of all panels, Wrecking Crew '98 takes a more competitive approach, where two opponents are given their own sides to clean up. Each player must try to demolish as many panels as they can on their side, until the opponent's side is completely piled up, to win.

The game's story mode features Mario returning to the Mushroom Kingdom from a trip, only to discover that Bowser has started a construction campaign of building new hideouts. The construction is depriving the flora of sunlight and thus, Mario decides to demolish the new construction sites with his hammer. Along the way, he meets his old enemies from the original Wrecking Crew, including former rival Foreman Spike.