Editing Mr. Game & Watch (SSBU)

'''Mr. Game & Watch''' ({{ja|Mr.ゲーム＆ウォッチ|Misutā Gēmu ando Wotchi}}, ''Mr. Game & Watch'') is a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''. He was confirmed alongside {{SSBU|Greninja}} and the rest of the returning roster on June 12th, 2018 during E3 2018. Mr. Game & Watch is classified as [[Fighter number|Fighter #26]], the last fighter number of the ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'' [[veteran]]s.

As in his ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]'' incarnation, Mr. Game & Watch reuses his sound effects from ''Melee'' and ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'' for ''Ultimate''.

 

 

 

Overall, Mr. Game & Watch fits the archetype of a glass cannon. He is a character that can deal out damage quickly, has several strong KO options, and can be annoying to properly hit due to spammable attacks and a strong out-of-shield game. However, his weak endurance and poor approach options means he has to play patiently, lest he gets KOd before the opponent. Although still underwhelming compared to other characters in his tier, Mr. Game & Watch's representation has nevertheless been strong for most of the game's lifespan, thanks to the efforts of players such as {{Sm|Maister}} and {{Sm|Miya|p=Honshu}}.

*Play [[VS. match]]es, with Mr. Game & Watch being the 52nd character to be unlocked.

*Clear {{SSBU|Classic Mode}} with {{SSBU|Pikachu}} or any character in its unlock tree, being the 6th character unlocked after {{SSBU|Isabelle}}.

Outside of his smash attacks, Mr. Game & Watch's other moves also boast strong KO potential. [[Forward tilt]] comes out quickly, has a lingering hitbox, and kills under 120% by the ledge, sending characters at a semi-spike. [[Down tilt]] lowers Mr. Game & Watch's hurtbox to match his crouch, allowing him to whiff-punish certain attacks. It also possesses high power and semi-spikes opponents offstage, leading to [[edgeguard]]s and killing outright at 100%. His new [[forward aerial]]'s explosion kills opponents at 120% by the ledge, while his [[back aerial]] now sends at a flatter angle with enough power to KO below 100% offstage. The clean hit on down aerial boasts a powerful meteor smash that can KO below 40%, while the late hit deals enough knockback to KO under 130%, and even sooner if it connects near the top blast zone, courtesy of the move's vertical launch angle. The move's low ending lag allows it to be used as a potent edgeguarding and landing option, giving him a deadly mixup game in the air at all times.

Oil Panic is used as Mr. Game & Watch's primary defense against camping and projectiles, as it both absorbs energy projectiles from moves such as Mega Buster and [[PK Fire]], and reflects items like {{SSBU|King K. Rool}}'s [[Blunderbuss]] and {{SSBU|Peach}}'s [[Turnip]]s. This can lead to massive advantages against certain characters who rely on projectiles in their playstyle. Oil Panic also has the notable ability of carrying over the charge to subsequent stocks, which can be used as a lethal finisher and even mind games. The area in which Oil Panic can absorb projectiles is also deceptively large, which allows Mr. Game & Watch to store energy into Oil Panic merely by standing close to just the edge of any energy projectile. Finally, Oil Panic is also a potent combo finisher with nearly instantaneous startup lag, with its fairly large, lingering hitbox coming out on just frame 2, as well as extreme knockback that can kill at single digit percents when at max power (power is dependent on projectiles absorbed). It is also notably difficult to defend against a fully charged use of it, as the lingering hitbox can still hit spot dodges if timed even slightly off, and a powerful enough charge can break a full shield, allowing Mr. Game & Watch to punish with one of his powerful smash attacks. However, Oil Panic has the glaring weakness of being filled with extremely weak moves such as Fox's blaster. This causes Mr. Game & Watch to fill Oil Panic extremely quickly, rendering its defensive value useless, and forces him to either hold onto a weak use of it, or dump it without purposefully damaging the opponent in order to use it again as a defensive tool. In addition, a full Oil Panic cannot absorb or reflect any projectiles, making Mr. Game & Watch more vulnerable to projectiles unless he releases the oil spill.

