Mr. Game & Watch (SSBU): Difference between revisions

|tier = S-

|ranking = 18

Mr. Game & Watch is ranked 18th out of 82 on the current [[tier list]], placing him in S- tier. This is a drastic improvement from his placement in ''Smash 4'' where he was ranked 38th out of 54, and is his best placement in the series. Mr. Game & Watch's most notable strength is his unrivaled [[out of shield]] game: [[Fire]] is one of the most effective out of shield options in the game, as it possesses extremely fast startup with large hitboxes that are positioned on both sides of Mr. Game & Watch, allowing him to punish moves that are the slightest bit misspaced. In addition, Mr. Game & Watch also possesses a strong combo that complements his high damage output as well as great KO potential thanks to the low lag on his [[smash attacks]], especially his [[up smash]] and [[down smash]]. Finally's [[Oil Panic]] allows Mr. Game & Watch to deal with projectile users as it acts as both a [[reflector]] and an [[absorption]] based move.  

However, Mr. Game & Watch possesses some notable weaknesses, the most significant of which is his extremely poor endurance. He is tied with {{SSBU|Squirtle}} for being the third [[Weight|lightest]] character in the game, making him very easy to KO. In addition, most of his defensive options are rather poor, with short reaching [[roll]]s and dodges. Finally, despite having [[disjointed hitbox]]es in his attacks, his [[range]] is still rather lackluster, giving him notorious trouble against characters that can outrange him.  

Overall, his strengths considerably outweigh his weaknesses, and he has achieved great success in competitive play due to the efforts of players such as {{Sm|Miya|p=Honshu}} and {{Sm|Maister}}.

Mr. Game & Watch is a short, [[weight|lightweight]] character that has some typical attributes of characters in his weight class, and is also a character of extremes. He has fast [[air speed]], excellent [[air acceleration]], a small size, and a very low crouch that allows him to evade many attacks like {{SSBU|Marth}}'s [[Shield Breaker]] and {{SSBU|Simon}}'s forward tilt. However, his jumps are very low and he has slightly above-average [[walk]]ing speed and below-average [[dash|running]] speeds although his initial dash is decently fast.

Unlike most other lightweights, Mr. Game & Watch possesses attacks with large disjointed hitboxes and has numerous, powerful KO options. All of his [[smash attack]]s have very high power and low ending lag throughout, with each of them possessing unique attributes. [[Forward smash]] is among the strongest in the game if sweetspotted while having low endlag and good range, with the sweetspot being safe on shield. [[Up smash]] is also very strong, and comes with full body invincibility while the hitboxes are active. While it has slow startup, it has minimal endlag and is completely safe on shield. [[Down smash]] sends opponents at an awkward [[semi-spike]] angle offstage, while its sweetspot [[bury|buries]] opponents long enough to lead into a forward smash, even at medium percents. It also has a very large hitbox, allowing it to easily 2-frame many recoveries, and acts as an excellent punish option on rolls. Like his other smash attacks, down smash is safe on shield when spaced properly. Overall, Mr. Game & Watch possesses an excellent arsenal of smash attacks.

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 as 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.

Mr. Game & Watch also has a very potent combo and aerial juggling game. Down throw combos into Oil Panic, [[Judge]], and [[neutral air]] at low percentages. [[Chef]] can deal massive damage if multiple 'food' items hit, allowing it to get around 30-40% off of a single edgeguard. The pan also hits opponents into the stream of meat through a [[semi-spike]], and at high percents can launch opponents fast enough to miss the food entirely and lead to more ledge trapping. Chef's speed and pattern makes it extremely difficult for certain characters to recover, such as {{SSBU|Ganondorf}} or {{SSBU|Mario}}. Not only does Chef deal massive damage, but landing the move allows Mr. Game & Watch to follow up with a grab, neutral aerial, forward tilt, dash attack, and even Judge. Up tilt, though having worse range, deals high damage and combos into neutral aerial and Judge at low percentages. Once Mr. Game & Watch has his opponents above him, he can juggle them for massive damage using his up and neutral aerials. His up air acts similar to Mega Man's up air, pushing opponents upwards, albeit with much less force. All in all, Mr. Game & Watch's strong KO power is also paired with highly damaging combos and juggles.

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.

