Designed by Yoshio Sakamoto, it was first released as an arcade video game for the Nintendo VS. System in 1984, titled Vs. Wrecking Crew with a simultaneous two-player mode.

The player controls Mario (or Luigi in two-player mode) and attempts to destroy all of a certain set of objects with a large hammer on each of 100 levels.

The game introduced a new character, a construction foreman named Spike (known as Blackie in the Japanese version),[9] who chases Mario and attempts to disrupt him by knocking down objects and causing him to fall to the bottom of the playfield.

The U.S. manual includes a note stating that the load and save functions "have been programmed in for potential product developments".

[citation needed] In Japan, Game Machine listed Vs. Wrecking Crew in its October 1, 1984, issue as the thirteenth most-successful table arcade unit of the month.

In July 2019, Wrecking Crew was added to the Nintendo Switch Online service as part of the paid membership.

[14] Wrecking Crew '98[b] is an action puzzle game released exclusively in Japan in 1998 for the Super Famicom's Nintendo Power download service, and later on cartridge.

The game's story features Mario returning to the Mushroom Kingdom after a trip, only to discover that Bowser has started a constructing multiple new high-rise bases, depriving the surrounding flora of sunlight.

At each location, he encounters a member of Bowser's construction crew whom he must defeat to destroy the base, including his former rival Foreman Spike.

The game was re-released on the Wii U Virtual Console in Japan on September 28, 2016,[16] and on the Nintendo Switch Online service on April 12, 2024, for the first time in the West.