Lastly, Mr. Game & Watch possesses a fantastic recovery option, as well as large, long-lasting and disjointed aerials. This means that he is a formidable edgeguarder and is extremely hard to gimp himself. His [[up special]], [[Fire]], has frame 3 startup, invincibility in its early frames, impressive recovery distance vertically and horizontally, and a strong upwards hitbox on its initial hitbox, with decent launch power horizontally, allowing for early off-stage KOs if it hits opposite the blast zone. This makes it deadly, as it can [[stage spike]] unwary opponents while also easily gimping characters with poor recoveries, like {{SSBU|Chrom}}. It is also an extremely useful combo breaker and the game's uncontested best [[out of shield|out-of-shield]] option due to its fast startup and invincibility, which is further complemented by it not rendering him [[helpless]]. His [[back aerial]], Turtle Bridge, is a large, long-lasting disjointed multi-hit move that has high knockback at the final hit. The move's large disjoint beats out a lot of recoveries that have hitboxes, and the multi-hit nature of the move makes it hard to tech for stage-spikes and often drags opponents stuck in the move closer to the blast zone. For many characters, getting hit with Turtle Bridge is often fatal off-stage, as the move lingers long enough to shift the opponent closer to the blast zone before dealing the final knockback on the last hit. On the ledge, Chef punishes ledge hangers and covers getup attack and rolls (hit by the pan), forcing opponents to jump. This can easily allow Mr. Game & Watch to follow up with neutral aerial and force the opponent back off-stage. His new forward aerial can be comboed into with Chef and has strong KO potential on its own. Lastly, his up air has the notable quality of having no set limit on its distance, making it arguably the best juggling option in the game. Overall, Mr. Game & Watch is extremely deadly off the stage and at the ledge to all characters, even including himself.

All in all, Mr. Game & Watch is a very powerful glass cannon with unique properties to a majority of his moves, and is universally believed to be among the most potent glass cannon characters in the game. He possesses extremely high damage output and powerful KO options while being very vulnerable himself, but is compensated for his extremely light weight and mediocre approach and defensive options with an incredible recovery, a brutal combo and juggling game, great edgeguarding, oppressive offstage presence, and explosive power through his smash attacks and Oil Panic. Overall, his strengths considerably outweigh his weaknesses, making Mr. Game & Watch one of the most fragile characters, but also among the most oppressive in all of ''Ultimate''.

Mr. Game & Watch has received some of the most noticeable changes of any veteran in the transition to ''Ultimate'', as several of his animations have been altered to change his appearance to the games they originate from when he performs them. This has led to a massive overhaul in his moveset that goes beyond changes to aesthetic appearances, as many of these moves have been mechanically altered and, in some cases, completely reworked altogether in their purpose and utility. As a result, Mr. Game & Watch has undergone a large mix of buffs and nerfs in his transition to ''Ultimate'', arguably the most out of any other returning veteran; however, while these changes have weakened a few of 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, and the changes to game mechanics have benefitted these changes as well. As a result, Mr. Game & Watch has been dramatically buffed overall.

Mr. Game & Watch's KO and edgeguarding potential have been drastically improved, since a majority of his regular moves, including [[forward tilt|forward]] and [[down tilt]]s, all of his [[smash attack]]s, and [[back aerial|back]] and [[down aerial]]s, have much stronger knockback; this drastically tones down one of his main weaknesses from ''SSB4''. His smash attacks have also improved beyond higher power — [[down smash]] now has faster startup and can now [[bury]] grounded opponents when [[sweetspot]]ted, allowing it to lead into followups and KO confirms, and its long range and burying time make it the best move of its kind. [[Forward smash]] is even easier to sweetspot than in ''SSB4'', while up smash has faster startup with increased duration and now renders Mr. Game & Watch himself completely invincible during the attack, as opposed to just his head and foot.

His attacks have also increased utility overall. Changes to [[neutral aerial]]'s first hits allow them to link together more reliably and catch opponents above him more effectively, and the move's reduced landing lag means it can now be used as a landing option and set-up tool (notably having a KO confirm into down tilt at high percentages), while retaining its decently strong knockback, allowing it to be used as an emergency KO option. Forward tilt has a much longer duration, making it an effective option for both [[2 frame punish|2-framing]] and [[spot dodging]], and up tilt's hits connect into each other much more reliably, improving its consistency. [[Chef]]'s trajectory can now be controlled, which makes it much easier to catch opponents who are trying to reach for the ledge and is now more effective keeping control of the neutral game. [[Oil Panic]] can now reflect physical projectiles in addition to absorbing energy-based projectiles (though it doesn't increase their power), and [[Judge]]'s numbers 5, 7, 8, and 9 have improved. Mr. Game & Watch now sports a much more disjointed dash and pivot grab, giving it effective reach. However, his [[up special]], [[Fire]], has seen the most improvements; it now has a frame 3 hitbox that replaces its windbox from ''SSB4'', which launches opponent directly upwards, and can even be comboed up with a neutral or up aerial at low percentages to keep juggling opponents. Because of this, it is now infamously considered both the best up special and the best out of shield option in the entire game.  

