Mr. Game & Watch (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)


 * This article is about Mr. Game & Watch's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For other uses, see Mr. Game & Watch.

Mr. Game & Watch (, Misutā Gēmu ando Uocchi) is a character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Mr. Game & Watch was indirectly revealed from a leaked copy of the game. One of the leaked screenshots shows his Final Smash, in which Mr. Game & Watch transforms into an Octopus.

He was officially confirmed on the Smash Bros. DOJO!! website on March 10, 2008 one day after the game came out in the USA.

He is currently ranked as 12th on Brawl's tier list, which is huge leap from Melee (where he is currently 20th). This is mainly due to how much he benefits from Brawl's new physics; he cannot be comboed so easily, he can completely break several characters due to his fast and high priority tilts and aerials (especially down tilt), a 9 in Judge is virtually always a One-hit KO if not stale, and the fact that there is more hitlag on attacks makes his back aerial "Turtle" very good at trapping. His priority and Smash Attacks are also slightly improved. He has great matchups, especially against other lightweights and from high middle to the lowest tier characters who all goes in his favor with 60/40 or better. Additionally, Bucket Braking makes him hard to KO despite being the 2nd lightest character in the game.

How to Unlock
In order to unlock Mr. Game & Watch, the player must complete one of the following:


 * Fight in 250 Brawls. You will then fight him; defeat him to unlock him
 * Clear Target Smash with 30 different characters on any single difficulty level. You will then fight him; defeat him to unlock him
 * Have Mr. Game & Watch join your party in The Subspace Emissary

Attributes
Mr. Game & Watch packs a punch. In general, his attacks possess high priority, low lag, and high knockback; however, his roll and dash attack are rather poor. Many of his attacks can hit multiple times. His erratic, instant movement makes him nearly impossible to predict. Mr. Game & Watch also possesses one of the best aerial games in SSBB, with a Stall-Then-Fall down aerial that allows him to negate vertical knockback and can meteor smash in the initial falling frames. It is also the only Stall-Then-Fall aerial that can be directed, albeit only slightly. Most of Mr. Game & Watch's tilts follow the pattern of his other attacks, being quick and powerful, with some also possessing disjointed hitboxes. He has very powerful smashes, two of them hard to punish if they miss due their long lasting hitboxes, and the down smash is very quick. Additionally, Mr. Game & Watch is able to break projectile camps easily using Oil Panic (although this only works on energy projectiles) or simply ducking underneath most projectiles. Mr. Game & Watch does have a projectile, Chef, but it is somewhat weak and has a random trajectory, which makes it somewhat unreliable. The move Judge is an attack that relies on chance. It can do anything from hurting himself if used more than twice in a match (1) to being a One-Hit KO (9). With his Bucket Braking and good directional influence he can be hard to KO despite being the 2nd lightest character in the game (tied with Squirtle). Being both quick and a small target, Mr. Game & Watch can be difficult to hit.

Changes from Melee to Brawl
Mr. Game & Watch is considered by many to be the most improved veteran character, due to an overall increase in speed, priority, and power. Some moves have improved. His down tilt has more horizontal range and sends enemies forward weakly. In Melee it was a powerful vertical launch.His down smash is much easier to sweetspot, and the sourspot has also been improved. His d-air is now a Stall-then-Fall, adding to a great aerial game. His down throw now sends opponents to the ground, rather than the air. His n-air has been changed to the Tropical Fish. Most of his specials have incurred a minor change. For Chef, he tosses other foods besides sausage, and he no longer opens his mouth. Oil Panic can now be used to stop all knockback in air, known as Bucket Braking. Oil panic's maximum damage reduced from 200% to 60%. Fire was changed greatly, giving Mr. Game & Watch a parachute to slow his descent, as well as not putting him into helpless mode. His Judge "7" will always generate an apple if it hits, regardless of item configuration. In addition, Judge "9" does more damage. He is also slightly larger, and his shield fully covers him.

Other changes are mostly cosmetic. His outline is brighter and thicker, and he has two new costumes (Cyan and Dark Yellow). His edge recovery attack and Judge "9" both make a similar ringing noise to his taunt. He no longer makes a noise when KO'd, except for a Star KO. He has a new victory theme as well. The most significant cosmetic change is that he no longer has to be the very last character unlocked, like he was in Melee.

Moveset
All of Mr. Game & Watch's moves use objects from games in the Game & Watch series, making him the only character to have every single move in his arsenal based on a game he appeared previously before.

