Mr. Game & Watch (SSBU)

Mr. Game & Watch in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
https://www.ssbwiki.com/images/7/76/GW_Spirit.png
Universe	Game & Watch
Other playable appearances	in Melee in Brawl in SSB4
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Octopus

“	When using his side special, Judge, this fighter pulls out a hammer and the numbers 1-9 are displayed. If you pull off a 9 attack, it really knock the opponent back. His Final Smash turns him into an octopus that can pull opponents off the stage!	”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Mr. Game & Watch (Mr.ゲーム＆ウォッチ, Mr. Game & Watch) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was confirmed on June 12th, 2018. Mr. Game & Watch is classified as fighter #26.

The sound effects used for Mr. Game & Watch have been reused from Brawl and SSB4.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play VS. matches, with Mr. Game & Watch being the 52nd character to be unlocked.
• Clear Classic Mode with Pikachu or any character in its unlock tree, being the sixth character unlocked after Isabelle.
• Have Mr. Game & Watch join the player's party in World of Light.

With the exception of the third method, Mr. Game & Watch must then be defeated on Flat Zone X.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Despite being ranked a low mid tier character in SSB4 (39th out of 55th), Mr. Game and Watch has gained a mix of buffs and nerfs in his transition to Ultimate. Many of his attacks, such as down tilt, forward tilt, Chef, up throw, and down aerial, deal more damage and/or knockback, improving both his damage racking capabilities and KO options. Additionally, a majority of his attacks have increased utility: Down smash now buries opponents when sweetspotted and has much less start-up lag, allowing for early KO confirms off of forward smash, Chef's trajectory can now be changed which makes it more ideal for edgeguarding against opponents, Oil Panic now reflects physical projectiles in addition to absorbing energy-based projectiles, and Fire has much less start-up lag (almost on par with its startup lag in Melee), making it a strong OOS option/combo breaker.

However, he has received multiple nerfs as well; as a result of the aesthetic changes he received in his transition to Ultimate, a number of his attacks, such as down tilt and forward smash, have a less favorable hitbox. Additionally, many of his attacks have increased endlag, such as jab, Chef, and down tilt. This, combined with his nerfed reach, effectively reduces the amount of already lacking safe moves that he can utilize. His grab game - despite up throw's damage buff - has been nerfed overall; down throw deals more knockback, reducing its combo potential, and all of his grabs have increased end lag, making them more unsafe if whiffed. Finally, his up smash now only has invincibility frames during the attack as opposed to before it; this makes it easier for aerial opponents to contest the move, despite its start-up lag being reduced.

In addition to his buffs and nerfs, some of his attacks have reworked utility: Up aerial now functions as projectile in similar vein to Mega Man's up aerial; while this improves its juggling potential and range, it also effectively removes his "toot-toot" combo from SSB4, one of his only KO confirms. Mr. Game and Watch now has a new forward aerial where he pulls out a bomb and drops it shortly afterwards. While this new aerial is more effective for edgeguarding and starting combos compared to his previous aerial, as well as covering him for when he uses an attack, it is also worse as both a CQC attack and a combo finisher: Any attack will cause the bomb to disappear, and the bomb itself will not detonate on contact with an opponent, making it much riskier up close against an opponent compared to his old forward aerial.

Overall, Mr. Game and Watch has become even stronger than before and gained a few new tools, but at the cost of having even more laggy attacks and having many of his key strengths from SSB4 either toned down or stripped entirely. As a result, whether or not his buffs outweigh his nerfs is currently unknown.

