|
| “ | "Beep, Boop, Beep, Boop!" | „ |
| ~ Mr. Game & Watch |
| “ | You must be getting pretty good at some of these by now! | „ |
| ~ Mr. Game & Watch in Game & Watch Gallery 4. |
Mr. Game & Watch, also referred as Game & Watch, is the titular main protagonist of Nintendo's handheld video game franchise of the same name.
Throughout his appearances, Mr. Game & Watch is depicted as a 2D generic stick figure-stylized silhouette character resembling a flat sheet of paper (even in 3D space), matching the 2-dimensional graphics of the Game & Watch series. Although the specific character was not introduced until 2001 and the Game & Watch franchise did not represent a true mascot, Mr. Game & Watch was intended to be an amalgamation of the entire franchise. As of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mr. Game Watch is capable of self-duplication under the influence of possessing a limitless embodiment of dark violet and mysterious substance, the Shadow Bugs. He is capable of wielding and fighting with all sorts of items as weapons, ranging from a pump, a giant hammer, an alarm bell that he smacks antagonists with, a giant key, a bomb and more objects derived from the Game & Watch series.
Mr. Game & Watch is typically incapable of traditional speech. Instead, he "speaks" in a series of sounds such as bleep bloops.
Appearance[]
Mr. Game & Watch appears to be a simplistic and generic 2D silhouette character resembling a stick figure with realistically proportioned human-like features; however, the only features he does not represent are eyes and ears (with the exception of his Ball, Spitball Sparky, Fire, Vermin, Stanley, Manhole, Oil Panic incarnations, etc), and his body is shaped like a teardrop, which is wider and bulkier compared to a stick figure, along with a large and straight nose. Occasionally, he can be portrayed 3D and his mouth can be seen white on the inside. His entire body is black with a dark/light gray outline, and is typically portrayed with an alarm bell (with the exception of Super Smash Bros. 4 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate). He is typically depicted with circular stubs for hands in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (which seem somewhat similar to the Powerpuff Girls), but is depicted with realistic hands at certain points. Even though he lacks visible eyes and no ears, he still has eyesight and sense of hearing. In Helmet, Mr. Game & Watch wears a simple construction helmet, performing a sliding headbutt towards opponents along the ground. This is also worn for evading falling objects.
Mr. Game & Watch's appearance varies throughout the specific units of the Game & Watch consoles: in Ball, Mr. Game & Watch's appearance resembles himself from the initial game of the Game & Watch franchise. He has his arms and legs levitating around his body. His body and head appears to be circular, and he also has thinner limbs. Some of his limbs (such as his legs and arms) are detached from his body and separated in two, but that is not applied for his legs, and he also has a large and more straight nose. He has circular eyes with circular pupils and ears. As the name of the Game & Watch unit suggests, he is typically seen juggling up to three balls.
In Spitball Sparky, Mr. Game & Watch features a pair of small and circular eyes, and his nose is replaced with a large pump, along with wearing masculine shoes. Typically, he is seen blowing/shooting puffs of air overhead from his nose, and can be able to shoot puffs of air upwards or forwards.
As a scuba diver in Octopus, Mr. Game & Watch wears a heavy scuba-diving helmet while collecting loot in the ocean, and his head inside is intangible. This is also equipped for attacking opponents, headbutting opponents with it through enormous force to knock them out and send them flying.
In Fire Attack, Mr. Game & Watch heavily features the comparable design of a Native American stereotype while wielding an flaming torch. Another form of Mr. Game & Watch in the aforementioned Game & Watch unit, Fire Attack, is seen, wearing a fedora hat and in a western cowboy-esque clothing, along with wielding a hammer to fend the Native Americans off.
In Tropical Fish, Mr. Game & Watch holds a fishbowl, which a pair of fish tosses themselves out of it, and Mr. Game & Watch has to put the fish back to the bowl, as introduced from the Game & Watch series. During the minigame, Mr. Game & Watch portrayed to have a more human-like appearance, like in Greenhouse.
In Turtle Bridge, Mr. Game & Watch is depicted as a tourist with human-like features, offering a luggage to another Game & Watch-esque tourist by hopping onto turtles, hence the Game & Watch unit's title.