Normal

 * Standard attack - Greenhouse: Mr. Game & Watch presses an insecticide pump rapidly. 3% first hit, 2% for every following. Good spamming move and hard to get out of.
 * Dash attack - Helmet: Mr. Game & Watch "slides" his head along the ground while wearing a helmet. Can be held down for a strong attack, and can spike characters hanging on a ledge below him. Takes a long time to finish. Can combo into moves vs fast fallers. 11% damage.
 * Strong Side - Lion: Mr. Game & Watch thrusts a chair in front of him, has light potential to kill. 10% damage
 * Strong Down - Manhole: Mr. Game & Watch flips a manhole cover in front of him. A very good move to space, especially vs characters with low range. The manhole lid is actually a 3-D object, unlike any of his other moves, which are all 2D objects. 6% damage
 * Strong Up - Flagman: Mr. Game & Watch waves a flag above him. Combos into itself vs fast fallers and heavy weights. Usually used into a neutral air or up air otherwise. 8% damage

Smash
Mr. Game & Watch is the only character who doesn't move when charging his smash attacks.
 * Side Smash - Fire Attack: Mr. Game & Watch attacks with a lit match. Great knockback and lasts longer than expected, making it hard to punish but has slow start-up. Has a disjointed hitbox at the end of the move causing very low damage but with good knockback. Usuaully used after down air, down throw, or up air. 18% uncharged, 25% fully charged
 * Up Smash - Octopus: Mr. Game & Watch's head becomes a diving helmet and bashes the enemy with his head, the hitbox extending a short ways above the helmet. Lots of start-up lag, but is one of the most powerful vertical finisher. Usually used after up air or n-air. Very useful for tech chases 18% uncharged, 25% fully charged
 * Down Smash - Vermin: Mr. Game & Watch takes out two hammers and slams them down on both sides. Does less damage if it hits the enemy by the handle, although when charged, it can inflict more damage to opponents (if the damage is 50%), causing them to be Star KO'd. The tip is very powerful and not so hard to find due to having a huge invisible hitbox that has the sweetspot power. If sourspotted, this move can be semi-spike. Can combo out of the last hits of n-air and also with down throw vs anyone who doesn't have a long enough roll. 14%/18% handles (sourspot), 16%/25% tip (sweetspot).

Other

 * Floor attack - Vermin 2: Mr. Game & Watch gets out a hammer and slams it in front of him, then behind him. Medium priority but very fast.
 * Ledge attack - Alarm: Mr. Game & Watch climbs up the ledge, then hits the opponent with his alarm bell. High priority
 * 100% ledge attack - Alarm 2: Mr. Game & Watch climbs up the ledge, charges, then hits the opponent with his alarm bell; it takes a little longer to execute than Alarm.
 * Trip attack - Vermin 2: Mr. Game & Watch gets out a hammer and slams it in front of him, then behind him; just like his Floor Attack.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Aerial - Tropical Fish: Two fish will come out of both sides of a bowl, hitting multiple times. The last hit has moderate knockback. If the last hit does not hit, it can combo into other aerials and smashes. One of the better n-airs. Great shield stabber. 17%
 * Up Aerial - Spitball Sparky: Mr. Game & Watch raises a pump above him, blowing puffs of air above him twice. It pushes characters above Mr. Game & Watch upwards if they are out of range of being damaged. This can actually push a player out of Ike's Great Aether, and, when high enough, can push players off of the stage for a Star KO. The wind hitbox can be used to wave teammates, recovers knockback vs stale moves, and can be used repeatedly vs a free falling opponent to cause them a death off the side of the stage. 7% for first hit, 9% for the second hit, 16% total.
 * Forward Aerial - Mario Bros.: Mr. Game & Watch takes out a box (with a cake inside) and attacks with it. It must be sweetspotted to maximize the damage and knockback. It can do damage regardless of exactly which side of his body the enemy is hit by. Has the greatest KO potential of all his aerials (other than a meteor smashed dair) if sweetspotted. Great for gimping. Has a little bit of lag at the end but not as much as others. 17% damage, 6% if not sweetspotted.
 * Back Aerial - Turtle Bridge: Mr. Game & Watch takes out a turtle and attacks behind him. Hits multiple times. Is said to have the highest priority. Very useful vs shields. Can be DI'd out of though. 15%
 * Down Aerial - Donkey Kong Jr.: A Stall-Then-Fall. Mr. Game & Watch takes out a key and slams it downward. This Stall-Then-Fall attack propels Mr. Game & Watch downwards and can be used as a Meteor Smash if it's used close enough. Can be moved left or right a bit. If used while halfway through a thin platform (after hitting down so he falls through it), he will move upwards and land on top of the platform, without the animation changing. 20% damage, 14% for first hit, 6% for the second. Can perform the Stall-Then-Fall Glitch. Can be canceled in the middle with his Fire. High priority and is a very useful move vs shields.

Grabs and Throws
Interestingly, the speed at which Mr. Game and Watch juggles his opponent in his throws depends on his foe's weight.
 * Pummel: Alarm: Mr. Game & Watch hits the enemy with his alarm bell. 3%
 * Forward Throw - Ball: Mr. Game & Watch juggles the enemy as a ball and then the enemy is launched forward. 8%
 * Up Throw - Ball: Mr. Game & Watch juggles the enemy as a ball and then the enemy is launched upward. 8%
 * Back Throw - Ball: Mr. Game & Watch juggles the enemy as a ball and then the enemy is launched backward. 8%
 * Down Throw - Ball: Mr. Game & Watch juggles the enemy as a ball and then the enemy is thrown onto the ground. It is a good throw to lead into G & W's down-smash or up smash if predicting the opponent's roll. 6%

Taunts
Up: Rings his bell high.

