Mr. Game & Watch (SSB4)

Mr. Game & Watch in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Game & Watch
Other playable appearances	in Melee in Brawl in Ultimate
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Octopus
Tier	E (38)

Mr. Game & Watch (Mr.ゲーム＆ウォッチ, Mr. Game & Watch) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. After making a cameo in Pac-Man's trailer, Mr. Game & Watch was announced during the Super Smash Bros. for Wii U 50-Fact Extravaganza on October 23rd, 2014. Like in Smash 4's predecessors, he emits Game & Watch-esque sound effects to represent his "voice".

Mr. Game & Watch is ranked 38th out of 54 on the tier list, placing him at the top of the E tier. This is a significant drop from his ranking in Brawl, where he was ranked 16th out of 38. Mr. Game & Watch's strengths lie in excellent combo and air games, as well as a high overall damage output and reowned KO potential in spite of his size and weight, due to the power of his forward and down tilts, smash attacks, aerials, Judge and Oil Panic. His overall mobility is also decent, with his recovery in particular being impressive due to Fire's long-ranged distance, large edge sweetspot and general safety.

Mr. Game & Watch is also good at edgeguarding, due to his recovery and moderately fast aerials. His landing lag, while not supplemented by auto-cancels, is actually quite low and is among the best in the game in terms of the total amount of frames in aerial move-lag upon landing.

However, Mr. Game & Watch possesses notable weaknesses as well. One of his biggest flaws includes a surprising inability to KO at higher percentages despite dealing a lot of damage quickly. This is due to his finishers being plagued with either inconsistent KO set-ups (such as down throw into up aerial), KOing options that are too sluggish, or have large sourspots (such as forward and down smashes, respectively). Additionally, while he has surprisingly good range for his size due to his disjointed hitboxes, he still has shorter range than a handful of the cast, such as Shulk, Ike, Marth, and Cloud. He is also the third-lightest character in the game, making him prone to getting KO'd quite easily, which is further exacerbated by the loss of Bucket Braking and the introduction of rage.

Mr. Game & Watch's grab game is also lackluster outside of down throw, as his grab has short reach, his pummel is one of the slowest in the game, and none of his other throws possess the same utility that his down throw does, nor are they strong enough to KO at realistic percentages. His neutral game is also lacking, due to lacking aerials that auto-cancel from a short hop and his limited amount of safe options on shield. Lastly, his special moves are considered to be situational, due to either requiring luck (Judge) or the opponent to have an energy-based projectile (Oil Panic) in order to have the moves function.

Overall, Mr. Game & Watch's strengths are generally on par with his weaknesses. While his tournament representation is poor overall due to his noticeable flaws and unpopularity in competitive play, he has still achieved surprisingly high tournament results for a mid-tier, such as Regi placing 17th at EVO 2016 and Maister placing 13th and 17th at GENESIS 5 and 2GG: Hyrule Saga, respectively. In addition, some professional smashers, like ESAM and ZeRo, rank Mr. Game & Watch much higher in their own tier lists compared his current standing.

How to unlock

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

• Play 90 VS Matches.
• Complete Classic Mode with 10 different characters.

Mr. Game & Watch must then be defeated on Flat Zone 2.

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

• Play 80 VS Matches.
• Clear Classic Mode on Intensity 2.0 or higher with 5 characters.

Mr. Game & Watch must then be defeated on Flat Zone X.

Attributes

Mr. Game & Watch's archetype as a small lightweight slightly differs from the majority of his fellow lightweights. While he has a small size, has the third lightest weight, the fifth slowest falling speed, below average gravity, low jumps and is tied for the seventh fastest air acceleration, he has a slightly above average walking speed, an average dashing speed, a low short hop and above average air speed. Overall, Mr. Game & Watch's mobility is quite exceptional for a lightweight, but his slow falling speed can be somewhat detrimental. His short size also makes him difficult to hit, especially when crouching.

Unlike most lightweights, Mr. Game & Watch's moveset benefits from disjointed hitboxes, with some of them reaching relatively far from him. His damage output is excellent despite his small size and light weight, supplemented by possessing one of the best combo games in SSB4, allowing him to easily inflict an impressive amount of damage by landing only a few hits. His down throw is a reliable combo starter, being able to be followed by his up tilt (on floaty characters) or neutral attack (on fast-fallers) at low percents, Judge, up smash or Oil Panic from low to high percents, all aerials excluding down aerial from medium to high percents, and Fire at high percents.

His combo game is further compounded by his outstanding air game, possessing a damaging and versatile set of aerial attacks with useful applications. His neutral aerial provides high coverage around him and deals exceptional damage if all hits connect. The last hit deals moderate knockback, making it difficult to punish and allowing it to KO at high precents, as well as being rarely escaped by SDI and able to be followed up by other moves. His forward aerial has decent range and knockback (when clean), making it useful for edgeguarding and KOing off the edge at high precents, and the late hit can be followed up by another attack when late despite the moves' ending lag. His back aerial, while less damaging than in Brawl, is still quite useful due to its disjointed range and low knockback that allows it to be followed by another one, giving it effective wall of pain ability.

Mr. Game & Watch's up and down aerials have primary utility for KOs. His up aerial is his strongest one, but its windbox can make it difficult to connect into the second hit, which carries all the knockback. Nevertheless, its windbox can also safely space the move and anti-air or juggle opponents. Meanwhile, his down aerial is an effective meteor smash as well as being a stall-then-fall, giving Mr. Game & Watch an effective move for edgeguarding, ending a stock early, and getting out of juggles, while the move's late hit has decent knockback to KO at high precents if the clean hit is unreliable.

While he boasts a fairly damaging moveset and combo game, Mr. Game & Watch also boasts plenty of reliable and powerful finishers for his weight class, to the point his own power rivals those of super heavyweights. The most notable examples include his forward and down tilts at high percents, all of his smash attacks, his aerials, Judge (9) and Oil Panic. Finally, his special moveset is relatively versatile, albeit polarized. His neutral special, Chef, deals weak knockback, but can effectively stun players, as well as working as an efficient anti-pressuring and edgeguarding option from afar. Hitting with the pan is much more rewarding at edgeguarding, as it is a semi-spike that can gimp characters with short-ranged projectiles. His up special, Fire, grants exceptional vertical distance and deals moderate knockback, as well as slowing his descent down after usage, giving Mr. Game & Watch an amazing recovery that is also difficult to edgeguard.

Mr. Game & Watch's side special, Judge, is infamously polarizing due to being luck-based; its effects range from inflicting no knockback while damaging Mr. Game & Watch himself (1) to inflicting extremely high knockback that is often a virtual one-hit KO (9). Finally, Oil Panic can absorb three energy-based projectiles (or one extremely powerful energy-based projectile) before unleashing a powerful attack that can score a one-hit KO depending on how much damage of the absorbed projectiles. However, it only works on characters with absorbable projectiles, such as Zelda and Samus, making it situational and dependent on the matchup, limiting its utility.

Despite these exploitable strengths, Mr. Game & Watch possesses notable weaknesses. Due to his two-dimensional nature, he is the third-lightest character in the game, which makes him susceptible to early KOs, especially vertically. He also suffers from poor defensive options: he possesses short-reaching dodges that are quite slow, often punishable even when used sparingly. His grab game leaves a lot to be desired outside of combos, as his grab still has short reach, his pummel is one of the slowest in the game; in particular, this makes it unreliable for racking up damage until past medium precents despite being damaging as the opponent can get grab released after a single pummel at low precents, and none of his throws share the utility his down throw does, and none of his throws can KO until very high precents.

In addition, despite possessing large and disjointed hitboxes, his overall range is mostly mediocre. This is further worsened by the fact that most of his disjointed moves, like up tilt, down tilt, and forward smash, have underwhelming range for a disjoint. Their range was also nerfed from Brawl, with his attacks being much less wide and far. Swordfighters, like Marth and Cloud, are able to easily outrange Mr. Game & Watch and stop his approaches. The latter is amplified by his relative lack of approaching options. Additionally, his neutral game is hindered by none of his aerials auto-canceling out of short hops and limited amount of safe options on shield. While the majority of his moveset has quick startup, it suffers from high ending/landing lag in most of his attacks; his aerial attacks, in particular, are burdened with high landing lag, allowing him to be easily punished when his moves are whiffed or shielded. Finally, some of his special moves are considered to be situational depending on the matchup, with Judge being an unsafe move in general due to its randomness, and Oil Panic being only useful when facing an opponent with an absorbable projectile.

