Oil Panic
| Oil Panic | |
|---|---|
 Oil Panic in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. | |
| User | Mr. Game & Watch |
| Universe | Game & Watch |
| “ | Mr. Game and Watch can also catch missile weapons with Oil Panic; once he's caught three, he can dump the bucket on his foes. | ” |
| —Mr. Game and Watch's trophy description in Melee | ||
Oil Panic (オイルパニック, Oil Panic), commonly known as "The Bucket", is Mr. Game & Watch's down special move. It is a unique move in that it can be held indefinitely until charged, and is one of three moves in the entire Super Smash Bros. series that has absorption functionality, the others being Ness's & Lucas's PSI Magnet and Mii Gunner's Absorbing Vortex. It is the only attack-based absorption move, as the aforementioned moves are used to heal damage instead.
Any energy-based attacks (such as PK Flash or a Ray Gun shot) will be absorbed and transferred into the bucket. Unlike most other chargeable attacks, Oil Panic keeps its stored energy across stocks. For example, if Mr. Game & Watch is KO'd with two units of oil, he will still have those two units when he respawns. The Wario Waft has the same property.
Usage
When the attack is executed, Mr. Game & Watch will instantly hold out a bucket while jerk-leaning forward for a brief amount of time in front of him. He can also be turned around while the move is being used. The bucket can be put away at any time, though this causes considerable lag.
When using Oil Panic, three energy-based attacks can be absorbed, then Mr. Game & Watch will automatically put the bucket away and start flashing white. The oil gathered can be used later as an attack with the potential for extreme damage and knockback, determined by adding up how much damage each of the projectiles absorbed would have done (2.8x the combined damage of the absorbed attacks, capped as noted below). As such, the attack is very potent because it has almost no start-up lag and a hitbox of a large size with lingering duration, meaning that it can be a very effective finisher of certain combos.
It can have enough knockback to one-hit KO if it has absorbed three powerful projectiles or a single attack of immense power in SSB4. The power of the attack when it has absorbed three PK Flashes in Melee is so great that when it is shielded, the recoil causes Mr. Game & Watch to fly backwards at extremely high speeds.
The maximum damage it can inflict is 200% in Melee and 63% in Brawl and SSB4. Since Oil Panic's knockback is determined by the damage absorbed, its knockback caps at these percentages as well.
In SSB4, stronger attacks will fill multiple segments at once. Highly charged attacks like Ness' PK Flash can instantly fill the bucket even if it is empty, making such moves incredibly dangerous when battling Mr. Game & Watch. If the bucket is absorbs such an attack, then players can expect it to have OHKO properties.
Despite the thrown oil having the appearance of being a projectile, it is not considered one and is a disjointed hitbox. Therefore, it cannot be reflected or absorbed.
Changes across games / versions
Melee to Brawl
Now gives invincibility frames.
Bucket braking added.
Maximum damage decreased by 137%: 200% → 63%.
Brawl to SSB4
- Bucket can now fill more quickly with stronger projectiles.
- Using Oil Panic in the air and using it in the air again immediately after a jump makes the jump higher and floatier.
- Bucket braking removed.
SSB4 to Ultimate
- Bucket now reflects physical projectiles alongside absorbing energy projectiles.
Update history
1.1.3
- Power absorbed from a teammate's projectiles is now halved.
Kamikaze glitch
There's a glitch known as the kamikaze glitch in Melee where if Mr. Game & Watch attacks a shielding opponent with Oil Panic after it absorbed three strong enough projectiles, such as three fully charged PK Flashes, the opponent's shield will shatter and Mr. Game & Watch will be sent flying back at extreme speeds, invariably to the point of being KO'd unless there's a wall behind him. If Mr. Game & Watch collides into anyone along his trajectory, they will be sent vertically with extreme knockback, also resulting in OHKOs. This is the only instance in Melee where someone can be harmed by colliding with a launched opponent that was not thrown. This is due to the residual, long lasting hitbox of Oil Panic lingering as Mr. Game & Watch is launched backward, dealing the full damage and knockback of the original attack.
Bucket braking
In Brawl, Oil Panic gained an interesting and very useful property: When Mr. Game & Watch uses a non-full Oil Panic while in knockback, he will halt all momentum. As such, when used for momentum canceling, Mr. Game & Watch completely negates all momentum upon the first frame of activation. When used in conjunction with DI, Mr. Game & Watch is capable of surviving far beyond other characters of his weight class, such as Squirtle, and even outlasting heavier middleweights such as Mario.
Oil Panic is considered to be the best momentum cancelling special move in Brawl, as it completely negates all momentum upon the first frame of activation, as well as having almost no risk of using it since it doesn't move Mr. Game & Watch back towards the stage or make him helpless, unlike many other special moves that negate momentum. As such, mastering this technique is essential for competitive Mr. Game & Watch players. When used for momentum cancelling, the technique is often referred to as bucket braking.
Note that Oil Panic will not negate any momentum at all if the bucket is full.
Bucket jumping
The ability for characters to momentum cancel in general was fully removed in SSB4, but Oil Panic now instead provides added forward momentum and temporary falling slowdown. This, coupled with his usual midair jump and up special move, make Mr. Game & Watch's recovery among the best in the game. Unlike bucket braking, it will still work if the bucket is partially or even completely filled, making Oil Panic easier to attack with when in the air.
A way this can be used is by using down-b, jump, and an immediate down-b when in the air. This will send Mr. Game & Watch forward a large distance, meaning he can even get back from the bottom corners of the screen and travel from one side of the stage to the other. Bucket jumping also allows Mr. Game & Watch to safely return from the stage after using his down aerial for an edgeguard.
Customization
Special Move customization was added in Super Smash Bros. 4. These are the variations:
| 1. Oil Panic | 2. Efficient Panic | 3. Panic Overload |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
| "Collect energy-based projectiles in a bucket. Once it's full, do the move again to throw oil." | "The bucket fills more quickly, but it deals less damage." | "The bucket has a smaller absorption area, but the attack area is larger." |
- Oil Panic: Default.
- Efficient Panic: The bucket only requires one projectile, but the splash is smaller and deals less damage.
- Panic Overload: The bucket has a smaller absorption range, but the splash is larger, which only hits when the splash is farther away. It has increased ending lag.
Gallery
Oil Panic in Melee
Oil Panic in Brawl
Oil Panic hitting R.O.B in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
Origin
Oil Panic is a Game & Watch game, taking place at a gasoline station, where the player would attempt to catch drops of oil from a leaking pipe. The bucket becomes full at three drops. Once the bucket was full, the player would then have to pour the oil out the window to be caught by the assistant waiting below. If the man was not below the controlled character, the player would miss, causing the oil to splash over a customer waiting below. Oil Panic's bottom screen appears in the stage Flat Zone 2.
Trivia
- In both Melee and Brawl, a max power Oil Panic is the attack that contains the most damaging hitbox that does not have invincibility frames, such as Counters and Final Smashes.
- Oil Panic is Mr. Game & Watch's only special move with more than one word in the name.
- The bucket mistakenly remains attached to Mr. Game & Watch's hand after the contents of the bucket are released in both Melee and Brawl.