Mr. Game & Watch has gained two new attacks in his [[forward aerial|forward]] and [[up aerial]]s. Forward aerial now depicts Mr. Game & Watch dropping a bomb in front of him; compared to his old forward aerial, it posseses stronger knockback and damage output, as well as much more versatility, as its explosion can cover the entire ledge of a stage, it can be used as a combo starter at low percentages, as a shield pressuring tool, and a landing option (as it is much safer on block). Meanwhile, his up aerial now depicts Mr. Game & Watch shooting a single puff of air upwards as a projectile, functioning very similarly to {{SSBU|Mega Man}}'s up aerial; this projectile has much more vertical range than his old up air, and is more reliable for trapping opponents in it. It, combined with his neutral aerial, now gives Mr. Game & Watch more respectable juggling potential.

However, Mr. Game & Watch has also received a few notable nerfs, most notably to his two most potent strengths from ''SSB4'' — his [[up smash]] and [[down throw]] setups. Down throw now deals much more knockback, removing its follow-up potential at higher percents. Despite the startup reduction, extended hitbox duration and increased knockback to up smash, it has lost all of its invincibility frames during the move's startup, making it much less effective as an anti-air, and allows opponents to challenge it easier.

Many of Mr. Game & Watch's new animations have resulted in reductions to hitboxes for several of his attacks, including forward tilt, up aerial, up tilt, and most notably, his down tilt, the latter of which is now incapable of hitting aerial opponents altogether. This tones down Mr. Game & Watch's deceptive reach, and requires him to be closer towards opponents more often than before to land hits. Judge #9's effectiveness has also been halved, since instead of not having SDI at all, it now has a double SDI multiplier, and when combined with the hit's high [[hitlag]], makes it much easier to prepare for and reduces its effectiveness for early KOs. His new moves have also come with drawbacks; while his new forward aerial possesses more utility than his old one, it has much weaker priority to the point that the bomb disappears if it gets hit and the hitbox does not completely cover it, making it a riskier option to challenge opponents in the air with when combined with its increased ending lag. His new up aerial has also lost all of its KO power, which, compounded with the changes to his down throw, effectively removes his "Toot Toot" KO confirm from ''SSB4''.

The alterations to gameplay-based mechanics both strengthen and impair Mr. Game & Watch. The ability to [[run cancel|perform an attack out of a run]] has improved the newfound utility of his grounded attacks further, and now gives him access very quick KO options he previously didn't have access to. He also possesses drastically increased traction, which combined with the improvements to Fire gives him a much stronger [[out of shield]] game, which was a weakness he suffered from in ''SSB4''. However, while the universal increase in mobility benefits his own, several other returning veterans now boast overall quicker mobility to varying degrees as well, making it hard for Mr. Game & Watch to catch up with them and easier for them to eventually hit him. This problem is especially noticeable due to the increased prevalance of speed demons in '''Ultimate''. The changes to [[air dodging]] mechanics and reintroduction of directional air dodging give Mr. Game & Watch an option to either extend his recovery in a pinch, or perform a single directional air dodge as a short-ranged recovery without the necessity of using Fire, but this has also resulted in his air dodges becoming some of the slowest in the game, making them susceptible to punishment should one be performed recklessly. Finally, the weakening of [[rage]] improves Mr. Game & Watch's endurance, but due to his surprisingly good survivability for a lightweight, this also weakens his ability to reap advantage from it with his plentiful powerful attacks such as Judge #9.

