Editing Mr. Game & Watch

|caption      = [[File:Game&WatchSymbol.svg|50px|class=invert-dark]]<br>In-game sprite of Mr. Game & Watch from ''Game & Watch Gallery 4''.

|species      = Sentient Game & Watch sprite

The composite Mr. Game & Watch character debuted in ''Super Smash Bros. Melee''. While some Game & Watch games starred specific characters, such as [[Mario]]'s appearance in ''{{s|mariowiki|Mario's Cement Factory}}'', a majority simply starred nameless and simply-drawn stick figure-like characters. These characters, due to the LCD display of the Game & Watch, could only move in alternating and preset frames, similar to the numbers on a calculator. Also, the animation frames were monochromatic, simply being black LCD frames against a preset background.

In translating this era of gaming to ''Smash'', many of these generic characters' animations and abilities were combined into what would soon become Mr. Game & Watch. Visually, his standard design most heavily resembles the people in need of rescue from 1980's ''Fire'' and the pedestrians of 1981's ''Manhole''. In keeping with the limitations of the Game & Watch's hardware, Mr. Game & Watch is rendered as a two-dimensional character with a choppy frame-by-frame animation style.

Since debuting in ''Melee'', Mr. Game & Watch has made a few appearances in other games. He has a minor speaking role as the host of one of the menus in ''{{s|mariowiki|Game & Watch Gallery 4}}''. He has also made a number of cameos in other Nintendo games, including multiple entries in the [[Wario (universe)|''WarioWare'' series]], ''{{s|mariowiki|Donkey Kong Country Returns}}'', ''{{s|wikipedia|Rhythm Heaven Fever}}'' and ''{{s|mariowiki|Super Mario Odyssey}}''.

Mr. Game & Watch translated well into ''Super Smash Bros. Melee''. However, this proves to become a severe disadvantage. His movement is choppy and sluggish, thus meaning he becomes dependent on [[wavedashing]] and [[dash-dancing]] as his primary method of movement. His moves, primarily his special moves, have very limited uses in competitive play and only two of his [[aerial attack]]s can be [[L-canceling|L-canceled]]. However, the few usable moves he has come equipped with high range and very large [[hitbox]]es, many of which are powerful finishers. Aside from his moves, Mr. Game & Watch's throws are very useful due to the fact they can all be used to chain grab. Mr. Game & Watch's defensive game is arguably his worst property; with an extremely small [[shield]] (which leaves his hands and feet unprotected, even at maximum size) and a very poor [[sidestep]] and [[roll]], he has a very weak defensive game. This, combined with the fact that he is very light, causes him to die at very low percentages. Mr. Game & 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. As a result, Mr. Game & Watch is currently ranked in the bottom of the C- tier at 19th out of 26 in the ''Melee'' [[tier list]].

[[File:FalseGameWatch.png|thumb|left|200px|A quintet of [[False character|false]] Mr. Game & Watches in [[The Subspace Emissary]]]]

Interestingly, in a [[DOJO!!]] update where Sakurai explained some mysteries about ''The Subspace Emissary'', he says that Mr. Game & Watch's two-dimensional qualities can be used to create [[Shadow Bug]]s, making him the entities' progenitor, and this led to [[Tabuu]] exploiting it to create the [[Subspace Army]]'s forces, though Mr. Game & Watch is oblivious to it himself due to possessing a lack of perceiving good and evil.

Mr. Game & Watch has been significantly buffed from ''Melee'', as he benefits from ''Brawl''{{'}}s new physics, along with other various buffs. The introduction of [[hitstun canceling]] and [[momentum canceling]] helps Mr. Game & Watch more than most characters, as it not only makes him harder to combo but it also significantly improves his endurance mainly due to Bucket Braking. Other new Brawl mechanics such as [[B-reversing]] also help him out, and the removal of certain Melee mechanics such as [[L-canceling]] affects him less than other characters. His shield game has been improved significantly. His shield is much larger, and his sidestep is no longer one of the worst in the game. Overall, Mr. Game & Watch is a much more effective character than in ''Melee'', although he still struggles against the stronger characters in the game, resulting in his results being above average, ranking 16th out of 38 in the current ''Brawl'' tier list in the upper mid-tier.

