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

This article is about Mr. Game & Watch's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee. For the character in other contexts, see Mr. Game & Watch.

Mr. Game & Watch
Universe	Game & Watch
Also appears in	Brawl SSBWU/3DS Ultimate
Availability	Unlockable
Tier	C- (19)
Character Statistics
Number of Jumps	2

Mr. Game & Watch (Mr. ゲーム＆ウォッチ, Mr. Game & Watch) is a secret character in Super Smash Bros. Melee. He was designed as a composite representation of various generic characters featured in the Game & Watch series, created by Gunpei Yokoi in 1980. He is the last character to be unlocked in the game.

Mr. Game & Watch is currently ranked 19th in Melee's tier list. While he has a few good moves, he has slow overall speed (outside of his high horizontal lateral movement), and he is predictable. Additionally, only his down and forward aerials can L-cancel, which can be a major problem in high level play. He is also easy to KO since he is very lightweight, and suffers high periods of hitstun, which is also truly problematic in high level play. His shield doesn't cover his entire body either, leaving him very vulnerable. He also has very bad overall matchups against the majority of the cast (although some are advantageous or even).

How to unlock

• Clear Classic, Adventure Mode, or Target Test with all twenty-four characters.
• Play 1,000 Vs. Mode Matches.

When fighting Mr. Game & Watch, he will be fought at Flat Zone.

Attributes

Mr. Game & Watch has fast, high-priority Aerial Attacks coupled with large, disjointed hitboxes. This allows him to combo fairly well, especially against fast fallers. However, his Back Aerial, Up Aerial, and Neutral Aerial cannot be L-canceled.

He has strong finishers, a powerful aerial game, and one of the highest vertical recoveries in the game, but it is predictable, and it can be difficult to sweetspot the ledge with. His Oil Panic can also catch energy projectiles. He can use his low duck to avoid physical projectiles. His grabs also have a very similar animation, which means it's hard to tell which way he will throw an opponent. Also, all of his throws can chain grab.

However, Mr. Game & Watch's Tilts and Smashes are choppy and easy to predict, while his slow roll and sidestep cripple his defense. His shield leaves his head exposed, which invites shield stabbing. As mentioned above, he is very lightweight, making him easy to be juggled and KO'd, and he is easily comboed despite his light weight, due to the long amount of hitstun he suffers. His movement is choppy and sluggish, thus he is dependent on wavedashing and dash-dancing as his primary method of movement.

Mr. Game and Watch players must therefore be able to read their opponents ridiculously well in order to simply survive and to have a chance in competitive play.

Moveset

		Image	Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack				3%	Mr. Game & Watch attacks the opponent multiple times using a Bug-Spray Gun.
				3% (loop)
Forward tilt				10%	Mr. Game & Watch attacks the opponent by thrusting a chair forward. Long-lasting, lingering hitbox, useful for edgeguarding at the cost of ending lag.
Up tilt				9%	Mr. Game & Watch waves a flag upward to hit opponents into the air.
Down tilt				12% (grounded), 9% (aerial)	Mr. Game & Watch reaches down and flips a manhole that launches the opponent into the air. One of his most useful combo tools.
Dash attack				9%	Mr. Game & Watch trips and slides forward while wearing a helmet. This attack deals low knockback and sends the opponent behind Mr. Game & Watch.
Forward smash				18% (torch clean), 14% (body clean), 6% (late)	Mr. Game & Watch pulls out a torch and swings it forward. One of the most powerful forward smashes in the game, and his most reliable for killing
Up smash				18%	With a diving helmet on, Mr. Game & Watch leans back before performing a powerful, long-lasting headbutt. During the attack, Mr. Game & Watch's head is invincible, however due to an oversight his nose lacks invincibility, rendering it useless.
Down smash				8% (hammers), 10% (handles)	Mr. Game & Watch pulls out two hammers and slams them down on both sides. Hitting an opponent with the handles will very feebly launch them horizontally, while hitting them on the tip of the hammers will send them high upwards
Neutral aerial				16%	Mr. Game & Watch opens up a parachute in the air. Despite not being L-cancellable, it has quite low landing lag (only 15 frames) and carries a large, disjointed hitbox. Generally considered the strongest neutral air in the game.
Forward aerial				16% (clean), 6% (late)	Mr. Game & Watch swings a box forward. Large amount of ending lag (25 frames) but L-cancelling helps with it. Has a large disjointed hitbox, useful for edgeguarding.
Back aerial				5% (hits 1-4), 3% (landing)	Mr. Game & Watch attacks behind him with a turtle who bites the opponent multiple times.
Up aerial				7% (hit 1), 9% (hit 2)	Mr. Game & Watch blows upward twice to hit opponents directly above him. At higher percents, the first hit will almost always never link into the second hit.
Down aerial				14% (sweetspot), 13% (sourspot), 6% (landing)	Mr. Game & Watch pulls out a key and plunges downward towards the ground. Hitting an opponent the moment Mr. Game & Watch thrust the key downward will meteor smash them.
Grab				—
Pummel				3%	Bashes the opponent's head with a bell.
Forward throw				8%	Mr. Game & Watch juggles the opponent as a ball before launching them forward.
Back throw				8%	Mr. Game & Watch juggles the opponent as a ball before launching them behind him.
Up throw				8%	Mr. Game & Watch juggles the opponent as a ball before launching them into the air. At lower percents, can chaingrab fast-fallers.
Down throw				8%	Mr. Game & Watch juggles the opponent as a ball and drops them onto the ground. His most useful throw, as it can chaingrab fast-fallers until 100% and lead to his deadly neutral air.
Floor attack (front)				6%	Mr. Game & Watch pulls out a hammer and slams it down on both sides.
Floor attack (back)				6%	Mr. Game & Watch pulls out a hammer and slams it down on both sides.
Edge attack (fast)				6% (body), 8% (bell)	Mr. Game & Watch climbs onto the stage and swings a bell at the opponent.
Edge attack (slow)				6% (body), 8% (bell)	Mr. Game & Watch slowly climbs back onto the stage and swings a bell at the opponent.
Neutral special			Chef	5% (pan), 4% (sausage)	Mr. Game & Watch takes out a frying pan and flings sausages at the opponent. By holding the B button, Mr. Game & Watch will fling five sausages at the opponent. Hitting the opponent with the frying pan will send the opponent at a semi-spike angle and light them on fire.
Side special			Judgment	Varies	Attacks with a hammer and holds up a digital display ranging from 1 to 9. Each number will display a different effect.
Up special			Fire	6%	Two firefighters appear with a trampoline to launch Mr. Game & Watch high into the air. Mostly useful as a recovery move.
Down special			Oil Panic	Depends on projectiles absorbed	Mr. Game & Watch pulls out a bucket that absorbs any energy-based projectiles. The bucket itself can absorb up to three energy-based projectiles, which then turns into a powerful counterattack that can one-hit KO opponents depending on which projectile gets absorbed.

