Mario & Wario

Mario & Wario (マリオとワリオ Mario to Wario) is a puzzle game released for the Super Famicom in 1994. It was designed by Satoshi Tajiri and developed by Game Freak. It is one of the few Mario games to utilize the SNES 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 Keloggs contest, which featured a tentative boxart), but ended up being Japan-only.

Story
One day while flying his plane, Wario spots Mario and his friends alone. Bitter after his previous defeat, he decides to punish them by throwing an enchanted bucket on Mario's head. While Mario is under the spell, the Mario Bros. are separated, and Mario's friends feel helpless. Wanda, a peaceful guardian of the nearby forest of fairies, sees this event and helps them, doing everything she can to guide them to safety. Ever persistent, Wario follows from afar, eager to ruin her plans, so Wanda must use her powers of protection to end Wario's mischief.

Gameplay
The main gameplay involves guiding Mario, Princess Peach, 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 fairy and alter the environment to make it safe for the character, making it somewhat similar to the Mario vs. Donkey Kong sequels. 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.

LEVEL1: 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 Girigiri is introduced in the last course.

LEVEL2: 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.

LEVEL3: Kumotori Yama
A mountain region. Time Blocks are frequent, so sitting around is dangerous.

LEVEL4: Kōri no Dōkutsu
An icy cavern with many frozen features. Nebaneba Blocks appear here.

LEVEL5: Honō no Dōkutsu
A subterranean cave filled with magma. Pot-shaped enemies called Tsubōns are introduced here, and will breath fire at the player.

LEVEL6: Pukupuku Kai
A large body of water infested with Unibō. Switch Blocks are frequent.

LEVEL7: Balloon Bridge
A area in the sky. Fūsen Blocks are frequent.

LEVEL8: Karakara Sabaku
A vast desert location. Guriguri are frequent.

LEVEL9: Wario no Niwa
Wario's personal garden, which is playable once beating the previous eight stages.

LEVEL10: Wario Tei
A big, untidy residence. Playable once LEVEL9 is cleared.

EXTRA
A extra stage revealed once beating all ten stages. It is a very difficult world.

Blocks

 * Flip-Flop Block - One of the most basic blocks, they can be made solid or passable with the flick of a click.
 * Time Block - Hitting these blocks will make them solid for a short time. Wanda must know when and how to use them.
 * Hibi Block - These cracked square walls can be hit to be destroyed.
 * Fūsen Block (風船ブロック) - Balloons which expand and inflate from time to time.
 * Switch Block - These switch red and blue from solid to not.
 * Nebaneba Block (ネバネバブロック) - These blocks are sticky and trap friend and foe alike.
 * Coin Block - Wanda can hit these to collect coins. One hundred coins will give the player a 1-Up.
 * Jump Block - Jump Blocks are essentially springboards, and are grounded on flooring rather than suspended in the air as in other games.
 * Toge Block - These pointy obstacles take up the full space of a block. They can face four directions. Don't touch!
 * Elevator - Once on these lifts, the character must wait until they can move again.

Items

 * 1-Up Mushroom - As the name suggests, these green mushrooms give the player 1-Ups.
 * Time Kinoko - Standard mushrooms that add to the Time Gauge. There are not many of these in the game.
 * Star - The most common item in the game. Collect four of them in a level to earn a 1-Up.

Main Characters

 * Mario, Yoshi & Princess Peach, the playable characters
 * Wanda, an important ally and guide
 * Luigi, who awaits players at the goal
 * Wario, main villain

Enemy Characters

 * Dodorigesu Jr. - A young Pidgit without a carpet. These immobile birds can be defeated by simply clicking on them.
 * Guriguri (グリグリ) - A fireball resembling Hothead which usually move along walls and floors. Wanda can shrink it, making it move slower and unable to hurt the player from the top.
 * Tsubōn (ツボーン) - A pot-shaped enemy with a skull mark that can cling onto walls and breath fire.
 * Komorin (コモリン) - Tricky bat enemies that often group together in packs of four.
 * Unibō - Spiky enemies which resemble Urchins and appear in LEVEL6 and LEVEL9.

Trivia

 * Satoshi Tajiri, who would later launch the Pokémon franchise, designed this game.
 * There was a mention of this game in Pokémon Red and Blue Versions. When the player checks the Super Nintendo in the Copycat's House (at Saffron City, northwest of the Silph Co. building), it states that there is a game that shows Mario with a bucket on his head. Both games were made by Game Freak. This reference was carried over to the Game Boy Advance remakes of the games, Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen.
 * A reference to Mario & Wario is made in Mario and the Incredible Rescue, where Wario attacks with buckets.
 * The bucket Mario wore on his head is a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee. It mentions that "the bucket's M looks like a W when turned right side up".
 * One of Junker's attacks in Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story is dropping a bucket on Mario or Luigi's heads.
 * Karakara Sabaku was revisited in Paper Mario and the Mario Kart series, localized as both Dry Dry Desert and Kalimari Desert in English.
 * Although a Japan-only release, the game itself contains no written Japanese whatsoever; it is entirely in English.