Mario & Wario

MARIO & WARIO

Mario & Wario is an early Mario puzzle game developed for the NES and the SNES, right around the time of the switch-over between the two systems. The story involved Mario (or Peach or Yoshi) getting a bucket stuck on their head by Wario, and having to be led through a puzzle by a small fairy named Wanda in order for Luigi to help them get it off their heads.

Really, Wanda is the main playable character, as Mario, Peach, and Yoshi just walk forward until they run into a wall or other obstacle or are forcibly turned around by Wanda herself. Wanda's job is to steer the character in the right direction and away from hazards by breaking blocks, creating blocks, changing their direction, and generally guiding them to springs to reach Luigi's location. At the end of a run of levels, you can then use Wanda to beat Wario with a hammer as a quasi-boss battle of sorts. I think we already know Wanda's getting in at this point. The girl is a freaking beast.

As for Wario himself, he mostly flies around in a plane, dropping buckets, eggs, barrels, pipes, vases, jellyfish, clouds, pith helmets, and oil drums onto his opponents' heads from above. Luigi mostly just stands around until you get to him, at which point, he will remove the bucket. Pidgits and Swoopers appear here and there.

Although there are various biomes littered throughout, most stages are a series of puzzles littered with blocks, spikes, and springs that you have to figure your way through, and any stage based on this game should simply reflect that aspect.

Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:
Mario
Luigi: remove bucket
Princess Peach
Yoshi
Wario: drop bucket/items, fly in plane
Wanda: smack with hammer, break blocks, turn around, create blocks, fly, springs.

Stages:
Stage based on Mario & Wario

Thanks for reading! Next up, we'll cover Wario's Woods!