Overall, Mr. Game & Watch generally retains much of his bait-and-punish playstyle from ''SSB4'', though the adjustments and increased utility he received to several of his attacks, as well as his significantly improved KO power, have led him to become more of an "all-rounder" type of character to his fellow lightweight brethren. Though he retains some of the same issues from ''SSB4'', namely his poor endurance, short range (despite being disjointed), and a lack of reliable approaching options, his numerous buffs now generally compensate for these issues. This has garnered Mr. Game & Watch a strikingly positive reception overall, and this incarnation of Mr. Game & Watch is near universally considered to be his best iteration in the series yet, being considered an excellent choice in competitive play.

Mr. Game & Watch has been slightly buffed via updates; in patch update {{SSBU|2.0.0}}, forward aerial's explosion had its range increased to match the visual explosion and down aerial auto-cancels slightly earlier to match its interruptibility. {{SSBU|3.0.0}} now has Octopus trap opponents for longer periods of time, and in patch {{SSBU|3.1.0}}, up tilt's first hit now deals weight independent set knockback, allowing it to always connect into the second hit, even at higher percents, and in {{SSBU|7.0.0}} his shield size has been significantly increased.

 

Overall, the updates given to Mr. Game & Watch have largely been quality of life improvements, and his competitive standing has not significantly changed as a result.

|neutraldesc=Rapidly presses an insecticide pump, pumping gas onto the opponent. The first hit can combo into a grab, Fire, and even Oil Panic at high percents; the finisher starts KOing middleweights at the ledge at around 150% on Final Destination. The finisher possesses a considerable amount of endlag, and is very punishable if shielded. Changes Mr. Game & Watch's model into the appearance of {{iw|mariowiki|Stanley}} from ''Greenhouse''.

|ftiltdesc=Thrusts a chair forward to hit with its legs. Relatively fast (frame 8) and extremely powerful, KOing at around 100% by the ledge. Its hitbox also lingers, making it effective at catching spot dodges and ledge options. Changes Mr. Game & Watch's model into a zookeeper from ''Lion''.

|utiltdesc=Mr. Game & Watch swings a flag in front of him, and a flag behind him. The first hit knocks the opponent into the second one and has low ending lag, giving it combo potential at low to mid percents. However, it has noticeable start-up for a tilt attack, and it has poor reach both horizontally and vertically. No matter what side he faces, Flag 1 and Flag 2 will always be on the left and right sides, respectively. If this move is used twice in succession, with the second use facing the opposite as the first, the numbers (albeit being mirrored) will switch sides. The second hit KOs middleweights at around 160%. His hands gain [[intangibility]] during the move. Changes Mr. Game & Watch's model into the character from ''Flagman''.

|dtiltdesc=Pushes an angled manhole in front of himself. Does more damage than in the previous game and has much more knockback at the expense of increased endlag and reduced range. Down tilt has also lost its [[windbox]], disallowing juggling and potential recovery interrupting, and it can no longer hit aerial opponents. Has fast startup at frame 6 and possesses extremely high knockback for a tilt of its type (making it the strongest down tilt in the game knockback-wise), killing as early as 90% by the ledge and 120% center-stage. It also [[semi-spike]]s opponents, leading to edgeguards and potentially gimping characters with poor recoveries, while acting as a hard punish to any shielded [[ledge attack]]. Changes Mr. Game & Watch's model into the main character from ''Manhole''.

|dashdesc=Performs a sliding headbutt while wearing a helmet. It has good range and is very fast, sliding Mr. Game & Watch forward in a choppy frame-by-frame manner, making it difficult to react to. It also lowers his hurtbox, allowing it to low-profile many attacks. This move is a tool for both risky approaching and safe punishing. Low ending lag, good knockback, and high amount of active frames make it a decent KOing option near the edge and useful for 2-framing opponents by the ledge, though the clean hit has trouble KOing from center stage until well past 180%. Originates from ''Helmet''.

|fsmashdesc=Swings a lit torch downward. The sweetspot is at the flame, while the sourspot is at the torch. While this move has moderate startup, coming out on frame 17, it has very little cooldown, is fully disjointed, and its sweetspot is safe on shield. While the sourspot has underwhelming knockback, the sweetspot is powerful and KOs around 90%, making it one of the stronger forward smashes. Changes Mr. Game & Watch's model to an antagonist from ''Fire Attack''.

