MARIO & WARIO
By Andrew Fisher (@merman1974)
What links a bucket, a Japanese fanzine and the high tech research centre behind the Mother Of All Demos? Read on to find out…
The research centre was the Stanford Research Institute, where in 1968 Douglas Engelbart and Bill English demonstrated the first computer controlled by a mouse. Inspired by the earlier trackball, which had existed since 1947, the mouse became a key input peripheral boosted by the proliferation of the Macintosh and Microsoft Windows. But few people would have expected a games console to come with a mouse. The SNES Mouse (or Super Famicom Mouse) was designed for use with – and bundled with – Mario Paint, but more than 70 Super Famicom and SNES titles would ultimately support it.
Japan got a bundle containing Mario & Wario and the Super Famicom Mouse.
One of those titles supporting the Mouse was Mario & Wario, released in 1993 exclusively in Japan. A preview in the American Nintendo Power magazine and a Canadian breakfast cereal contest (featuring the prototype US cover art) give strong evidence that the game was to be localised – and since all the in-game dialogue is in English it seems strange that it was never released overseas.
The opening Nintendo logo and the title screen of Mario & Wario, with no mention of Game Freak.
The team that developed the game was Game Freak, founded by Satoshi Tajiri. Tajiri had started out by writing a fanzine called Game Freak, working with artist Ken Sugimori. That led to them forming a game company under the same name with composer Junichi Masuda. Nowadays the company is best known for the Pokémon franchise. All three members of Game Freak were involved in Mario & Wario – Tajiri as director and designer, Sugimori working with fellow artist Motofumi Fujiwara and Masuda composing new tunes inspired by classic Mario themes.
A page from the instruction manual, and the character select screen.
The storyline sees Mario and friends enter Yōsei no Mori, the Fairy’s Forest, in search of the fabled fairy who can grant happiness. Luigi goes missing but Mario, Peach and Yoshi press on. The sound of a plane overhead heralds the arrival of Wario, who drops a bucket on Mario’s head. Unable to see, Mario heads towards traps that Wario has set… But watching on is Wanda the fairy, and while she is not strong enough to lift the bucket off Mario’s head she can help deal with the obstacles.
Wario drops the bucket on Mario’s head. Leave the title screen running and it will play a demo of a level; this one is level 3-6.
The game is split into ten levels of ten stages, with an additional Extra set of ten stages unlocked on completing the rest. The aim of each stage is to guide Mario to Luigi before the time limit expires. While the Press Button prompt is onscreen, the player can scroll the level around to see the obstacles ahead for a short time before play begins. The bucket is just one of the random objects that Wario drops on Mario’s head; the others include a vase, squid and pith helmet. When Mario gets to the Goal, Luigi lifts the object off Mario’s head to complete the stage. The player controls Wanda via the mouse, pointing and clicking on objects to manipulate them. Mario will walk forward in the direction he is facing until he is clicked on, when he will reverse course. Mario can drop any height, as long as he lands safely on a solid platform. The player can also choose Peach or Yoshi as the character for attempting a level. Peach is the slowest and Yoshi is the fastest, affecting how the stages play out and the possibility of bonus score for time remaining. The player also earns points for clicking on obstacles, defeating enemies and collecting Coins. Hidden around each level are four Stars. Getting to them can be trickier than choosing the direct route, but there is a bonus for collecting all four.
Setting out in the first stage, and Peach has only found three of the four stars on this level – narrowly missing out on a bonus.
There are many objects to click on, which can be divided into several basic types. Flip-Flop Blocks change between solid and passable when tapped. These are important for building bridges and opening up sections of the level. Elevators move up and down, but Mario cannot step off until it stops moving. Hibi Blocks look like cracked stone and are destroyed by tapping. Clicking on red or blue Switch Blocks switches the state of all blocks of that colour. Timer Blocks become solid for a short time when activated. Balloons inflate and deflate, providing temporary obstructions. Pointy Toge Blocks should be avoided as any contact costs a life. The sticky Nebaneba Blocks will trap Mario or moving enemies. Jump Blocks are miniature springboards found on the floor. Finally, tapping Coin Blocks gives extra Coins; collecting 100 earns an extra life. You start with two spare lives, and when you run out it is game over. But you can continue from that point.
Peach hits a spike, Wanda activates a Timer Block, there are ten possible Coins in each Coin Block, and Yoshi used a Jump Block but is stuck behind the Hibi Blocks.
As the game progresses, new enemy types are introduced and all kill Mario on contact. Dodorigesu Jr. (aka Pidgits) are immobile and must be tapped to remove them. The fireball, or Guriguru, moves along floors and walls. The Komorin, bat-shaped enemies, are often found in groups of up to four. Tsubōn are shaped like a pot with a skull on the front; these fire-breathing baddies can also cling to walls. Finally the Unibō (Urchins) are spiked enemies. Blue Urchins move vertically, while Yellow Urchins travel horizontally.
Pidgits can be tapped on, the fireball must be avoided as it circles those blocks and urchins float around on levels 6 and 9.
Here then is a brief guide to the game’s levels. The first eight can be selected at any time, the last two (and the EXTRA levels) need to be unlocked.
The level select screen, with your chosen character running past at the bottom.
LEVEL 1: Yōsei no Mori
Acting as a tutorial, the fairy’s forest level gradually introduces new features. Each course fits onto a single screen, and a Guriguri (fireball) is introduced in the last course.
Level 1-2, and Luigi strains to lift the bucket from Mario’s head on completing Level 1-3.