Aesthetics

• Mr. Game & Watch's base model appears similar to the previous installment; however, the following moves temporarily alter his appearance to resemble the characters from the Game & Watch games they are based on:
  • Neutral attack (Greenhouse), Forward tilt (Lion), Up tilt (Flagman), Down tilt (Manhole), Forward smash (Fire Attack), Down smash (Vermin), Up aerial (Spitball Sparky), All throws (Ball), Chef, Judge, Oil Panic.
• Like in Melee, Mr. Game & Watch now makes a noise when getting KO'd or Star KO'd. Both use the sound of his up and side taunts.
• Mr. Game & Watch's walking animation has been changed; now looking less flippant.
• Mr. Game & Watch has a new victory animation where he juggles balls using his appearance from Ball. This replaces the victory pose where he jumps up and down.
• Mr. Game & Watch's clapping animation has been reverted to its Melee appearance.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Mr. Game & Watch's jumpsquat animation now takes three frames to complete (down from 5).
• Mr. Game & Watch dashes faster (1.5264 → 1.679).
• Mr. Game & Watch walks slightly faster (1.1242 → 1.18).
• Mr. Game & Watch's air speed is slightly higher (1.12 → 1.176).
• Mr. Game & Watch's new animations result in many of his moves having less favorable disjoint and hurtbox sizes.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack
  • Neutral attack no longer pushes Mr. Game & Watch as far back as previously.
  • Neutral attack can now jab reset.
  • Rapid Finisher has more endlag (FAF 23 → 32).
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt deals slightly higher damage all around (10%(clean chair)/9%(clean body)/4%(late) → 12%/10%/6%).
  • Forward tilt can be interrupted earlier, and its startup has been reduced (frame 10 → 8).
  • Forward tilt has reduced range.
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt has intangibility on both hands.
  • Up tilt has less endlag (FAF 35 → 33).
  • Up tilt now connects consistently at mid to high percents.
  • Up tilt has Flag 1 and Flag 2 appear on each side of Mr. Game & Watch instead of above. While this increases its horizontal range, it effectively removes any anti-air potential it had.
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt does more damage and considerably more knockback (6% → 9%).
  • Down tilt has increased endlag (FAF 39 → 42).
  • Down tilt is no longer nearly as disjointed, and has significantly less range.
  • Down tilt's windbox has been removed. This disallows for juggling with windboxes, and potential recovery interruptions (such as when used against Ike's Quick Draw).
• Forward smash:
  • Forward smash's range has been slightly reduced, with a shorter handle.
• Up smash:
  • Up smash has less start-up lag (frame 24 → 21).
  • Up smash's invincibility frames now cover Mr. Game and Watch's entire body.
  • Up smash's invincibility frames have now been changed from before attacking, to during the active attack frames (frames 4-19 → 21-25). This reduces its use as an effective anti-air.
• Down smash:
  • Down smash now has the ability to bury opponents if the move is sweetspotted.
  • Down smash has less startup lag (frame 15 → 12), and less endlag (FAF 41 → 37).

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial, back aerial, and down aerial have less landing lag (12 → 7 frames (neutral), 19 → 18 frames (back), 28 → 22 frames (down)).
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial's hitboxes linger for a significantly longer time.
  • Neutral aerial now deals less overall damage. (17% → 13%).
• Forward aerial:
  • Mr. Game & Watch has a new forward aerial (based on the Game & Watch game Mario's Bombs Away) in which he holds a bomb in front of him and drops it downward shortly after execution. Uniquely, once activating the move, the previously mentioned bomb is used as a projectile, as it is sent directly downwards, exploding on a half a second afterwards or when it hits the stage. This significantly improves the move's range and gives another edgeguarding option. The bomb does not explode upon hitting an opponent, and any attack that hits it will cause it to disappear.
  • New forward aerial deals more damage when both hits connect (11% → 15%).
  • Forward aerial has more landing lag (15 → 17 frames) and end lag (FAF 44 → 47)
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial's landing hit now sends more horizontally, while he can no longer link another back aerial, sending targets into an edgeguarding scenario is now easier.
  • Back aerial's final hit is now stronger, being a more reliable KO move.
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial has been reworked: it now functions as a projectile, similar to Mega Man's up aerial, Air Shooter, and hits six times.
  • Up aerial has increased range.
  • Up aerial is a single puff of air, making it easier to land, since the opponent can't be juggled out of the second finishing hit.
  • Up aerial is significantly weaker, no longer being a reliable KO move.
  • Up aerial does less damage when all hits connect (16% → 12%).
  • Up aerial now comes out later (frame 6 → 9).
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial has increased knockback.

