Wario's Woods (Super Nintendo Entertainment System)

Wario's Woods
SNES box art For alternate box art, see the related gallery.
Developers	Nintendo (no specific division) Intelligent Systems
Publisher	Nintendo
Platforms	Super Nintendo Entertainment System, LodgeNet
Release dates	December 10, 1994[?] 1995[?]
Language	English
Genre	Puzzle
Ratings	ESRB: - Kids to Adults[?] ELSPA: - Three years and older[?] ACB: - General[?]
Modes	Single player, multiplayer
Format	SNES: Game Pak
Input	SNES: Super NES Controller
Serial code	SNS-65-USA

Wario's Woods is a puzzle game released for the SNES in 1994. It is 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.

Story

The story from the instruction booklet:

The Peaceful Woods was once the friendly home of sprites and other gentle forest creatures. Wario and his band of monsters invaded, though, and spoiled the serenity of the woods. The quiet, woodlands community has now been turned upside-down by these horrifying events. Wario has now named the woods after himself, and peaceful creatures are not welcome. Toad, the Mushroom Kingdom hero, has decided to travel to Wario's Woods and put an end to Wario's evil reign of terror. Toad knows that, with the sprites^[sic] help, he will be able to rid the forest of Mario's twisted nemesis. Thankfully, the sprites are able to create bombs. It's Toad's job to line up the bombs with the enemies of the woods, thus defeating those evil creatures. By clearing more and more of the woods, Toad steps ever close to the ultimate challenge of facing Wario.

Gameplay

The SNES version of Wario's Woods

The game plays almost identically to the NES version. 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 while a Thwomp drops bombs. Wario occasionally performs a body slam attack on the side of his box to make the Thwomp ceiling descend; however, destroying enemies may cause the Thwomp to rise back upward. Like the NES version, Toad can clear 5 monsters/bombs in a row to create diamonds, and he can set off chain reactions that allow Birdo and Sprite to stay or force Wario and Pidgit to leave.

Pidgit may randomly drop a spotted egg (resembling a Yoshi's Egg) onto the field which hatches into a monster when it lands. If left to hatch on its own, a complete row of the hatched monster will generate at the top of the screen and fall to the bottom. This can be prevented by having Toad pick up and drop the egg before it hatches, which causes the egg to crack open, revealing the monster without generating the row of monsters. The color and type of monster will match any of the remaining monster or bomb colors that are on the field as soon as the egg appears.

Game modes

The SNES menu of Wario's Woods.

This main menu has six options: VS COM, VS 2P, Round Game, Time Race, Lesson, and Option. Most are the same as their NES counterparts, but more robust.

VS 2P and VS COM

VS 2P is the same as VS mode on the NES. Both players occupy their own fields and have their own timers, and a player can force their opponent's Thwomp to descend or add more monsters by using diamonds or setting off chain reactions. The first to win 3 rounds wins the match.

The exclusive VS COM essentially follows the same rules as VS 2P, but is played against the computer. It 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 made the focus of VS COM, with the bosses and settings varying from each level in the game. The level settings in order are the same woods used for VS 2P mode, followed by a grassy clifftop, an underwater cave, a badland pass, and finally Wario's castle. Like in the 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 in VS COM mode consist of the interactions between Toad and each of the opponents that he encounters throughout his adventure, including Wario at the end of the game. Their interactions are all based on their respective personalities, and each opponent often taunts Toad before beginning their battles. If Toad loses against an opponent, they also make fun of and insult him, often causing his emotions to change as depicted by his appearance in each of the cutscenes.

Round Game

When the player selects a round number from the Round Game menu, or before every 20th round, there is a cutscene of Wario flying over the woods in his airplane as Toad advances, after which the round begins. A Gold Coin bonus is available at the start of each round, but it is reduced by 20% of the starting amount every time Wario enters or leaves. After the round is won, Toad must manually collect the bonus Coins that fall from the top of the screen before they disappear, and the threshold for earning a Continue in the Round Game is now 50 Gold Coins.

The settings for the Round Game are the starting woods from rounds 1-19, a badland pass from rounds 20-39, a crystal forest from rounds 40-59, a nighttime forest from rounds 60-79, and Wario's castle from rounds 80-99. If the player defeats Wario and advances to round 100, the setting reverts to the starting woods.

In the end, Toad bombs Wario's castle, causing it and his airplane to be destroyed, sending him falling to the ground. Wario's defeat allows the creatures of the woods to return to living in peace.

