Mario & Wario

Not to be confused with Mario vs. Wario.

Mario & Wario
For alternate box art, see the game's gallery.
Developer	Game Freak
Publisher	Nintendo
Platform(s)	Super Famicom
Release date	August 27, 1993
Genre	Puzzle, platformer
Rating(s)	CERO: - All ages
Mode(s)	Single player
Media	Super NES: Game Pak
Input	Super NES: Super NES Mouse

Mario & Wario is a puzzle-platform game released for the Super Famicom in 1993. It was designed by Satoshi Tajiri and developed by Game Freak. It is one of the few games of the Super Mario franchise to utilize the Super Famicom Mouse accessory.

The game was initially planned to be localized for the North American market (as shown by it being previewed in the September 1993 issue of Nintendo Power and a Canadian ad for a Kellogg's contest, which featured a tentative box art), but ended up being a Japan-exclusive title. Despite this, the game itself contains no written Japanese whatsoever; it is entirely in English. Mario & Wario had also been featured in magazines from the UK, Germany, and Brazil. Most prominently, it was featured on the front cover of the November 1993 issue of VideoGame Magazine in Brazil with a full feature, which indicated that a release was near.

Story

Translated from the instruction booklet

This is Yōsei no Mori. Within the forest's depths lives a fairy, and those who behold it find happiness, as the tale goes. One day, Mario sought the fabled fairy by coming to the forest. Peach, Yoshi and Luigi were together......or should have been, but alas, Luigi's visage was unseen. Mario's group of three had decided to look for lost little Luigi.

Then, the sky was overcome with a suspicious engine's sound. What was that? It was Wario riding his personal plane, the Bulldog, and he threw a bucket from the sky.

"Here you go!"

Uh oh, the bucket landed right over Mario's head.

"Uwagh, I can't see in this thing!"

Watching was the forest's fairy, Wanda. She somehow wanted to help, but the small fairy did not have the ability to remove the bucket. Thus, Wanda decided to use her magic wand on Mario to send signals, guiding him to Luigi......

Gameplay

Title screen

The main gameplay involves guiding Princess Peach, Mario, or Yoshi to the goal, where Luigi awaits. The player can select one of the original eight stages at the start. Once they are cleared, the final stages become available. At the beginning of every stage except EXTRA, Wario drops a random item on the character's head, making them unable to see where they're going.

The player uses the Super Famicom Mouse to control Wanda the sprite and alter the environment to make it safe for the character, making it somewhat similar to the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series. The character will walk left and right on their own, so the obstacles must be manipulated accordingly to allow the character to safely navigate through the level. There is a time limit for each level, and bonus points are given for any excess time. Each character has a set speed; Peach is slow, Mario is medium, and Yoshi is fast. At the end of every stage, there's a bonus mini-game where Wanda can whack Wario with a hammer. Every time the player hits Wario on his plane, the player will earn one coin. After forty hits, the plane will malfunction in Wario's face, but he will also flee if enough time has passed.

Characters

Main characters

Image	Name	Description
	Wanda	The main protagonist who must guide each character to the end of each level.
	Princess Peach	One of the characters who must be guided to the end of each level.
	Mario	One of the characters who must be guided to the end of each level.
	Yoshi	One of the characters who must be guided to the end of each level.
	Luigi	The character who waits at the goal at the end of each level.
	Wario	The main antagonist who is fought after every world in the game.

Enemy characters

Image	Name	Description
	Dodorigesu Jr.	These immobile Pidgits can be defeated by simply clicking on them.
	Guriguri	A fireball which usually moves along walls and floors.
	Komorin	Tricky bat enemies that often group together in packs of four.
	Tsubōn	A pot-shaped enemy with a skull mark that can cling onto walls and breath fire.
	Unibo	Spiky enemies which resemble Urchins and appear in LEVEL 6 and LEVEL 9. They come in blue variations that move up and down and yellow variations that move left and right.