Judgment Damage Values

Number	Damage	Description
#1	2%	A weak attack that does not make the opponent flinch. Mr. Game & Watch will always receive 12% recoil damage regardless on whether this attack hits an opponent or not.
#2	4%	A hammer attack that deals weak knockback.
#3	6%	A hammer attack that deals strong shield damage. Hitting an opponent will launch them towards Mr. Game % Watch.
#4	8%	A moderate hammer attack that launches the opponent diagonally forward.
#5	3% (hits 1-4)	An electric hammer attack that hits multiple times. Deals approximately up to 11.19% if all hits connect.
#6	12%	A flame hammer attack that semi-spikes the opponent.
#7	14%	A moderate hammer attack that produces food if it hits a foe.
#8	4%	A hammer attack that freezes an opponent.
#9	32%	An extremely powerful hammer attack that can KO the opponent at low percentages. The range of this attack is slightly reduced.

Taunt

• Pulls out his bell and rings it.

Idle pose

• Looks back with an opened mouth.

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Melee Character Matchups

Avg.

Trophy descriptions

In addition to the normal trophy about Mr. Game & Watch as a character, there are two trophies about him as a fighter, unlocked by completing the Adventure and All-Star modes respectively with Mr. Game & Watch on any difficulty:

Mr. Game & Watch

First appearing in 1980, the Game & Watch series is the father of all portable liquid crystal games. The main character is simple and monochrome but has a timeless individuality. There are 39 different games in the series and they've sold over 43 million units worldwide. Pictured at left is the particularly popular Fire model.

• Game & Watch [1980]

Mr. Game & Watch (Smash Red)

A resident of a totally flat world, Mr. Game & Watch's frame-by-frame movements is distinctive. His image is known far and wide, and respected by gamers everywhere. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, he hurls sausages with his Chef technique. The random strength of his Judgement is determined by the number displayed; food appears on lucky 7.

• B: Chef
• Smash B: Judgement

Mr. Game & Watch (Smash Blue)

A man of great stature in the world of Nintendo characters, Mr. Game & Watch is a comparatively light fellow and doesn't feature many powerful attacks. When he's in danger of falling, Fire calls out a rescue brigade to send him skyward once more. He can also catch missile weapons with Oil Panic; once he's caught three, he can dump the bucket on his foes.

• Up & B: Fire
• Down & B: Oil Panic

Character Trophy

Smash Red

Smash Blue

Alternate Costumes

Mr. Game & Watch's alternate costumes in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

Trivia

• Mr. Game & Watch has the most damaging attack in the game (Oil Panic when filled with three PK Flashes).
  • Roy can counter this for even more damage, which can then be countered once more for even greater damage. (A four-player game consisting of Game & Watch, Ness, Roy, and another Roy.)
• Mr. Game & Watch, along with Roy, Pichu, and Donkey Kong, are the only characters in Melee to have an attack that damages themselves. Kirby also counts, if he copies Roy's or Pichu's neutral special moves.
• Mr. Game & Watch's and Jigglypuff's "head sprites" are the only ones to show their entire bodies.
• Mr. Game & Watch's All-Star trophy is the only All-Star Trophy that doesn't show him with an alternate costume.
• Mr. Game & Watch has the second shortest taunt, the first being Kirby.
• Mr. Game & Watch actually uses a fully animated 3D model, despite his 2D appearance. This can best be seen when he's turning while using a Hammer or when he is being grabbed and thrown.
  • However, even when he does appear to be 3D (such as by turning around with a Hammer), he is always 2D.
• Melee reads Mr. Game & Watch's neutral, back, and up aerials as special moves, not as aerial attacks; this explains why they cannot be L-canceled. This error was fixed in Brawl.

Gallery

Artwork from the Japanese Super Smash Bros. Melee website