The Ultimate Game & Watch
Smash Rookie
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2023
- Messages
- 2
Welcome to my first ever guidance within the Super Smash Bros. fighters, beginning with my well-most favourite character in the series,
Mr. Game & Watch. I'm gonna start it off with his worst incarnation of the four, because his inclusion in Super Smash Bros. Melee is super interesting. I've got multiple reasons for this:
Attributes
Each of Mr. G&W's stats (ex. traction, run, walk, and falling speed) are duplicated from Mario. While strange at first, that's a pretty good supplement for G&W: he has good wavedashing abilities, and he is relatively fast all around. While he lacks insane attributes (such as Fox or Captain Falcon's incredible supersonic speed) or x-factors (like Marth's dash-dancing or Peach's float), he just has an all-rounding fine playstyle. It does mean that characters with better than average tactics can outshine him, but that means he is an easy character to pick up.
His featherweight, however, is a huge limiting factor (60 units), tying with Jigglypuff as the second-lightest character in Melee, ahead of Pichu. Although he doesn't die off the top as early because he is not as floaty as Puff, I argue that his defense is drastically worse. Unlike Puff, though, Mr. G&W cannot defend himself as easily in a normal way to kinda offset that. Regarding his dodging frame-data below, everything is certainly unimpressive.
Rolling Intangibility: (4-19)
Total Rolling Frames: (35 frames).
Rolling Vulnerable Frames: (16 frames).
Rolling Distances: (25th).
Sidestepping Intangibility: (2-12).
Sidestepping Intangible Period: (34.4%).
Sidestepping Frames: (32 frames).
Sidestepping Intangible Frames: (11 frames).
Sidestepping Vulnerable Frames: (20 frames).
Air Dodging Frames: (49 frames).
Air Dodging Intangible Frames: (26 frames).
Air Dodging Intangibility: (4-29).
According to the data, all of Mr. Game & Watch's defenses are more on the slower/worse side across the board. Each of his defenses have long durations and/or disturbing ending lag, especially his spot dodge, the only kind of defense that grants much more vulnerability than intangibility in all of Melee. It is, without a doubt, the worst spot dodge in the entire series. I know people have been blabbering about this, so no need to explain about this... but what I do need to explain the most is his shield.
This is Mr. Game & Watch's shield, and it is pathetic. Look at how little it covers, his nose, hands, forehead and feet are each exposed. Poor Mr. G&W has to
lightshield to have his shield comparable to the rest of the cast, but this leaves him into more shieldstun than normal, which is gonna be disadvantageous in almost all aspects.
According to the official wiki, his pathetic shield is because of a coding error that was never bothered to resolve. Altogether, Mr. G&W's defensive game is arguably the worst among the entire cast of Melee. Not to be hurtful to my favourite character, but that's basically the truth. He is essentially "defenseless."
It's no wonder AsumSaus referred Mr. G&W as the most broken character in Melee, but once it comes to offense... everything completely takes a turn for the opposite. Let's see what kind of offensive game Mr. G&W has in his disposal.
Moveset
Grounded attacks
Jab:
Total Frames (Jab): 17
Hit: 4-6
IASA: 16
Window for next blast: 3-16
Total (Rapid): 13
Hit: 5-7
Damage: 3%
Originates from: Greenhouse
Mr. Game & Watch has a surprisingly good jab. It has great range, and has quick interruptibility and start-up all around, thus making it relatively safe on shield (-10) and being one of the best jabs in Melee. It is an effective pressuring and damage-racking tool, although the latter is dependent on SDI. His rapid jab, on the other hand, while very inconsistent, is pretty standard for Melee.
Forward tilt:
Total: 44
Hit: 13-30
IASA: 42
Damage: 10%
Originates from: Lion
Mr. Game & Watch's forward tilt is mostly mediocre. It has noticeable starting lag, although the ending lag is more promising. Although it has a nice disjoint and a long duration within its hitbox, it can only KO reliably at mid-150% by the edge. The lingering hitbox can make it a good edgeguarding tool, but in practice, however, this move is not special at all. The hitbox does last for a long time and does not get weaker overtime, but it was not strong enough in the first place to reliably KO, and you will be using forward smash 95% of the time; which outclasses forward tilt by a mile for KOs.
