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Oil Panic is Mr. Game & Watch's Down Special Move. It is a unique move in that it can be held for as long as the player decides. Any energy-based projectiles (such as PK Flash or a Ray Gun shot) will be absorbed.

Overview

In Brawl, at the moment the projectile is absorbed, there is a brief moment of invincibility. Three attacks can be absorbed, and then Mr. Game & Watch will put the bucket away. The oil gathered can be used later as an attack with the potential for extreme damage and knockback (2.8 times the combined damage of the absorbed attacks). The damage and knockback are determined by adding up how much damage each of the projectiles absorbed would have done had they connected. As such, the attack has extremely high knockback, enough to OHKO if it absorbed 3 fully-charged PK Flashes or three fully charged Charge Shots or 3 fully charged Super Scope bullets. But it can be rather weak if it simply absorbed three shots from Fox's Blaster. If some weak projectiles were absorbed, it will KO any characters at low percentage. However, even if it absorbed three weak projectiles, the attack is still powerful.

The attack is even deadlier because it has almost no start-up lag, long reach, and a disjointed hitbox with a very long duration. Unlike most other chargeable attacks, Oil Panic keeps its "charges" across stocks. If Mr. Game & Watch is KO'd with two units of Oil, he will still have those two units when he respawns. Oil Panic's maximum damage is 200% in Melee and 60% in Brawl and since Oil Panic's knockback is determined by the damage absorbed, its knockback caps at these percentages as well. Oil Panic cannot absorb non-energy based projectiles however, such as Link's Arrows from Hero's Bow. On Boss Battles and the SSE, Oil Panic's maximum damage varies on any difficulties. On higher difficulties, Oil Panic does higher damage up to 60% (Unless using a sticker for weapon attacks) after absorbing enemies' projectiles attacks.

Mr. Game & Watch's Special Moves
Melee Brawl 3DS/Wii U Ultimate
Standard Special Chef
Side Special Judge
Up Special Fire
Down Special Oil Panic
Final Smash Octopus

Custom Variations

Efficient Panic

Efficient Panic is one of Mr. Game & Watch's Down Special Moves that can be used via customizations. Mr. Game & Watch can fill the bucket with only one projectile, but the oil's range is very short, and it deals less damage.

Panic Overload

Panic Overload is one of Mr. Game & Watch's Down Special Moves that can be used via customizations. Mr. Game & Watch puts a bucket that has a small absortion area. However, the oil has a longer range and travels slower.

Mr. Game & Watch's Custom Special Moves
Custom 1 Custom 2
Standard Special XXL Chef Short-Order Chef
Side Special Extreme Judge Chain Judge
Up Special Heavy Trampoline Trampoline Launch
Down Special Efficient Panic Panic Overload

Trophy Description

The Game & Watch Multi Screen series is the big, big brother of the Nintendo DS. One classic title was Oil Panic, which puts you in charge of a petrol station that's sprung a leak. As oil drips down on the upper screen, you've got to catch it in buckets on the lower screen or risk an angry customer with a face full of oil!

Origin

Oil Panic was a Game & Watch game, taking place at a gasoline station, where one would attempt to catch drops of oil from a leaking pipe in a bucket. The bucket needed only three drops to be full. Once the bucket was full, one would have to pour the oil out the window to be caught by an awaiting assistant (making sure he's actually there, first. If he wasn't, the player would miss, causing the oil to splash over a customer waiting below.) Oil Panic (specifically, its bottom screen) is one of the games that appear in the Flat Zone 2.

Kamikaze Glitch

There's a glitch known as the Kamikaze Glitch in Melee where if Mr. Game & Watch attacks a shielding opponent with Oil Panic after it absorbed three strong enough projectiles, such as three fully charged PK Flashes, the opponents shield will shatter and Mr. Game & Watch will be sent flying back at extreme speeds invariably to his death unless there's a wall behind him. If Mr. Game & Watch collides into anyone along his trajectory, they will be sent vertically with extreme knockback, also resulting in OHKOs. This is the only instance in Melee where someone can be harmed by colliding with a launched opponent that was not thrown.

Bucket Braking

In Brawl, Oil Panic gained an interesting and very useful property. When Mr. Game & Watch uses an empty Oil Panic while in knockback, he will halt all momentum. As such, when used for momentum canceling, Mr. Game & Watch completely negates all momentum upon the first frame of activation. When used in conjunction with DI, Mr. Game & Watch is capable of surviving far beyond other character of his weight class such as Squirtle and even outlasting heavier middleweights such as Mario.

Oil Panic is considered to be the best momentum cancelling special move in the Brawl as it completely negates all momentum upon the first frame of activation as well as having almost no risk of using it since it doesn't move Mr. Game & Watch back towards the stage or make him helpless, like other special moves do that negate momentum. As such, mastering this technique is essential for competitive Mr. Game & Watch players. When used for momentum cancelling, it is often referred to as "Bucket Braking".

Note that Oil Panic will not negate any momentum at all if the bucket is full.

Oil Panic absorption list

Here's a list of all projectile, attack and hazard that Oil Panic can absorb.

SSBM

All attacks and hazards from SSBM that could be absorbed still apply.

SSBB

All attacks and hazards from SSBM that could be absorbed still apply unless noted otherwise.

SSBWU/3DS

Trivia

  • Ness and Lucas have a similar special move that absorbs energy-based projectiles, but it is used to heal themselves instead of storing them to use as an attack. These two moves, along with Oil Panic, are the only special moves that absorb projectiles.
  • In both Melee and Brawl, an Oil Panic at the maximum power is the attack with the highest priority as it contains the most damaging hitbox that does not have invincibility frames, such as Counters and Final Smashes.
  • Oil Panic is the only attack in Melee and Brawl to be an OHKO that is not a Final Smash or belong to a character from the Fire Emblem series. Little Mac has an OHKO move in the form of his KO punch in SSBWU/3DS.
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