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| {{italic title}} | | {{italic title}} |
| {{game infobox
| | [[File:wreck.png|thumb|A screenshot from ''VS. Wrecking Crew'']] |
| |image=[[File:VSWreckingCrewCabinetFlyerJPredrawn.png|250px]]<br>Front of Japanese flyer
| | '''''VS. Wrecking Crew''''' is a 1984 arcade game for the [[VS. System]], predating the 1985 console game ''[[Wrecking Crew]]''. The game is less puzzle oriented, does not contain the level editor, and features a simultaneous two-player mode in which the opposing player is seen on the other side of the construction wall. In single player, [[Luigi]] acts similar to [[Foreman Spike]] and is present in all levels, while Foreman Spike is absent entirely. |
| |developer=[[Nintendo Research & Development 1|Nintendo R&D 1]]
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| |publisher=[[Nintendo]]<br>[[HAMSTER Corporation|HAMSTER]] (''[[Arcade Archives]]'')
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| |platforms=[[VS. System]]<br>[[Nintendo Switch]] (''Arcade Archives'')
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| |release='''VS. System:'''<br>{{flag list|Japan|August 1984<ref>{{cite|url=archive.org/details/game-machine-magazine-19840815p/page/n10/mode/1up|title=Game Machine August 15, 1984 issue|page=21}}</ref>|USA|1984<ref>{{file link|VS Wrecking Crew NA Title.jpg|North American title screen}}</ref>}} '''Nintendo Switch (''Arcade Archives''):'''<br>{{flag list|Japan|May 1, 2020|USA|May 1, 2020|Europe|May 1, 2020|Australia|May 1, 2020}} | |
| |languages={{languages|en_us=y}}
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| |genre=[[Genre#Puzzle|Puzzle]]/[[Genre#Platform|Platformer]]
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| |modes=Up to two players simultaneously
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| |cabinet=VS. Table
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| |ratings={{ratings|acb=g|cero=a|esrb=e|pegi=3}}
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| |format={{format|arcade=1|switchdl=1}}
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| |input={{input|arcade=1|joy-con=1|joy-con-horizontal=1|switchpro=1}}
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| }}
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| '''''VS. Wrecking Crew''''' is a 1984 arcade game for the [[VS. System]] and is the first game of the [[Wrecking Crew (series)|''Wrecking Crew'' series]]. Unlike its 1985 console sequel ''[[Wrecking Crew]]'', this game is focused more on competitive play and is less puzzle oriented. It features a simultaneous two-player mode in which the opposing player is seen on the other side of the construction wall. | |
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| The Japanese version<ref>{{cite|language=en|publisher=Hamster Corporation|url=www.hamster.co.jp/american_hamster/arcadearchives/switch/VS_WreckingCrew.htm|title=Arcade Archives: ''VS. Wrecking Crew''|accessdate=January 13, 2022}}</ref> of ''VS. Wrecking Crew'' for the ''[[Arcade Archives]]'' series was released for [[Nintendo Switch]] on May 1, 2020.<ref>{{cite|author=Brian|language=en|date=April 28, 2020|url=nintendoeverything.com/arcade-archives-vs-wrecking-crew-out-on-switch-this-week-more-games-confirmed|title=Arcade Archives VS. Wrecking Crew out on Switch this week, more games confirmed|publisher=Nintendo Everything|accessdate=July 7, 2024}}</ref>
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| ==Gameplay== | | ==Gameplay== |
| [[File:VS Wrecking Crew Gameplay.png|thumb|left|Phase 3]]
| | Unlike ''Wrecking Crew'', the screen does not scroll vertically, and the gameplay takes place on a single wraparound screen split into five floors. Besides this and Luigi acting as Foreman Spike in all levels, the single player is mostly the same. |
| {{See also|List of VS. Wrecking Crew phases}}
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| Gameplay takes place on a single wraparound screen split into five [[floor (Wrecking Crew series)|floor]]s. In the single player mode, [[Luigi]] is an opponent that hinders [[Mario]]. In the two-player mode, both players compete against each other.