Regarding custom moves, Mr. Game & Watch noticeably benefits from a few of them. Short-Order Chef deals even weaker knockback, but has a much quicker execution, allowing him to space and zone out his opponents more easily while giving Mr. Game & Watch an approaching option. Chain Judge lacks special effects, but deals more damage the higher the displayed number is, significantly improving the move's consistency and damage-racking capabilities. XXL Chef sacrificies speed for power as it can KO at very high precents when hitting with the bacon. Heavy Trampoline sacrifices distance for more KO potential, while Trampoline Launch sacrifices a parachute for improved distance and KO potential. Efficient Panic's oil spill is weaker and has less range, but requires only one projectile to be completely filled instead of three and has less ending lag upon absorption, allowing Mr. Game & Watch to use one of his most situational tools in his kit much more frequently. Panic Overload's bucket has a smaller absorption radius, but the oil spill sacrifices speed for more power.

Overall, Mr. Game & Watch is described as a potent glass cannon, as he can inflict high damage by collectively using his combos and KO his opponents early. By these same merits, he himself is susceptible to being finished off earlier than most characters due to his lightweight status. All in all, Mr. Game & Watch's strengths are generally on par with his weaknesses. While he has held poor tournament representation due to his noticeable flaws and low overall popularity in competitive play, Mr. Game & Watch still maintains notable success in competitive play due to the efforts of dedicated players to his credit, such as GimR, Regi and Maister.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. Brawl

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mr. Game & Watch was typically perceived as an upper mid-tier/lower high-tier character. Mr. Game & Watch was a small target with solid overall mobility, who possessed surprisingly powerful attacks, several disjointed attacks with large hitboxes, a great recovery, as well as possessing an especially powerful tool in Oil Panic. Oil Panic was not only a very powerful tool to deal with projectiles, but it was also an incredible momentum canceling tool, allowing Mr. Game & Watch to maintain solid horizontal endurance despite his light weight. On the other hand, Mr. Game & Watch suffered from possessing slow startup on several of his attacks, possessing an array of multi-hitting attacks which could be SDIed out of, and he generally lacked strong options to approach his opponents, or reliable ways to rack up a ton of damage. Because of this, Mr. Game & Watch was an overall solid threat, but he was outclassed by a sizeable portion of the cast, and he overall struggled against most top/high-tier characters. Most likely owing to this, Mr. Game & Watch has recieved a mixture of buffs and nerfs in the transition to Smash 4, being overall nerfed.

A majority of his moveset are burdened with increased lag, such as his neutral aerial possessing a shorter duration, more ending lag, more landing lag and no longer auto-canceling with short hops, which weakens his options to approach or punish opponents. His other aerials (excluding forward aerial) also have increased landing lag, especially his down aerial, making Mr. Game & Watch himself more vulnerable to punishes if his moves get whiffed and/or shielded. Mr. Game & Watch's overall range, damage output and KO potential have received various reductions, making it more difficult for him to rack up damage and land KOs. The changes to hitstun canceling can be considered a double-edged sword for Mr. Game & Watch: they indirectly removed Bucket Braking and momentum canceling, which greatly hinders his endurance, especially horizontally, and it makes him more susceptible to combos, yet it improves his combo game due to his altered and combo-oriented down throw. He also suffers from the removal of edge momentum shifting, as it removes the approaching potential of his special moves when Mr. Game & Watch slides off edges/stage platforms. The inclusion of rage also does not benefit Mr. Game & Watch as much as the majority of the cast, as while it improves his KO potential, the increased knockback delivered by adversaries under the influence of rage makes the liability of his poor endurance more prominent in Smash 4.

However, Mr. Game & Watch has received some noticeable buffs. As previously mentioned, his down throw is now a potent combo starter, which can potentially lead into an up aerial for a KO. While Oil Panic has had its valuable "Bucket Braking" ability removed, it also fills faster and absorbing more damaging projectiles will fill it up by multiple units instead of only one, letting Mr. Game & Watch use one of his most situational moves in his kit more frequently. The weakening of SDI has also improved the reliability and consistency of his multi-hitting attacks, like neutral aerial and back aerial. His up smash has been improved rather drastically: it not only gains invincibility instead of intangibility, Mr. Game & Watch's frontal limbs are now invincible are now invincible with his head, granting it more frontal protection. In addition, the move's invincibility lasts as soon as the move charges until the hitbox dissipates. Altogether, these changes collectively make it much more effective at stuffing out attacks and has effectively rendered the move more as a legitimate pseudo-counterattack. Although it still remains as one of the strongest up smashes in the game, the move's decreased knockback has also made it more reliable for starting combos. Finally, his recovery has also been improved due to his faster air speed, Fire's increased vertical distance which also no longer suffers from the grab release glitch, and Oil Panic's newly acquired jump-boost mechanic.

Overall, Mr. Game & Watch is noticeably less effective in comparison to Brawl, as while most of his strengths are still reowned, such as high KO potential and damage output, they were nevertheless toned down and his weaknesses were not properly addressed, such as his poor endurance, lackluster range and lack of reliable ways to approach. Additionally, he also did not benefit from the changes to the game's mechanics as much as the other returning veterans. Despite this, he still maintains notable success in competitive play, due to the efforts of dedicated players to his credit, such as GimR, Regi and Maister.

Aesthetics

• Mr. Game & Watch's design has been changed. He now has a rounder head; a slightly smaller and rounder nose; a slightly wider torso; circular hands, shorter arms and slightly smaller feet; and a thinner outline that is layered gray and white. His hands are now depicted to be more clenched fists instead of open hands. Altogether, these changes make Mr. Game & Watch appear much more in line with his appearance in Game & Watch Gallery 4. His animations are also choppier, which better simulate the frame-by-frame movement within the Game & Watch series.
• His walking animation has changed: Mr. Game & Watch now walks more flippantly while he repeatedly looks back and forth. This originates from Helmet.
  • His running animation has also been changed, so Mr. Game & Watch runs more flippantly.
  • In , Mr. Game & Watch's hands are clenched fists when running/walking. In , Mr. Game & Watch's hands are spread out.
• Mr. Game & Watch has a new down taunt. He now sits down and sighs, instead of jumping once with his hands open. This originates from the Game & Watch version of Mario Bros.
• In , Mr. Game & Watch's hands are spread out during the windup of swinging the Home-Run Bat. In , Mr. Game & Watch's hands are clenched fists. This is shared with his Ultimate iteration.

Attributes

• Mr. Game & Watch is smaller. This makes his hurtbox slightly smaller, but slightly hinders his range.
  • Due to the general change in size between small and large characters combined with many hitboxes having reduced vertical range, Mr. Game & Watch's smaller size significantly improves his crouch's defensive potential.
• Mr. Game & Watch walks faster (1.1 → 1.1242).
• Mr. Game & Watch dashes slightly slower (1.553 → 1.5264), unlike almost all of the returning veterans, going from the 15th fastest out of 39 characters to only the 34th fastest out of 58 characters.
• Mr. Game & Watch's air speed is faster (1.081 → 1.12).
• Mr. Game & Watch's gravity is higher (0.07505 → 0.08).
• Mr. Game & Watch's fast falling speed is higher (1.736 → 1.984), although it has gone from the 9th lowest out of 39 characters to the 5th lowest out of 58.
• Rolls have less ending lag (FAF 36 → 30).
• Rolls have less intangibility (frames 4-19 → 4-16).
• Air dodge has less startup (frame 4 → 2) and ending lag (FAF 50 → 32).
• Air dodge has slightly less intangibility (frames 4-29 → 2-26).
• Spot dodge has less intangibility (frames 2-20 → 2-16).