Despite these strengths, Mr. Game & Watch possesses a few notable weaknesses. He is tied with {{SSBU|Squirtle}} being the third lightest character in the game, which, along with his floaty movement and average speed, make his horizontal and vertical endurance terrible. In addition, despite having disjointed hitboxes, his overall range is mediocre. This is worsened by the fact that many of his disjointed moves like down tilt, up tilt, and forward smash have underwhelming range for a disjoint. Characters with swords like {{SSBU|Marth}} and {{SSBU|Cloud}} are able to easily keep Mr. Game & Watch at arm's length and stop his approaches. Also, while his new forward air possesses more damage and knockback, it has very low priority, so any move can hit the bomb and make it disappear. This makes it unsuitable for approaching and forces Mr. Game & Watch to approach with his back air instead. It is also a much more situational move in general, due to its higher lag and delayed hitbox, as the bomb will only explode upon touching the ground or waiting for half a second. Also, none of his aerials can autocancel in a short hop. Due to this, he has a somewhat lackluster neutral game and a rather poor approach. While Mr. Game & Watch's [[down throw]] and [[up throw]] are good at starting combos, Mr. Game & Watch's [[throws]] don't KO until very high percents, with his strongest throw, down throw, KOing at around 200%. He also has mediocre defensive attributes, possessing slow and short-reaching spot dodges and rolls.

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 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 significantly 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. Forward tilt has a much longer duration, making it an effective option for both [[2 frame punish|2-framing]] and [[spotdodging]], 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 has Mr. Game & Watch drop 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 has Mr. Game & Watch shoot 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 keeping opponents trapped 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 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 hitbox reductions 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. Judge's number 9 is also less effective, since its new high SDI multiplier, combined with the hit's high hitlag, makes it much easier to prepare for and slightly reduces its effectiveness for early KOs. His new moves have also come with drawbacks; while his new forward aerial possesses more utility than his oldone, 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. 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''.

Gameplay mechanics both strengthen and hamper Mr. Game & Watch. The ability to [[run cancel]] also improves the newfound utility of his ground attacks further, and now him very quick KO options he previously didn't have access to. He also possesses a much higher 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 below-average dashing speed, several other veterans now boast overall faster mobility as well, making it hard for him to keep up with them. The changes to [[air dodge]] mechanics and reintroduction of directional air dodging give Mr. Game & Watch an option to either extend his recovery in a pinch, or use one as a short-ranged recovery without the necessity to use his up special, but this has also resulted in his air dodges becoming some of the slowest in the game, making them susceptible to punishment. 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 use it to his advantage, due to his plentiful strong attacks such as Judge 9. Of note is that despite his numerous improvements, Mr. Game & Watch retains some of the same issues from ''SSB4'', namely his poor endurance, short reach, and a lack of reliable approach options.

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. 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.

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''.

|usmashdesc=Performs an upward headbutt while wearing a diving helmet. The move has noticeable start-up, coming out on frame 21, but has an extremely low cool down of only 13 frames and a deceptively long duration of 5 frames, making it a reliable baiting tool. Useful for shield break setups with Oil Panic due to its safety and even advantage on shield. It also has combo potential into his neutral air, up air, and fire. While his whole body gains invincibility, it only lasts during the frames the hitboxes are active. The 12th strongest up smash in the game, KOing middleweights at 90% uncharged and 60% fully charged. Originates from ''Octopus''.

|dsmashdesc=Swings two hammers downward and on both of his sides. Has the fastest start-up of all of Mr. Game & Watch's smash attacks, coming out on frame 12, and possesses very fast interruptibility, with only 21 frames of cooldown. It is rather disjointed for a down smash, and when sweetspotted, it will bury opponents, which can be followed up with a forward smash, down tilt, Oil Panic, or Judge. Its sourspot sends opponents at a semi-spike angle and kills at 120% by the ledge. Its aerial sweetspot is one of the strongest down smashes in the game, KOing around 95%. As a result, down smash has become one of Mr. Game & Watch's most reliable KO'ing options and is regarded by many to be the best down smash in the game. Changes Mr. Game & Watch's model into the character from ''Vermin''.

|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''.

|dairdesc=Drops downward while holding a key beneath himself. A [[stall-then-fall]], it [[meteor smash]]es powerfully on the first frames. It can be moved left or right slightly during descent. While it can potentially cause Mr. Game & Watch to [[self-destruct]] while using it off-stage, his effective recovery, coupled with its low endlag and the move being slower than other stall-then-falls makes this unlikely. While the move has rather high landing lag, the landing hitbox can make it tricky to punish on whiff. It is a safe option when edgeguarding and has KO potential at high percents, killing at 130%. The meteor smash is strong enough to directly KO as low as 65%, or even less depening on the opponent's recovery options. Originates from the ''Game & Watch'' version of ''Donkey Kong Jr.''

