Wrecking Crew

Overview

Wrecking Crew is a Mario game developed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on June 18, 1985, and North America on October 18, 1985. It was originally released for the arcades as Vs. Wrecking Crew in 1984.

Gameplay

Wrecking Crew is a puzzle game which requires the player control a hammer-wielding Mario (similar to the one in the old Donkey Kong games) though each of the 100 stages in the game. Players can choose to begin at any level from the title screen. Mario cannot jump in Wrecking Crew, so to be successful the player must destroy objects in a certain order as they move through each level. If Mario destroyed something too soon, the player may get stuck and will need to restart the level. These objects include walls, pillars, ladders, and bombs which will explode and destroy all connected destructible objects. By destroying objects, the player will also gain points to be added to their score.

When starting the game, Mario begins with five lives, Mario will lose a life every time he touches an enemy. There are doors in Wrecking Crew which Mario can open causing enemies to pass through them and move into the background where they cannot harm him. Enemies include fireballs, wrenches, and Eggplant Men. There is also a construction foreman named "Spike" who will chase Mario and attempt to make Mario fall back to the bottom of the level by knocking down certain objects.

If the player gets stuck on a stage, they are able to go to the menu screen and select which stage they would like to go to. This feature is available right from the start. Because of this, it is possible to go to any stage, including the last, even if this was the player's first time playing.

The player is able to restart a level whenever they like for the cost of a life. They will also need to restart a level if Mario becomes trapped in a barrel.

Multiplayer

Wrecking Crew also allows for two people to play together. Player 1 will play as Mario while Player 2 will play as a strangely purple Luigi. The game will end when both players have lost all of their lives.

Level Editor

Wrecking Crew features a level editor that uses a Famicom Data Recorder which was a cassette tape device only released in Japan. Although the North American version of the game contains a level editor (players could design up to 4 levels), they aren't saved when the game is turned off.

If a player is lucky enough to have a Famicom Data Recorder though, they should be able to create up to four of their very own saved custom levels to play in the game.