Wrecking Crew is a game for the Nintendo Entertainment System, starring Mario.
Gameplay
Screenshot of
Wrecking Crew
In Wrecking Crew, the player controls Mario and attempts to destroy all of a certain set of objects on each of 100 levels. 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 albeit little known character, a construction foreman named Spike (Blackey in the Japanese version), who appears in some levels and chases Mario around and attempts to disrupt him by knocking down certain objects and causing him to fall to the bottom of the playfield. The player starts the game with five lives and loses a life when Mario comes in contact with an enemy or fireball. A second player can play as Luigi. 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 in this game, the player must figure out the optimal order in which to destroy objects – for example, if he/she destroys a ladder too soon, a wall may become unreachable and thus the player cannot finish the level, forcing him/her to sacrifice a life and start over. Destroying larger numbers of objects in a row (usually with one or more 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".)
Development
Audio
A piece of music was remixed for use in the Nintendo GameCube video game Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix A piece of 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.
Re-releases
At around the same time as the NES version, Nintendo released an arcade version of this game, titled Vs. Wrecking Crew, in keeping with its simultaneous two-player releases.
Wrecking Crew was re-released for the Wii Virtual Console in Europe and Australia on August 24, 2007, and in North America on November 19, 2007. This version supports saving level designs, which was previously not possible on the NES version of the game.
Sequel
Wrecking Crew '98 is an action puzzle game released in Japan only for the Super Famicom as part of the Japanese Nintendo Power download game service. 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 completed 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 (called Blackey in Japan).
- Story mode - The main single player mode, where one controls Mario and travels through an overworld, entering each of Koopa's construction sites.
- Versus mode - A competitive mode where one can compete with a friend or the CPU. The player can choose between Mario or characters that are unlocked from Story Mode.
- Tournament mode - Available after the player has cleared the main game once. Eight characters compete in a single-elimination tournament until only one remains and is declared the champion.
Reception
Screwattack ranked this game 8th on their Top 10 Mario Worst Games, saying that "it is as boring as Luigi is purple". "Why the hell is Luigi purple?" [1]
References