LEVEL 2: Yosu Ko
Set next to a relaxing lake where Yoshis relax, the difficulty gradually increases. The stages start to scroll now, where the ability to preview the course becomes useful.
An elevator carries Yoshi upwards, and you briefly see the character under the object when they drop between platforms.
LEVEL 3: Kumotori Yama
The mountain region has lots of Timer Blocks, requiring careful planning and movement.
Wanda activates the Timer Blocks to stop Peach hitting the spikes.
LEVEL 4: Kōri no Dōkutsu
The ice caverns, where the bats Nebaneba Blocks (sticky blocks) become major hazards.
Bats kill Mario on contact, but can be clicked on before or after they start flying.
LEVEL 5: Honō no Dōkutsu
The caves here are filled with lethal magma and the fire-breathing Tsubōn.
Make the blocks solid to protect against flames, or drop the Tsubōn to its death by breaking the cracked block it sits on.
LEVEL 6: Pukupuku Kai
Set underwater, the player must deal with Switch Blocks and Urchins.
Clicking on any Red Switch Block instantly changes the rest on the same level.
LEVEL 7: Balloon Bridge
Fūsen Blocks (balloons) are the major problem in this sky-based section.
Peach will fall through the gap as the red balloon has deflated.
LEVEL 8: Karakara Sabaku
These desert stages require the player to dodge lots of Guriguri (fireballs.
Wario drops a pith helmet on Mario for Level 8, and he dies after colliding with a fireball on stage 8-1.
LEVEL 9: Wario no Niwa
Wario’s garden is unlocked on finishing the previous eight stages.
LEVEL 10: Wario Tei
Having completed the garden in stage 9, the next challenge is inside Wario’s messy house filled with hazards.
EXTRA
The most difficult set of stages, only available once all the previous levels are complete.
Mario hits a spike, and Yoshi earns his bonuses for completing a level.
Despite the game being released in Japan only, overseas players have seen references to it. In Pokémon Red & Blue, developed by Game Freak, there is a SNES console belonging to a non-player character (NPC). Clicking on it reveals the message “A game with MARIO wearing a bucket on his head!”, and the same happens in the later remakes Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen. The Bucket Trophy in Super Smash Bros Melee (Game Cube) is another reference to Mario & Wario game and Wanda the Fairy. Wanda herself appears as a Novice-class support spirit in Super Smash Bros Ultimate, and made cameo appearances in the Super Mario-Kun manga (volumes 9 and 11).
The Pokémon Red reference, and artwork of Wanda from Super Smash Bros Ultimate.
While Nintendo has never revisited this game or made it available overseas, there is a game it had a clear influence on. Mario Vs. Donkey Kong has Mario manipulating the landscape to protect other characters, in the first game’s case the Mini-Mario toys. Mixing Lemmings with Mario & Wario created the template for a best-selling series of puzzle games that has appeared on several Nintendo formats.
The original Mario Vs. Donkey Kong.
My personal experience with Mario & Wario started when I was invited to take part in the Super Nintendo Anthology from Geek-Line Publishing. The aim of the title was to review every Super Famicom and Super NES game ever released – including many prototypes and homebrew cartridges. With a giant spreadsheet to choose from, many games were personally selected by the writers before the editor shared the remaining titles out. Mario & Wario was one I tried out briefly before choosing something else. I regret that now. There is a lot of comedy in this title, from the strange objects to the exaggerated arm-waving as a character is about to fall from a platform. The first set of levels does a great job of introducing the game, and there are a lot of new features added after that. Having the first eight levels open is an interesting idea. I love the graphic style and the music fits the game really well. Revisiting it for this review has been a lot of fun. While I do not currently own a SNES Mouse, I do feel it is a neglected and overlooked piece of hardware. My personal recommendations would be to try out two strategy games designed for use with it – the brilliant Mega-Lo-Mania and Cannon Fodder from Sensible Software.
The high-score table appears at the end of your game and during the title sequence, with the background changing based on the last level played.
There may not have been any contemporary reviews, but Jon Thompson gave his opinion on the now-closed Allgame website. Scoring it 4 out of a possible 5, he praised the colourful graphics and called it “entertaining, being fast-paced enough to keep you constantly busy, without resorting to being fast and nearly impossible more than a couple of times.” It is very much a forgotten gem, and a rare appearance for Wario on the Super Famicom. His other titles on the 16-bit console were puzzle game Wario’s Woods, the Satellaview special version Wario’s Woods: Bakushō Version (with voiceovers Japanese radio comedy Bakushō Mondai, and without the voiceovers as Wario no Mori: Futatabi) and Super Mario no Picross with his own set of puzzles. Just make sure Wario doesn’t drop a bucket on your head…
Andrew Fisher is a freelance writer specialising in retro games, with a personal collection of over 3,000 retro games across many formats. He is a regular contributor to Retro Gamer magazine – https://www.retrogamer.net, and writes the More C64 column for The Retrogaming Times website – https://www.classicplastic.net/trt/. His book The Commodore 64 Games Book 1982-19xx, featuring over two hundred game reviews, was published in 2008. He recently completed over 700 SNES game reviews (including several Picross games) for the Super Nintendo Anthology from Geek-Line Publishing. He has contributed music and been a games tester for newly released C64 games. He has been working on a book project with fellow writer Jerry Ellis, titled Arcade Imperfect, due for publication in 2020. Andrew is 45, married to Alison and helps look after his stepdaughter Madalyn.
[Andrew enjoys a well-earned cup of tea from his ZZAP! 64 mug. Photo processed with the Retrospecs app.]
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