Fire Attack

Not to be confused with Fire (Game & Watch).

Fire Attack's Classic version (left) and Modern version (right) in Game & Watch Gallery 4

Fire Attack is a Game & Watch game that was released as part of the Wide Screen series on March 26, 1982. It appears as a title displayed in the Gallery Corner in Game & Watch Gallery. It is also playable in Game & Watch Gallery 4, which includes an updated "Modern" version of the game.

Gameplay

Classic version

Fire Attack involves a cowboy who is using a hammer to try to stop attackers (represented as Native Americans) from burning down his base. Every time the player hits a torch or an attacker, they receive two points. As the game progresses, the player has to be a lot more cautious as more attackers appear, and the torches and attackers eventually move faster. If an attacker manages to set the base on fire, the player will get a miss. If the player reaches 200 or 500 points without any misses, every torch or attacker the player hits will be worth five points for 30 to 50 seconds. If the player has any misses at either score, all misses will be removed instead. When the player gets three misses, they receive a Game Over. In Game A, attackers come from three directions, but they change positions and come from different directions after a miss is made. In Game B, attackers come from four directions, and the game gets faster sooner. In the Game & Watch Gallery 4 version, attackers have had their head feathers and cloths removed to make them appear as bandits instead, likely due to concerns over racial insensitivity.

Modern version

The Modern version of Fire Attack involves Wario, who is trying to protect a giant golden statue of himself from a bunch of Bob-ombs and Bullet Bills. During his defense, however, Wario has to be careful not to hit any hens or apples, as they award him five and seven bonus points, respectively. The player is not penalized for hitting a hen or apple, but the player does get a miss if a Bob-omb or Bullet Bill manages to destroy parts of Wario's fort. However, Wario can remove a miss when he gets 200, 500, and 700 points by catching a heart coming from a Bill Blaster. It is Game Over if Wario's statue gets destroyed. This version also features music, with the tempo changing depending on the speed of the game.

If the player selects the game yet waits several moments to start it, a humorous scene is shown. In particular, Wario is using a hoe to till the ground as his hen is walking around near a tomato field. However, while Wario is taking a break to wipe off sweat, he is oblivious to a Bob-omb rolling up behind him. The hen notices the Bob-omb at the last minute and proceeds to flee. Shortly afterwards, the Bob-omb explodes, sending Wario flying.

Controls

• : Move
• and : Hit
• and : Diagonal

Gallery

• 

  Wario

• 

  1 UP Heart

• 

  Apple

• 

  Bill Blaster

• 

  Bob-omb

• 

  Bullet Bill

• 

  Hen

• 

  Egg

• 

  Hammer

• 

  The golden statue of Wario

Trivia

• In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Mr. Game & Watch's animations were changed to closer resemble the actual Game & Watch games. This resulted in the appearance of his forward smash being changed to match the original design of the enemy characters from Fire Attack, with the feather on their head that was previously edited out of the version of the game in Game & Watch Gallery 4. This caused a supposedly online backlash, although never proven, and Nintendo of America responded by announcing an update patch to remove the feather. This was followed by an actual online backlash with accusations of hypocrisy and intellectual dishonesty, with also actual Native American users calling out Nintendo of America for supposedly listening to the usual vocal minority of white "NPC" users speaking and being offended on behalf of others.

External links

• The Fire Attack info page on In the Attic, a website dedicated to classic videogames (Internet Archive: Wayback Machine)