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • The attack button now needs to be mashed at least three times in quick succession in order to initiate neutral attack's infinite, if the first hit does not connect. This makes it more difficult to initiate the infinite, as it can no longer be buffered.
  • Neutral infinite has less startup lag (frame 8 → 7).
  • Neutral infinite's hand hitbox is now an extended hitbox, giving it more range inside Mr. Game & Watch.
  • The weakening of SDI makes neutral infinite significantly more difficult to escape from.
  • Neutral infinite now deals consistent damage (1% (far)/2% (near)/3% (back) → 1%).
  • Neutral infinite's body hitbox has been removed, reducing its range behind Mr. Game & Watch.
  • Neutral infinite now pushes Mr. Game & Watch away from his opponent after a few hits. This significantly hinders its damage racking potential, especially at walls.
    • However, this makes the move safer near an edge, as if Mr. Game & Watch is facing away from the edge, he can slide off it, increasing the move's safety.
    • Additionally, this improves the move's damage racking potential against opponents from behind, especially at a wall.
  • Neutral attack has received an updated finisher, a large blast of gas from the insecticide pump.
    • This new finisher uses a regular hitbox (rather than a windbox) which deals damage (0% → 2%) and much more knockback (29 (set), 100 (scaling) → 60 (base)/180).
    • This new finisher also has much more range.
    • However, this new finisher also has much more ending lag to compensate (FAF 9 → 24).
  • In , his hands are portrayed to be more realistic. In , his hands are clenched fists.
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt has a longer duration (frames 10-15 → 10-17).
    • However, the move now has a clean hit and a much weaker late hit, with the clean hit only lasting for one frame (frames 10-15 → 10).
  • Forward tilt has increased base knockback (20 → 35).
  • The top of the chair sends opponents at a more favourable angle (45° → 361°).
  • Forward tilt now has two extended hitboxes instead of four regular hitboxes. These hitboxes are smaller (4.8u/5u/4.8u/3.84u → 4.8u/4u) and they overall have less range compared to the previous hitboxes.
    • Additionally, the new late hit has even smaller hitboxes (4.8u/5u/4.8u/3.84u → 4.5u/3.5u).
  • Forward tilt's handle/body hitbox deals less damage (10% → 9%).
  • The lower chair/handle/body hitboxes send opponents at a higher angle (37° → 361°), hindering their KO potential.
  • The new late hit deals much less damage (10% → 4%), drastically hindering forward tilt's KO potential, especially since the late hit is active for most of the move's duration.
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt has less startup lag (frame 13 → 10).
  • Up tilt now consists of two hits, increasing its maximum damage potential (8% → 7% (hit 1 & 2)/14% (total)).
    • However, this also shortens its duration (frames 13-21 → 10-12 (hit 1), 20-22 (hit 2)), worsening its use as an anti-air.
    • Additionally, the first hit only saw a decrease to its damage and base knockback (30 → 20), which both hinders its KO potential and prevents it from leading into the second hit under multiple scenarios, especially if Mr. Game & Watch has rage.
  • Up tilt has more ending lag (FAF 30 → 36).
    • Despite this, it still has greater combo potential overall due to the changes to hitstun canceling and directional influence.
  • Up tilt's animation has been altered, so Mr. Game & Watch's arch is much more shallow. This hinders its ability to hit in front of or behind Mr. Game & Watch.
  • Up tilt has smaller hitboxes (6.5u/4.5u/3.8u → 5.5u/3u) and the body hitbox has been removed. This combined with its altered animation decreases up tilt's range, especially inside of Mr. Game & Watch, despite the hand hitbox being moved closer to Mr. Game & Watch (y offset: 0 → -1.5).
  • The second hit launches opponents at a less favourable angle (100° → 115°), hindering its KO and combo potential.
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt deals much more knockback (50 (base), 50 (scaling) → 40/125).
  • Down tilt has received a large, damaging and powerful windbox against aerial opponents, improving its utility.
  • The new windbox has a larger hitbox (9u → 10.5u) compared to the previous aerial hitbox, which is additionally now an extended hitbox.
  • The new windbox has a rehit rate of 4, allowing it to hit opponents multiple times.
  • Down tilt has much more ending lag (FAF 26 → 40).
  • Down tilt launches opponents at a higher (20° → 30°).
  • Down tilt has a shorter duration (frames 6-15 → 6-11).
    • However, the new windbox has a longer duration (frames 6-15 → 7-19).
  • The new windbox has more startup lag (frame 6 → 7).
  • Down tilt now only uses a small extended hitbox rather than a large regular hitbox against grounded opponents (8u → 2.5u). This decreases its range, especially vertically.
  • Down tilt has lost its aerial hitbox, completely removing its use as a large disjointed edge-guarding tool, since the windbox launches opponents vertically (361° → 90°).
    • Additionally, the new windbox deals much less damage compared to the previous aerial hitbox (9% → 1%) without full compensation on its knockback (80 (base), 40 (scaling) → 70/120).
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack has increased knockback scaling (50 → 70), improving its KO potential.
  • Dash attack covers more distance in a shorter amount of time, improving its use as a burst movement option.
  • Dash attack's hitboxes have been moved forwards (y/z offsets: 2/4 → 3.5/6) which along with the previous point, improves its range.
  • Dash attack now sends opponents in front of Mr. Game & Watch instead of behind him (120° → 50°).
    • This angle is lower than the previous angle which, along with it sending opponents forwards, improves the move's edgeguarding potential.
  • Dash attack now has a late hit which deals much less damage (11% → 6.5%), hindering its KO potential despite its increased knockback scaling.
  • Dash attack's clean hit deals less damage (11% → 10%).
  • Dash attack has a shorter duration (frames 6-29 → 6-9 (early)/10-19 (late)).
  • Dash attack's has smaller hitboxes (6.24u → 6u (early)/5.5u (late)).
• Forward smash:
  • Forward smash has a slightly altered animation. Mr. Game & Watch now swings the torch with both hands, instead of just one. In addition, the torch slightly has more length compared to Brawl.
    • This altered animation gives the move more range, improving its spacing potential.
  • The sourspot has increased knockback scaling (98 → 100), improving its KO potential despite launching opponents at a higher angle (361° → 53°).
  • Forward smash has a much shorter duration (frames 17-20 (clean)/21-34 (late) → 17-18), with the move losing its late hit.
  • The sweetspot has decreased knockback scaling (98 → 91), hindering its KO potential.
  • The sweetspot is much smaller, only possessing one hitbox (6u/5u → 3u), has less priority than the sourspot and it has been moved closer to Mr. Game & Watch (z offset: 17/10 → 11), now merely covering his hand. This drastically reduces its range and makes it much harder to land.
  • The sourspot is larger (3u → 5.3u) and it has been moved closer to Mr. Game & Watch (z offset: 0 → 17). This, combined with it now out-prioritizing the sweetspot (ID# 2 → 0) makes it much easier to land, hindering forward smash's overall effectiveness.
    • The hitbox is also smaller than the previous sweetspot, giving forward smash less range overall.
  • The body hitbox has been removed.
• Up smash:
  • Up smash's head hitbox has been changed to a static extended hitbox. This gives the move more horizontal range, and for a more consistent amount of time despite its smaller size (6u → 5.5u).
  • Mr. Game & Watch's head now gains invincibility rather than intangibility, making it more effective at stuffing out attacks.
    • In addition to this, Mr Game. & Watch's front hand/arm and foot also gain invincibility, granting him more protection from the front.
    • In addition to this, up smash gains invincibility much sooner and for a much longer period of time (frames 24-28 → 4-25), allowing him to evade attacks long before the hitboxes even come out and even counterattack them.
  • Up smash's animation is now mirrored, with the visor now facing the screen regardless which direction Mr. Game & Watch is currently facing. Mr. Game & Watch also now swings his head before the hitboxes even come out.
  • Up smash has a shorter duration (frames 24-28 → 24-25).
  • Up smash deals less damage (18% → 16%) and has decreased knockback scaling (97 → 93), hindering its KO potential.
    • However, this also improves its combo potential at lower percents when combined with the changes to hitstun canceling/DI.
  • Up smash lost its large, floating, static hitbox, reducing its vertical range.
• Down smash:
  • Down smash's sourspot is now one extended hitbox, giving it more range.
  • Down smash has a slightly altered animation, with the hammers being larger.
  • Down smash has more ending lag (FAF 34 → 42), no longer possessing the shortest total duration out of all down smashes.
  • The sourspot deals much less knockback (60 (base), 68 (scaling) → 30/65).
  • The sweetspots have decreased knockback scaling (98 → 85).
  • The sweetspots have smaller hitboxes (7u → 5u). When combined with the hammers' extended size, this reduces their range and results in the move no longer fully covering the hammers, rather than being deceptively disjointed.