|nairdesc=Tosses out a pair of fish from a fishbowl. Multiple hitboxes enable it to cover every area except below him. Has the fastest start-up of all of Mr. Game & Watch's aerials (frame 7), launches opponents upward, has relatively low ending lag, and has the lowest landing lag of all of his aerials. Using the move to combo into itself and/or up aerial at low percents can deal upwards of 60% in a single combo or string. The first hit can be used as KO confirm into forward tilt or down tilt when landing with it. As a result, it has become one of Mr. Game & Watch's most effective damage-racking options and is one of his best tools for approaching. Originates from ''Tropical Fish''.

|fairdesc=Holds a bomb in front of him, dropping it downward shortly after execution. The dropped bomb acts as a projectile, as it is sent directly downwards, exploding on a half a second afterwards or when it hits the stage. As of update 2.0.0, the entirety of the explosion's radius contains the hitbox. The bomb does not explode upon hitting an opponent, and any attack that hits it will cause it to disappear. There is a weak hitbox on the bomb (shortly before Mr. Game & Watch drops it) that slightly pushes midair opponents downward that deals set knockback, disallowing it to kill at any percentage. Hitting grounded opponents with the first hit will set them up to be hit by the second. Even if an opponent is hit from behind, the explosion always launches them whichever direction Mr. Game & Watch is facing. Compared to his old forward aerial, it functions more as a poking/spacing tool than an approach option. KOs at 115% by the ledge. Originates from ''Mario's Bombs Away''.

|bairdesc=Swings a snapping turtle behind himself. Has moderate start-up, but is also fully disjointed, hits multiple times, and has low ending lag; compounded with Mr. Game & Watch's high air acceleration, this makes it effective as an edgeguarding option and a spacing tool. It has high landing lag, however, making it easy to punish if not spaced well. Although it can't combo into itself anymore at higher percentages, its final hit is much stronger, making it a more reliable KO move off-stage. Originates from ''Turtle Bridge''.

|uairdesc=Shoots a single puff of air upward. Similar to Mega Man's up aerial, it acts as a projectile, hits multiple times, and pushes opponents upward as it rises. It has much more damage-racking and juggling capabilities than his ''SSB4'' up aerial at the expense of losing all of its KO power. Despite its complete lack of KO potential, it is notorious for being an incredible juggling tool due to its very long range, decent damage, low knockback, and low commitment, making it a core part of Mr. Game & Watch's combo game, and can be a big contributing factor to many of his best matchups due to how difficult it is for many opponents to escape. The move now has Mr. Game & Watch's model look more like the character from ''Spitball Sparky''.

|grabdesc=Reaches in front of himself. While standing grab has decent range, both his dash and pivot grabs have massively disjointed range. All of his grabs are also among the fastest in the game, but have moderate ending lag. Originates from how [[Mario]] pulls levers in ''Mario's Cement Factory''.

|pummeldesc=Hits the opponent with a bell. Average power and speed. Originates from the alarm feature on the "Wide Screen" and "Multi Screen" Game & Watch series.

|nsdesc=Flips various food-shaped projectiles out of a frying pan, moving slowly through the air. The trajectory can be controlled by tilting the stick forward and/or backward. By tapping the button, the food will be flung at a faster frequency. The food can be used defensively to cancel attack animations of opponents as a zoning tool as well as to prevent aerial approaches and can be used for edgeguarding against opponents with linear recoveries. Hitting with the pan itself deals flame damage, and acts as a semi-spike. Mr. Game & Watch's model changes into the character from ''Chef''.

|ssdesc=Swings a hammer in front of him in an arc, and raises a digital display with a random number from 1-9 with his other hand. It can have any one of 9 effects, which vary based on number; 1 only damages himself, while 9 is strong enough to almost always be a [[one-hit KO]]. Mr. Game & Watch's model changes into a character from ''Judge''.

|usdesc=Jumps off a trampoline and then descends while wearing a parachute. Has the second-fastest start-up of all of Mr. Game & Watch's attacks (frame 3), hits behind and in front of him, and launches opponents directly upward, granting the move combo potential, even at high percents. Capable of canceling into any move when falling. Because Mr. Game & Watch becomes intangible during his ascent and both hitboxes have good knockback, Fire is a good edgeguarding move offstage and a deadly [[stage spike]] when recovering low. It is Mr. Game & Watch's most effective [[OoS]] option, and is considered the best in the game. Originates from ''Fire''.