Throws/other attacks

• Dash grab and pivot grab have increased start-up lag (frame 8 → 9 (dash), frame 9 → 10 (pivot)), and all grabs have increased ending lag (FAF 29 → 35 (standing), FAF 36 → 42 (dash), FAF 34 → 37 (pivot).
• When a character is thrown by Mr. Game & Watch, they will turn into their respective stock icon for the duration of the juggle.
• Pummel is much faster, but is also much weaker overall (3% → 1.3%).
• Up throw deals considerably more damage (8% → 12%).
• Down throw:
  • During the down throw animation, Mr. Game & Watch "drops" the character's icon.
  • Down throw deals significantly more knockback, giving it worse follow-up potential. However, due to this, down throw is now a KO option at higher percents.

Special Moves

• Chef:
  • Chef deals significantly more damage (5% → 13% (pan), 3% → 5% (sausages)).
  • Chef's trajectory can be controlled.
  • Chef has more endlag (FAF 49 → 54).
• Judge:
  • Judge's numbers now appear in a jumble, before settling on the decided number.
  • Judge 7 now spawns three apples instead of one, allowing him to heal significantly more health once using the move.
  • Judge 8 does more damage, which makes the freeze effect last longer.
  • Judge 9 does much more damage (32% → 40%) as well as more knockback.
  • Judge 9 now triggers Special Zoom.
• Fire:
  • Fire's windbox has been replaced with a frame 3 hitbox.
  • Fire's new frame 3 hitbox gives it more potential as a out of shield option and combo breaker than before.
• Oil Panic:
  • Oil Panic now reflects physical projectiles in addition to absorbing energy-based projectiles.
  • Oil Panic has reduced endlag (FAF 49 → 43).
  • Oil Panic deals significantly less damage and knockback, removing its OHKO potential.
  • Oil Panic triggers Special Zoom on any successful hit, and leaves the opponent covered in oil for a brief moment.
• Octopus's use has been altered. The octopus now rears back and charges forward, grabs opponents who touch its tentacles, and drags them offscreen. The main body deals damage instead of the tentacles. While this increases its KO potential, it also reduces its range, mobility and duration. A greenish-beige backdrop similar to that of a Game & Watch game temporarily appears during this Final Smash.

Update History

1.1.0

• The feather from Mr. Game and Watch's forward smash animation was removed.

