Wario's Woods (Nintendo Entertainment System)

This article is about the Family Computer and NES version. For the SNES version, see Wario's Woods (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). For the location it takes place in, see Wario's Woods (location).

Wario's Woods
For alternate box art, see the game's gallery.
Developer	Nintendo (no specific division), Intelligent Systems
Publisher	Nintendo
Platform(s)	Family Computer, Nintendo Entertainment System, Virtual Console (Wii, 3DS, Wii U), Nintendo Entertainment System - Nintendo Switch Online
Release date	Famicom/NES: Template:Release Virtual Console (Wii): Template:Release Virtual Console (3DS): Template:Release Virtual Console (Wii U): Template:Release Nintendo Entertainment System - Nintendo Switch Online: Template:Release[?]
Language(s)	English (United States) Japanese
Genre	Puzzle
Rating(s)	ESRB: - Kids to Adults ESRB: - Everyone PEGI: - Three years and older
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer
Format	NES: Game Pak Wii: Digital download Wii U: Digital download Nintendo Switch: Digital download Nintendo 3DS: Digital download
Input	NES: NES Controller Wii: Wii Remote (horizontal) Classic Controller Nintendo GameCube Controller Wii U: Wii U GamePad Wii Remote (horizontal) Classic Controller Wii U Pro Controller Nintendo Switch: Joy-Con Nintendo Switch Pro Controller NES Controller Nintendo 3DS: Gamepad
Serial code(s)	HVC-UW (Japan)

Wario's Woods is a puzzle game that released for the Family Computer and Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994. It is also one of the many playable games in Animal Crossing for the Nintendo GameCube; it can be obtained through using interacting with an islander using the game's Animal Island mode on the Game Boy Advance.

This version is notable for being not only the last first-party game produced for the console, but the last game with Nintendo's official license to be released for the platform in North America. As a result of its late release, it was the only game in the NES library at the time to have an official rating by the ESRB, being rated K-A for Kids to Adults. The game is known for being one of only two games that have Toad as the main starring protagonist (the other being Kinopio Live for the SNES's Japan-only Satellaview add-on), though Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker's main character is Captain Toad, a similar character. Wario's Woods was released to the Wii Virtual Console on November 19, 2006 in America, and December 7-12, 2006 in the PAL regions and Japan. Wario's Woods was later released on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console and Wii U Virtual Console in 2013, where it received the E for Everyone rating, and was made available to Nintendo Switch Online members from December 12, 2018.

Story

The story from the instruction booklet:

The Peaceful Woods were once a friendly home for sprites and gentle creatures. Since the invasion of Wario and his band of monsters, though, this quiet community has been turned upside-down. Now, it is Wario's Woods and peaceful creatures are not welcome.

Toad, the Mushroom Kingdom hero, has made his way to Wario's Woods in order to quiet the sinister lout and win the woods back for the sprites. The sprites can create bombs. It's Toad's job to take the bombs and line them up with the enemies of the woods so that the enemies go down in defeat.

If Toad clears enough monster-packed sections of the forest, he'll go up against the mighty Wario himself.

Gameplay

A gameplay screenshot from Wario's Woods

The game plays similarly to drop-down puzzle games such as Tetris. Toad is the main hero, and Birdo and a Sprite help Toad by giving him encouragement and bombs to destroy the monsters, respectively. If Toad takes too long to complete a level, Wario replaces Birdo and turns the Sprite into a Pidgit, which throws more monsters at Toad, as well as bombs. Wario occasionally performs a body slam attack on the side of his box to make the Thwomp ceiling descend; however, destroying enemies causes the ceiling to rise back upward. Many enemies unique to this game appear, as well as several mini-bosses who attempt to block Toad's path from getting to Wario.

In the end, Wario himself appears to fight against Toad alone. Oddly, Wario appears at a gargantuan size in this battle. Eventually, Toad defeats him, causing him to shrink back to his original size and reducing his powers; it is also revealed that Wario had in fact used an air pump to inflate himself to a much bigger size in order to battle Toad. Toad then proceeds onwards by chasing the antagonist out of the Woods.