In Greenhouse, Mr. Game & Watch has a pair of small and straight, thin eyes, along with two straight fronds of hair, a pair of ears, a smaller nose, a fumigator hat and fumigator-esque clothing: these include white gloves and boots, and a white strip on his body. This incarnation of Mr. Game & Watch is also known as Stanley the Fumigator. He is also seen holding an insecticide gas sprayer. In one of the official Greenhouse artworks, Stanley is depicted to have a more human-like look.
In Vermin, Mr. Game & Watch features a somewhat similar appearance to his appearance in Ball, with the exceptions of the lack of a nose, blank white and more thinner eyes, and his legs are attached to his body, along with a pair of ears. He is seen holding a pair of disjointed mallets, which can be slammed on the ground for hammermanship for fighting against opponents and warding off moles that attempt to pollute his garden.
In Manhole, Mr. Game & Watch (with a neck and fingers, a pair of stitched eyes, fresh human-like teeth, and a somewhat big body similar to his incarnation in Ball, along with lacking a visible nose) holds out a bridge for other multiple clones of Game & Watch or other residents/ to pass by. This was first introduced in one of the Game & Watch minigames, Manhole. The true incarnation of Mr. Game & Watch is seen sprinting above the platform. In one of the official Manhole artworks, Mr. Game & Watch and Manhole were portrayed to have a more human-like look instead of being monochromatic silhouettes.
In Flagman, Mr. Game & Watch appears to wear what seems to be a pirate-esque outfit, while he has small blank white eyes and a large smile on his face, along with a neck, fingers and ears, and lacking a visible nose. He is typically seen holding a pair of flags that shows either number, 1 or 2, and occasionally sticks his feet out that shows either number, 3 or 4. Mr. Game & Watch's official artwork in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate depicts him raising a flag that shows number #1, which is based on Flagman.
In Lion, Mr. Game & Watch is depicted as a zookeeper wielding a chair to tam lions in order to restrain them in their cages, in order to prevent them from setting themselves free and endangering other people.
In Judge, Mr. Game & Watch is depicted with a pair of big straight eyes, and features the comparative design of his appearance in Ball, and has fresh teeth. His shoes are similar to those of his appearance in Ball, with the expectations of being smaller and thinner. Typically, he is depicted holding a hammer separated from his hand and a raising digital display that displays a randomized number from 1-9. The effect varies depending on the shown number on the display. For example, #1 is virtually useless as it only damages Mr. Game & Watch himself, while #9, on the other hand, is a very intimidating effect and brutal swing that almost typically annihilates those who crosses its path.
In Oil Panic, Mr. Game & Watch is depicted as a station worker holding an oil drum to collect dripping/leaking oil from pipes in the gas station, hence the Game & Watch unit's title, and must avoid splashing the oil out on the other customers waiting at the gas station to fuel up. One of those costumers in the aforementioned Game & Watch unit features a feminized depiction of Game & Watch, otherwise known as Mrs./Ms. Game & Watch, with a ponytail for her hairstyle, a long dress, a pointy nose, a pair of small circular eyes and a pair of heels.
In Chef, Mr. Game & Watch is depicted as a chef, as the name of the aforementioned Game & Watch unit suggests, who is typically seen with a frying pan, where he can toss and fling food out of.
Personality[]
| “ | 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. | „ |
| ~ The description in Mr. Game & Watch's trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee, after completing Classic Mode. |
As the only two-dimensional species in reality, Mr. Game & Watch hides a mysterious and intimidating epitome of himself, being self-aware as the only 2D being living in the three-dimensional universe. Mr. Game & Watch, as mentioned before, is also self-aware because of this, and also seems to be depressive, often showing neutral or frowning expressions while smiling only occasionally. This kind of mysterious personality has been especially prevalent since his debut in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Furthermore, as confirmed in the Subspace Emissary through the official Smash Bros. DOJO!! website, Mr. Game & Watch seems to suffer from impaired moral agency and, as such, cannot define morality since he struggles to comprehend the difference between good and evil.
Shortly after the events of Subspace Emissary in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, however, his once mysterious intimidation has been alleviated to a degree. As of now, Mr. Game & Watch shows a more selfless and overall positive disposition, such as, as Nintendo's oldest fighter, showing loyalty towards his friends and companions, performing his strongest efforts to solve conflict within those near his surroundings, as shown throughout the entire Game & Watch series, where he almost typically and immediately comes for other people's service in each of the series' units, such as: saving dozens of endangered individuals from a burning building in the unit, Fire, preventing pedestrians from falling into manholes by covering them up in the unit, Manhole, and taming lions in order to restrain and send them back in their cages, preventing them from endangering other people across Flat Zone and causing an ambush in the unit, Lion.