Up tilt:
Total: 29
Hit: 9-29
Damage: 9%
Originates from: Flagman
One of G&W's fastest and near-lagless moves in his kit. It might be situationally inferior compared to down tilt, but it is an alright move with no ending lag (the only attack in Melee without ending lag) and a huge all-around disjoint. On hit, it leads into a bunch of combos and grab-based tactics. It can also KO at around 150%-160% on most characters. The lack of ending lag is also supplemented by its ridiculously long-lasting hitbox.
Down tilt:
Total: 29
Hit: 6-13
IASA: 26
Damage: 12% (ground), 9% (air)
Originates from: Manhole
Among the best tilt attacks in Melee. It is insanely fast with a huge disjoint, and is extremely strong as both a combo and KOing tool: in particular, it KOs floaties/lightweights as early as 70-75%. Altogether, it is argued to be Mr. G&W's most safest KOing option in his kit.
Dash attack:
Total: 37
Hit: 6-29
Damage: 9%
Originates from: Helmet
G&W's dash attack is a move that exists. It is super quick and the hitbox lasts for a super long time, but its poor knockback prevents it from KOing in nearly all aspects. While it can cross-up shields and rack up damage, it is otherwise one of G&W's more useless tools in his kit.
Smash attacks:
Coming soon...
Mr. Game & Watch. I'm gonna start it off with his worst incarnation of the four, because his inclusion in Super Smash Bros. Melee is super interesting. I've got multiple reasons for this:
- He is the contender for the single most notorious low-tier in the entire series. On the other hand, Mr. G&W is surprisingly not horrible, and he is even viable in tournaments.
- He might be a definitive low-tier, but he is certainly not bottom-tier. Some of the stuff he has in his kit are genuinely fantastic for a character of his tier.
- Most importantly, Mr. Game & Watch is seemingly an unfinished and broken character. So much things about the character feels rushed, which is pratically due to the game's time constraints. Hence the reason he is the legit final unlockable fighter in Melee, but if you're thinking that Mr. G&W is the last character included to the game, you're wrong. He is actually the second-last character added to the game after Ganondorf. If that's true, then I understand the reason he lacks L-canceling ability for most of his aerials and he has a bullcrappy shield. The game developers didn't really have the time to change some of his attributes and fix those unique issues within the character. Even in the PAL version, the only change Mr. G&W (and Jigglypuff) got was that Bowser's down throw now damages him and Puff.
Attributes
- Weight: 60 units (24-25th).
- Walk Speed: 1.1 (12-15th).
- Run Speed: 1.5 (12-14th).
- Initial Dash: 1.5 (10-13th).
- Air Speed: 1 (6-9th).
- Max Air Acceleration: 0.05 (12-18th).
- Falling Speed: 1.7 (16-18th).
Each of Mr. G&W's stats (ex. traction, run, walk, and falling speed) are duplicated from Mario. While strange at first, that's a pretty good supplement for G&W: he has good wavedashing abilities, and he is relatively fast all around. While he lacks insane attributes (such as Fox or Captain Falcon's incredible supersonic speed) or x-factors (like Marth's dash-dancing or Peach's float), he just has an all-rounding fine playstyle. It does mean that characters with better than average tactics can outshine him, but that means he is an easy character to pick up.
His featherweight, however, is a huge limiting factor (60 units), tying with Jigglypuff as the second-lightest character in Melee, ahead of Pichu. Although he doesn't die off the top as early because he is not as floaty as Puff, I argue that his defense is drastically worse. Unlike Puff, though, Mr. G&W cannot defend himself as easily in a normal way to kinda offset that. Regarding his dodging frame-data below, everything is certainly unimpressive.
Rolling Intangibility: (4-19)
Total Rolling Frames: (35 frames).
