Mr. Game & Watch (Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U)


 * This article is about Mr. Game & Watch's appearance in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. For other uses, see Mr. Game & Watch.

Mr. Game & Watch is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. Visually, Mr. Game & Watch has received a slight re-design much more noticeable than the transition between Melee and Brawl. His arms and legs are slightly thinner, and his hands, nose and feet are somewhat rounder. His ankles are also connected to the end of his feet as opposed to the middle of them. These visual changes give his body a smooth appearance. Along with a slight redesign, his overall animations have also been changed to better resemble the frame by frame movement seen in his home series of Game & Watch handheld games.

He currently ranks 37th on the tier list.

3DS
Complete the following:
 * Play 90 matches.
 * Clear Classic Mode with 10 different characters.

After completing either option, you must fight and defeat Mr. Game & Watch in Flat Zone 2.

Wii U
Complete the following: After completing either option, you must fight and defeat Mr. Game & Watch in Flat Zone X.
 * Play 80 matches.
 * Clear Classic Mode with 5 different characters on 2.0 difficulty or higher.

Strengths

 * Has good recovery.
 * Judge #9 can 0% KO players if used correctly. It will always KO if the target hit has 40% or higher damage. In addition, each Judge has various effects, such as freezing or inflicting high shield damage.
 * Small body frame and 3rd smallest crouch, allowing him to avoid more attacks.
 * Less fluid animations on all attacks to simulate the frame-by-frame movements of his original games, thus making him more unpredictable.
 * Oil Panic can also 0% KO players, but this depends on their location and the power of the projectiles that was absorbed. It also carries over stocks, so Mr. Game & Watch does not have to refill the bucket again if he gets KO'ed.
 * Up Aerial and Down Tilt can occasionally "super jump" opponents, typically sending them slightly below the top blast line and can delay several aerial attacks such as Wizard's Foot.
 * Fire can move opponents away from Mr Game & Watch if used correctly and does not go helpless.
 * Chef can knock back opponents if hit at point-blank range and has enough strength to stop most attacks.
 * Down Smash gives decent range and if sweetspotted either launches opponents straight up or to the sides.
 * Up Smash provides invincibility frames provided that the hits are hitting the scuba helmet and not anywhere else.
 * Strange animations can be used for interesting mind-games.
 * Down Throw provides the most available and interesting mindgames.
 * Has decent edgeguarding attacks with Down Smash and Dash Attack.
 * Has a decent crouch to avoid most projectiles.

Weaknesses

 * Third lightest in the game, after Mewtwo and Jigglypuff.
 * Spamming Judge can result in harsh punishment, as it can be very predictable. Also, getting a #1 always deals 12% to him, even if it doesn't connect with the opponent.
 * Down Aerial can only spike at the start of the move. If Mr. Game & Watch was not hit when starting this move, the downward momentum is extremely fast and can cause self-destructs. However, if hit the Stall-Then-Fall effect can be used to a greater extent in addition to creating interesting mindgames.
 * Oil Panic cannot be used when facing against a non-energy projectile user, reducing the amount of offense he has in matches. In addition, the bucket must be completely full in order to be used.
 * Somewhat weak throws and rather slow attack speed with grabs.

Summary
Mr. Game and Watch is a character that has lots of gimmicks in his special moves and great combo options and kill moves. On the ground Mr. Game and Watch possesses fast attacks with great combo potential and kill power, as well as a few juggling tools. In the air Mr. Game and Watch has high aerial mobility and multiple edge-guarding tools and kill moves as well as a great juggling tool in the form of his up aerial.

Game and Watch's forward smash is a reliable kill move that combos out of Game and Watch's down throw. The up smash also combos out of the down throw and has even more kill power than the forward smash; on top of that, the up smash give Mr. Game and Watch Super Armor while the attack is being launched. The down smash has decent range horizontal range covering both sides, and has good edge guarding properties.

Game and Watch's aerials are all great moves. His neutral air can be used for various combos and is a multi-hit attack which if manipulated can surprise the enemy. The forward air can be done the same way as with all other except the up air and can be used as a finisher as it deals impressive knockback on higher percentages. His back air has great range and can surprise opponents and deals decent damage. His up air can also be used to stop opponents from freefalling quickly onto him and launches opponents up into the air; particularly against moves such as Kirby's Final Cutter. It also deals damage, but the second hit does knockback, not the first one. As with all other characters, down air is his Meteor Smash; however this effect only happens at the start of the move during the initial frames, not anywhere else. It is a rather rapid freefall move and can result in an easy self-destruct if used improperly. However, this can be manipulated if Game and Watch was hit recently as rather than a rapid freefall, it will move down slowly. This can mindgame opponents into jumping up too early and get KO'ed by the slow attack.

