Wrecking Crew '98 [Model SHVC-BWCJ-JPN]

Wrecking Crew '98 © 1998 Nintendo Company, Limited.

Wrecking Crew '98 is a puzzle game by Nintendo and is the sequel to Wrecking Crew originally released for the Famicom in 1985. This title actually contains two separate games - the first one is a straight port of the original Wrecking Crew and the second is a new puzzle game entitled Wrecking Crew '98. The original Wrecking Crew requires the player to control Mario and to smash concrete structures to pieces with a large hammer without bumping into an enemy or getting hopelessly stuck. Wrecking Crew '98 is a different game altogether and reminds the likes of Tetris and Puzzle Bobble. Two opponents are given a 6x9 playfield and blocks fall from the top of the screen and must be arranged by color. These blocks can usually be smashed with the hammer that Mario carries around. However, small cranks located in front of the first seven rows allow him to move a whole line of blocks at once. The goal of the game is obviously to overflow the opponent's side with blocks, but Wrecking Crew '98 brings its own twist to the recipe. Matching three blocks of the same color clears them from the screen, however matching four or more triggers different effects - red drops an enemy in the opponent's playfield, green causes some of his columns to rise for a short amount of time, blue hides two of his bottom rows under bricks and shuffles them and finally orange sends steel blocks over to his side. Bombs are also available later in the game and clear whole groups of blocks at once.