Wreck-It Ralph First Look (Nintendo Wii)

Being a video game villain must be a pretty thankless job.  You’re this guy just trying to work out his anger issues by dealing with innocent folks, while at the same time not being too devastating that kids are scared by you.  But regardless, you take a backseat to the main hero of the game, who defeats you when the player performs all the correct actions, leaving you a crumpled, ruined wreck.  Watching the trailer for Disney’s upcoming movie Wreck-It Ralph, we couldn’t help but wonder, “How much crap has Bowser gone through over the years putting up with Mario?”

The movie revolves around Ralph, the villain in the film’s featured game, Fix It Felix Jr.  (Ironically enough, Disney created an actual arcade game that resembled the one in the film, which has been seen at the Electronic Entertainment Expo and, more recently, the Classic Gaming Expo.  It can be played online at the official film’s website as well.)  He’s tired of wrecking buildings, only to be stopped by Felix and thrown off the building by the city’s residents over and over.  So when he notifies his weekly villain meeting group (consisting of M. Bison, Bowser and one of the ghosts from Pac-Man, among others) that he doesn’t want to be the bad guy anymore, they’re in shock.  He sets out on a journey to find a new life, while Fix It Felix tries to bring him back.

The movie sounds like a fascinating ide, and the upcoming game, released through Activision via a collaboration with Disney Interactive, revolves around the same theme.  Developed for Nintendo Wii, DS and 3DS later this year (probably around the same time as the film), the game is a side-scrolling adventure that puts you in control of Ralph, a big, likable oaf with huge hands, who fights his way through various side-scrolling stages, in classic gaming fashion.

Though we’ve only seen bits and pieces of the game thus far, Activision is working hard to retain the classic gaming nature of the film, while presenting an experience that all ages will enjoy.  It actually follows the events of the film, so minor spoiler warning ahead before you read the next chapter.

Still here?  Okay.  So, in the story, Ralph actually finds himself partnering up with his video game cohort, Fix It Felix Jr., as they attempt to save their building, and the residents inside it, from a nasty Cy-Bug invasion.  They’re crashing the party from another nearby video game, the action-packed Hero’s Duty, and they pose a huge threat to the somewhat peaceful surroundings that Ralph and Felix hang around in.  They need to work together to bring these nasty creatures down.

The game will take place across various levels in the Wreck-It Ralph universe.  These include levels within his hometown, as well as the somewhat super-sweet Sugar Rush world, which is literally made up of pieces of candy, and Hero’s Duty, the world Ralph reverts to when he first feels dejected from his constant defeat.  The game will actually feature a co-op style set-up, with players first controlling Ralph as he “wrecks” the villainous Cy-Bugs, then switching back to Felix, who uses his repair skills to turn everything back to normal.

It’s funny how we mentioned co-op, because Wreck-It Ralph will use it in spades.  One player will stay in full control of Ralph, while the other handles Felix, working as a unit to keep their world from falling into bug-infested chaos.  Though it’s local only, kids and parents will get a kick out of playing these familiar heroes, and provide enough of a team effort to earn Hero Medals, which are scattered across each stage.

It’s unknown at this point in time whether Wreck It Ralph will feature voice talent from the film, which includes John C. Reilly (as Ralph), Sarah Silverman (as a secondary character from Sugar Rush), and Jack McBrayer (as Felix), but it wouldn’t surprise us if they were brought on board to bring some familiarity to their characters.  There’s only so much you can do with a sound-alike, after all.

And on top of that, we have one more request for Activision – include the original Fix It Felix Jr. game.  We played it at E3 a while back and it definitely has the same classic vibe as some of Nintendo’s older fare, including Donkey Kong (a game Fix It Felix Jr. closely matches).  It’d be cool if it was an unlockable or something.

This fall’s looking like a busy season for Wreck-It Ralph, between this game coming from Activision around early November and a guest appearance in the upcoming Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed from Sega, which arrives around the same time.  Whoever said his career was literally a wreck just hasn’t seen him in action yet.  Wait until the next few months pass…