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| The game was designed specifically for the VS. DualSystem, and thus featured mechanics that were only possible with multiple screens. On each screen, each player will see themselves in the foreground and their opponent in the background; likewise the enemies that can harm them are in the foreground, while the ones dangerous to their opponent are blue silhouettes in the background. If an enemy walks into a [[door (Wrecking Crew series)|door]] (which are opened by swinging at them with [[hammer]]s), they will switch the side of the playfield that they are on. This allows both players to compete by luring enemies on their opponent's side, while simultaneously competing for score by demolishing as much of the building as possible before the time runs out. If both players are at the same [[wall (Wrecking Crew series)|wall piece]], whichever swings first will knock the other down to the bottom of the playfield, as can be done with enemies that are on the other side compared to where the player is. In addition, they will have to dodge [[fireball (obstacle)|fireball]]s that spawn from the edge of their platform.
| | However, the game was designed specifically for the VS. DualSystem, and thus featured innovative mechanics only possible with multiple screens. On each screen, each player will see the [[Gotchawrench]]es that can harm him as red, while the ones dangerous to his opponent as blue. If an enemy walks into a door (which are opened the same as the NES version, by swinging at them with their [[hammer]]s), they will switch the side of the playfield that they are on. This allows both players to compete by luring enemies on their opponent's side, while simultaneously competing for score by demolishing as much of the building as possible before the time runs out. If both players are at the same wall piece, whichever swings first will knock the other down to the bottom of the playfield, as can be done with enemies that are on the other side compared to where the player is. In addition they will have to dodge [[Fireball (Mario Bros.)|Fireballs]] that spawn from the edge of their platform. |
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| After every even numbered phase, there will be a [[Bonus Stage (Wrecking Crew series)|bonus level]]. In a single player game, Mario has to find a [[coin]] hidden behind a row of walls before the time runs out. With two players, both compete against each other for the coin. There are 10,000 bonus points for finding the coin in the first wall that is smashed.
| | While a lot of this is possible in single player, Luigi is much less aggressive than an actual second player would most likely be and thus a lot of what can happen in multiplayer will not in single player. |
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| ==Characters== | | ==Characters== |
| ===Playable=== | | ===Playable=== |
| {{content description
| | *[[Mario]] |
| |image1=[[File:VSWC Mario.png]]
| | *[[Luigi]] |
| |name1=[[Mario]]
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| |description1=The first player character, he is the only character playable in single-player mode.
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| |image2=[[File:VSWC Luigi.png]]
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| |name2=[[Luigi]]
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| |description2=The second player character, he is only playable in two-player mode.
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| }}
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| ===Enemies=== | | ===Enemies=== |
| {{content description
| | *[[Gotchawrench]] - a dinosaur wrench that chases Mario around the stage. |
| |image1=[[File:VSWC Gotchawrench 1.png]] [[File:VSWC Gotchawrench 2.png]] [[File:VSWC Gotchawrench 3.png]]
| | *Unnamed hatchet enemies that behave similarly to Gotchawrenches. |
| |name1=[[Gotchawrench]]
| | *[[Fireball (Mario Bros.)|Fireball]] - Spend too long in a particular area and a fireball will appear. |
| |description1=A dinosaur wrench that moves around the stage. Red ones move slowly while the faster purple ones make their first appearance in Phase 3 in the Japanese version and Phase 5 in the US version. Starting in Phase 11 in the Japanese version, the red ones are replaced by hatchet-like versions. In the US version, the hatchet type debuts in Phase 13 and can appear alongside the red and purple ones as the slowest enemy.
| | *[[Luigi]] - In one player mode, the CPU-controlled Luigi will constantly try to stop Mario from completing his job by hitting him off the beams. |
| |image2=[[File:VSWC Fireball.png]]
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| |name2=[[Fireball (obstacle)|Fireball]]
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| |description2=Spend too long in a particular area and a fireball will appear.
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| |image3=[[File:VSWC Luigi.png]]
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| |name3=[[Luigi]]
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| |description3=In one player mode, the CPU-controlled Luigi will constantly try to stop Mario from completing his job by hitting him off the beams.
