Playing With Power #97: Wario’s Woods

Welcome to another edition of Playing With Power. The review article that looks at all things Nintendo Entertainment System. The NES had an iconic run of almost a complete decade. From 1985 to 1994, the console gave us many classic and iconic franchises, and really helped build so many different genres. One of those genres was the puzzle game. After the success of Tetris and Dr. Mario, the console was filled with puzzle titles. From Hatris to Tetris 2, to the Yoshi games. All of modest quality. And then there was the game we’re looking at this week. The game that not only was the last big puzzle title on the NES, but the last licensed NES game as well. Let’s take a trip into Wario’s Woods.

YEAR OF RELEASE: 1994
PUBLISHER: Nintendo
GENRE: Puzzle

The character of Wario was created by legendary designer Hiroji Kiyotake for the Game Boy title Super Mario Land 2: The Six Golden Coins. He is he anti-Mario, in which Mario was the good guy who always helped others, Wario was a greedy villain who bullied and stole from others. He became an instant hit with fans, as he would get his own game a year later in Wario Land: Super Mario Land III. He has since gone on to become a staple character in the Mario universe, and even has his own series of popular Wario-Ware titles.

In 1994, the NES run was dying down rapidly. Practically every other company had moved on to the 16 bit Super Nintendo system, leaving less and less releases for the aging great grey box. Even a revival with a new top loading console proved too little too late. So with the time being right, Nintendo would end the NES’s long production in late 1994. And the last licensed game release would be a puzzle game starring Toad and Wario called Wario’s Woods. The game would also see a release on the Super Nintendo. Interestingly it’s the only NES game to have an ESRB rating, as the rating system had just really taken place at that time. The game has earned mixed reviews. But are those mixed reviews deserving of the last licensed NES title?

COVER STORY

I like this cover. Wario large and looming in the background as Toad attacks the enemies you’ll see in the game. For official Nintendo artwork featuring classic Mario characters, that’s enough of an eye catcher. However, because it shows a lot of action, it probably fooled a lot of people into thinking it was some sort of action platformer, when the game is actually a puzzle game. Either way, for the last licensed game art, it’s definitely one of the best.

STORY

Once upon a time in the Mushroom Kingdom, there was a forest known simply as the peaceful forest. It was all calm and, as you’d probably guess, peaceful. However the evil Wario would soon arrive and cast a magic spell, turning the inhabitants of the forest into his evil minions. The only one who can put a stop to Wario’s tactics is Toad, who with the help of a fairy called Wanda, and the support of Birdo, must use his magic bombs to turn the inhabitants back to normal and stop Wario’s evil plot once and for all.

GAMEPLAY

Wario’s Woods is a 1-2 player puzzle game. You control toad, who must save the woods from the control of the evil Wario. To do so, you must lift and position the various color enemies and drop similar colored bombs on top of them. You move Toad with the D-Pad, can lift multiple enemies at once with the A button, and one enemy at a time with the B button. You can use either button to drop the bombs.

There are several different modes in the game. the main mode is Round Game, which is also broken into two types of gameplay. The object of the Round Game is you must clear the area of all of the enemies. You can only do so by dropping bombs on a stack of two or more enemies of the same color. This can be done by having them stacked either horizontally, vertically, or even diagonally. If you blow up five in a row, you’ll get a diamond bomb. If you blow up two or more of the same color on the diamond, it will remove all enemies of that particular color.

If you do it fast enough, Birdo will reward you with plenty of coins. Take too long, and Wario will show up, and will have the large Thwomp-like thing at the top fall faster, as well as drop more enemies. The better you do on a level determines how many coins Birdo will give you. If you collect 30 coins, you’ll earn an extra life. Which comes in handy so you won’t have to restart rounds again as the game’s challenge intensifies.

Later levels will also add harder enemies. From enemies that can change color from a bomb blast, to enemies that take multiple bombs to destroy. And as you get further, the stage fills up with even more enemies, meaning it gets even tougher to eliminate every one of them. It takes practice, and patience, but it can be done. The game has 99 levels of play, and every 10th level sees a cut scene with Toad and Wario. In Game Mode A, that’s pretty much it. But in Game Mode B, every 10th level is a boss battle. You usually just have to hit them with bomb combos to weaken them while also dealing with the multiple enemies dropped in the stage.

The other modes in the game include Time Race. You choose a number of rounds, as well as the difficulty, as you must clear a level and set your best time. It’s definitely more of a competitive mode than anything else. There’s Vs. Mode which will pit two players against each other to see who can clear their stage the fastest. And Lesson Mode teaches you the basics of how to play Wario’s Woods. And an Option mode which can add your name, show your rankings, and clear the data on the cartridge if you feel like starting fresh.

GRAPHICS

The game does have some nice graphics. The sprites for enemies are creative, Wario and Birdo especially look nice, and the cut scenes are well done for an NES title. The only thing I think doesn’t fully look all that good is Toad, who really looks a bit too small. Other than that, for one of the last NES games it uses the palette to its full advantage, and really looks nice in all areas.

MUSIC

While there’s nothing in the audio that’s bad in any way, the music in the game is rather forgettable. I’d say the most memorable song is the one you mainly here in Round Game. For a company that created such classic music, it’s a shame to see the last game not really deliver in timeless tunes.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

Wario’s Woods really doesn’t wow me much. For a puzzle game, it’s more bothersome that fun, with some of its later levels being way too difficult at times. There are enough options for replayability, but even that isn’t enough for what is in the end a rather mediocre puzzle game. It has great graphics, and the music is tolerable. But in the end, for the last licensed NES game, it really feels like a letdown. Especially for Wario’s only game on the NES.

In the end, the final few games of the NES were for the most part rather forgettable, save for the decent Mega Man 6, and the fun, but way too hard to find Flintstones: Surprise at Dinosaur Peak. Startropics II was fun, but should have been made for the SNES, and Wario’s Woods should have been just a SNES title at best. It’s almost saddening to see the great grey box end with such a flat puzzle game. But maybe that’s just the best way to show that sometimes it’s just time for some things to come to an end…

RATING: Thumbs Down