Moveset

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3% (first and last hit)	Rapidly presses an insecticide pump, pumping gas onto the opponent. Unlike other characters, Mr. Game & Watch's rapid jab slightly pushes the opponent away. Changes Mr. Game & Watch's model into his appearance from Greenhouse.
			0.8% (loop)
Forward tilt		Lion	12% (clean chair), 10% (clean body), (6% (late)	Thrusts a chair forward to hit with its legs. Changes Mr. Game & Watch's model into his appearance from Lion.
Up tilt		Flagman	7% (hits 1 and 2)	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. While the horizontal range has increased, it effectively loses any anti-air potential it had previously. 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. Changes Mr. Game & Watch's model into his appearance from Flagman.
Down tilt		Manhole	9%	Pushes an angled manhole in front of himself. Does more damage than in the previous game, but at the expense of increased endlag and reduced range. Down tilt also loses its windbox, disallowing juggling and potential recovery interrupting. Changes Mr. Game & Watch's model into his appearance from Manhole.
Dash attack			10% (clean), 6.5% (late)	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. 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 edgeguarding before an opponent can grab the edge. Originates from Helmet.
Forward smash		Fire Attack	14% (handle), 18% (flame)	Swings a lit torch downward. 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 having good interruptibility. Its sweetspot KOs at 106%, while its sourspot KOs at 130%. Changes Mr. Game & Watch's model to the character from Fire Attack. As of update 1.1.0, the feather on his head was removed.
Up smash			16%	Performs an upward headbutt while wearing a diving helmet. While his whole body gains invincibility, it only lasts during and after the attack. This reduces its use as an effective anti-air move. Originates from Octopus.
Down smash			13% (body), 15% (hammers)	Swings two hammers downward and on both of his sides. When sweetspoted, can bury opponents. Changes Mr. Game & Watch's model into the character from Vermin.
Neutral aerial			3% (hits 1- 3), 4% (hit 4)	Tosses out a pair of fish from a bowl. Multiple hitboxes enable it to cover every area except below him. Originates from Tropical Fish.
Forward aerial			3% (bomb), 12% (explosion)	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. The size of the explosion's hitbox is smaller than the actual explosion. 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. Even at 999%, the weak hit has no KO power. Hitting grounded opponents with the first hit will set them up to be hit by the second. Originates from Mario's Bombs Away.
Back aerial			2% (hits 1 - 3), 3% (hit 4)	Swings a snapping turtle behind himself. A fully disjointed hitbox that hits multiple times. Although it can't combo into itself anymore, it's final hit is much stronger, making it a more reliable KO move. Originates from Turtle Bridge.
Up aerial		Spitball Sparky	1.8% (hits 1 - 5), 3% (hit 6)	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. The move now has Mr. Game & Watch's model look more like his appearance in Spitball Sparky.
Down aerial			11% (key), 3.5% (landing)	Drops downward while holding a key beneath himself. A stall-then-fall, it meteor smashes 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 it's low endlag and the move being being slower than other stall-then-falls makes this unlikely. It is a safe option when edgeguarding and has KO potential at high percents. Originates from the Game & Watch version of Donkey Kong Jr.
Grab			—	Mr. Game & Watch reaches in front of himself. Originates from Mario's Cement Factory.
Pummel			1.3%	Hits the opponent with a bell. Originates from the Game & Watch's alarm feature.
Forward throw			8%	Juggles the opponent and tosses them forward. Changes Mr. Game & Watch's model into the character from Ball.
Back throw			8%	Juggles the opponent and tosses them backward. Changes Mr. Game & Watch's model into the character from Ball.
Up throw			12%	Juggles the opponent and tosses them upward. Changes Mr. Game & Watch's model into the character from Ball.
Down throw			4%	Juggles the opponent and drops them on the ground behind him. Launches opponents upward. Changes Mr. Game & Watch's model into the character 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. 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			9%	Swings a bell forward while climbing up. Originates from the Game & Watch's alarm feature.
Neutral special		Chef	5% (food), 13% (frying pan)	Flips food 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 his appearance from Chef.
Side special		Judge	Varies	Swings a hammer in front of him, and raises a flag 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 a is strong enough to be a virtual one-hit KO. Mr. Game & Watch's model changes into his appearance from Judge. 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, although it launches the opponent backward. It deals significant 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. Has the second strongest knockback of all Judge attacks. Judge 7: A swing that deals moderate knockback and produces 3 apples if it hits the opponent. Each apple heals 4%. 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 KOs. 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 makes it generally unable to KO at extremely low percents.
Up special		Fire	3% (trampoline; firemen), 6% (ascent)	Jumps off a trampoline and then descends while wearing a parachute. Capable of canceling into any move when falling. Has KO potential at high percents near the left and right blast lines. Very good at stage spiking, due to out-prioritizing most aerials and dealing strong knockback, making Mr. Game & Watch very difficult to edgeguard. Originates from Fire.
Down special		Oil Panic	Based on absorbed attacks	Holds an oil drum, which absorbs energy-based projectiles, and reflects physical ones. 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. Any opponent hit will be covered in oil for a brief moment. Mr. Game & Watch's model changes into his appearance from Oil Panic.
Final Smash		Octopus	4.9% (grabbed), 15% (body), 30% (slam)	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.

Judge Damage

Numbers	Damage
1	2%
2	4%
3	6%
4	8%
5	3% (hits 1-4)
6	12%
7	14%
8	13%
9	32%

On-screen appearance

• Moves 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.

Idle poses

• Hops in place.
• Briefly looks behind himself.

Victory poses

• 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.
• Rings his bell to his right, then his left. Afterwards, he continues to ring his bell to the right.
• Juggles 3 balls while in his appearance from Ball.