Game and Watch's throws are pretty subpar—except for the down throw. The forward throw and back throw are good for getting enemies off-stage and the up throw is a good aerial combo starter. The down throw can be followed up with various combos which depend on the target's percentage; for low percentages such examples include Judge, Up Smash/Tilt and Neutral Air, while high percentages should use Up Air or Fire to deal damage as other attacks will be unable to harm the opponent.

Chef is a great spacing tool that can give Game and Watch some stage control. It has some ending lag on it so if an opponent manages to get behind him, immediately stop using the move to get to safety. Chef is also great for edge-guarding; keeping some space from the edge is a good practice so that if the opponent tries to edge roll to get past the projectiles, they will be hit by the frying pan and launched into other projectiles or even off-stage.

Judge is rather tricky to use as the resulting number is random and results in various effects. Try to use it only when you can manipulate the opponent to come near, as its randomness and predictability make it very easy to avoid and be punished. Judge is best combined with a down throw on low percentages, as the hammer has enough range to hit most opponents Game and Watch can grab. It is best done near the edges, since there is a potential to strike a "9" which will most likely kill the opponent in the process.

Fire is a great recovery; unlike most other characters with recovery, Game and Watch is not put into a helpless state and can attack, similar to Bowser Jr.. Of course, the player should be careful and make sure they will reach the edge of the platform if possible as it cannot be used again until he lands on the field. Fire can be used as a combo with Down Throw on higher percentages as Up Air will be unable to deal damage on the second hit in most cases. The player should be careful with Fire when attempting to finish a foe in mid-air because a well timed attack by the foe can kill Game and Watch due to being extremely close to the upper blast line.

Game and Watch's down special is great against characters that have a high damaging energy attack as it will force them to be careful or risk being punished harshly. Such examples include a full Charge Shot from Samus; if it is absorbed it deals extremely high damage which can KO at 0% or break shields if not perfect shielded. Unlike other moves that require such actions, if Game and Watch is killed with charges, on his next life those charges carry over and can surprise enemies as they may not expect a fully loaded oil panic upon his respawn. This is limited however to the opponent he is fighting against, as those such as Fox and Falco can do it with little penalty as their blaster shots deal negligible damage for Oil Panic to make use of.

Differences from Brawl
Mr. Game & Watch received both buffs and nerfs that balances him overall.

Attributes

 * Dash is slightly faster.
 * Smaller body frame (feet, arms, nose, etc.), which gives him a smaller hurtbox.
 * Less fluid animations on all attacks to simulate the frame-by-frame movements of his original games.

Ground Attacks

 * Neutral Attack can transition from Rapid Jabs into a Finisher.
 * Up Tilt has slightly less range, however it has less ending lag and deals more damage.
 * Down Tilt causes less knockback, but has a wind effect that slightly pushes opponents. This pushbox is unique as it also deals slightly damage. It allows him to use the Table Flipping technique.
 * Forward Smash has a different animation in which Mr. Game & Watch holds the match with both hands. It has higher reach but causes less damage.
 * Down Smash has larger range, with Mr. Game & Watch smacking with bigger hammers.
 * Dash Attack has less ending lag but causes lower damage.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Aerial deals one less hit and has more ending lag.
 * Forward Aerial has less landing lag.
 * Back Aerial has more landing lag.
 * Down Aerial deals more knockback in both sweetspot (Meteor Smash) and sourspot. However, it deals less damage and has higher ending lag.

Grabs and Throws

 * All Throws animations are much faster.
 * Down Throw now has small knockback scaling, causing the enemy to bounce slightly. The knockback at lower percentages allows for many more follow-up options.
 * Unpredictable throws, meaning you can't tell where you will get launched.

Special Attacks

 * Chef deals slightly less damage if the opponent touches the pan.
 * Judge has a higher chance of the same number appearing in succession.
 * Fire has less startup lag and the covers more vertical distance.
 * Oil Panic no longer completely cancels his momentum, preventing Mr. Game & Watch making use of the Bucket Braking technique. However, it can now absorb explosions, and the bucket is filled depending on the power of the projectile or explosion, being able to fill two or even three levels from a single attack.
 * Octopus jumps slightly higher and is slightly faster.

Normal

 * Neutral Attack: Greenhouse - Brings out an insecticide pump. 3%
 * Neutral Combo: Sprays insecticide repeatedly and links to a finisher. 3% first hit, 1% for every following, 2% the finisher.
 * Dash Attack: Dives sideways on the ground headfirst wearing a helmet. 10% during the first part of the attack, 6% during the last part.
 * Side Tilt: Throws out a chair. 11% damage during the first frames of the attack, 4% during the last frames.
 * Up Tilt: Waves his #1 flag above him. Two hits, 7% each.
 * Down Tilt: Flips a manhole cover in front of him throwing the opponent horizontally. 6% damage. Those who are just above the range get pushed upward dealing up to 4% damage. If timed right can push away projectiles.

