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5[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/m&w.jpg]]
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7->''"A game with Mario wearing a bucket on his head!"''
8-->-- '''Copycat'''[='=]s SNES in ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue''
9
10'''''Mario & Wario''''' is a 1993 PuzzlePlatformer video game exclusively for the [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem Super Famicom]] developed by Creator/GameFreak. Yes, ''[[VideoGame/{{Pokemon}} that]]'' Game Freak, designed by Creator/SatoshiTajiri himself. It is one of few ''[[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]]'' games they made, before the birth of the ''{{Franchise/Pokemon}}'' franchise, and one of ''very'' few games that utilized the system's mouse accessory.
11
12One day, Mario, Luigi, Peach and Yoshi came to the Fairy's Forest in search of its fabled fairy of fortune, but Luigi got lost, causing the other three to get separated. Suddenly, a bucket landed on Mario's head, blocking his eyesight -- the perpetrator was Wario, up high and out of reach in his personal plane, the Bulldog. The elusive fairy, Wanda, witnessed this crooked event and vowed to somehow reunite Mario and co. with Luigi. What she (and apparently everyone except Luigi) lacks in upper body strength, she more than makes up for with her MagicWand!
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14This game's distinctive "M"/"W" Bucket appeared as a treasure in ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar'' as well as a trophy in ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee Super Smash Bros. Melee]]''. Wanda makes a reappearance as a spirit in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' where you fight her, Mario, Peach, and Yoshi.
15
16Not to be confused with the Magazine/NintendoPower comic, ''Mario vs. Wario''.
17
18-----
19!!This video game contains examples of:
20
21* ADayInTheLimelight: Princess Peach hasn't had a playable role since ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'' and wouldn't have a playable role until much later as well.
22* AWinnerIsYou: When you complete the entire game, you earn a screen that says "YOU ARE A SUPER PLAYER!"
23* AllThereInTheManual: As with many games of the time, the storyline and the names of stages, enemies and items.
24* AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: Wario is a gargantuan in the background of the cover image, but [[CoversAlwaysLie this never happens in the game.]]
25* TheArtifact: The infamous bucket from this game is later used in other Nintendo games but plays a less significant role.
26* TheBusCameBack: Pidgits from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'' make a return as enemies in this game, sans carpet.
27* CompetitiveBalance: You can play as Peach, Mario, or Yoshi, each with different speeds and advantages.
28** Peach is the slowest which gives players more time to react but she teeters only once before falling off a ledge.
29** Mario is balanced with medium speed for first-time players and teeters twice before falling down a ledge.
30** Yoshi is the fastest for those who want to speedrun the game, however he moves so fast that he teeters three times before falling off.
31* CoversAlwaysLie: Nowhere in the game does Wario grow to ''{{Franchise/Godzilla}}'' proportions.
32* DarkReprise: The music for Level 10 is a more sinister version of the happy tune for Levels 1, 3, and 9.
33* DeathThrows: Landing on spikes, touching an enemy, or running out of time causes this.
34* DemotedToExtra: Luigi is not playable and instead waits at each goal to remove the object off of your head.
35* DiscOneFinalBoss: Level 8, Dry Dry Desert, is the last of the eight stages the game allows you to select, but then the game pulls a fast one on you ''twice''.
36* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
37** Princess Peach is referred to as "Princess" in-game, just like ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2''.
38** Back when ''VideoGame/SuperMarioLand2SixGoldenCoins'' was released, Wario was an antagonist. This game had him as more of a {{Jerkass}} with a big mansion rather than a full-on villain, and soon afterwards began his VillainDecay.
39** The PlayerCharacter is a fairy named Wanda, who never showed up in a ''Mario'' game again, but she ''does'' get an {{expy}} in ''VideoGame/WariosWoods'', a game that also involved Wario in a forest, as the fairy that assists Toad.
40** The stages consist of ten "levels" [[spoiler:not counting EXTRA]] with a set of ten "courses" each - the series standard term "world" is not used.
41* EscortMission: The ''entire game'' is escorting your character to the goal safely.
42* EvilLaugh: At the beginning of each stage, Wario drops an object on the character's head and flies away laughing.
43* ExcusePlot: Wario dropped something on someone's head, and now a guardian fairy needs assistance from Luigi to remove the thing from their head. [[OverlyLongGag Rinse and repeat many, ''many'' times.]]
44* FairyCompanion: Inverted. The player controls Wanda, whose duty is to guide the characters through the game.