Classic Mode: A Long Legacy

Mr. Game & Watch fights classic characters on retro stages.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Kirby	Dream Land GB	Green Greens
2	Pac-Man	Pac-Land	PAC-MAN
3	Duck Hunt	Duck Hunt	Famicom Medley
4	Mario and Luigi	Mario Bros.	Ground Theme - Super Mario Bros.
5	Donkey Kong	75m	25m	Mario is a CPU ally.
6	Mr. Game & Watch Team	Flat Zone X	Flat Zone
Bonus Stage
Final	Master Hand	Final Destination	Master Hand (Less than 7.0 intensity) Master Hand / Crazy Hand (7.0 or higher intensity)	On intensity 7.0 and higher, Crazy Hand fights alongside Master Hand.

Role in World of Light

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 Kirby) when Galeem unleashed his beams of light.

Mr. Game & Watch is unlocked in the maze area of the Light Realm. After finding the correct path through the maze, the player must defeat the Sidestepper and Nikki spirits in front of his unlock battle.

Alternate costumes

Gallery

• 

  Mr. Game & Watch's fighter card.

• 

  Mr. Game and Watch's up taunt on Town and City.

• 

  Using Chef on Temple.

• 

  Being attacked by Ryu on Suzaku Castle.

• 

  Using his down smash on King Dedede and Sheik on Yoshi's Story.

• 

  Using Judge 1 on Duck Hunt on Tortimer Island.

• 

  Four of Mr. Game and Watch's alternate costumes on Flat Zone X.

• 

  Using Chef near Pac-Man on Tortimer Island.

• 

  With Yoshi on Skyloft.

• 

  Hitting Mario with Judge 9 on Pictochat 2

Character Showcase Video

<youtube>Ic0xR07DhSY</youtube>

Trivia

Mr. Game & Watch's forward smash, derived from Fire Attack, pre-patch and post-patch.

• This is the first game in the series where Mr. Game & Watch is portrayed holding an object different than his signature bell in his official art, instead being shown holding the flag from Flagman (the same one as his up tilt).
  • In-game, however, Mr. Game & Watch changes his appearance to match the character in Flagman, rather than using his own appearance.
• Mr. Game & Watch's render pose somewhat resembles his Smash 4 render, although mirrored, and the positioning of his legs has been mirrored.
  • It is also the first time in the series where his render pose shows him facing right instead of left.
• During the launch of Ultimate's official website, Mr. Game & Watch's name was erroneously labeled as "Mr. GAME & WATACH" exclusively on the mobile variant of his fighter page. The typo was later corrected.
• Mr. Game & Watch's stock icon in Ultimate bears a strong resemblance to his stock icon from Super Smash Bros. 4.
• His official art, apart from looking like his old up tilt, also resembles his Alt. trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
• In Pikachu's showcase trailer, Mr. Game & Watch is seen using his forward smash animation from Smash 4. However, it was later changed to reference its origin game (Fire Attack) like some of his other moves. This change attracted criticism for its portrayal of a supposed Native American stereotype (itself sourced from the original version of Fire Attack); Nintendo of America responded to the criticism by apologizing for the supposed outdated imagery and promising to alter it by removing the feather from Mr. Game & Watch's model, matching a change seen in the Game & Watch Gallery 4 version of Fire Attack.
  • The Fire Attack spirit also had its artwork altered in the same patch as well, removing the feather.
• Although Mr. Game & Watch has no visible eyes in his neutral animation, the loading screen, which temporarily glows the selected character's eyes, makes Mr. Game & Watch glow where his eyes would be. The same applies to his Final Smash activation picture, which focuses on where his eyes would be, as with other characters.
• Mr. Game & Watch is one of the few characters in Ultimate to lack voice clips in the Sound Test. This is probably because the game considers his various beeps as sound effects instead.
• In spite of other languages having a translated word for the term "Mr.", no other language uses it in Ultimate for Mr. Game & Watch's name except for Russian, appropriately using "Г-н".
• Mr. Game & Watch is the only character that has spirit battles using his default color