Stages

	LEVEL 1 Yōsei no Mori The fairy's forest is the easiest stage of the ten, and a tutorial for the rest of the game. The world map for each course fits on one screen, making them the smallest of the game. One Guriguri is introduced in the last course. Levels Level 1-1 • Level 1-2 • Level 1-3 • Level 1-4 • Level 1-5 • Level 1-6 • Level 1-7 • Level 1-8 • Level 1-9 • Level 1-10
	LEVEL 2 Yosu Ko A world set next to a relaxing lake where Yoshis have holiday. It is still a standard stage, but slightly harder than the first. Levels Level 2-1 • Level 2-2 • Level 2-3 • Level 2-4 • Level 2-5 • Level 2-6 • Level 2-7 • Level 2-8 • Level 2-9 • Level 2-10
	LEVEL 3 Kumotori Yama A mountain region. Timer Blocks are frequent, so sitting around is dangerous. Levels Level 3-1 • Level 3-2 • Level 3-3 • Level 3-4 • Level 3-5 • Level 3-6 • Level 3-7 • Level 3-8 • Level 3-9 • Level 3-10
	LEVEL 4 Kōri no Dōkutsu An icy cavern with many frozen features. Nebaneba Blocks appear towards the end. Levels Level 4-1 • Level 4-2 • Level 4-3 • Level 4-4 • Level 4-5 • Level 4-6 • Level 4-7 • Level 4-8 • Level 4-9 • Level 4-10
	LEVEL 5 Honō no Dōkutsu A subterranean cave filled with magma. Pot-shaped enemies called Tsubōn are introduced here, and will breathe fire at the player. Levels Level 5-1 • Level 5-2 • Level 5-3 • Level 5-4 • Level 5-5 • Level 5-6 • Level 5-7 • Level 5-8 • Level 5-9 • Level 5-10
	LEVEL 6 Pukupuku Kai A large body of water infested with Unibo. Switch Blocks are frequent. Levels Level 6-1 • Level 6-2 • Level 6-3 • Level 6-4 • Level 6-5 • Level 6-6 • Level 6-7 • Level 6-8 • Level 6-9 • Level 6-10
	LEVEL 7 Balloon Bridge An area in the sky. Fūsen Blocks are frequent. Levels Level 7-1 • Level 7-2 • Level 7-3 • Level 7-4 • Level 7-5 • Level 7-6 • Level 7-7 • Level 7-8 • Level 7-9 • Level 7-10
	LEVEL 8 Karakara Sabaku A vast desert location. Guriguri are frequent. Levels Level 8-1 • Level 8-2 • Level 8-3 • Level 8-4 • Level 8-5 • Level 8-6 • Level 8-7 • Level 8-8 • Level 8-9 • Level 8-10
	LEVEL 9 Wario no Niwa Wario's personal garden, which is playable once LEVEL 8 is cleared. Levels Level 9-1 • Level 9-2 • Level 9-3 • Level 9-4 • Level 9-5 • Level 9-6 • Level 9-7 • Level 9-8 • Level 9-9 • Level 9-10
	LEVEL 10 Wario Tei A big, untidy residence. Playable once LEVEL 9 is cleared. Levels Level 10-1 • Level 10-2 • Level 10-3 • Level 10-4 • Level 10-5 • Level 10-6 • Level 10-7 • Level 10-8 • Level 10-9 • Level 10-10
	EXTRA LEVEL EXTRA An extra stage revealed after clearing LEVEL 10. It is a very difficult world. Levels Level EX-1 • Level EX-2 • Level EX-3 • Level EX-4 • Level EX-5 • Level EX-6 • Level EX-7 • Level EX-8 • Level EX-9 • Level EX-10

Items and obstacles

Blocks

Image	Name	Description
	Coin Block	Wanda can hit these to collect coins. One hundred coins will give the player an extra life.
	Elevator	Once on these lifts, the character must wait until they can move again.
	Flip-Flop Block	One of the most basic blocks, they can be made solid or passable with the flick of a click.
	Fūsen Block	Balloons which expand and inflate from time to time.
	Rock Block	These cracked square walls can be hit to be destroyed.
	Jump Block	Jump Blocks look like springboards, and are usually seen grounded on flooring rather than suspended in the air as in other games.
	Nebaneba Block	These blocks are sticky and trap friend and foe alike.
	Switch Block	These switch from solid and red to blue and intangible.
	Timer Block	Hitting these blocks will make them solid for a short time. Wanda must know when and how to use them.
	Toge Block	These pointy obstacles take up the full space of a block. They can face four directions.

Items

Image	Name	Description
	1-Up Mushroom	As the name suggests, these green mushrooms give the player extra lives.
	Coin	Coins add points to the player's score. Collecting one hundred coins gives the player an extra life.
	Star	The most common item in the game. Collect four of them in a level to earn an extra life.
	Time Kinoko	Standard mushrooms that add to the Time Gauge. There are not many of these in the game.

Development

After Game Freak's successful collaboration with Nintendo on Yoshi, Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi requested Game Freak to develop a new game that would make use of the Super Scope accessory. As Yoshi was a big commercial success but was not a self-owned property, there was a desire internally at Game Freak to develop titles using the company's own characters . After brainstorming with employee Akihito Tomisawa, Game Freak president Satori Tajiri settled on the idea of making a horror-themed game inspired by Gremlins.

The original concept was that the player would attempt to capture a monster living inside a "western-style building" by firing a net with the Super Scope and capture it with a trigger. Though a prototype was produced and the project was coming along smoothly, it had become obvious the Super Scope was a commercial failure so the game was retooled to use the more recent Super NES Mouse. The concept shifted to guiding a character inside a maze using the mouse. Eventually, Nintendo suggested to include Nintendo characters in the game, a suggestion Game Freak agreed to as they thought it would make the game sell better. However, at the last minute, Game Freak requested to keep a character created for the earlier versions of the game, Wanda (designed by artist Ken Sugimori.

References in other media

• Pokémon Red and Blue: In Copycat's house, the protagonist can interact with a Super Nintendo Entertainment System connected to a TV, which is described as displaying "a game with Mario wearing a bucket on his head." Both Mario & Wario and Pokémon Red and Blue were developed by Game Freak. Route 24 and Route 25's theme sounds somewhat similar to the sky theme from Mario & Wario.
• Kirby Super Star and Kirby Super Star Ultra: One of the treasures that can be obtained in the Crystal area of the The Great Cave Offensive main game is a Bucket almost identical to the one in Mario & Wario. However, the "M" in the Bucket is orange instead of purple.
• Mario and the Incredible Rescue: In chapter 8, Wario attacks with buckets.
• Super Smash Bros. Melee: The bucket Mario wore on his head appears as a trophy. It mentions that "the bucket's M looks like a W when turned upside down".
• Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story: One of Junker's attacks is dropping a bucket on Mario or Luigi's heads and they walk back and forth, using a similar animation to the ones in Mario & Wario.
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Wanda appears as a spirit.

Staff

Main article: List of Mario & Wario staff

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Mario & Wario.

• 

  Mario

• 

  Mario with a bucket

• 

  Wario

• 

  Wanda

• 

  Princess Peach

• 

  Yoshi

Media

For a complete list of media for this subject, see List of Mario & Wario media.

Title

File infoMedia:MW Title.oga ​

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Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	マリオとワリオ Mario to Wario マウス専用マリオとワリオ Mausu-sen'yō Mario to Wario	Mario & Wario Mouse-Exclusive Mario & Wario; used in packaging and promotional materials.