Even with these amplified positive personalities, however, Mr. Game & Watch still retains most of his sentience of his own existence, as he supplies a limitless extraction of Shadow Bugs, embodiments of a primordial, mysterious violet substance capable of materializing antagonists (like Primids and the Duon).
Other Media[]
Super Smash Bros. Melee[]
Mr. Game & Watch's official artwork in Melee.
Mr. Game & Watch makes his official debut in the Super Smash Bros. franchise as the final unlockable fighter in Super Smash Bros. Melee, as well as being the final of the game's veterans. Due to time constraints within the development of Melee, Mr. Game & Watch was the second to final fighter to be additional for Melee, surpassed by Ganondorf. Mr. Game & Watch has the distinction of being the most unique character in Super Smash Bros. Melee due to the Game & Watch franchise not representing a true mascot until in this game on 2001, as Mr. Game & Watch was formally an amalgamation of characters in the Game & Watch units.
Mr. Game and Watch can be unlocked by performing one of the four following methods: completing either Classic Mode or Adventure Mode with all characters (including the other unlockable fighters prior to Mr. Game & Watch) on any difficulty/stock or the Target Test with all other characters available barring Mr. Game & Watch, or playing up to 1000 Melee matches. He also provides up to three trophies that can be obtained in the game after completing Adventure, All-Star or Classic Mode.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl[]
Mr. Game & Watch's official artwork in Brawl.
Mr. Game & Watch officially returns as an unlockable playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, returning from Super Smash Bros. Melee. He was initially revealed by a leaked copy of the game, indirectly. After so, Mr. Game & Watch has been officially confirmed to be available as a playable fighter in the Smash Bros. DOJO!! website on Marth 10, 2008, one day after Brawl was released in North America.
Synopsis in Subspace Emissary[]
Prior to the events of the Subspace Emissary, Tabuu has discovered the peculiar qualities of Mr. Game & Watch during the prologue. Inside Mr. Game & Watch's body resides a limitless quantity of Shadow Bugs, tiny and purple-colored particles that have the ability of self-duplication, or even create new dark creatures. Tabuu captured him, took advantage of the discoveries of Mr. Game and Watch's flat qualities to create the Subspace Army and duplicate him up to five times, and from this produced a nearly infinite supply of Shadow Bugs. He ordered the replications of Game & Watch to pilot the corrupted Halberd, the airship of Meta Knight, and utilize it to transport his army.
During the events of the Subspace Emissary, Solid Snake, Meta Knight and Lucario invade the airship and come across the piloting room, witnessing a quintet of false Mr. Game & Watches piloting the airship. The former instantaneously charges at them and effortlessly knock all of them out the window, causing them to fall onto the Battleship's Bridge and interrupting Princess Zelda (disguised as Sheik), Fox McCloud and Princess Peach's tea party. The clones dissolve and form into Duon. He is fought by Snake, Lucario, Fox, Zelda/Sheik, Peach, and Falco Lombardi. After it is defeated by the aforementioned heroic fighters, it dissolves into Shadow Bugs, leaving behind a trophy of the true kind of Mr. Game & Watch. Fox prepares to shoot it with one final blow, but Peach revives it. Upon revival, Mr. Game & Watch looks around in a questionable manner, wondering where his location is until Peach scolds him for the trouble he created, causing him to glance down in shame. Then, Peach offers him her parasol to cheer him up, joining her team afterwards.
In the entrance of the subspace, the rest of the fighters confront Tabuu, including Mr. Game & Watch himself (after Tabuu defeats Ganondorf and Master Hand, who attempt to attack him prior to their arrival). Unfortunately, Tabuu unleashes his signature off waves to transform all of the other approaching fighters back to trophies, including Mr. Game & Watch among them. However, King Dedede, Ness, Luigi and Kirby were miraculously revived by the Dedede Brooches and collecting/reviving all of the trophies across their path of the Subspace, including Mr. Game & Watch. After so, he accompanies the rest of the fighters throughout the Great Maze and the final showdown of Tabuu.