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| }}
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| ==Development==
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| ''VS. Wrecking Crew'' was [[Yoshio Sakamoto]]'s first job as a game designer following a brief stint as a pixel artist. The idea was to create a "puzzle action game" centered around breaking walls.<ref name="Wired">{{cite|author=Kohler, Chris|date=April 7, 2010|language=en|url=www.wired.com/2010/04/sakamoto|title=Q&A: Metroid Creator’s Early 8-Bit Days at Nintendo|publisher=Wired|accessdate=July 7, 2024}}</ref>
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| The game originally had no relation to the ''[[Super Mario (franchise)|Super Mario]]'' franchise, the protagonist being an unnamed overalls-wearing man with no mustache as seen in earlier Japanese flyers and ads.<ref>{{cite|url=archive.org/details/game-machine-magazine-19840801p/page/n13/mode/1up|title=Game Machine August 1, 1984 issue}}</ref> The early screenshots in both sets of flyers also have differences compared to the released version. The doors use different sprites which had a more complicated opening animation. Notably, the HUD has the text "I UP" and "IIUP" instead of "MARIO" and "LUIGI". Additionally, the second player is green or blue-clothed, whereas Luigi wears a lighter shade of Mario's red in the final. During development, [[Shigeru Miyamoto]] was shown the game and suggested [[Mario]] to be the player character as "he's really easy to draw, and people recognize him."<ref name="Wired"/>
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| ==References to other games== | | ==''Arcade Archives'' series== |
| *''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]'': Mario cannot jump because of the weight of his hammer, but he can now climb [[ladder]]s with it.
| | {{upcoming|port|section=yes}} |
| *''[[Mario Bros. (game)|Mario Bros.]]'': The fireball appears in levels if the player takes too long to complete the level.
| | A port of ''VS. Wrecking Crew'' was announced for the ''[[Arcade Archives]]'' series, although it is currently TBD<ref>Jenni (September 19, 2017). [http://www.siliconera.com/2017/09/19/vs-excitebike-vs-urban-champion-vs-wrecking-crew-heading-switch/ VS. Excitebike, VS. Urban Champion, And VS. Wrecking Crew Heading To The Switch]. ''Siliconera''. Retrieved March 22, 2018.</ref>. |
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| ==Gallery== | | ==Gallery== |
| <gallery> | | <gallery> |
| VSWreckingCrewCabinetFlyerJP.png|Front of earlier Japanese flyer showing the arcade cabinet. | | VSWreckingCrewCabinetFlyerJP.png|Japanese flyer showing the arcade cabinet. |
| VSWreckingCrewScreensFlyerJP.png|Back of earlier Japanese flyer showing gameplay screenshots. | | VSWreckingCrewScreensFlyerJP.png|Japanese flyer showing gameplay screenshots. |
| VSWreckingCrewScreensFlyerJPredrawn.png|Back of later Japanese flyer showing gameplay screenshots.
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| VS System Flyer WC.jpg|An American VS. System flyer with ''VS. Wrecking Crew'' shown
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| VSWC Japan print ad 1.png|Print ad in the Game Machine magazine (August 1984).
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| VSWC Japan print ad 2.png|Print ad in the Game Machine magazine (September 1984).
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| VS. Wrecking Crew arcade.jpg|The arcade cabinet
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| VSWC instruction card.png|Instruction card
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| VsWreckingCrewTitle.png|Japanese title screen
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| VS Wrecking Crew NA Title.jpg|North American title screen
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| </gallery> | | </gallery> |
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| | ==Trivia== |
| | *Japanese flyers depict the main characters without mustaches, which may be a holdover from an earlier period of development when [[Mario]] and Luigi were not the main characters.<ref>[http://www.wired.com/2010/04/sakamoto/ Q&A: Metroid Creator’s Early 8-Bit Days at Nintendo] (accessed July 15th 2014)</ref> The early screenshots in the flyers also have differences compared to the released version. Notably, the HUD has the text "I UP" and "IIUP" instead of "MARIO" and "LUIGI", supporting the notion that Mario and Luigi were added late in development. Additionally, the second player is green or blue-clothed, whereas Luigi wears a lighter shade of Mario's red in the final. |
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| ==References== | | ==References== |
| <references/> | | <references/> |
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| {{WC}} | | {{MarioGames}} |
| {{Super Mario games}}
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| {{Arcade}} | | {{Arcade}} |
| {{Switch}}
| | [[Category:Wrecking Crew|*]] |
| [[Category:VS. Wrecking Crew|*]] | |
| [[Category:Games]] | | [[Category:Games]] |
| [[Category:1984 games]] | | [[Category:1984 games]] |
| [[Category:1986 games]]
| | [[Category:Arcade Games]] |
| [[Category:Arcade games]] | | [[Category:Puzzle Games]] |
| [[Category:Puzzle games]] | |
| [[Category:Platforming games]]
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| [[it:VS. Wrecking Crew]]
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