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

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

|fthrowdesc=Juggles the opponent and tosses them forward. Has little utility beyond throwing the opponent offstage. Changes Mr. Game & Watch's model into the character from ''Ball''.

|bthrowdesc=Juggles the opponent and tosses them backward. Has little utility beyond throwing the opponent offstage. Changes Mr. Game & Watch's model into the character from ''Ball''.

|uthrowdesc=Juggles the opponent and tosses them upward. Although it's not as versatile as down throw in terms of follow-up potential, it's an effective combo starter, and can be followed up with up aerial or neutral aerial at low percents or Fire at high percents. Changes Mr. Game & Watch's model into the character from ''Ball''.

|dthrowdesc=Juggles the opponent and drops them on the ground behind him. Launches opponents upward. Mr. Game & Watch's only KO throw, but still does not KO middleweights until around 200%. At low to mid percents, it's a reliable combo starter, and can be followed up with neutral air, Judge, Fire, or up air. Changes Mr. Game & Watch's model into the character from ''Ball''.

|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''.

*Judge 6: A swing that has a [[flame]] effect and is a semi-spike. Has the second strongest knockback of all Judge attacks.

*Judge 8: A swing that has a [[freeze]] effect and deals very low knockback. Emits the "[[ping]]" sound effect that is usually associated with [[one-hit KO]]s.

*Judge 9: An extremely powerful swing that deals very high knockback. It is the most damaging Judge attack and emits the "ping" sound effect like Judge 8. Similar in nature to a charged swing from the [[Home-Run Bat]], but the hit's base knockback is much lower, which prevents it from being a true [[OHKO]]. When used fresh with enough [[rage]], it will KO every character in the game at 0% at the edge of Final Destination.

|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''.

|fsdesc=Transforms into the large octopus that appears in its eponymous game, ''Octopus'', rears back and charges forward. The octopus can move up or down, only. Any opponents who touch its tentacles will be grabbed and dragged offscreen by the octopus, taking gradual damage. Touching the main body will just deal damage. Just like in the previous game, pressing the attack button will extend the length of the tentacles. By button-mashing, however, opponents can escape. The octopus can also go through walls and stages; any grabbed opponents who make contact with walls or floors will take damage and be launched. After reaching the blast line, Mr. Game & Watch will return back to his previous position.

*Moves along a row of ''Game & Watch'' LCD frames until reaching the foreground.

*'''Down Taunt''': Sits down and catches his breath. Originates from the ''Game & Watch'' version of ''Mario Bros.'', when [[Mario]] and [[Luigi]] finished a level.

*'''Up:''' Hops about in choppy poses, tripping halfway, before teetering on one foot. He then proceeds to jump back and forth, landing on his feet, then his head.

*'''Right:''' Juggles 3 balls while in his appearance from ''Ball''.

*{{Sm|Kaeru|Japan}} - The second-best Mr. Game & Watch player in Japan. Although his major results have been mixed, he has seen far more success at regionals and superregionals, including placing 4th at the superregional {{Trn|Toyota Grand Slam 13}} and 5th at the superregional {{Trn|Chūbu Smash Chronicle 2}}.

*{{Sm|Maister|Mexico}} - The best Mr. Game & Watch player in the world from 2019 until mid-2022 and one of the two best of all time. Was the first Mr. Game & Watch to consistently place top 8 at majors.

*{{Sm|Miya|Japan|p=Honshu}} - The best Mr. Game & Watch player in the world in 2023 and one of the two best of all time, came to prominence after his unexpected victory at {{Trn|Kagaribi 8}}. He is the only Mr. Game & Watch player who has won a major and is considered one of the best players in the world.

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 tier or better. This perception continues to remain today thanks to Maister's continued strong results, as well as the rise of {{Sm|Miya|p=Honshu}}, making him ranked 18th on the first and current tier list.

Although Mr. Game & Watch does not appear in the World of Light opening cutscene, he was vaporized and later imprisoned alongside the rest of the fighters (sans {{SSBU|Kirby}}) when Galeem unleashed his beams of light.

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.

SSBUWebsiteYoshi5.jpg|With {{SSBU|Yoshi}} on [[Skyloft]].

*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.