After clearing the maze, the fighters approach Tabuu again, who prepares his off waves twice and attempts to effortlessly re-trophicate all fighters that violated his territory twice in a row. However, Sonic the Hedgehog suddenly comes in the scene, homes into Tabuu's wings and shatters them, preventing them from causing immediate trophication. Ultimately, Mr. Game & Watch and his fellow fighters defeat Tabuu. Upon his defeat, he shrieks and disintegrates as light energy erupts from him, causing the subspace to fade into nonexistence and the World of Trophies to get reincarnated back to their original locations, excluding the Isle of Ancients. Because of the plethora of detonated Subspace Bombs engulfing said isle, it is impossible for the Isle of Ancients to return. As such, it is claimed to be permanently erased from existence. Instead, it leaves a giant luminous cross in its place, where the rest of the fighters look at in triumph and victory, including Mr. Game & Watch (ringing his signature bell while looking at it).
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U[]
Mr. Game & Watch's official artwork in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.
Mr. Game & Watch performs an official reappearance as an unlockable playable character in Super Smash Bros. For Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, returning from Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Initiated as a cameo during PAC-MAN's reveal trailer as both being the oldest fighters throughout the entire series (with Mr. Game & Watch being older by one month), Mr. Game & Watch was eventually announced during the official Super Smash Bros. for Wii U 50-Fact Extravaganza on October 23rd, 2014.
On Nintendo 3DS, Mr. Game & Watch must be unlocked by either playing 90 Smash matches or by clearing Classic Mode up to 10 times. In comparison, Mr. Game & Watch must be unlocked by either playing 90 Smash matches or clearing Classic Mode on intensity 2.0 or higher with five alternative characters on Wii U.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[]
Mr. Game & Watch's official artwork in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Mr. Game & Watch makes his official reappearance as an unlockable playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, returning from Super Smash Bros. For Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, Melee and Brawl. Alongside the rest of the other returning veterans, Mr. Game & Watch was confirmed to be an official playable fighter during the game's E3 2018 trailer on June 12th, 2018.
Mr. Game & Watch must be unlocked by performing one of the following three methods: completing Pikachu's route in Classic Mode up to 6 times, being the sixth character to be unlocked after Isabelle, or playing VS. matches, being the 52nd character to be unlocked, or having him join the player's party in the World of Light by awakening him in the story.
Super Mario Bros.[]
Mr. Game & Watch makes his various appearances in some of the video games of the Super Mario Bros. series, along with the other characters who came from the other games. His primary appearances are cameos.
Wario Land 4[]
In Wario Land 4, a character that is virtually reminiscent of Mr. Game & Watch appears as the Item Shopkeeper. He is an alternate form of the Black Cat's (which is revealed to be Princess Shokora in her feline incarnation) and serves as the shopkeeper of the Item Shop. He also appears as pictures on the walls of the level Hall of Hieroglyphs. A notable difference between Mr. Game & Watch and the Item Shopkeeper is that the shopkeeper has eyes.
Super Mario Odyssey[]
Mr. Game & Watch makes a cameo appearance in Super Mario Odyssey, where he makes a cameo role in the city challenges.
Trivia[]
- Mr. Game & Watch is the oldest character in the history of both Nintendo and the Super Smash Bros. franchise, beating out Pac-Man just by one month for the latter. To further contribute this, Mr. Game & Watch is the first and successful character in Nintendo's history.
- Although Mr. Game & Watch lacks visible eyes in his neutral incarnation, the loading screen in Ultimate, the character selection screen portraits in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U whenever a particular fighter is selected, and the damage meter when parrying (which temporarily lights up the selected character's eyes in their renders) makes Mr. Game & Watch glow where his eyes would be. This also applies to activating Final Smashes, which focuses on where his eyes would be, as with the rest of the roster. Despite several of his moveset in Ultimate causing Mr. Game & Watch to resemble characters from the Game & Watch series featuring eyes, parrying does not affect them at all.
- As a consequence of lacking visible eyes, Mr. Game & Watch is the only character in World of Light with puppet fighters that lack their signature red/purple eyes given by Galeem and Dharkon, respectively, instead basically using his model and various alternate costumes without alterations. While Pac-Man, Samus, and Dark Samus also share this distinction, it is only through the previews of spirit battles, where the trio, along with Mr. Game & Watch, do not emit red or purple-flashing eyes.