45* FakeDifficulty: Getting a game over usually takes you to the beginning of a stage. However, getting a game over in Level 10 takes you all the way back to Level 9-1.
46* FallingDamage: Downplayed where you aren't physically hurt, but falling a great height results in your character being stunned in place for a few seconds upon landing.
47* FatBastard: Wario, of course. He is practically Nintendo's UrExample.
48* ForTheEvulz: Wario has no real reason or motivation for dropping stuff on their heads.
49* FunnyBackgroundEvent: In the background of Level 4, you can see several Rexes from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' trapped inside blocks of ice.
50* GuideDangIt:
51** You know how all the blocks are outlined with dotted lines when not in use? Guess what, there are also ''invisible blocks'' that you have to find completely on your own and maybe even randomly because they are purely invisible with no dotted outline. Probably accentuated by the fact that they are blue "!" blocks and it's meant to surprise you that you discovered them.
52** Also, be careful when you destroy rocky blocks because they don't respawn and you can accidentally trap yourself into losing a life and starting all over.
53** Wanda's wand can destroy enemies, ''most'' enemies. The game doesn't tell you this and if you try to destroy the fireballs, they only stay shrunk and move slower, you can't destroy them. However, sometimes this can greatly benefit or severely wreck you.
54* IdiotBall: A common complaint is that why don't Mario, Peach, and Yoshi simply remove the thing from their head instead of walking around blindly? There are theories that Wario used a magic bucket (and other magical objects) that can't be removed by the victim themselves.[[note]]Indeed, ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee'' says that "The M on the bucket becomes a W when turned upside down, signifying that Mario has fallen under Wario's wicked control."[[/note]] This doesn't explain how the objects end up on their head again for EVERY STAGE. There is another theory that when Luigi tosses the object into the air, it lands on the character's head, [[HereWeGoAgain leaving them blinded again and Wanda has to guide them once again.]]
55* InvincibleMinorMinion:
56** The fireballs (or Guriguri) that crawl along ceilings and walls can't be killed, but they start off big and move fast and you can permanently shrink them and slow their movement. However, this isn't always beneficial...
57** The [[{{Franchise/Kirby}} Gordo]]-like enemies that move around that can't be destroyed by any means whatsoever.
58* ItAmusedMe: Wario gets a kick out of being a jerk.
59* {{Jerkass}}: Wario drops things on people's heads because it's hilarious to him.
60* LaserGuidedKarma: After getting whacked in the head 9 times in a row wasn't enough, Wario tries to escape after Level 10 and you chase after him in your plane and after flying above Wario, drop an "M" bucket on his head for sweet justice as he falls and crashes.
61* Level1MusicRepresents: The music for Level 1 is used in three stages while the other stages' music are only used once. The Level 1 music is used yet again only rewritten as a DarkReprise for the final stage.
62* MythologyGag: Just like ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'', there is a [[spoiler:bonus world like the Special world]] where despite the levels having a fun psychedelic design, are significantly harder than the levels from the rest of the game. As well as completing then earns you the congratulatory "YOU ARE A SUPER PLAYER!".
63* NameAndName: "Mario and Wario". Despite Wario hardly appearing in the game he gets top billing.
64* NintendoHard: ''Oh God, yes.'' One of the hardest puzzle-platformers to date.
65* OneHitPointWonder: Unlike other ''Mario'' games, there is no way to get an item to increase your hit points. Oh, and you can't stomp enemies either.
66* PerpetualSmiler: No matter what happens, Yoshi is always smiling.
67* PunnyName: The player character is a fairy named Wanda, which of course comes from ‘Wand’ aside from being a normal name. This is similar to ''WesternAnimation/FairlyOddparents''’ Wanda character.
68* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Princess Peach is the only female playable character.
69* SoundtrackDissonance: Level 9 reuses the happy bouncy music as Level 1 despite being significantly harder. And the [[spoiler:EXTRA level]] plays a fun and catchy tune while featuring the most difficult and frustrating levels in the entire game.
70* SuperNotDrowningSkills: Everyone can breathe underwater and even walk around with no trouble.
71* TimedMission: Every single course. This is really grating because in total, the meter only gives you about three minutes to clear the course.
72* VariableMix: In the level selection screen, the instruments change depending on which character you chose.
73* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: You can either lead Mario, Peach, and Yoshi to safety or to their doom. How do you turn your character around from danger? Well, by whacking them in the noggin, of course! (Repeatedly and as many times as you need to.)

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