|dsdesc=Takes out a bucket, which absorbs energy-based [[projectile]]s, and reflects physical ones. Projectiles reflected will not be amplified, sped up, or have their duration refreshed. Once three units are absorbed, it turns into a powerful attack consisting of Mr. Game & Watch sending out a large splash of oil from his oil drum. No matter the strength of the oil, this move will always trigger [[Special Zoom]]. A max power Oil Panic will almost certainly OHKO and destroy full shields, while the least powerful Oil Panic can KO middleweights at the ledge around 95%. Comes out on frame 2, and with these traits Oil Panic is an incredibly dangerous move. Any opponent hit will be covered in oil for a brief moment. Mr. Game & Watch's model changes into the playable character from ''Oil Panic''.

Strong projectiles can fill two to three bucket units at once. If a move deals 10% (eg. [[Trick Shot]]), it will fill the bucket by two units. However, if a move deals 20% ([[Sun Salutation]] at max charge), it will fill by three. For each additional unit filled in one go, 8% is deducted from the previous unit, making it deal less damage overall.

SSBUMrGame&WatchIdle1.gif|Mr. Game & Watch first idle pose.

SSBUMrGame&WatchIdle2.gif|Mr. Game & Watch second idle pose.

|[[File:Mr. Game & Watch Cheer English SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:Mr. Game & Watch Cheer Japanese SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:Mr. Game & Watch Cheer Italian SSB4 SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:Mr. Game & Watch Cheer Dutch SSBU.ogg|center]]||{{NTSC}} [[File:Mr. Game & Watch Cheer French NTSC SSBU.ogg|center]] <br> {{PAL}} [[File:Mr. Game & Watch Cheer French PAL SSBU.ogg|center]]

|[[File:Mr. Game & Watch Cheer German SSBU.ogg|center]]||{{NTSC}} [[File:Mr. Game & Watch Cheer Spanish NTSC SSB4 SSBU.ogg|center]] <br> {{PAL}} [[File:Mr. Game & Watch Cheer Spanish PAL SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:Mr. Game & Watch Cheer Russian SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:Mr. Game & Watch Cheer Korean SSBU.ogg|center]]

==In [[competitive play]]==

''See also: [[:Category:Mr. Game & Watch players (SSBU)]]''

*{{Sm|Maister|Mexico}} -  One of the best Mr. Game & Watch players of all time, as well as the definitive best from 2019 until Miya's rise in mid-2022. He is largely responsible for Mr. Game & Watch's rise in the metagame, and although he has yet to win a major he came close several times, most notably at {{Trn|Frostbite 2020}} and {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2022}}.

*{{Sm|Miya|Japan|p=Honshu}} - The best Mr. Game & Watch player of all-time and one of the best players in the world since 2023. He came to prominence after his unexpected victory at {{Trn|Kagaribi 8}} and has won many other majors and supermajors since, most notably {{Trn|Kagaribi 11}}, {{Trn|Kagaribi 12}} and {{Trn|Umebura SP 11}}. He is the only Mr. Game & Watch player with major wins.

*{{Sm|Regi Shikimi|Mexico}} - One of the best Mr. Game & Watch players in the world in the early metagame, notably placing 7th at the {{Trn|Smash Factor 8}} and 33rd at {{Trn|GENESIS 6}}, the best early Mr. Game & Watch results outside of Maister. He was also a top 10 player in Mexico, ranking as high as 7th on the [[Mexican Power Rankings]].

Upon the release of ''Ultimate'', Mr. Game & Watch's competitive reception was mostly poor; this was because many players considered the nerfs he received - particularly the lack of priority on his new forward aerial, the reduction of invincibility frames on his up smash, and the loss of his "Toot-Toot" KO confirm - as significant enough to outweigh the buffs he was given. Likely as a result, most players considered him a low tier or even a bottom tier character, and the character saw little representation in competitive play. However, it later became clear that the buffs were far more significant than the nerfs. In particular, Mr. Game & Watch has a strong advantage state due to his aerial juggle game, an amazing out of shield option (as his up special has a startup of 3 frames and is invincible on frame 5), and low ending lag on his smash attacks, with down smash burying opponents, allowing for easy KOs as well. This rise in perception was due to the rise of {{Sm|Maister}}, who having struggled a bit in the first few months of the game, saw many strong results following the end of the first [[PGRU]] season.  

