VS. Wrecking Crew
The title screen of the game (North American version)
Developer	Nintendo R&D1
Publishers	Nintendo HAMSTER (Arcade Archives)
Platforms	VS. System Nintendo Switch (Arcade Archives)
Release dates	VS. System: August 1984[1] 1984[2] Nintendo Switch (Arcade Archives): May 1, 2020[3] May 1, 2020[4] May 1, 2020[5] May 1, 2020[6]
Language	English
Genres	Puzzle/platformer
Ratings	ESRB: - Everyone[4] CERO: - All ages[3] PEGI: - Three years and older[5] ACB: - General[6]
Mode	Up to two players simultaneously
Format	Arcade: Built-in Nintendo Switch: Digital download
Cabinet	VS. Table
Input	Arcade: Joystick Nintendo Switch: Joy-Con Joy-Con (horizontal) Nintendo Switch Pro Controller

VS. Wrecking Crew is a 1984 arcade game for theVS. System and is the first game of theWrecking Crew series. Unlike its 1985 console sequelWrecking 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.

The Japanese version ofVS. Wrecking Crew for theArcade Archives series was released for theNintendo Switch on May 1, 2020.^[7][8]

Gameplay[edit]

See also:List of VS. Wrecking Crew phases

Phase 3

The gameplay takes place on a single wraparound screen split into fivefloors. In the single-player mode,Luigi is an opponent that hindersMario. In the two-player mode, both players compete against each other.

The game was designed specifically for the VS. DualSystem, and thus featured mechanics that were possible only with multiple screens. On each screen, each player sees 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 adoor (doors are opened by swinging at them withhammers), they 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 samewall piece, whichever swings first knocks 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 have to dodgefireballs that spawn from the edge of their platform.

After every even numbered phase, there is abonus level. In a single-player game, Mario has to find acoin 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 bonuspoints for finding the coin in the first wall that is smashed.

Characters[edit]

Playable[edit]

Image	Name	Description
	Mario	The first player character; he is the only character playable in single-player mode.
	Luigi	The second player character; he is playable only in two-player mode.

Enemies[edit]

Image	Name	Description
	Gotchawrench	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.
	Fireball	Spending too long in a particular area causes a fireball to appear.
	Luigi	In one-player mode, the CPU-controlled Luigi constantly tries to stop Mario from completing his job by hitting him off the beams.

Development[edit]

VS. Wrecking Crew wasYoshio 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.^[9]

The game originally had no relation to theSuper Mario franchise, the protagonist being an unnamed overalls-wearing man with no mustache as seen in earlier Japanese flyers and ads.^[10] The early screenshots in both sets of flyers also have differences compared to the released version. The doors use different sprites that 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."^[9]

Staff[edit]

Game Designer

• Yoshio Sakamoto

Market Research Analyst

• Jerry Momoda^[11]

References to other games[edit]

Mario Bros.

• The fireball appears in levels if the player takes too long to complete the level.

Gallery[edit]

• 

  Front of Japanese flyer

• 

  Front of earlier Japanese flyer showing the arcade cabinet

• 

  Back of earlier Japanese flyer showing gameplay screenshots

• 

  Back of later Japanese flyer showing gameplay screenshots

• 

  An American VS. System flyer withVS. Wrecking Crew shown

• 

  Print ad in the Game Machine magazine (August 1984)

• 

  Print ad in the Game Machine magazine (September 1984)

• 

  The arcade cabinet

• 

  Instruction card

• 

  Japanese title screen

Multimedia[edit]

Game Start A

File info ​

Game Start B

File info ​

Help:Media file •Having trouble playing?

Names in other languages[edit]

References[edit]

• VS. Wrecking Crew
• Games
• 1984 games
• 1986 games
• VS. System games
• Puzzle games
• Platforming games
• Arcade Archives games

• Pages with audio files