Aerial attacks

• The weakening of SDI makes neutral and back aerials significantly more difficult to escape from.
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial has a much shorter duration (frames 7-10, 12-15, 17-20, 22-25 → 7/12/17/22).
  • Neutral aerial has more ending lag (FAF 35 → 43). This notably prevents Mr. Game & Watch from double jumping after performing neutral aerial in a short hop.
  • Neutral aerial has more landing lag (9 frames → 12).
  • Neutral aerial auto-cancels later (frame 35 → 44), no longer doing so in a short hop.
  • The loop hits' bowl hitbox is smaller (6u → 5u).
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial has less landing lag (22 frames → 15).
  • Forward aerial auto-cancels earlier (frame 46 → 42).
  • The changes to hitstun canceling makes it much more reliable for walls of pain.
  • Forward aerial has a shorter duration (frames 10-12 (clean)/13-32 (late) → 10-11/12-25).
  • Forward aerial has smaller hitboxes (7u/5.5u (clean)/5u/4u (late) → 5.5u (clean)/4u (late)) and the move has lost its near hitbox, removing forward aerial's ability to hit inside of Mr. Game & Watch.
  • The clean hit deals much less damage (16% → 11.5%) with barely increased knockback scaling (80 → 86), significantly hindering its KO potential.
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial auto-cancels earlier (frame 41 → 38).
  • The loop hits have altered knockback (25 (base), 0 (set), 40 (scaling) → 30/0/40 (far)/0/40/100 (near)) and angles (68° → 366° (far)/25° (near)), making them connect more reliably.
  • The changes to shieldstun significantly benefits back aerial due to its above average hitlag multipliers. This is because the opponent not only has more shieldstun, but they are also no longer put into shieldstun while Mr. Game & Watch is still in hitlag. Because of this, the opponent can now only perform out of shield options on the same frame that the next hit comes out (assuming the attack connects on the first possible frame), as opposed to four frames prior, preventing the option from rolling, spot dodging or using an intangible up special (if they have access to one) to avoid the rest of the attack.
    • This also makes the final hit in particular much safer on shield.
    • Additionally, the move also benefits from the introduction of frame canceling, due to its above average hitlag multipliers, combined with it possessing a landing hit.
  • As with most back aerials, back aerial now always launches opponents in the opposite direction Mr. Game & Watch is facing.
  • The final hit has a higher hitlag multiplier (2x → 2.5x).
  • Back aerial has more landing lag (12 frames → 19).
  • Back aerial has smaller hitboxes (5u/6u → 4.2u/3.3u (loop), 6.5u/7.5u → 6u/4.5u (final)) and the far hit has been moved closer to Mr. Game & Watch (z offset: -16 → -14.3), reducing its range.
  • The loop hits deal less damage (3% → 2%).
  • Back aerial only consists of four hits instead of five. When combined with its loop hits dealing less damage, this greatly reduces its total damage output (15% → 9%).
    • Despite this, the loop hits have a longer duration each (3 frames → 4), giving the move the same hitbox duration.
• Up aerial:
  • In , Mr. Game & Watch's head briefly inflates during each hit before deflating. In , Mr. Game & Watch's head remains stagnant.
  • Up aerial has more landing lag (9 frames → 12).
• Down aerial:
  • Clean down aerial has a longer duration (frame 12 → 12-13).
  • The clean hit now consistently meteor smashes opponents (270°/60° → 270°). This along with the removal of meteor canceling significantly improves its edgeguarding potential.
    • However, this also hinders the clean hit's KO potential and reliability on stage.
  • The late hit has been moved further down (y offset: -4.4 → -8), giving it more range below Mr. Game & Watch.
  • The landing hit now uses an extended hitbox, giving it more horizontal range.
    • However, it also has less vertical range.
  • Down aerial has much more landing lag (15 frames → 28).
  • Down aerial deals less damage (14% (clean)/13% (late) → 11%) without full compensation on its knockback scaling (100 → 106).
  • Down aerial has a smaller hitbox (4.32u/6.24u → 4u) and the hand hitbox has been removed. This reduces its range, especially horizontally, as well as upwards.
    • Additionally, this also gives the clean hit less range below Mr. Game & Watch despite its hitbox being positioned lower (y offset: -4.4 → -6.5).
  • The landing hit has a shorter duration (frames 1-3 → 1).
  • The landing hit deals less damage (6% → 3.5%), with it only receiving an increase to its base knockback (50 → 60).

Throws/other attacks

• Grabs:
  • All grabs have been extended further outwards (z offset: 8 (standing)/7.5 (dash)/-12 (pivot) → z stretch: 9.3/11.1/-14.8). This gives dash and pivot grabs more horizontal range.
  • Dash grab has less startup (frame 10 → 8) and ending lag (FAF 40 → 37).
  • Pivot grab has less startup lag (frame 10 → 9) with its total duration subsequently reduced (FAF 36 → 35).
  • All grabs have smaller grabboxes (4.5u/3.5u (all) → 3.2u (standing/pivot)/2.6u (dash)). This gives Mr. Game & Watch's grabs less vertical range, and gives his standing grab the same amount of horizontal range despite it being extended further outwards.
• Mr. Game & Watch releases his opponents from his throws much sooner (frame 56 → 26), making them much harder to DI.
  • However, their total durations were not fully compensated (FAF 70 → 42), giving them slightly more ending lag.
• In , Mr. Game & Watch's hands are clenched fists while juggling the opponent before throwing them, and Mr. Game & Watch juggles a ball with the opponent, like in Brawl. In , his hands are more realistic and the ball he juggles with the grabbed opponent is not included.
• Pummel:
  • Pummel deals 0.2% more damage (3% → 3.2%).
  • Pummel now launches bystanders horizontally (80° → 361°), making it slightly safer.
• Down throw:
  • Down throw deals less damage (6% → 4%).
  • Down throw now launches opponents vertically (270° → 80°). While this does remove its tech-chasing potential (which it would have lost anyway due to the changes to meteor smashes against aerial opponents), it also significantly improves its reliability and combo potential when combined with the changes to hitstun canceling and DI.
    • However, this new angle does also remove down throw's edgeguarding potential as it no longer meteor smashes the opponent off the ledge.
  • Down throw has much less base knockback, but much more knockback scaling (80 (base), 30 (scaling) → 35/120). When combined with its new launch angle, this significantly improves the move's combo potential at lower percents as opponents are no longer put into tumble until medium percents and at high percents, it can even lead into an up aerial for a guaranteed KO (known as the "Toot-Toot").
    • However, the move's higher knockback scaling does hinder its combo potential at higher percents (especially against lighter characters) while still being too weak to effectively KO.
• Floor attacks:
  • Floor attacks have less startup lag (frame 20 (hit 1)/32 (front hit 2)/33 (back hit 2) → 16/21).
  • Floor attacks have a shorter total duration (FAF 50 → 46).
  • Floor attacks deal more damage (6% → 7%) and shield damage (1 → 8) per hit, without full compensation on their knockback scaling (50 → 48).
  • Floor attacks have much less intangibility (frames 1-33 (front)/1-34 (back) → 1-22 (both)).
  • Floor attacks launch opponents at a higher angle (361° → 48°).
• Edge attack:
  • Edge attack no longer has set knockback (110 (set), 100 (scaling) → 90 (base)/20).
  • Edge attack now deals consistent damage due to now consisting of one extended hitbox (8% (bell)/6% (body) → 7%).
  • Edge attack has a shorter duration (frames 24-28 → 24-26).
  • Edge attack now always launches opponents in the direction Mr. Game & Watch is facing, removing its ability to set up edgeguards.
• Trip attack:
  • Trip attack deals more shield damage (1 → 8) per hit.
  • Trip attack has less intangibility (frames 1-8 → 1-7).

Special moves

• The removal of edge momentum shifting has hindered Mr. Game & Watch's approaching potential with his special moves, reducing their utility.
• Chef:
  • Chef's pan has a larger hitbox (5.76u → 6.76u).
  • The pan's hitbox has been positioned higher (y offset: 6.4 → 7.4).
  • In , Mr. Game & Watch's hands are more realistic during Chef. In , Mr. Game & Watch's hands are clenched fists.
• Judge:
  • Judge now works on a true 1/9 system, rather than having a system where the player cannot receive the last two numbers they got. This reduces the chances of the player getting a specific number they might want, however, this can also now allow the player to get the same desired number twice in a row.
  • The weakening of SDI makes Judge #5 significantly more difficult to escape from.
  • The changes to shields significantly benefits Judge #3 and #9's shield pressuring potential. In particular, both numbers are even capable of shield breaking if the opponent's shields only have half of their full HP.
  • In , Mr. Game & Watch's hands are more realistic during Judge. In , Mr. Game & Watch's hands are clenched fists.
• Fire:
  • Fire is no longer affected by the grab release glitch, allowing Mr. Game & Watch to re-use Fire if he has been grab released out of it in midair.
  • Fire's animation changed. Mr. Game & Watch now descends in a choppy, frame-by-frame motion instead of a smooth, swaying motion.
  • In , Mr. Game & Watch's arms are stretched out and his hands are more realistic during both his ascent and descent and are holding onto the parachute more properly. In , Mr. Game & Watch's hands are clenched fists and the parachute is positioned vertically further from him to not attach to his hands at all, and Mr. Game & Watch is curiously not holding onto the parachute, and his arms are less stretched.
• Oil Panic:
  • Oil Panic can now fill up multiple units at once upon absorbing a sufficiently strong projectile (>10% fills 2 units, >20% fills 3), significantly improving its reliability.
    • However when this occurs, the total damage is divided into each unit. This means that if a projectile deals inbetween 10%-14.3% or 20%-21.5%, the final oil spill cannot deal a full 60%.
  • Aerial Oil Panic no longer halts Mr. Game & Watch's horizontal momentum, and only stalls once in the air. While this significantly hinders its usage of absorbing projectiles offstage, it allows Mr. Game & Watch to combine it with his mid-air jump to increase the distance of his jump, improving its recovery potential.
    • However, this combined with the changes to hitstun canceling removes Bucket Braking, drastically hindering Mr. Game & Watch's horizontal endurance and overall hindering Oil Panic's utility.
  • The changes to shields significantly benefits the oil spill, as it can now lead into a guaranteed shield break if the oil spill deals at least 42% damage.
  • Oil Panic now only absorbs half the amount of damage from absorbed teammates' projectiles, significantly hindering its effectiveness in doubles.
• Octopus:
  • Octopus' visual effects have changed. It now emits the Final Smash aura throughout its duration.
  • Octopus deals less damage (16% → 15%) and has a shorter duration (17 seconds → 15).

