Wrecking Crew is a puzzle-action game developed and published by Nintendo for the NES in 1985, directed by Yoshio Sakamoto. Players control Mario — here cast as a demolition worker rather than a plumber — through 100 single-screen stages, hammering walls, oil drums, and ladders in the right sequence while enemies try to stop them. Sakamoto went on to direct Metroid, and the same emphasis on methodical thinking shows here.
How to play
Each stage holds a set of destructible objects; smash every one to advance. Mario cannot jump — movement is strictly left, right, and up or down ladders. Press Z (the NES B button) to swing the hammer. The core puzzle is sequencing: demolish the wrong element first and you can cut off your own path to the remaining targets. Enemies include the Gotchawrench and the scheming Foreman Spike, who grabs Mario’s hammer on contact and leaves him defenceless until he escapes.
| Action | Key |
|---|---|
| Move / climb ladder | Arrow keys |
| Swing hammer (B) | Z |
| A button | X |
| Start | Enter |
| Select | Shift |
Tips
- Plan the demolition route before the first swing. Knocking out a ladder prematurely can lock you out of the remaining targets and force a restart.
- Hidden bells appear behind certain walls; striking one freezes every enemy on screen briefly — essential breathing room on the harder stages.
- Oil drums explode after enough hammer hits. Positioning an enemy near a drum before detonating it can neutralise Foreman Spike temporarily.
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