• 

  Round Game before the level begins

• 

  Ice area (mid-game)

• 

  Wario's Castle, the last location

Time Race

Time Race mode gives the player the option to play Easy, Normal, or Hard courses, with sets of 2 to 5 rounds in each mode. The player's best times are entered into the Player Records, and when all sets are completed in any mode, the combined time is entered into the All-Time Records, listing time rankings from Gold, Silver, and Bronze down to 7th place. The player's rank is then added to a Technical Rank Certification with all course difficulties.

Lesson

Lesson mode offers lessons for the player to learn how to use the A, B, X, and Y buttons in the game, how to make a diamond appear, how to form a chain reaction, and other miscellaneous techniques. Each lesson is divided into 9 examples, and the player may return to the menu by pressing the Start button.

Characters

Toad facing off against Katsini, one of the mini-bosses from the SNES version

Protagonists

Image	Name	Description
	Toad	The main protagonist, who must fight Wario's minions by stacking them with bombs.
	Green Toad	The second player character in the VS mode.
	Sprite	A fairy who helps Toad clear out monsters by providing him bombs.
	Birdo	A supporting character, she assists Toad and the Sprite by giving them encouragement.

Antagonists

Image	Name	Description
	Wario	The main antagonist, as well as the eighteenth and final boss in the VS COM mode, he sends an army in order to take over the Sprites' woods.
	Thwomp	The ceiling fan that can drops bombs and fall on top of Toad.
	Pidgit	Overcomes the Sprite when Wario replaces Birdo and drops monsters.

Bosses

Image	Name	Description
	Katsini	The first boss, a well-dressed creature who resembles Tatanga.
	Galrog	The second boss, a muscular gray cyclops with a single horn protruding from the top.
	Harley Q	The third boss, a creature that resembles a harlequin.
	SamSpook	The fourth boss, has a pumpkin for a head and his body and clothing are similar to Wario's.
	Sven	The fifth boss, is almost completed covered in brown hair and resembles a viking.
	Parrotor	The sixth boss, appears to be a cross between a monitor lizard and a parrot.
	Mssr Boo	The seventh boss, a ghost who wears a beret.
	Aqualea	The eighth boss, a mermaid.
	Razor	The ninth boss, a fish-like creature with fangs.
	Tad Rock	The tenth boss, a punky, 1980s style frog-like creature.
	Thak	The eleventh boss, a blue ogre-like monster.
	Lizardon	The twelfth boss, a chubby and purple creature resembling a dinosaur.
	Sarissa	The thirteenth boss, a short magician girl.
	Mangylox	The fourteenth boss, an orange hairy creature wearing mint green shoes.
	Dedar	The fifteenth boss, a short green elf-like creature.
	Carlton	The sixteenth boss, a knight.
	Harry H	The seventeenth boss, a well-dressed anthropomorphic rabbit.

Enemies

Image	Name	Description
	Fuzz	One of the most common monsters, any chain of bombs can defeat them.
	Spud	Round monsters with fan-like leaves on their heads, any chain of bombs can defeat them.
	Squeak	Rodent-like monsters, any chain of bombs can defeat them.
	Beaker	Monsters with two faces on both sides, can only be defeated by diagonal bomb chains.
	Scram	Skirt-wearing monsters, can only be defeated by diagonal bomb chains.
	Spook	Jar-like mushroom monsters, have to take two bombs to be defeated.
	Dovo	Ghost-like monsters, have to take two bombs to be defeated.

Satellaview versions

Title screen of Wario no Mori Bakushō Version

Menu screen of Wario no Mori Bakushō Version

Unlike International releases, Wario's Woods was never released as a Super Famicom cartridge. However, three variations were exclusively released for the Satellaview add-on:

• Wario no Mori Bakushō Version (ワリオの森 爆笑バージョン, lit. "Wario's Woods Burst of Laughter Version") is a version where many of the character graphics are replaced with caricatures of Japanese celebrities. Satebô, one of the two mascots of the Satellaview, is also featured on the title screen, but does not appear in the gameplay itself.
• Wario no Mori Futatabi (ワリオの森 再び, lit. "Wario's Woods Again") is a version that lacks the edited graphics, making it more similar to the English release. However, there are also other removals, such as the round-game-style Single Player mode, opponent names and all Story Mode Dialog. Catherine (Birdo) was also replaced by the female avatar from the Satellaview hub, BS-X それは名前を盗まれた街の物語 (BS-X : The Story of The Town Whose Name Was Stolen).
• Wario no Mori Event Version (ワリオの森 イベントバージョン, lit. "Wario's Woods Event Version") is a version based on Wario no Mori Bakushō Version. Two versions of this variation exist: the first was broadcasted on May 18, 1995, and the second on September 3, 1995.

