Mr. Game & Watch (SSBM)

Mr. Game & Watch in Super Smash Bros. Melee
Universe	Game & Watch
Other playable appearance	in Brawl
Availability	Unlockable
Tier	B (22)

“	A resident of a totally flat world, Mr. Game & Watch's frame-by-frame movements is distinctive.	”
—Description from Mr. Game & Watch's trophy.

Mr. Game & Watch (Mr. ゲーム＆ウォッチ, Misutā Gēmu ando Uocchi) is a character in Super Smash Bros. Melee. He was designed as a composite representation of various generic characters featured in the Game & Watch series, created by Gunpei Yokoi in 1980. He is the last character to be unlocked in the game.

Mr. Game & Watch is currently ranked 22nd in Melee's tier list. Mr. Game & Watch's positive attributes include extremely powerful KO moves that can have a long duration as well as a slew of moderately effective special moves, one of which can give an OHKO. However, Mr. Game & Watch's flaws are due to how he was translated to Melee; he has a bad approach due to his slow overall speed, and he generally is rather predictable. His high hitstun and light weight also make him an easy target for combos. Mr. Game & Watch also has the dubious distinction of being the only character in the game who cannot L-cancel all of his aerial attacks. All of this gives him very poor matchups against a majority of the cast, including three nearly unwinnable matchups, although there are five matchups in his favor.

How to Unlock

To unlock Mr. Game & Watch, players have to clear Classic mode, Adventure Mode or Target Test with all the other twenty four characters they have unlocked. Alternatively, players can complete 1000 Versus Mode matches.

When fighting Mr. Game & Watch, he will be fought at Flat Zone.

Attributes

File:Mrgameandwatch.jpg

Mr. Game & Watch generally acts as a speedy, weak character; however, he does have some incredibly powerful KO moves, most of which are slow (with the exception of his down tilt). Mr. Game & Watch's attributes tend to be scattered; he has an average falling speed, an above average air speed, an average traction, and the second lightest weight in the game (second to Pichu, and tied with Jigglypuff). As a result of these attributes, Mr. Game & Watch has a wavedash that grants decent distance and speed.

Mr. Game & Watch is notable for having unusual properties in most of his attacks; his forward tilt and smash, for instance, have Sex kick properties, harming others even after the primary hitbox dissipates. Additionally, his up smash and nair have long hitboxes that do not run out of power, making them good KO options. Additionally, Mr. Game & Watch has many disjointed hitboxes in his attacks (particularly his down smash), giving him a surprisingly and sometimes deceptively good range.

Mr. Game & Watch`s aerial game is his strongest asset, as his aerials have large disjointed hitboxes (especially his neutral aerial). His neutral aerial is the most powerful neutral aerial in the game, often KO'ing under 125%, while having a very large hitbox that covers him. His forward aerial is his best approaching tool as it can be L-canceled and has fast startup (but has heavy landing lag when not L-canceled). His back aerial is multi-hitting and has a disjointed hitbox, making it somewhat unpredictable to counter. His up aerial is a two-hit attack, with the second hit having high KO power. It can also be used to juggle fast fallers and heavy characters. Lastly, his meteor smashing down aerial is effective at countering foes from below and KO'ing (the sourspot is slightly weaker than the sweetspot and sends foes on a diagonal trajectory). The down aerial's landing hitboxes add 5%-6% more damage (for a total of 19%-20% if the primary hitbox strikes first).

Mr. Game & Watch's specials also allow for significant power; Oil Panic can absorb projectiles and result in a powerful resulting projectile, and his Judgement has OHKO potential, as well as many other options. Adding in with his specials, Mr. Game & Watch also has a rather good recovery from Fire; despite a lack of options and general predictability, it sends him a significant distance upwards. The low hitstun and knockback, as well as an unpredictable trajectory gives Chef potential edgeguard capability.

Mr. Game & Watch's grab game is also decent, despite his below-average grab range. The resulting trajectories of his throws gives him solid chaingrab and combo potential, and as all his throws look identical, he can perform mindgames on opponents by challenging the player's perception of where they will end up.

Mr. Game & Watch's main flaw, however, is his awful approach. A slow, jerky dash and an average wavedash, as well as slow, weak tilts on the ground (except for his down tilt) gives Mr. Game & Watch a very poor approach on the ground; his poor dash also makes him reliant on dashdancing and foxtrotting to traverse stages. Despite an above average falling speed and an average short hop, Mr. Game & Watch has among the worst SHFFLs in the game, primarily due to the fact that his aerials have significant ending lag, and that his neutral and up aerials have the dubious distinction of not having the ability to be L-cancelled.