Update history

Mr. Game & Watch has received a mix of buffs and nerfs via game updates. Update 1.0.6 hindered his up tilt's combo potential, but increased the frying pan hitbox for all variations of Chef. Update 1.0.8 noticeably improved down tilt by increasing its knockback to the point of granting it KO potential, and improved back aerial's spacing potential by decreasing its landing lag. The changes to shield mechanics brought about by updates 1.1.0 and 1.1.1 also indirectly buffed Mr. Game & Watch, as they make his moves that hit multiple times or have high damage outputs much more reliable at pressuring shields. Lastly, update 1.1.3 noticeably worsened Mr. Game & Watch's potential in doubles play by halving Oil Panic's damage output when it has absorbed a teammate's projectiles.

1.0.6

• Up tilt's second hit's angle altered: 100° → 115°, hindering its combo potential.
• All variations of Chef have had their pan's hitbox size increased: 5.76u → 6.76u.

1.0.8

• Down tilt's knockback increased: 10 (base)/120 (scaling) → 40/125.
• Down tilt's windbox size increased: 9u → 10.5u.
• Back aerial's landing lag decreased: 24 frames → 19.

1.1.3

• Oil Panic deals halved damage from absorbed teammates' projectiles.

Moveset

For a gallery of Mr. Game & Watch's hitboxes, see here.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack		Greenhouse (グリーンハウス) / Greenhouse (Barrage) (グリーンハウス（連打）) / Greenhouse (Finish) (グリーンハウス（フィニッシュ）)	3%	Rapidly presses an insecticide pump, pumping gas onto the opponent. The move is concluded with Mr. Game & Watch blasting out a huge spray of gas outwards. Excellent for escaping pressure and the infinite is hard to escape from due to the weakening of SDI, making it useful for applying pressure and racking up quick damage. The infinite is also useful for pressuring, and the first hit is capable of jab locking. The last hit can KO middleweights at around 159% at the edge of Final Destination. Originates from Green House.
			1% (loop), 2% (last)
Forward tilt		Lion (ライオン)	10% (clean chair), 9% (clean body), 4% (late)	Thrusts a chair forward to hit with its legs. It is powerful and the chair is a fully disjointed hitbox. Has decent KO potential at high percents when clean, especially near the edge, KOing middleweights at around 116% by the edge of Final Destination. However, the clean hit only lasts for a frame, while the late hit lacks KO potential altogether. Originates from Lion.
Up tilt		Flagman (フラッグマン)	7% (hit 1), 7% (hit 2)	Swings a flag overhead in an arc. Good as a juggling tool and follow-up from down throw, but its minimal hitboxes make it inconsistent at connecting both hits, especially at higher precents or if Mr. Game & Watch has rage. The second hit launches opponents upward and backward, which can combo into his back aerial at medium percents. Combos into itself with fast-fallers and heavyweights at lower percents. KOs at very high percentages. Originates from Flagman.
Down tilt		Manhole (マンホール)	6% (clean), 1% (late)	Flips a manhole. Has a windbox capable of juggling opponents from above, as well as destroying or derailing projectiles with proper timing. It is a semi-spike and deals strong horizontal knockback, making it capable of KOing middleweights under 120% near the edge of Final Destination. It is very useful for pushing recovering opponents high up, especially against those who cannot immediately grab the edge with their special moves, such as Little Mac and Cloud. When the windbox hits an opponent using a particularly effective vertical recovery move, such as Pit's Power of Flight, it can actually KO the opponent by sending them above the upper blast line, though this requires very specific conditions. This effect also applies to certain items and projectiles from special moves, deflecting them out of harm's way. Originates from Manhole.
Dash attack		Helmet (ヘルメット)	10% (clean), 6.5% (late)	Performs a sliding headbutt while wearing a helmet. It has good range and is extremely quick with minimal start-up lag, sliding Mr. Game & Watch forward in a choppy frame-by-frame manner, making it difficult to react to. This move is a tool for both risky approaching and safe punishing. It also lowers Mr. Game & Watch's hurtbox, allowing him to low-profile several attacks. Low ending lag, good knockback, and high amount of active frames make it a decent KOing option near the edge, as the clean hit KOs middleweights at around 142% by the edge of Final Destination. Additionally, it is useful for edgeguarding or 2-framing before an opponent can grab the edge. Originates from Helmet.
Forward smash		Fire Attack (ファイアアタック)	18% (flame), 14% (handle)	Swings a lit torch forward. The sweetspot is at the flame, while the sourspot is at the torch. Has a disjointed hitbox with great base knockback and even greater knockback scaling, as well as coming out relatively quickly and possessing good interruptibility. The move's low ending lag makes it safe on shield, especially if sweetspotted. It is one of the strongest forward smashes in the game, as the sweetspot KOs middleweights at around 106% by the center of Final Destination, while the sourspot KOs at around 130%. Originates from Fire Attack.
Up smash		Octopus Headbutt (オクトパスヘッドバット)	16%	Performs an upward-arcing headbutt while wearing a diving helmet. The hitbox extends a short way above the helmet. Has noticeable start-up lag (especially compared to his other smash attacks), but has an invincibility frame-window upon startup and the entire period of charging the move. This lets Mr. Game & Watch perform a pseudo-counterattack against almost all attacks that hit him during start-up, which makes it good for interrupting aerial approaches or attacks. If approaching with an aerial, this move is a hard punish. It also has low ending lag, making it a viable strategy to spam at KO percents and making it completely safe on shield. However, his legs are still vulnerable during the invincibility, thus making some grounded attacks or down tilts still capable of hitting. When it whiffs altogether, it can be performed again if the opponent is too slow to punish the first one. An opponent could be punished for dropping shield with a tilt, jab, or dash attack. Charging it at ledge as a get-up read or simply as a mixup can get even earlier KOs. One of the strongest up smashes in the game, KOing at 102% uncharged and 60% fully charged. Originates from Octopus.
Down smash		Vermin (バーミン)	15% (hammers), 13% (body)	Slams a pair of hammers on the ground and on both of his sides. Has the fastest start-up of Mr. Game & Watch's smash attacks. Solid range. Hammer-heads deal vertical knockback while the handles semi-spike. When sweetspotted, this is one of the most powerful down smashes in the game, KOing at 105%. When sourspotted, the move is a rather powerful semi-spike that can KO middleweights at around 132% by the edge of Final Destination. Its fast interruptibility and low ending lag makes it safe on shield if sweetspotted, and can surprise people by using it again after a missed one. It is effective at edgeguarding as the sourspot semi-spikes, and even though the sweetspot has vertical knockback, its great knockback can still KO a recovering opponent. Originates from Vermin.
Neutral aerial		Tropical Fish (トロピカルフィッシュ)	5% (hit 1), 4% (hits 2-4)	Tosses out a pair of fish from a bowl. Multiple hitboxes enable it to cover all areas excluding below him. This move deals 17% if all four hits connect with each other, making it a potent follow-up out of a down throw. It also combos into itself at mid-range percents, making it excellent for juggling and racking up damage. However, the hits fail to connect together at high percents, and the opponent will fall out. The last hit deals moderate knockback, allowing it to KO at high percents, but only lasts for 1 frame, like the other hits. Originates from Tropical Fish.
Forward aerial		Cement Factory (セメントファクトリー)	11.5% (clean), 6% (late)	Swings a boxed package forward. A fully disjointed hitbox. Clean hit lasts for only a frame, and the weak hit can be used for a lock after a footstool. It is useful for edgeguarding at higher percents, and can be used for walls of pain at lower precents. The clean hit KOs middleweights at around 124% near the edge of Final Destination. Similar to his forward tilt, however, the late hit lacks KO potential. According to the official Melee website, this move originates from Mario's Cement Factory. However, the object looks closer to the boxes from the Game & Watch version of Mario Bros.
Back aerial		Turtle Bridge (タートルブリッジ)	2% (hits 1-3), 3% (hit 4), 3% (landing)	Swings a snapping turtle behind himself as it bites. A fully disjointed hitbox. If shielded, opponents often drop their shields too soon due to the turtle's hitlag causing it to have unexpected duration when it is landed. With proper spacing, it is quite safe on shield as well despite a lack of shieldstun. Can combo into itself up to 3 or even 4 times depending on opponent DI. The landing hitbox launches opponents vertically, while landing the final aerial hitbox launches opponents horizontally. Because of the last aerial hitbox's properties, it can be used for a wall of pain in conjunction with reverse aerial rush effectively. The last hit KOs middleweights at around 159% by the edge of Final Destination, while the landing hitbox KOs at around 177% with rage. Originates from Turtle Bridge.
Up aerial		Spitball Sparky (スピットボールスパーキー)	7% (hit 1), 9% (hit 2)	Blows puffs of air overhead twice. Notorious for its huge windboxes outside the damaging hitbox, with the wind being more powerful the closer the opponent is to Mr. Game & Watch, while its second hit deals high knockback. Connecting both hits can KO from 70%-120%, although getting the second hit is difficult without proper alignment due to the windboxes' properties and the damaging hitboxes being rather small. Down throw into up air is a true kill confirm at specific percentage-windows. Spamming this move can make it difficult for opponents to land. The windboxes can be used to assist teammates with their vertical recovery, and can also be used to possibly gimp certain character's recoveries like Ness or Lucas' should they not be ready to change the direction of PK Thunder's arc. Originates from Spitball Sparky.
