Not to bash the Famicom, of course, but the pixel art in ’98 truly is impressive. The game’s story (its inclusion making the second major difference between the two games) is told through bright and nicely animated cutscenes that break up the stages and provide a cool ‘reunion’ with some of the original game’s cast of enemies, albeit now drawn in a more cartoony and appealing graphical style. The first major difference between this iteration of Wrecking Crew and its predecessor is a large improvement in the visual department no surprise, considering the jump from Famicom to Super Famicom, but a pleasant and welcome improvement that makes the concept of the original more attractive, literally. Eventually this particular title would see a cartridge release, but regrettably it never made it westward, meaning many players would miss out on a thoroughly more polished and well-presented demolition experience. That and the fact that it was yet another Super Famicom release hindered by limited distribution through the ‘Nintendo Power’ service, which allowed players to ‘download’ games from retail kiosks onto special re-writeable cartridges (I detailed it a little further in the first instalment of ‘You’ve probably never played’, which you can read here). It’s likely for this reason that Wrecking Crew‘s more colourful sequel, Wrecking Crew ’98, also slipped off people’s radars. The 1985 puzzle/action game Wrecking Crewhas historically had a tough time competing for the spotlight with the likes of its fellow NES Mario spin-offs, despite being referenced countless times in a variety of more recent titles such as through a stage appearance in the latest Super Smash Bros.and even as a song in the peculiar Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix. Even thought it was an NES launch title in the US, Wrecking Crew’s fame likely suffered at the hands of both its peculiar concept and the absence of Mario’s name from the game’s titles after all, if you think about a kid who has to choose between a game featuring Mario’s heroic adventures in a magical kingdom or a game featuring someone who, at a glance, may or may not be Mario, doing blue-collar demolition work, the choice doesn’t seem so hard, does it? However, the moustachioed plumber’s short-lived career as a demolition worker has a tendency to slip people’s minds when recalling the more iconic of his ventures. Release Date: 1st January 1998 (Japan exclusive)Īs I mentioned in my Mario spin-off characters feature last month, Nintendo’s main man can be considered a jack of all-trades be it sports, medicine or even knitting, if it exists and isn’t illegal, Mario’s probably given it a go at some point in his career. Platform(s): Super Famicom (via Nintendo Power service)
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