 

These revelations and results helped boost Mr. Game & Watch's perception in the community, with players considering Mr. Game & Watch to be high or top-tier. The rise of {{Sm|Miya|p=Honshu}} in mid-2022 helped bolster this opinion, resulting in him being ranked 18th on the first tier list. Perceptions on the character only further improved as Miya became one of ''Ultimate''{{'}}s [[Four Horsemen]], and the metagame began favoring a campier, more patient playstyle that fit perfectly for Mr. Game & Watch players. As such, Mr. Game & Watch received a massive boost on the second tier list to 3rd, now ranking as one of the best characters in the game.

Mr. Game & Watch fights classic characters on retro stages, with most of the music sourced directly from retro games. They are fought in reverse order of release dates, similar to [[All-Star Mode]] in {{forwiiu}}, except for Pac-Man, who is ordered between Kirby and Duck Hunt, rather than between Donkey Kong and the Mr. Game & Watch horde. This is likely a reference to the Nintendo Entertainment System version of ''Pac-Man'', which released in 1984, fitting with the order of release dates.

|5||{{CharHead|Donkey Kong|SSBU|hsize=20px|color=Red}}||[[75m]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|Donkey Kong|25m Theme}}''||{{Head|Mario|g=SSBU|s=20px}} Mario is a CPU ally, as a reference to him appearing in the original ''{{b|Donkey Kong|game}}''. Donkey Kong's red costume references his appearance in said game.

|6||{{Head|Mr. Game & Watch|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Red}}{{Head|Mr. Game & Watch|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Red}}{{Head|Mr. Game & Watch|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Yellow}}{{Head|Mr. Game & Watch|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Blue}}{{Head|Mr. Game & Watch|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Teal}}{{CharHead|Mr. Game & Watch|SSBU|hsize=20px|color=Cyan}} (×6)||[[Flat Zone X]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|Game & Watch|Flat Zone}}''||Horde Battle (3 at a time)<br>If any of these costumes are being used by the player, the {{Head|Mr. Game & Watch|g=SSBU|s=20px}} default Mr. Game & Watch takes their place.

Mr. Game & Watch is unlocked in the area reminiscent of [[Pac-Maze]] of [[The Light Realm]]. He can be found by going through the teleporters to find the correct path. After finding the correct path through the maze, the player must defeat the [[List of spirits (Super Mario series)|Sidestepper]] and [[Nikki]] [[List of spirits (Others)#Nikki|spirits]] blocking him.

{{clr}}

Mr. Game & Watch's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing {{SSBU|Classic Mode}} as Mr. Game & Watch. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after Mr. Game & Watch has been unlocked. Unlocking Mr. Game & Watch in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a fighter spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. His fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with his artwork in ''Ultimate''.

SSBU spirit Chef (Game & Watch).png|699. Chef (Game & Watch)

==In Spirit Battles==

|{{s|mariowiki|Shop owner}}

SSBUWebsiteMrGame&Watch1.jpg|Mr. Game & Watch's up [[taunt]] on [[Town and City]].

SSBUWebsiteMrGame&Watch6.jpg|Four of Mr. Game & Watch's [[Alternate costume (SSBU)#Mr. Game & Watch|alternate costumes]] on [[Flat Zone X]].

*Although Mr. Game & Watch has no visible eyes in his neutral animation, the loading screen, and the damage meter render when parrying (which temporarily lights up the selected character's eyes) makes Mr. Game & Watch glow where his eyes would be. The same applies to his Final Smash activation picture, which focuses on where his eyes would be, as with other characters.

*Mr. Game & Watch is one of few characters who have two moves that trigger [[Special Zoom]], being Judge and Oil Panic.

*In Mr. Game & Watch's showcase trailer in ''Ultimate'', Mr. Game & Watch is seen using his ''Vermin'' form in his down smash, which had a slightly different expression on his face (such as his eyes being circular and large, his hair being bigger than the original and his mouth being more extended) compared to was is seen in the final release.

*Oddly, Mr. Game & Watch used to be unable to angle his [[shield]] directly forward as doing so caused the shield to reset to neutral position. This was fixed in a patch.

*Mr. Game & Watch is the only character in ''Ultimate'' who has a higher base air acceleration than additional air acceleration.