Down aerial		Donkey Kong Jr. (ドンキーコングＪｒ．)	11% (attack), 3.5% (landing)	Drops downward while holding a key beneath himself. A stall-then-fall, it meteor smashes powerfully on the first frames. Can be moved left or right a bit. While it can cause Mr. Game & Watch to potentially self-destruct while using it off-stage, his effective recovery, combined with the move's minimal ending lag and descending slower than other stall-then-falls makes this unlikely. It is a safe option when edgeguarding and while the meteor smash KOs as early as 65%, the late hit has KO potential at high percents, killing at around 140%. Originates from the Game & Watch version of Donkey Kong Jr.
Grab		Grab (つかみ)	—	Reaches out. All grabs are short-ranged, but are among the fastest in the game. However, his pivot grab is noticeably disjointed. Originates from Mario's Cement Factory.
Pummel		Alarm (アラーム)	3.2%	Bashes the opponent with a bell. It is tied with Luigi's as the fourth most damaging pummel in the game, but is also the fourth slowest pummel in the game. Originates from the Game & Watch's alarm feature.
Forward throw		Ball (Front) (ボール（前）)	8%	Juggles the opponent and tosses them forward. It has little utility outside of setting up edgeguards or dealing damage. Originates from Ball.
Back throw		Ball (Back) (ボール（後）)	8%	Juggles the opponent and tosses them backward. Like forward throw, it has little utility outside of setting up edgeguards or dealing damage. Originates from Ball.
Up throw		Ball (Above) (ボール（上）)	8%	Juggles the opponent and tosses them upward. Although not as versatile as down throw in terms of followup potential, it is a useful combo starter, following up into Fire, as well as up aerial and rarely neutral aerial at low percents. This makes it good for short, damaging burst combos early on. KOs at very high precents with high levels of rage. Originates from Ball.
Down throw		Ball (Below) (ボール（下）)	4%	Juggles the opponent and drops them downward. Deals half as much damage as the other throws, but makes up for this with its impressive combo potential. Combos include neutral attack (on fast-fallers), forward tilt, up tilt (on floaty characters) and down tilt from 0% to low percents, up smash, Judge, and Oil Panic from low to medium percents, neutral and up aerials from medium to high percents, and Fire at all percents. Guaranteed follow-ups stop around 130%, though up aerial can KO at high percents if the opponent's reaction is read. Despite its lower damage output, it KOs most of the cast earlier than his up throw does on Final Destination. Originates from Ball.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Swings a hammer downward in front of himself and then behind himself. An extremely quick floor attack. Originates from Vermin.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Swings a hammer downward in behind himself and then in front of himself. Originates from Vermin.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Swings a hammer downward in front of himself and then behind himself. Originates from Vermin.
Edge attack Edge getups			7%	Swings a bell forward while climbing up. Originates from the Game & Watch's alarm feature.
Neutral special	Default	Chef	9% (pan, closest) 5% (pan, can combine with projectile damage as two separate hits), 4% (bacon/steak/shrimp/fish)	Flips various food-shaped projectiles out of a frying pan, moving slowly through the air at varying trajectories. By tapping the special button, the food will be flung at a faster frequency. The food can be used defensively to cancel attacking animations of opponents as a zoning tool, rack up damage if more than five projectiles hit as a damage-racking tool, as well as to prevent aerial approaches as an anti-air tool, and can be used for edgeguarding against opponents with linear recoveries. Hitting with the pan itself is much more rewarding when edgeguarding, as the pan is a semi-spike and can gimp opponents with short-ranged recoveries, such as Ganondorf.
	Custom 1	XXL Chef	11%/10%/9%/9% (pan closest, bacon/steak/shrimp/fish), 2% (pan, can combine with projectile damage as two separate hits), 9% (bacon), 8% (steak), 7% (shrimp/fish)	Flips a single large piece of food that deals more damage, but each flip takes significantly longer, while the food projectiles travel much slower. The special button must be tapped and doesn’t fling food faster. Bacon has some vertical KO potential at very high percents. Each flip visibly shakes the screen.
	Custom 2	Short-Order Chef	2.5%/2%/1.5%/1.5% (pan closest, bacon/steak/fish/shrimp), 0.5% (pan, can combine with projectile damage as two separate hits), 2% (bacon), 1.5% (steak), 1% (shrimp/fish)	Flips three weaker food items out of a frying pan horizontally. Like Chef, tapping the special button causes the food to be flung at a quicker frequency (in this case, much quicker), but like XXL Chef, the button cannot be held indefinitely. It opens a zoning and an approaching option. It causes minimal hitstun, and fish cause none.
Side special	Default	Judge	2%-32% (Varies, see table below)	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 the displayed number; 1 only damages himself, while 9 boasts extreme enough power to be a virtual one-hit KO. An infamous follow-up from his down throw, but timing for a true combo is very strict. Judge 1: An extremely weak swing that does not make the opponent flinch. It is the least damaging Judge attack and deals 12% recoil damage regardless of whether or not it hits. Judge 2: A weak swing that deals minimal knockback. It has a 20% chance of tripping the opponent. Judge 3: A weak swing. It sends opponents in the opposite direction from where Mr. Game & Watch is facing. It deals 25% shield damage. Judge 4: A swing that has a slash effect and launches opponents diagonally forward. Judge 5: A swing that has an electric effect and hits multiple times. Judge 6: A swing that has a flame effect and is a semi-spike. Deals the second strongest knockback of all Judge attacks. KOs at around 112% near the edge. Judge 7: A swing that deals moderate knockback and produces an apple if it hits the opponent. The apple heals 4%. Judge 8: A swing that has a freeze effect and deals minimal knockback. Emits the "ping" sound effect heard from a Freezie making contact, which is typically associated with one-hit KOs. The only swing with a lower total damage output than previous numbers. Judge 9: An extremely powerful swing that deals huge 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 KOing at 0% without edgeguarding. When used fresh with enough rage, it will KO every charater in the game at 0% at the edge of Final Destination.
	Custom 1	Extreme Judge	5% (1), 23% (9)	Only chooses numbers 1 and 9, though 1s are more common, and 9s deal less damage and knockback. However, 1s are strengthened and inflict less self-damage (5% rather than 12%).
	Custom 2	Chain Judge	1%-28.4% (Varies, see table below)	Instead of additional effects, the number displayed equals the number of hits the attack will deal. The initial hits trap opponents while the final hit knocks the opponents forward, making the move more consistent at the cost of limiting its range of effects. 1s will also not deal self-damage.
Up special	Default	Fire	6%	Bounces off a trampoline held by a pair of firefighters, then deploys a parachute at the apex of the jump while descending. Significant vertical and horizontal recovery. Capable of canceling into any move when falling. The ascending hitbox deals decent knockback, KOing middleweights at around 116% near the left/right blast lines. It is formidable at stage spiking, due to out-prioritizing most aerials and dealing strong knockback. When combined with the fact that Mr. Game & Watch briefly becomes intangible during his ascent, this makes Mr. Game & Watch very difficult to edgeguard while making Fire a good edgeguarding move offstage itself. The move can also be used as a possible follow-up option after up throw at low percentages against fast-fallers and heavyweights.
	Custom 1	Heavy Trampoline	16% (clean), 10% (late)	The jump deals more damage and has more KO potential, but grants less height.
	Custom 2	Trampoline Launch	12% (near), 8% (far)	Functions similarly to its incarnation in Melee, with Mr. Game & Watch simply jumping off the trampoline and dealing damage. The jump grants more height, deals more damage and has KO potential at high percents near the upper blast line, but lacks a parachute and a lasting hitbox.
Down special	Default	Oil Panic	Based on absorbed attacks (see table below)	Holds an oil drum, which absorbs energy-based projectiles. 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. It has very minimal start-up lag that inflicts 2.8× the accumulated damage of the absorbed attacks, capping to 60%. OHKOs and destroys full shields when it inflicts 60%, while the least powerful Oil Panic can KO middleweights at the ledge around 95%. Despite its appearance, the oil spill is not a projectile and thus cannot be reflected. Stored energy isn’t lost upon being KOed. Collectively, these traits makes Oil Panic an incredibly dangerous move.
	Custom 1	Efficient Panic	Based on absorbed attacks (see table below)	The oil drum only requires one projectile to be completely filled and has less ending lag when a projectile is absorbed, but the oil spill is weaker and has less range.
	Custom 2	Panic Overload	Based on absorbed attacks (see table below)	The oil spill is bigger and slower, but the oil drum's absorption radius is smaller.
Final Smash		Octopus	15%	Transforms into the giant octopus that originates in its eponymous game, Octopus. It lasts for 15 seconds and damage is dealt on contact. As in Brawl, pressing the attacking input will extend the length of the tentacles. Touching the main body will just deal damage. Its frontal tentacles have the highest maximum range, and vice versa. The Octopus is also able to float on top of water during its duration, and can fast-fall.