Mr. Game & Watch's defensive game also suffers; despite a relatively small size and a very low crouch, he is very easy to shield stab, and his remaining defensive capabilities are poor, with short, slow rolling dodges and an equally short sidestep dodge. Mr. Game & Watch, due to his slow tilts and smashes and mostly situational specials, has poor out of shield options. His recovery also suffers; despite granting significant vertical distance and average horizontal distance, Fire is very predictable and easy to read, inviting edgeguarders.

Mr. Game & Watch also suffers due to his ability to be easily combo'd; his light weight and high periods of hitstun makes Mr. Game & Watch a viable target for combos and juggles, and his light weight also makes him very easy to KO, only making him all the more vulnerable.

Moveset

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

Normal

• Neutral attack: Greenhouse - Mr. Game & Watch pulls out an insecticide pump and presses on it, shooting a puff of insecticide out. If the button is mashed, Mr. Game & Watch will fire the insecticide quickly. Does 1-3% per hit.
• Dash attack: Helmet - Mr. Game & Watch puts on a football helmet and charges forwards. Low knockback, sends opponents behind him, good for racking up damage. Inflicts 9%.
• Forward tilt: Chair Thrust - Mr. Game & Watch thrusts a chair forwards. Has a long range, but significant starting lag. This attack does 10% damage.
• Up tilt: Flagman - Mr. Game & Watch pulls out a number seven flag and waves it upwards. A good move for juggling. 9% damage.
• Down tilt: Manhole - Mr. Game & Watch flips a manhole cover in front of him. Good vertical knockback, and can be continuously flipped if the A button is mashed. This attack makes a valuable combo starter at low percentages, and it can KO above 100%. 12% damage.

Smash attacks

• Forward smash: Fire Attack - Mr. Game & Watch pulls out a torch and swings it forwards. It is very powerful, often KO`ing lightweights at 70%. In terms of knockback (not KO percentage), it is the third most powerful side smash in the game (along with Captain Falcon). Otherwise (due to its diagonal knockback), it is the 11th most powerful side smash in the game. This is Mr. Game & Watch`s most reliable smash attack, as it is faster and stronger than his other two smash attacks. The move lasts for a second after it is executed, where the opponent can still get hit. The early hit does 24% fully charged, whereas the late hit does 6%.
• Up smash: Octopus - With a diving helmet on, Mr. Game & Watch leans backwards, then swings his head forwards. Has some start-up lag but also has high knockback, as well as a long duration. 24% damage fully charged. This is the 9th most powerful up smash in the game.
• Down smash: Vermin - Mr. Game & Watch pulls out two hammers and swings them down on both of his sides. If the opponent is hit on the tips of the hammers, the opponent is hit upwards with high knockback (sweetspot), but if the enemy is hit with the handles, they are very feebly propelled horizontally. 8-22% at the sweetspot, 5-14% fully charged at the handles. Its power is comparable to Bowser`s down smash.

Other

• Ledge attack: Mr. Game & Watch climbs onto the ledge, and hits forwards with a bell. Strangely, this ledge attack has knockback scaling, so it may be able to KO at extremely high damages, such as 300%. 8% damage.
• 100% ledge attack: Same, but slower. This attack also has knockback scaling. 8% damage.
• Floor attack: Mr. Game & Watch pulls out a hammer and hits on both of his sides. Does 6% to the foe.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial: Parachute - Mr. Game & Watch opens a parachute. It has high horizontal knockback but comes with a bit of start-up lag. Its hitbox covers all sides of Mr. Game & Watch. This attack cannot be L-canceled. Does 16% throughout the duration. It is overall the most powerful neutral aerial in Melee and is one the most powerful aerials in the game.
• Forward aerial: Mario's Cement Factory - Mr. Game & Watch whips out a block forwards. If hit when it first comes out, it has high damage, but if DI'd into, the opponent will be hit for minor damage with very low knockback. 16% at the start, 6% near the end.
• Back aerial: Turtle Bridge - Mr. Game & Watch thrusts a turtle backwards, which bites many times. It is a multi-hitting move, and the last hit has light knockback. Inflicts up to 18% damage.
• Up aerial: Spitball Sparky - Mr. Game & Watch blows upwards twice. The second hit has medium knockback. The first hit has knockback growth, making it less likely to lead into the second hit at higher percentages. However, the second hit can be landed without the first hit, if timed correctly. Like his neutral and back aerial, this attack cannot be L-canceled. 15% total damage.
• Down aerial: Key Strike - Mr. Game & Watch pulls out a key and plunges downwards. If the opponent is under Mr. Game & Watch and gets hit right when the move comes out, it is a Meteor Smash. Inflicts 14% damage and another 5-6% for landing on the ground, for a possible 19-20% damage in total.