Down: Jumps once, opening his hands.

Side: Rings his bell low.(same as Melee)

Role in the Subspace Emissary
Snake, Meta Knight and Lucario come on to the bridge of the Halberd to discover a gang of Mr. Game & Watches are piloting the ship. Mr. Game & Watch is the only character in the game to not be formally introduced when he shows up in the Subspace Emissary, for unknown reasons. Snake quickly charges at them and defeats them, knocking them out the window down to the deck in front of Sheik, Fox, and Peach, who were having some tea. The clones then revert to Shadow Bugs and form into a giant metal monster called Duon. Snake and Lucario jump down to help, along with Falco who ejects from an Arwing. Once the monster is defeated, the shadow bugs float away, leaving behind Mr. Game & Watch's trophy. Fox prepares to shoot it with his blaster, but Peach revives him. Upon being revived, Mr. Game & Watch wonders where he is until Peach scolds him, causing him to look down in shame. Then Peach gives him her parasol to cheer him up. Upon encountering Tabuu, Mr. Game & Watch, along with the rest of the heroes, is turned into a trophy, but is later revived thanks to Luigi, Ness, King Dedede, and Kirby. After that, he accompanies the heroes throughout the rest of the story and helps them take down Tabuu. Mr. Game & Watch is the only playable character to not have his name displayed when he is introduced (This might have been a mistake). In addition, his Shadow Bug clones do not have the purplish flames or yellow eyes that the other clones do (the latter is most likely because Mr. Game & Watch does not have visible eyes himself).

According to a trophy, Mr. Game & Watch embodies a limitless supply of Shadow Bugs inside of him, which can be extracted forever without ever running out. Shadow Bugs are a substance which can replicate characters or even create new creatures. Tabuu discovered this and captured Mr. Game & Watch, using the Shadow Bugs to build the Subspace Army.

It was confirmed on the "DOJO!!" that the reason Mr. Game & Watch was manipulated so easily by Tabuu is that he has no understanding of good or evil, despite the fact that Mr. Game & Watch has shown moral behaviour in many of his games (e.g. Fire) exept in Fire Attack in which you have to hit torches and native americans with a hammer.

Exclusive Stickers
These stickers can only be used by Mr. Game & Watch or a select few including him:


 * Chef (Game & Watch): [Specials: Indirect] Attack +25
 * Donbe: [Slash] Resistance +26
 * Duck: Launch Resistance +20
 * F-Type: [Throwing] Attack +22
 * Flag Man: [Specials: Indirect] Attack +4
 * Lion: [Specials: Direct] Attack +13
 * Vermin: [Weapon] Attack +15
 * Wild Gunman: [Specials: Indirect] Attack +5
 * Yakuman Player: [Electric] Resistance +28

Trivia

 * Mr. Game & Watch is the only character who is always 2D in appearance. He is also the only character in the entire roster to have never appeared in 3D in a 3D game, even in the Smash Bros. series (which utilizes 3D graphics) where he appears in 2D. Although Mr. Game & Watch usually appears in 2D, the effect is achieved by flattening a 3D character model. (He appears 3D when in metal form simply because of the texture metal characters use.) The same algorithm is applied to any character in a 2D stage such as Flat Zone 2.
 * With Mr. Game & Watch's design originating from characters that first appeared in 1980, he can be considered the "oldest" character in Brawl ' s roster - which is why he is the first character to be fought in All-Star mode.
 * When grabbed, Mr. Game & Watch moves smoothly as opposed to his normal frame-by-frame motion. This is probably due to grabs being too fast and too short to use frame-by-frame motion. Can also be caused by the fact that it's another character moving Mr. Game & Watch, as opposed to Mr. Game & Watch moving by himself. Thus, Mr. Game & Watch moves like his captor. Also, when Mr. Game & Watch is grabbed, he is grabbed by his nose and not his body. (With the exception of Snake, who grabs all characters by the neck)
 * Mr. Game & Watch is also the only character with no textures or shading; he is simply one solid color. The data that supplies the colors for all six of his playable alternates is located in a single file. For some reason, the colors of his weapons do not have to match the colors of his body.
 * Despite that, hackers have found use for his "emerald" texture. It can apply a texture with a 3-D illusion to him, but it replaces all six of his costumes and is therefore not very popular.
 * Mr. Game & Watch does not blow bubbles when he is asleep. He also has Z's above his nose. This is because he has no eyes.
 * While Mr. Game & Watch enters a door in the Subspace Emissary, he faces foward and is not flat when you are looking behind him.
 * Mr. Game and Watch doesn't grunt or make a noise when he is KO'd unlike in Melee.
 * Mr. Game and Watch, along with R.O.B., Olimar, and Samus are the only characters that never talk or make vocal sounds.