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Wrecking Crew(video game)

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Wrecking Crew
North American box art
Developer(s)Nintendo R&D1[7]
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Director(s)Satoru Okada
Producer(s)Gunpei Yokoi
Designer(s)Yoshio Sakamoto[8]
Makoto Kanoh
Programmer(s)Toshiyuki Nakamura
Yase Sobajima
Kenji Imai
Composer(s)Hirokazu Tanaka[9]
SeriesMario
Platform(s)
Release
July 26, 1984
  • Arcade (Vs. Wrecking Crew)
  • Famicom/NES
  • Famicom Disk System
  • Game Boy Advance
Genre(s)Action,puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player,multiplayer
Arcade systemNintendo VS. System

Wrecking Crew[b]is anaction gamedeveloped and published byNintendo.Designed byYoshio Sakamoto,it was first released as anarcade video gamefor theNintendo VS. Systemin 1984, titledVs. Wrecking Crewwith a simultaneous two-player mode.[10]It was released as a single-player game for theFamily Computer(Famicom) console in 1985, and as alaunch gamefor theNintendo Entertainment System(NES) later that year. A sequel,Wrecking Crew '98,was released in Japan in 1998 for theSuper Famicom.

Gameplay[edit]

Screenshot

The player controlsMario(orLuigiin 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's playfield is divided into an invisible grid, each space of which can contain one object. Objects include these: destructible walls, pillars, and ladders; indestructible barrels and ladders; bombs that destroy all connected destructible objects; and various enemies that Mario must avoid.Doorsmay be opened to cause enemies to move harmlessly into the background. The game introduced a new character, a construction foreman named Spike (known as Blackie in the Japanese version),[11]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 playercannot 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 Crewfeatures a level editor, which allows the player to design up to four custom levels. They can be saved and loaded using theFamicom Data Recorder,acassette tapedrive. Because this peripheral was only released forFamicomin Japan, other localizations cannot save or load the custom levels. The U.S. manual includes a note stating that the load and save functions "have been programmed in for potential product developments". The feature was reenabled for the WiiVirtual Consolerelease usingWiisystem storage.[citation needed]

Reception[edit]

In Japan,Game MachinelistedVs. Wrecking Crewin its October 1, 1984, issue as the thirteenth most-successful table arcade unit of the month.[12]

Re-releases[edit]

Wrecking Crewwas re-released in 1989 on theFamily Computer Disk System,and in 2004 as the 14th game of theFamicom Miniseries onGame Boy Advance.[13]It was also included as a playable bonus game in its sequel,Wrecking Crew '98.

The game was re-released on the WiiVirtual Consolein 2007. It was briefly distributed toNintendo 3DSowners in September 2011 as part of the "Ambassador Program",[14][15]before being made available for general sale on 3DS Virtual Console in Japan in September 2012, with a release in other territories following in 2013.Wrecking Crewwas also released on theWii UVirtual Console in June 2013. All Virtual Console releases, excluding the 3DS version, support saving custom level designs, which is not possible in the original NES version of the game.

In July 2019,Wrecking Crewwas added to theNintendo Switch Onlineservice as part of the paid membership.[16]

Sequel[edit]

Wrecking Crew '98
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Director(s)Eiko Takahashi
Producer(s)Tatsuya Hishida
Designer(s)
  • Eiko Takahashi
  • Noriyuki Enoki
  • Naoki Watanabe
  • Takashi Kouyama
  • Reiko Kajigaya
Programmer(s)
  • Narumi Nakashima
  • Taisuke Araki
  • Hirotaka Katoh
Composer(s)
SeriesMario
Platform(s)Super Famicom
ReleaseNintendo Power(SFC)[17]
  • JP:January 1, 1998
Super Famicom[17]
  • JP:May 23, 1998
Genre(s)Action,puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player,multiplayer

Wrecking Crew '98[c]is an actionpuzzle gamereleased exclusively inJapanin 1998 for theSuper Famicom'sNintendo Powerdownload service, and later on cartridge. Unlike the original, in which the player's objective is to find ways to clear each level of all panels,Wrecking Crew '98takes a more competitive approach: various blocks and colored panels appear on each player's side of the screen, and the player must attempt to line up three or more panels of the same color to remove them. When a set of panels disappears, all blocks and panels above it will drop, potentially allowing the player to create chain combos. Clearing four or more panels of the same color will trigger an attack that hinders the opponent; each panel color will produce a different type of attack. The match ends when one player's screen becomes filled with panels, causing them to lose.