Judge Damage Data

Numbers	Judge	Extreme Judge	Chain Judge
1	2%	5%	1%
2	4%	-	2% (hit 1), 3% (hit 2)
3	6%	-	3% (hits 1-3)
4	8%	-	3% (hits 1-3), 2% (hit 4)
5	3% (hits 1-4)	-	3% (hits 1-5)
6	12%	-	3% (hits 1-5), 2% (hit 6)
7	14%	-	2.5% (hits 1-6), 4% (hit 7)
8	9%	-	2.4% (hits 1-7), 4.2% (hit 8)
9	32%	23%	2.3% (hits 1-8), 10% (hit 9)

Oil Panic Data

	Damage Needed to Fill Up the Bucket			Oil Damage
Move	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Minimum	Maximum
Oil Panic	< 10%	10%-20%	> 20%	18%	60%
Efficient Panic	-	-	> 1%	10%	24%
Panic Overload	< 10%	10%-20%	> 20%	15%	45%

Stats

Stats	Weight	Dash speed	Walk speed	Traction	Air friction	Air speed	Air acceleration	Gravity	Falling speed	Jumpsquat	Jump height	Double jump height
Value	75	1.5 – Initial dash 1.5264 – Run	1.1242	0.06	0.012	1.12	0.07 – Base 0.03 – Additional	0.08	1.24 – Base 1.984 – Fast-fall	5	27.511969 - Base 13.261467 - Short hop	27.511969

Announcer call

This article could use additional or higher-quality audio files. The editor who added this tag suggests: Needs announcer calls from other languages. If you have a good audio file for this article, upload it here.

• English/Japanese/Chinese

On-screen appearance

• Progresses along a row of Game & Watch LCD frames until reaching the foreground.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Rings his bell at a high angle. Similar to his side taunt, it originates from the Game & Watch's alarm feature.
• Side taunt: Rings his bell at a low angle. Similar to his up taunt, it originates from the Game & Watch's alarm feature.
• Down taunt: Sits down and sighs. Originates from the Game & Watch version of Mario Bros. when Mario and Luigi finished a level.

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Idle poses

• Hops in place.
• Briefly looks behind himself.

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Game and Watch!	Game and Watch!
Pitch	Group chant	Group chant

Victory poses

An original flourished medley based on the typical beeping noises emitted by Game & Watch characters and/or objects.

• Bounces around the screen in choppy positions, tripping halfway, before teetering on his left foot. He then proceeds to jump back and forth, landing on his forehead and his right foot.
• Rings his bell horizontally at a left and right angle, simultaneously turning around.
• Jumps with his legs high in the air with outstretched hands.

In competitive play

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character	Custom sets available
Mr. Game & Watch	3331	3321	3311	1331	1321
	1311	3323	3131	2331	2311

Most historically significant players

See also: Category:Mr. Game & Watch players (SSB4)

•  Extra - The best player in Australia who has won multiple Australian events, most notably Battle Arena Melbourne 9 and Battle Arena Melbourne 10. He has also won Expand Gong 3, double-eliminating FOW.
•  KOSSismoss - The best Mr. Game & Watch player in the United States. Most notably placed 9th at the superregional 2GGT: Mexico Saga upsetting VoiD and 13th at the major 2GGC: Midwest Mayhem Saga upsetting K9sbruce and Tyrant.
•  Maister - The best Mr. Game & Watch player of all-time, and the only Mr. Game & Watch player ever ranked on the PGR, ranking 81st on the PGR 100. He has seen some of the best Mr. Game & Watch runs of all time, which includes winning Combo Breaker 2018 over ESAM and tyroy as well as placing 13th at the supermajor GENESIS 5 defeating Mistake.
•  Regi Shikimi - The second-best Mr. Game & Watch player of all-time, known for being one of the first successful Mr. Game & Watch players, especially following his run to 13th at EVO 2015 and 17th at EVO 2016.
•  Songn - The best Mr. Game & Watch player in Japan. Although majors results were mixed, Songn has seen strong placements at superregionals, including 4th at Super Sumabato, 7th at Umebura 18, and 9th at Sumabato for THE BIG HOUSE. He also notably upset MkLeo at the weekly Toryumon Weekday Tournament x STUDIO SKY #3.

Tier placement and history

Since the early metagame, Mr. Game & Watch has maintained a mixed perception in regard to his ranking on the tier list and viability, due to the fact that he had been nerfed overall in his transition from Brawl to Smash 4. Players acknowledged his heavily damaging combos, raw power, high KO potential and possessing one of the best recoveries and combo games across the entire cast, but also his poor endurance, lackluster range, lack of reliable approach options and sub-par grab game. Mr. Game & Watch's results had always been rather obscure until EVO 2015, where Regi placed 13th, and opinions of his potential became more positive overtime due to some decent results brought by players such as KOSSismoss and Songn. This led him to being ranked 35th on the first 4BR tier list.

However, Mr. Game & Watch's overall tournament results and representation still stood out to be rather low in competitive play, even with the recent high placings of KOSSismoss and Regi's relatively better placement of 17th at EVO 2016. Although these results allowed Mr. Game & Watch to only drop two spots to 37th on the second tier list, the inclusion of Corrin and Bayonetta would harm him, since their respective combo and camping games would prove them to be quite oppressive across the cast. The addition of the DLC characters would cause his tournament representation to decline, since Mr. Game & Watch has tough matchups against all excluding one of them. As such, he dropped to 40th on the third tier list, before rising to 38th on the fourth and final tier list.

2018 saw the debut of Maister on the greater Smash scene, who almost immediately began matching and even surpassing Regi's performances. Most notable among these performances was Combo Breaker 2018, which Maister won over ESAM and tyroy. With Maister being ranked 44th on the PGR v5 and 81st on the PGR 100, this has led most of the community to reconsider Mr. Game & Watch's true viability, although its extent remained up in the air following the end of the game's competitive lifespan. While those placings remained scarce, those achievements and aforementioned efforts brought by Maister have allowed Mr. Game & Watch to find a rather solid placement as a mid-tier due to the expansion of tiers in the fourth and final tier list.

In Solo Modes

All-Star Mode

In All-Star Mode, Mr. Game & Watch is fought in Stage 1 in the 3DS version or Stage 7 in the Wii U version if he has been unlocked alongside Mario, Donkey Kong, Luigi, Little Mac, and Pac-Man.