- Conceptually, Mr. Game & Watch is the only two-dimensional playable character in the entire Super Smash Bros. series. However, there are several distinctions that makes this debatable:
- Technically, Mr. Game & Watch is composed of a three-dimensional model in the same manner as all of the other characters, but with an interesting twist: Mr. Game & Watch's model is flattened along a single axis to provide a two-dimensional illusion.
- This aforementioned flattening effect is applied to other characters in two-dimensional stages (e.g. Flat Zone and Pac-Land). This aforementioned two-dimensional illusion is somewhat broken, however, when Mr. Game & Watch becomes metal, is a false character, is covered in ink or if the Z-axis glitch is performed on him, as his body is no longer featureless and appears to be rounded. This can also occur during certain Final Smashes, such as King Dedede's Dede-Rush, Terry Bogard's Triple Wolf or Sephiroth's Supernova.
- Mr. Game & Watch's amiibo is also three-dimensional as well, though it emulates more of his two-dimensional appearance than using a virtually three-dimensional model.
- Mr. Game & Watch ringing his bell in his official artwork illustrations, more especially in the Smash Bros. series, references the signature alarm feature of Game & Watch units.
- All of his official artwork illustrations in the Super Smash Bros. series depict Mr. Game & Watch wielding an item in his hand. Super Smash Bros. 4, however, is the only game that depicts Mr. Game & Watch empty-handed in his official artwork.
- During Pikachu's showcase trailer for Ultimate, Mr. Game & Watch is seen performing his forward smash, which retains its animation from SSB4. However, it was later changed to reference its original game (Fire Attack), like a variety of his moveset. This particular change, however, attracted criticism for its portrayal of a Native American stereotype (itself sourced from the original edition of Fire Attack); Nintendo of America responded to the criticism by apologizing for the outdated imagery and promising to alter it by removing the feather from Mr. Game & Watch's model,[1] matching a specific change seen in Fire Attack for Game & Watch Gallery 4. This also applies for his Fire Artwork spirit in the same patch as well.
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the first game of the series where Mr. Game & Watch’s official artwork shows him holding an object other than his signature bell, as he is instead holding the flag from Flagman, resembling his Alt. trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS. It also potentially references Mr. Game & Watch being Nintendo's first successful character in history.
- In-game, however, Mr. Game & Watch changes his appearance to match the protagonist in Flagman, rather than retaining his own appearance.
- Furthermore, Ultimate also marks the first time in the series where his official render depicts him facing right instead of left.
- Prior to Ultimate, one of Mr. Game & Watch's victory poses depicted hopping up to the air continuously. In Ultimate, Mr. Game & Watch juggles up to three balls in his Ball incarnation in one of his victory poses. Comparatively, Mr. Game & Watch performs a single victorious jump in his down taunt in Brawl. In SSB4 onwards, Mr. Game & Watch sits down and sighs, huffing out a huge puff of breath. This originates from the Game & Watch edition of Mario Bros. (where Mario and Luigi relax after completing a level during said game).
- Mr. Game & Watch and Falco Lombardi are the only characters who were available as unlockable in multiple Super Smash Bros. titles to consistently remain as unlockable in both variations of Super Smash Bros. 4. Counting both editions separately, the two, along with Jigglypuff, are also tied for the most unlockable appearances in the series, with five.
- Although the Game & Watch was first released in 1980, Mr. Game & Watch did not conceptually exist as a specific character until Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001). This has led to some debate over whether or not Mr. Game & Watch should be considered the same entity as the playable characters from the original Game & Watch handhelds.
- That said, Mr. Game & Watch, as a representative character in the Smash Bros. series, is an amalgamation of different Game & Watch titles, so it is likely that he represents the entire Game & Watch brand rather than a specific game. This is further supported in Ultimate, where Mr. Game & Watch, for several of his moves, changes his appearance to resemble the character in the game from which the move originated from.
References[]
- ↑ https://x.com/AllSourceGaming/status/1060056482664927232 - During Nintendo's Japanese livestream, one of Mr. Game & Watch's attacks was shown off. It was referencing offensive depiction of Native Americans. We reached out for Nintendo for an statement. The feather will be removed from Mr. Game & Watch's attack.
External Links[]
- Mr. Game & Watch on the Inconsistently Admirable Wiki
- Mr. Game & Watch on the Love Exalted Wiki
- Mr. Game & Watch on the Nintendo Wiki
- Mr. Game & Watch on the Super Smash Bros. Wiki