Smash

 * Side Smash: Attacks with a lit match that deals fire damage. 14% uncharged, 19% fully charged.
 * Up Smash: Puts on a diving helmet and bashes upward with his head. This is his best finisher. Mr. Game & Watch is invulnerable to every attack that hits his helmet. 16% uncharged, 22% fully charged.
 * Down Smash: Takes two hammers and slams them down on both sides of him. This attack has a sweetspot on the very tip of both hammers. If sourspotted this attack will launch opponent horizontally, if sweetspotted it will launch the opponent vertically and further. Sourspotted: 14% uncharged, 18% fully charged; sweetspotted: 15% uncharged, 21% fully charged.

Other

 * Floor attack - He gets out a hammer and slams it in front of him, then behind him. 7%
 * Ledge attack - He climbs up the ledge, then hits the opponent with his alarm bell. 7%
 * Trip attack - He gets out a hammer and slams it in front of him, then behind him, just like his Floor attack. 7%

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Aerial: Two fishes jump out of a fish bowl he is holding and attack the opponent dealing up to four hits. 5% the first hit, 4% the second, 4% the third, 4% the fourth, 17% total.
 * Forward Aerial: He takes out a box to hit opponents. 11% if hit during the first frames, 6% if not.
 * Back Aerial: He takes out a turtle to hit opponents dealing up to four hits. 2% the first, 2% the second, 2% the third, 3% the fourth which has a descend knockback. If the ground is touched before the attack ends, instead of interrupting the attack, the hit upon touching the ground will be changed into a hit identical in both damage and knockback the fourth hit of the attack.
 * Up Aerial: He becomes Spitball Sparky and attacks upward hitting twice. 7% the first hit, 9% the second one. The second hit has good knockback. If opponent is close but not in range, they will be blown upward.
 * Down Aerial: He takes out a key and attacks downward and falls faster. 11% for the hit of the key, 3% for the damage dealt upon hitting the ground. A Meteor Smash effect will occur only at the beginning of the attack.

Grabs and Throws

 * Pummel: He takes out a bell and smacks the opponent with it. Somewhat slow. 3%
 * Forward Throw: He juggles the opponent and throws them forward. 8%
 * Back Throw: He juggles the opponent and throws them backward. 8%
 * Up Throw: He juggles the opponent and throws them upward. 8%
 * Down Throw: He juggles the opponent and throws them downward. 4%

Taunts

 * Up Taunt: Holds his bell at eye level and rings it.
 * Side Taunt: Holds his bell at leg level and rings it.
 * Down Taunt: Sits down and exhales. (This is from the Mario Bros Game and Watch unit. When a round is completed, both Mario and Luigi exhale.)

In Competitive Play
To Be Added

Mr. Game & Watch
NTSC: ''Game & Watch was a series of handheld video games that started in 1980, which pretty much makes Mr. Game & Watch the father of the Game Boy and Nintendo DS. Or maybe an older sibling? Anyway...in Smash Bros., Mr. Game & Watch uses distinct retro moves to damage his foes. However, he only has two dimensions, so he's pretty easy to send flying.''

PAL: ''Game & Watch was a series of handheld video games that started in 1980, before even the Game Boy. In this game, you can play as the guy who starred in them, moving about in his quirky oh-so-retro little way. He can string together some pretty powerful attacks but, unfortunately, being 2D makes him very easy to launch.''
 * G&W - Game & Watch (04/1980)

Mr. Game & Watch (Alt.)
''Mr. Game & Watch's Oil Panic special catches shots and turns them into oil. After catching three, the bucket will be full and you'll be able to throw oil all over your enemies. Some shots, like Samus's fully powered Charge Shot, will fill the bucket in one go! Throwing the oil you get from a shot like that and KO your foes in a flash!''

Manhole
''No scrolling, only one stage, only a few sounds, and the age of 3D was nothing more than a twinkle in someone's eye. Nevertheless, this game was a blast at the time. In the Game & Watch title Manhole, you move a manhole cover back and forth so that the pedestrians can safely cross the road. What a simple yet fun game!''
 * G&W - Manhole (01/1981)

Trivia

 * This is the first time in the Super Smash Bros. series where Mr. Game & Watch does not have a bell in his official artwork.
 * Mr. Game & Watch was hinted at during the end of Pac-Man's reveal trailer, but wasn't officially confirmed for three months like Dark Pit. He wasn't revealed until the game's demo release in Japan, also like Dark Pit.
 * In Classic Mode for the 3DS version, when Mr. Game & watch is walking down a path between fights, you can see his 3D model.