Game modes

This version has six game modes: VS COM, VS 2P, Round Game, Time Race, Lesson, and Option. Most are the same as their Family Computer/NES counterparts, but more robust. Round Game adds an overworld map with different locations, such as underground caverns and a castle, and VS 2P is essentially the same as the NES VS. The exclusive VS COM allows the player to play on three possible difficulty settings against computer-controlled opponents, who are new characters original to this game, such as Katsini, the first opponent. Bosses are removed from Round Game and are instead made the focus of VS COM, with the bosses varying from each level in the game (ie. aquatic characters are the bosses of the underwater levels, while the more powerful characters are located in the castle). Like in the Family Computer/NES version, they attempt to stop Toad's attempt to save the sprites' forest. Upon defeating all the bosses within VS COM, Toad meets Wario himself, and the two duel against each other in the game's final stage.

Cutscenes

Toad encountering a regular sized Wario in a cutscene.

Toad encountering a larger Wario in a later cutscene.

In the Round Mode of Wario's Woods, the game takes on a story mode sequence with cutscenes being frequently encountered throughout the game. These cutscenes often take place after every 10 rounds, and they are scenes of Wario taunting Toad as the hero gets closer to defeating Wario. In most of these cutscenes, Wario often calls Toad insulting names such as "'Shroom", in order to discourage him from keeping up with his victory. Wario also appears to grow in size throughout the game, alluding to an increase in his powers. In the final round levels, Wario can be seen at a gargantuan size, although it is revealed that he was just inflating himself with an air pump. In the end, Toad can finally be seen chasing Wario out of the woods.

Characters

Protagonists

• Toad
• Green Toad (Player 2 in VS mode)
• Sprite
• Birdo

Antagonists

• Wario
• Thwomp
• Pidgit

Bosses

• Fauster
• Boom
• Mad
• Goro
• Seizer
• Drago
• Fake Wario

Enemies

• Fuzz
• Spud
• Squeak
• Beaker
• Scram
• Spook
• Dovo

Staff

Main article: List of Wario's Woods staff

Wario's Woods was co-developed by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. Nintendo's Kenji Miki was the producer and director, while programming was handled by Intelligent Systems' Hiroyuki Yukami, Hironobu Suzuki, and Makoto Katayama. Soichiro Tomita, Masahiro Iimura, and Naotaka Ohnishi designed the graphics while the music was written by Shinobu Amayake and Soyo Oka.

Quotes

Main article: List of Wario's Woods quotes

Gallery

Main article: Gallery:Wario's Woods

References to other games

• Super Mario Bros. 2: Toad carries and throws his opponents in a similar way to this game. Additionally, his superhuman strength also originated from this game. Enemies such as the Spud resemble various items from this game. Wario's Woods also marks Birdo's Super Mario franchise reappearance since this game.
• Mario & Wario: The Sprites of the Peaceful Woods may be a reference to the exotic fairy Wanda of Yōsei no Mori.

References in later games

• Mario Superstar Baseball: Both Toad and Wario share bad chemistry with each other in the game, which might be a reference to the events of Wario's Woods. Oddly, the two share neutral chemistry in the sequel.
• WarioWare: Smooth Moves: The microgame Super Nostalgic Entertainment System involves the player placing a cartridge of Wario's Woods correctly into a Famicom in the Japanese version.
• NES Remix 2: Several challenges are based off of this version.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ワリオの森[?] Wario no Mori	Wario's Woods

Trivia

• In his sprites, Wario's cap and shirt are purple and white respectively instead of the correct yellow. This is due to the console's palette and color limitations. On the game cover, his cap and shirt are still yellow.
• The Family Computer, PAL NES, and SNES versions all have different soundtracks.
• A mode noticeably inspired by Wario's Woods called "Blob Blast", featuring familiar bombs and stylus controls, appears in Brain Age: Concentration Training. This is a similar homage to the Dr. Mario-influenced Virus Buster mode appearing in previous Brain Age games.