Throws

• Pummel: Mr. Game & Watch pulls out a bell and hits the opponent with it. Somewhat slow for a pummel. 2-3% per pummel.
• Up throw: Ball - Mr. Game & Watch juggles the enemy as a ball, then launches the opponent upwards. Only up throw in the game to release opponent at an angle. Can chaingrab fastfallers. 4-8% damage.
• Forward throw: Ball - Mr. Game & Watch juggles the enemy as a ball, then launches the opponent forwards. 4-8% damage.
• Back throw: Ball - Mr. Game & Watch juggles the enemy as a ball, then launches the opponent backwards. 4-8%.
• Down throw: Ball - Mr. Game & Watch juggles the enemy as a ball, then launches the opponent downwards. Above 100%, it can chaingrab fastfallers. 4-8% damage inflicted.

Special moves

Mr. Game & Watch's special moves

Neutral special	Chef
Side special	Judgment	Judge
Up special	Fire
Down special	Oil Panic

In Competitive play

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Melee Character Matchups

Avg.

In single-player modes

In Classic Mode

Mr. Game & Watch can appear as an ally in the team battle and the giant battle. However, he only appears as an opponent in the multi-character battle, where he is fought on Flat Zone.

In Adventure Mode

Adventure Mode makes no concessions to Mr. Game & Watch when he is unlocked.

In All-Star Mode

In All-Star Mode, Mr. Game & Watch appears as the final character the player fights against; his battle is the only one guaranteed to occur at the end, and he does not ally with any other character. The player must fight against a team of twenty five Mr. Game & Watches, five at a time, on Flat Zone. Defeating all of them allows the player to complete the mode.

In Event Matches

Mr. Game & Watch appears in the following event matches:

• Event 40: All-Star Match 4: Mr. Game & Watch is the last opponent fought in this series of staged battles. The selected character battles him on the Flat Zone stage with a stock of 2 while Mr. Game & Watch has 1. With a timer of four minutes, the player must defeat him and the other four characters one-by-one with the overall time and damage: Marth, Luigi, Jigglypuff, and Mewtwo.
• Event 45: Game & Watch Forever!: Mr. Game & Watch is the player's character, going up against twenty five other Mr. Game & Watches, similar to the final battle of All-Star Mode. However, the player's Mr. Game & Watch, while having three lives, is also light, allowing him to be KO'd easily.

Ending images

• GWClassicMode.jpg

  Classic Mode.

• FireMelee.jpg

  Adventure Mode.

• GWAllStarMode.jpg

  All-Star Mode.

Trophies

Trophy #177: First appearing in 1980, the Game & Watch series is the father of all portable liquid crystal games. The main character is simple and monochrome but has a timeless individuality. There are 39 different games in the series and they've sold over 43 million units worldwide. Pictured at left is the particularly popular Fire model.

• Games: Game & Watch (1980)

Smash Red

Trophy #178: A resident of a totally flat world, Mr. Game & Watch's frame-by-frame movements is distinctive. His image is known far and wide, and respected by gamers everywhere. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, he hurls sausages with his Chef technique. The random strength of his Judgement is determined by the number displayed; food appears on lucky 7.

Smash Blue

Trophy #179: A man of great stature in the world of Nintendo characters, Mr. Game & Watch is a comparatively light fellow and doesn't feature many powerful attacks. When he's in danger of falling, Fire calls out a rescue brigade to send him skyward once more. He can also catch missile weapons with Oil Panic; once he's caught three, he can dump the bucket on his foes.

• 

  Classic

• 

  Adventure

• 

  All-Star

Costumes

Mr. Game & Watch's palette swaps in SSBM

Trivia

• Mr. Game & Watch, along with Roy and Pichu, are the only characters in Melee to have an attack that damages themselves. Kirby also counts, if he copies Roy's or Pichu's neutral B moves.
• Mr. Game & Watch's and Jigglypuff's "head sprites" are the only ones to show their entire body.
• Mr Game & Watch's All-Star trophy is the only All-Star Trophy that doesn't show him with an alternate costume.
• Melee reads Mr. Game & Watch's neutral, back, and up aerials as special moves, which is probably why they cannot be l-canceled.

External links

• Nintendorks' page on Mr. Game & Watch