In Wardner, players assume the role of a child named Dover on a journey to rescue his kidnapped girlfriend Mia from the titular
warlock. Initially released for the arcades, the title was later
ported to other
platforms by different
third-party developers including the
Famicom Disk System and
Sega Genesis, with each one featuring several changes and additions compared to the original version.
Conversions for both the
Nintendo Entertainment System and
PC Engine were also in development but never released.
Wardner was met with positive reception from
video game magazines since its release in arcades, though reviewers drew comparison with
Capcom's Ghosts 'n Goblins due to its gameplay style, while the Genesis version was met with mixed reviews after launch. As of 2019, the rights to the title are owned by Tatsujin, a company founded in 2017 by former Toaplan member Masahiro Yuge and now-affiliate of Japanese arcade manufacturer exA-Arcadia alongside many other Toaplan
IPs.
Gameplay
Arcade version
Wardner is a side-scrolling action-platform game similar to Ghosts 'n Goblins and Rastan where the players takes control of Dover, the main protagonist through five stages (six in the Genesis version) of varying themes set in a fantasy land, with the main objective being rescuing his girlfriend Mia from the titular antagonist by defeating his servants, some of which that act as a
boss at the end of the stage in order to progress further on the journey.[3][4]
Some of the levels featured are linear in nature, populated with obstacles and enemies, requiring the player to traverse the stage by running, jumping, climbing, shooting or dodging enemies, while other levels that are featured later in the game become more maze-like and exploratory, making the player take different routes to reach the end. Along the way,
gold orbs can be picked up by defeating enemies to increase the player character's
firepower, as well as money that is used in shops at the end of each stage to acquire protective items and new attacks, though some of them can also be obtained during the level.
The game hosts a number of hidden bonus secrets to be found on certain
setpieces within the scenery, which is also crucial for reaching high-scores to obtain extra lives. The title uses a
checkpoint system in which a downed single player will
respawn at the beginning of the checkpoint they managed to reach before dying. Getting hit by enemy fire, colliding against solid stage obstacles, falling off the stage or running out of time will result in losing a live and once all lives are lost, the
game is over unless the players insert more credits into the arcade machine to
continue playing.
Development and release
Wardner was released on arcades worldwide by Taito in 1987, while the North American version was distributed under the name Pyros.[1] Osamu Ōta served as
composer for the title's
soundtrack under the alias "Ree" in one of his first roles on the
video game industry prior to Twin Hawk and Snow Bros..[5][6][7][8] Former Toaplan composer Masahiro Yuge stated in a 2012 interview with Japanese publications Shooting Gameside that Ōta joined the company when their staff was small, while
Tatsuya Uemura stated in a 2009 interview that the project was created by Etsuhiro Wada and was also influenced by Wizardry.[6][9] In June 1989, an album containing music from the title and other Toaplan games was published exclusively in Japan by
Datam Polystar.[7][8]
On 25 March 1988, a port of Wardner developed by Daiei Seisakusho was released exclusively in Japan for the Famicom Disk System by Taito.[10][11] A version for the Nintendo Entertainment System was developed and planned to be published by
Sammy in North America under the name Pyross.[12][13] Despite being showcased to the public during the
Summer Consumer Electronics Show 1990, this version of the game was never officially released for unknown reasons.[12]
On 26 April 1991, a reworked port of the game was developed for the Sega Genesis by Dragnet and first released in Japan by
Visco Corporation under the name Wardner no Mori Special, while a North American release by Mentrix Software occurred later on May of the same year.[14][15][16][17] In 1988, a version for the PC Engine was announced to be in development by
NEC Avenue under the helm of
Prototype founder Toshio Tabeta and despite being previewed, the project was then moved on to the
PC Engine CD-ROM² and ultimately to the
PC Engine Super CD-ROM² before being cancelled after multiple delays, despite work on the port being completed.[18][19][20][21]
Japanese company
M2 published every game by Toaplan (excluding Mahjong Sisters and Enma Daiō) for consoles in Japan including Wardner.[22][23][24] In 2022, both the arcade and the Famicom Disk System versions were included in the Hishou Same! Same! Same! compilation for
Nintendo Switch and
PlayStation 4 as part of M2's Toaplan Arcade Garage label as downloadable content.[25]
In Japan, Game Machine listed Wardner on their November 1, 1987 issue as being the ninth most-successful table arcade unit of the month, outperforming titles such as Arkanoid: Revenge of Doh and Black Tiger.[51]Wardner was met with positive reception from critics since its release in the arcades and compared the game with Ghosts 'n Goblins by Capcom. Mike Pattenden of Commodore User praised the presentation, visuals and challenge.[33] Clare Edgeley of Computer and Video Games gave positive remarks to the gameplay and level design.[52] Likewise, both Robin Hogg and Cameron Pound from The Games Machine commended the visuals, action and gameplay.[53] Although Crash's
Steve Jarratt and
Julian Rignall noted its lack of originality, they praised the gameplay.[54]Den of Geek, however, regarded it to be a solid but forgettable title from Toaplan.[55]
Wardner was received with a more mixed reception on Sega Genesis from reviewers. In their respective retrospective review,[56] gaming website HonestGamers felt mixed about the Genesis port.[37]
In more recent years, the rights to the game and many other IPs from Toaplan are now owned by Tatsujin, a company named after Truxton's Japanese title that was founded in 2017 by Yuge, who are now affiliated with arcade manufacturer exA-Arcadia.[57][58][59][60][61]
Notes
^Also known as Forest of Wardner (
Japanese: ワードナの森,
Hepburn: Wardner no Mori) in Japan and Pyros in North America on the arcades.
^Iona; VHS; K-HEX (June 2009). "東亜プラン FOREVER". Floor 25 (in Japanese). Vol. 9. pp. 1–70. (
Translation by Gamengai.
Archived 2020-10-10 at the
Wayback Machine).
^"FAMICOM Soft > 1988" (in Japanese). GAME Data Room.
Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
^CRV (25 January 2011).
"Daiei Seisakusho". gdri.smspower.org.
Archived from the original on 3 March 2019. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
^MacMillan Jr, John (7 February 2012).
"Rare NES vidpro cards". nintendoage.com. Bucket Head Media, LLC.
Archived from the original on 27 October 2019. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
^"Famicom Disk Card (188本) Gameboy (178本) Super Famicom (17本) All Catalog 5月24日号特別付録 - ワードナの森". Famimaga (in Japanese). Vol. 7, no. 10.
Tokuma Shoten. 24 May 1991. p. 33.