Rolling Vulnerable Frames: (16 frames).
Rolling Distances: (25th).
Sidestepping Intangibility: (2-12).
Sidestepping Intangible Period: (34.4%).
Sidestepping Frames: (32 frames).
Sidestepping Intangible Frames: (11 frames).
Sidestepping Vulnerable Frames: (20 frames).
Air Dodging Frames: (49 frames).
Air Dodging Intangible Frames: (26 frames).
Air Dodging Intangibility: (4-29).
According to the data, all of Mr. Game & Watch's defenses are more on the slower/worse side across the board. Each of his defenses have long durations and/or disturbing ending lag, especially his spot dodge, the only kind of defense that grants much more vulnerability than intangibility in all of Melee. It is, without a doubt, the worst spot dodge in the entire series. I know people have been blabbering about this, so no need to explain about this... but what I do need to explain the most is his shield.
This is Mr. Game & Watch's shield, and it is pathetic. Look at how little it covers, his nose, hands, forehead and feet are each exposed. Poor Mr. G&W has to
According to the official wiki, his pathetic shield is because of a coding error that was never bothered to resolve. Altogether, Mr. G&W's defensive game is arguably the worst among the entire cast of Melee. Not to be hurtful to my favourite character, but that's basically the truth. He is essentially "defenseless."
It's no wonder AsumSaus referred Mr. G&W as the most broken character in Melee, but once it comes to offense... everything completely takes a turn for the opposite. Let's see what kind of offensive game Mr. G&W has in his disposal.
Moveset
Grounded attacks
Jab:
Total Frames (Jab): 17
Hit: 4-6
IASA: 16
Window for next blast: 3-16
Total (Rapid): 13
Hit: 5-7
Damage: 3%
Originates from: Greenhouse
Mr. Game & Watch has a surprisingly good jab. It has great range, and has quick interruptibility and start-up all around, thus making it relatively safe on shield (-10) and being one of the best jabs in Melee. It is an effective pressuring and damage-racking tool, although the latter is dependent on SDI. His rapid jab, on the other hand, while very inconsistent, is pretty standard for Melee.
Forward tilt:
Total: 44
Hit: 13-30
IASA: 42
Damage: 10%
Originates from: Lion
Mr. Game & Watch's forward tilt is mostly mediocre. It has noticeable starting lag, although the ending lag is more promising. Although it has a nice disjoint and a long duration within its hitbox, it can only KO reliably at mid-150% by the edge. The lingering hitbox can make it a good edgeguarding tool, but in practice, however, this move is not special at all. The hitbox does last for a long time and does not get weaker overtime, but it was not strong enough in the first place to reliably KO, and you will be using forward smash 95% of the time; which outclasses forward tilt by a mile for KOs.
Up tilt:
Total: 29
Hit: 9-29
Damage: 9%
Originates from: Flagman
One of G&W's fastest and near-lagless moves in his kit. It might be situationally inferior compared to down tilt, but it is an alright move with no ending lag (the only attack in Melee without ending lag) and a huge all-around disjoint. On hit, it leads into a bunch of combos and grab-based tactics. It can also KO at around 150%-160% on most characters. The lack of ending lag is also supplemented by its ridiculously long-lasting hitbox.
Down tilt:
Total: 29
Hit: 6-13
IASA: 26
Damage: 12% (ground), 9% (air)
Originates from: Manhole
Among the best tilt attacks in Melee. It is insanely fast with a huge disjoint, and is extremely strong as both a combo and KOing tool: in particular, it KOs floaties/lightweights as early as 70-75%. Altogether, it is argued to be Mr. G&W's most safest KOing option in his kit.
Dash attack:
Total: 37
Hit: 6-29
Damage: 9%
Originates from: Helmet
G&W's dash attack is a move that exists. It is super quick and the hitbox lasts for a super long time, but its poor knockback prevents it from KOing in nearly all aspects. While it can cross-up shields and rack up damage, it is otherwise one of G&W's more useless tools in his kit.
Smash attacks:
Coming soon...
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