The game's story featuresMarioreturning to theMushroom Kingdomafter a trip, only to discover thatBowserhas started a constructing multiple new high-rise bases, depriving the surroundingfloraof sunlight. To stop Bowser, Mario retrieves his magic hammer from his time on the Wrecking Crew and begins demolishing Bowser's bases. At each location, he encounters a member of Bowser's construction crew whom he must defeat to destroy the base, including his former rival Foreman Spike.

The main single player mode is Story mode, in which the player controls Mario and travels through an overworld, entering each of Bowser's construction sites and defeating a rival opponent. Completing each stage within a time limit will unlock several secret stages and an alternate ending. Clearing stages in Story mode will unlock up to 12 total playable characters for use in Versus mode, a competitive mode for one to two players. Clearing the Story also unlocks Tournament mode, in which eight characters compete in asingle-elimination tournamentuntil only one remains and is declared the champion. A playable port of the originalWrecking Crewis also accessible from the main menu.

The game was re-released on the Wii U Virtual Console in Japan on September 28, 2016,[18]and on theNintendo Switch Onlineservice on April 12, 2024, for the first time in the West.[19]Afanmade English translation patchfor the game was released in October 2017.[20]

Legacy[edit]

The Bonus Stage theme fromWrecking Crewwas remixed forDance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix(2005).[citation needed]The Golden Hammer appears as a usable item in theSuper Smash Bros.series, beginning withSuper Smash Bros. Brawl(2008).[citation needed]A "Wrecking Crew"stage also appears inSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U(2014) andSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate(2018).[citation needed]

Spike appears inThe Super Mario Bros. Movie(2023), voiced bySebastian Maniscalco.This version is the former Boss of Mario and Luigi before they started their plumbing business.[21][22]After nearly 40 years, the name was standardized for future appearances as Spike also in Japan, where he was previously known as Blackie or Blacky due to his classically black beard and sunglasses, as it already was known in all regions before the release of the film.[11]Though none of it had been officially confirmed by Nintendo, several Western magazines and news articles spread speculation,misinformation,anddisinformationabout racism concerns over the name change in Japan, though Spike is a white man and Japan does not have the same culture about race as the West.[23][24][25][26][27]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^Limited release on May 26, 1985.[4]Wide release on June 18, 1985.[5]
  2. ^Japanese:レッキングクルー,Hepburn:Rekkingu Kurū
  3. ^Japanese:レッキングクルー'98,Hepburn:Rekkingu Kurū Nainti Eito

References[edit]