Mr. Game & Watch is once again an unlockable playable character in ''SSB4''. He was teased before release in a small appearance at the end of {{SSB4|Pac-Man}}'s reveal trailer to illustrate how the duo are the oldest [[fighter]]s in ''Smash Bros.'' history (even older than Mario and Donkey Kong); in that cameo, he notably performs his down taunt from ''Brawl'', which was replaced by the release of ''Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS''.

Overall, Mr. Game & Watch was nerfed in the transition to ''Smash 4''. The removal of Bucket Braking was his most notable negative change, as it greatly hinders his endurance (especially horizontally), considering his status as a lightweight character. Several of his moves also have additional [[lag|ending lag]], such as his up tilt, down tilt, and neutral aerial, and some of his moves are weaker finishers, such as his forward aerial. However, his attacks possess high damage output, with some becoming more efficient, including his back aerial's multiple hits linking better, and up smash, which now includes invincibility on startup. His throws have also improved, as they are all now performed much faster, with down throw being especially great at starting combos. However, his nerfs are considerably enough to cause a drop in his tier placement, now ranking 38th out of 54 on the ''Smash 4'' tier list, and he has seen lackluster tournament representation, although his results have been above-average.

Mr. Game & Watch is once again an unlockable playable character in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'', alongside the entire playable roster of the series. He now changes appearance depending on the game from which the move he is using originates. His moveset has been significantly altered; for instance, he has a new forward aerial in the form of a bomb projectile, and his up air now functions similarly to [[Mega Man]]'s. In addition, his Final Smash, Octopus, now carries and drags opponents offscreen.

Having been regarded as a lower mid-tier character in SSB4 (38th out of 54), Mr. Game & Watch has been significantly buffed in his transition to ''Ultimate''. In a similar fashion to Link, Mr. Game & Watch has undergone a massive overhaul in his moveset that goes beyond changes to aesthetic appearances; a majority of his moves have been altered in range, damage, knockback, lag, or have been completely reworked altogether in their purpose and utility. As a result, Mr. Game & Watch has undergone a plethora of buffs and nerfs in his transition to ''Ultimate'', arguably the most out of any other returning veteran. While these changes have weakened his most powerful tools and set-ups from ''SSB4'', they have also greatly improved several of his more underwhelming moves in his toolkit from the previous game, with the most notable one being [[Fire]], which is now commonly considered the best [[out of shield]] option in the game. Due to these changes, his iteration in ''Ultimate'' is universally agreed to be his best, being ranked 3rd out of 82 on the current tier list and has seen unprecedented results compared to previous iterations of the character due to the likes of [[Smasher:Maister|Maister]] and [[Smasher:Miya (Honshu)|Miya]].

*Conceptually, Mr. Game & Watch is the only two-dimensional playable character in the ''Smash Bros.'' series. However, in the technical sense, he is composed of {{file link|Mr. Game & Watch 3D Model 3DS.png|a three-dimensional model}} just like all other characters; this model is flattened along one axis to provide a two-dimensional illusion. This flattening effect is applied to other characters in two-dimensional stages such as [[Flat Zone]] and [[Pac-Land]]. The two-dimensional illusion is somewhat broken when Mr. Game & Watch becomes [[metal]], is a [[false character]], is covered in {{b|ink|status}} or if the Z-axis glitch is performed on him, as his body is no longer featureless and appears to be rounded. This can also occur during certain [[Final Smash]]es, such as [[Dede-Rush]], [[Triple Wolf]] or [[Supernova]]. His [[amiibo]] is also three-dimensional, though it more emulates his two-dimensional appearance than using a fully three-dimensional model.

*Mr. Game & Watch is technically the oldest fighter in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series, as his origin series began in April of 1980 ([[Pac-Man]] would then debut a month after this).

**Despite this, Mr. Game & Watch did not conceptually exist until ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]''. This has led to some debate over whether or not Mr. Game & Watch should be considered the same entity as the playable characters from the original ''Game & Watch'' handhelds.

***That said, Mr. Game & Watch, as a character in ''Smash Bros.'', is an amalgamation of different ''Game & Watch'' titles, so it is likely that he represents the entire ''Game & Watch'' brand rather than a specific game. This is further supported in ''Ultimate'', where Mr. Game & Watch, for several of his moves, changes his appearance to resemble the character in the game from which the move originated.