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.

The graphics were designed by Naotaka Ohnishi and newcomer Ryota Kawade, who later in his career became a director for the Paper Mario series. The music was written by Hiroaki Suga and Tadashi Ikegami. The red (main) Toad was voiced by Robin Krouse, a gameplay counselor for Nintendo at the time, and the green Toad was voiced by Michael Kelbaugh, the current CEO of Retro Studios. They also provided the voice samples for Kirby's Avalanche, another puzzle game released for the SNES.

Quotes

Main article: List of Wario's Woods quotes

Reception

The SNES version of Wario's Woods was met with generally positive reviews. However, a common complaint was that the learning curve is too steep because of the confusing controls.

Game Players gave the game an overall score of 81%. In the individual categories, the game scored high in all of them except for graphics, which was scored 5/10. Despite this, the magazine comments that the "colorful, animated graphics are unmistakably Nintendo." Conversely, the magazine rates the game's replay value as 8/10 and calls it very addictive, but adds that the learning curve may put off players before they can get hooked. It also finds the game innovative for reversing the usual paradigm of puzzles games by having the player control the pieces already on the board.

Sean Atkins of Total! magazine says that the game is more complicated than other puzzle games, though it does pay off once the player masters it. He praises the number of modes for bolstering the replay value and finds the graphics cute, but finds the sound simple to the point where it gets grating after some time. He then rates the game 88/100. As a second opinion, Rob Pegley says the game does not hook the player in as immediately when compared to Bust-a-Move or Kirby's Avalanche, but it still just as addictive given enough time. Dave Wildgoose of Hyper magazine expresses the opposite opinion, stating that it is too easy and compensates by having too many levels and modes. He takes umbrage at lack of depth because the game was sold at full price. He finishes by saying the game would serve better as a PC shareware title and rates it with an overall score of 60/100.

Reviews
Release	Reviewer, Publication	Score	Comment
SNES	VideoGames	Graphics: 7/10	"If you like Tetris but you wish it were about a zillion times more confusing, then Wario Woods[sic] is a game for you. In this puzzle strategy game, you play a little mushroom guy (or villain) who runs around the bottom of a well, throwing bombs around, hoping to blow up colored blocks and beat your opponents. Unlike Tetris, this game isn’t easy to understand right off the bat and you might find yourself losing a lot at the easiest level for a while. While it's a lot different from Tetris, it's still kind of confusing and difficult. The graphics are cute and colorful though, and that's cool. Beautiful eye candy is a plus."
		Sound / Music: 6/10
		Playability: 6/10
SNES	Games World	83%	"With so many moves and tricks the game's quite hard to get into and it takes a while to get the knack of creating chain reactions to send extra creatures onto your opponent's side. However, although lacking the simple 'pick up and play' appeal of other puzzlers, this is an enjoyable tactical battle in two-player mode."
SNES	Next Generation	★★☆☆☆	"This is the latest Tetris clone from Nintendo, and this time, instead of capsules, you're trying to line up bombs and destroy mutant creatures. The trouble is, this style of game needs to be kept very simple, but Wario's Woods is frustratingly complicated. [...] After a while you can become interested, but the learning curve is just too steep, the rewards too slim."

Gallery

Main gallery: Gallery:Wario's Woods

• 

  Toad

• 

  Wario

• 

  Birdo

• 

  Katsini

• 

  Carlton

• 

  Harry H

References to other games

Super Mario Bros. 2

• Toad carries and throws his opponents in a similar way to this game.
• Enemies such as the Spud resemble various items from this game.
• Wario's Woods marks Birdo's Super Mario franchise reappearance since this game.

Mario & Wario

• The Sprites of the Peaceful Woods may be a reference to the 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 may be a reference to the events of Wario's Woods.

WarioWare: Smooth Moves

• The cartridge of Wario's Woods can appear in the microgame Super Nostalgic Entertainment System.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Note(s)	Ref.
Japanese	ワリオの森 Wario no Mori	Wario's Woods		[?]

Notes

• The SNES version's soundtrack is entirely different from that of the NES version, except for the theme for Wario's turn and the VS Mode theme (and also the "New Record" theme if the 8-bit version's PAL release is counted).
• The SNES instruction booklet uses Birdo's Japanese name, Catherine.
• 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.