WireWay is a platforming/puzzle game released by Konami in 2009 for the Nintendo DS. The story follows Wiley Springer, a little alien that embarks on a journey with his pal ReFresh to collect Elan, tiny star-shaped energy sources. The objective of each level is to shoot Wiley from wires like a slingshot in order to reach the ship waiting at the end.
Tropes present in the game:
- Brand X: ReFresh uses a site called UFOBay.
- Boss-Only Level: The last level of each world has you make your way through a short section of the level to reach the boss. The exception is the final boss, which just has the fight start immediately.
- Covers Always Lie: The US box art has Cythera on the cover standing next to ReFresh, making it look like she'll be a supportive character to Wiley, but she's quite the opposite in the game and she never interacts with ReFresh. The background also shows them in the first world, but Cythera isn't met until the second world. The Japanese box art
◊ averts this by having Cythera talking to some of her minions. - Deliberately Monochrome: Almost all the characters are black and white, but include at least one actual color.
- Feathered Fiend: The first boss is a giant hen. Her reason for attacking is justifiable though.
- Green Hill Zone: Typical of a platformer, the first world is grassy area with lots of hills.
- In-Universe Game Clock: The time of day can be seen passing from level to level.
- Level Editor: The game features a mode where you can create your own levels.
- Monster Is a Mommy: The aforementioned Hen. She understandably attacks Wiley after ReFresh encourages him to mess with her chicks and even snatch some eggs.
- Power Source: Elan, which ReFresh describes as "hope-energy". They later find out that Elan can also be created from people getting hurt after they witness a man being blasted by an alien.
- Sorting Algorithm of Threatening Geography: World 1 is a typical grassland area, World 2 is a city area, World 3 is an alien base, World 4 is a planet of fire and ice (rather than fire and ice being separate worlds entirely), World 5 is a water area (a strange choice, considering that it's the penultimate world), and World 6 is a destroyed Earth.
- Soundtrack Dissonance: Every cutscene plays the same upbeat track called "Intermission". It even plays during Wiley's confrontation with the final boss (a giant tentacle alien that's Red and Black and Evil All Over).
- Star-Shaped Coupon: Elan.
- Suffer the Slings: Slinging yourself at enemies from wires is your only method of attacking.
- Transformation Trinket: Super Elan (different from regular Elan) can grant a lot of power to others and even allow them to transform.
