Smash Corner: Mr. Game & Watch: Nintendo’s 2D Grandpa
Today we are going back to the beginning of Nintendo’s videogame history with a character that embodies their very first handheld console. He’s an oldie but a goldie, he is fighter #26 in the roster: Mr. Game & Watch.
As his name suggests, he is a character found in the Game & Watch consoles. These were the very first handheld gaming devices released by Nintendo way back in 1980. A total of 59 different models of the pioneering consoles were developed each with its own unique game. Mr. Game & Watch was the generic character of these handhelds so he isn’t given too much depth, however, his many games inspired his diverse moveset in the Smash Bros. franchise ever since Brawl. He is a very lightweight character, with average speed and damage but with many unique tools at his disposal.
Most of Mr. Game & Watch’s attacks have a useful twist to them. His throws, normal, tilt attacks all have unique hitboxes and animations. His smash attacks are all quite fast and powerful especially the side- and up-smash. In addition, his down-smash can root opponents on both sides, extremely helpful to secure a kill or start a combo. In the air, all of Game & Watch’s attacks have a different property, from his huge neutral-, his exploding forward-, his multi-hit back-, his projectile up- and finally to his spiking down-air. All these particularities become very useful in the right situations.
Then comes his unique specials. With his neutral-B Chef, Mr Game & Watch will throw slow arcing projectiles to stagger his opponents. His side-special, Judge, is a Russian roulette: Game & Watch will take out a hammer and a number over his head which will decide the effect of the move if the hit connects. It goes from 1, where you take 10% yourself, to 9, where you will flat out kill the enemy, with various properties such as electrocuting, freezing or healing in the middle. Mr. Game & Watch’s up-B is Fire, where he will jump off a trampoline and glide down with a parachute, both a great horizontal and vertical recovery tool. Finally, his coolest and most unique moved is his down-special Oil Panic, a bucket that will absorb energy based projectiles or reflect all others. Once the bucket is filled, Mr. Game & Watch will chuck oil on his opponents for a critical finisher.
Whilst using Fire, Mr. Game & Watch can cancel the parachute with any normal attack. Which can be combo-ed with his up-special followed by his aerial to get some easy and safe damage on your opponent. With all these tools at his disposal, you can be very creative with combos and adapt them to a wide variety of situation. Furthermore, I would advise that you use Judge to end a combo only when your opponent is at a low percentage, as with a bit of luck you can land lucky #9 and get an early kill. In higher percentages, however, a smash attack is much more reliable to end the stock.
With his unique arsenal, I highly suggest for anyone to try out Mr. Game & Watch as he has a little something for everyone. Due to his unreliable random side-special, he can only make it to the top of mid-tier, however, if you are feeling lucky, this is definitely the fighter for you, so get smashing!