  1. ^Akagi, Masumi (October 13, 2006).アーケードTVゲームリスト quốc nội • hải ngoại biên (1971-2005)[Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971-2005)] (in Japanese). Japan: Amusement News Agency. p. 128.ISBN978-4990251215.
  2. ^"Flyer Fever - Vs. Wrecking Crew (Japan, Flyer 1)".Archived fromthe originalon July 20, 2018.RetrievedSeptember 2,2017.
  3. ^Kohler, Chris (October 18, 2010)."October 18, 1985: Nintendo Entertainment System Launches".Wired.RetrievedJune 8,2022.
  4. ^"Wrecking Crew (Registration Number PA0000287352)".United States Copyright Office.RetrievedJune 15,2021.
  5. ^@Sora_Sakurai (June 18, 2021)."1985 năm の きょう『レッキングクルー』(Wrecking Crew)ファミコン bản が phát bán!!"[Today in 1985, the Famicom version of "Wrecking Crew" was on sale!!] (Tweet).RetrievedJune 18,2021– viaTwitter.
  6. ^ab"Wrecking Crew".NinDB. Archived fromthe originalon December 25, 2011.RetrievedOctober 27,2011.
  7. ^やればやるほどディスクシステムインタビュー( trước biên ).Nintendo Dream(in Japanese). No. 118. Mainichi Communications Inc. August 6, 2004. pp. 96–103.
  8. ^Kohler, Chris (April 7, 2010)."Q&A: Metroid Creator's Early 8-Bit Days at Nintendo".Wired: GameLife.Condé Nast Digital.RetrievedJune 8,2022.
  9. ^Famicom 20th Anniversary Original Sound Tracks Vol. 1(Media notes). Scitron Digital Contents Inc. 2004.
  10. ^"Vs. Wrecking Crew".iBomb. Archived fromthe originalon April 25, 2012.RetrievedOctober 27,2011.
  11. ^abYarwood, Jack (April 20, 2023)."Nintendo Changes Japanese Name Of Spike For The Super Mario Bros. Movie".Time Extension.Hookshot Media.RetrievedApril 20,2023.
  12. ^"Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル hình TVゲーム cơ (Table Videos)".Game Machine(in Japanese). No. 245. Amusement Press. October 1, 1984. p. 35.
  13. ^Giffords, Kevin (January 1, 2000)."Wrecking Crew (Famicom Mini 14)".1up. Archived fromthe originalon July 16, 2012.
  14. ^Thomas, Lucas M. (August 30, 2011)."Nintendo 3DS Ambassadors, Behold Your Final Five NES Rewards".RetrievedNovember 26,2021.
  15. ^Luke."3DS Ambassador Games Impressions - Super Balloon Wrecking Bros".ForkThisLlama.RetrievedSeptember 7,2011.
  16. ^Good, Owen S. (July 10, 2019)."Donkey Kong 3, Wrecking Crew join NES library for Switch Online".Polygon.RetrievedMarch 26,2023.
  17. ^ab"Wrecking Crew '98".NinDB.RetrievedOctober 27,2011.
  18. ^"レッキングクルー'98 - Wii U".Nintendo ホームページ(in Japanese). September 28, 2016.RetrievedApril 12,2024.
  19. ^Doolan, Liam (April 12, 2024)."Nintendo Expands Switch Online's SNES Library With Three More Titles".Nintendo Life.RetrievedApril 12,2024.
  20. ^Lopes, Gonçalo (October 4, 2017)."English Translation Released for Super Famicom Exclusive Wrecking Crew '98".Nintendo Life.RetrievedApril 12,2024.
  21. ^Ditchfield, Jaime (August 9, 2021)."Sebastian Maniscalco will voice 'Spike' in Illumination Super Mario movie".Archived fromthe originalon August 24, 2021.RetrievedAugust 10,2021.
  22. ^"Super Mario Bros. Plumbing".RetrievedFebruary 12,2023.
  23. ^"Nintendo Renamed This Super Mario Bros. Movie Character, Possibly To Avoid Racism".Kotaku.April 20, 2023.RetrievedNovember 16,2023.
  24. ^Egan, Toussaint (April 21, 2023)."Nintendo is changing Mario 'bad guy' Foreman Spike's name in Japan".Polygon.RetrievedNovember 16,2023.
  25. ^"Mario villain's name changed from racist slur in games, movie".New York Post.April 25, 2023.RetrievedNovember 16,2023.
  26. ^Lau, Chris (April 25, 2023)."Nintendo changes Japanese name of villainous Super Mario character".CNN.RetrievedNovember 16,2023.
  27. ^"Nintendo acknowledges Mario character name change for Japan".Eurogamer.net.April 20, 2023.RetrievedNovember 16,2023.

External links[edit]

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