Event Matches

Solo Events

• All-Star Battle: Melee: Mr. Game & Watch is one of the opponents fought in this event. All of the opponents debuted in Melee.
• Great Fox Defense: As Falco, the player must defeat three Mr. Game & Watches without allowing a single one to land on the stage. The first Mr. Game & Watch has 3 stocks on Easy, 5 on Normal and 7 on Hard. The second Mr. Game & Watch has 2 stocks on Easy, 3 on Normal and 5 on Hard. The third Mr. Game & Watch has 1 stock on Easy, 2 on Normal and 4 on Hard.
• That Elusive 9: Mr. Game & Watch must defeat a metal Mr. Game & Watch by using Judge 9.

Co-op Events

• Flat Fracas: Wario and Mr. Game & Watch must defeat "Game & Watch" versions of Mario and Giant Donkey Kong in a 1 stock battle.
• Keep 'Em off the Ship!: Fox and Falco must defeat four Mr. Game & Watches without allowing a single one to land on the stage. The first Mr. Game & Watch has 4 stocks on Easy, 8 on Normal and 11 on Hard. The second Mr. Game & Watch has 5 stocks on Easy, 9 on Normal and 12 on Hard. The third Mr. Game & Watch has 4 stocks on Easy, 7 on Normal and 9 on Hard. The fourth Mr. Game & Watch has 3 stocks on Easy, 6 on Normal and 8 on Hard.
• Secret Smash: Mr. Game & Watch and Duck Hunt must defeat another Duck Hunt and Mr. Game & Watch.
• The Ultimate Battle: Two players select a character and must defeat the entire roster.
• Unlikely Allies: Ganondorf and Palutena must defeat sixteen Mr. Game & Watches.

Congratulations screens

3DS

• 

  Classic Mode

• 

  All-Star Mode

Wii U

• 

  Classic Mode

• 

  All-Star Mode

Trophies

Mr. Game & Watch's default trophy is obtained by clearing Classic Mode as Mr. Game & Watch. His alternate trophy is obtained by clearing All-Star Mode as Mr. Game & Watch in the 3DS version or purchasing it in the Trophy Shop for 1000G in the Wii U version. The Octopus trophy is obtained only in the Wii U version by clearing All-Star Mode as Mr. Game & Watch.

3DS Classic Mode trophy

Wii U Classic Mode trophy

Mr. Game & Watch

Game & Watch was first released in 1980, making the series the father of the Game Boy and Nintendo DS. Or maybe an older sibling? Anyway...in Smash Bros., Mr. Game & Watch uses distinct retro moves to damage his foes. However, he's only two dimensional, so he's pretty easy to send flying.

Game & Watch was a series of handheld video games that started in 1980, which pretty much makes Mr. Game & Watch the father of the Game Boy and Nintendo DS. Or maybe an older sibling? Anyway...in Smash Bros., Mr. Game & Watch uses distinct retro moves to damage his foes. However, he only has two dimensions, so he's pretty easy to send flying.

: Game & Watch (04/1980)

Game & Watch was a series of handheld video games that started in 1980, before even the Game Boy. In this game, you can play as the guy who starred in them, moving about in his quirky, oh-so-retro little way. He can string together some pretty powerful attacks but, unfortunately, being 2D makes him very easy to launch.

: Game & Watch (1980 (JP))

3DS All-Star Mode trophy

Wii U alternate trophy

Mr. Game & Watch (Alt.)

Mr. Game & Watch's Oil Panic special catches shots and turns them into oil. After catching three, the bucket will be full and you'll be able to throw oil all over your enemies. Some shots, like Samus's fully powered Charge Shot, will fill the bucket in one go! Throwing the oil you get from a shot like that can KO your foes in a flash!

: Game & Watch (04/1980)

: Game & Watch (1980 (JP))

Octopus trophy

Octopus

The Game & Watch title Octopus featured a hero collecting treasure while avoiding a bothersome giant octopus's tentacles. Activate Mr. Game & Watch's Final Smash to transform him into that octopus! Ram into opponents, and use the attack button to extend the tentacles. The only thing you can't do is change the direction you're facing.

The Game & Watch title Octopus featured a hero collecting treasure while avoiding a bothersome giant octopus's tentacles. Activate Mr. Game & Watch's Final Smash to transform him into that octopus! Then ram into opponents, and use the attack button to extend the tentacles. The only thing you can't do is change direction.

Alternate costumes

Gallery

• 

  Mr. Game & Watch's amiibo.

• 

  Alternate amiibo stances.

• 

  Mr. Game & Watch's unlock notice in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

• 

  Mr. Game & Watch's unlock notice in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

• 

  Mr. Game & Watch's first four alternate costumes.

• 

  Using Judge 9 on King Dedede.

• 

  Using his up tilt on Toon Link, Ness, and Villager.

• 

  Using Oil Panic on Fox.

• 

  Using his neutral attack's finisher on Mega Man.

• 

  Using up smash on Final Destination.

• 

  Using Chef alongside Kirby, who copied him.

• 

  Using Octopus in water.

• 

  Using Fire while surrounded by fire.

• 

  Using his forward tilt against the Mii Fighters wearing Lion Hats on Flat Zone 2, in reference to the Game & Watch game Lion.

Trivia

• Mr. Game & Watch's official artwork in Super Smash Bros. 4 is the first in the series to feature him without his bell.
  • It is also the only one to not feature an item in his hands, as his Ultimate iteration has the flag from his up tilt.
• Mr. Game & Watch was the only veteran to be officially shown but not confirmed before Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS's release, due to him having been revealed in Pac-Man's trailer.
• As noted within Pac-Man's trailer, Mr. Game & Watch is one of the two oldest characters among the cast. He and Pac-Man debuted in 1980, a year before Mario and Donkey Kong. However, Mr. Game & Watch debuted one month earlier before Pac-Man, making him the oldest of the cast.
  • Mr. Game & Watch is one of three characters to have been teased before their official reveal, with the other two being Dark Pit and Duck Hunt.
• Mr. Game & Watch was the last veteran to be shown as a playable character by an official source, as Jigglypuff was shown off multiple times in the 50-Fact Extravaganza, while Mr. Game & Watch was not revealed until after the Direct was over.
• As he has an outline of his own, Mr. Game & Watch does not use a black outline like the rest of the characters in for Nintendo 3DS. As a result, it is his gray and white outline that changes colors to denote his team affiliation and other such effects.
• Unlike his other attacks, Mr. Game & Watch's down tilt is rendered in 3D. This was also the case in Brawl.
  • However, it will be rendered in 2D if it is used at the edge of a stage/platform, or if used on 2D stages like Flat Zone X, Flat Zone 2, Super Mario Maker, etc.
• Mr. Game & Watch has many various animations in for Nintendo 3DS that are different in comparison to how they appear in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
  • The parachute used in Fire and its custom variations spreads further out in for Nintendo 3DS than in for Wii U.
  • When using up aerial, his head visibly inflates then deflates in for Nintendo 3DS and remains stagnant in for Wii U.
  • His hands in for Nintendo 3DS are spread out when running, but in for Wii U, his hands are clenched fists.
    • Oddly, when Mr. Game & Watch performs his taunts, his hands change back to how they appeared in Brawl. This only occurs in for Wii U.
• In for Nintendo 3DS, Mr. Game & Watch performs his hopping idle pose, rather than a taunt, after choosing a path in Classic Mode.
• Mr. Game & Watch, Wii Fit Trainer, and Bayonetta are the only three characters to have special charging sounds for their smash attacks. In Mr. Game & Watch's case, a low-pitched beeping noise.
  • He is also the only veteran with this trait.
• Mr. Game & Watch and R.O.B. are the only unlockable veterans in both versions to appear in a newcomer's poster art.
  • Mr. Game & Watch and Lucina are the only unlockable characters to appear in more than one newcomer's poster art.
• Although he lacks visible eyes, Mr. Game & Watch's character selection screen portrait in for Wii U still emits the small sparkle effect when he is selected, with the sparkle appearing where his eyes would be positioned. This also applies for performing Final Smashes, which focuses on where his eyes would be, as with other characters. This distinction has been carried over with his Ultimate iteration.
• If Mr. Game & Watch wears a Franklin Badge, Screw Attack or Rocket Belt, it is revealed that he does not have a mirrored stance, and instead still uses his left arm in most of his attacks, like Melee and Brawl.
• Mr. Game & Watch is one of four characters whose placement differs on the character selection screen between the 3DS and Wii U versions, along with Little Mac, Duck Hunt, and Shulk. In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, Mr. Game & Watch is between Wario and Donkey Kong, while in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Mr. Game & Watch is between Diddy Kong and Little Mac.
• His stock icon is different from his artwork in this game, as it's just his head with his mouth closed.
  • All of the stock icons have black outlines instead of the outlines the Mr. Game & Watch alternate colors have.
  • All Mr. Game & Watch color swatch stock icons' colors are lighter than the actual fighter, except for the yellow and white ones.