Ok, so summarized: lack of reliable kill setups, lack of tournamant-viable stages, lack of defensive options. Thanks, that was what I wanted to know (even though you really seem to represent the optimistic G&W fanbase so I'm not sure how biased you are). I'm not advanced enough yet to understand what makes a good G&W stage and what makes for a bad one though.
Optimistic compared to all the G&W users who thinks he is terrible, I suppose! I don't try and oversell Game & Watch, but my opinions seem radical to a lot because in their heads G&W is a bad character all of a sudden. Though, the first bit in the thread I linked where I said G&W is likely the top 5 best character in the game is exaggerated, so don't dwell on that too much.
Regardless, a good G&W stage isn't too difficult to explain. Pretty much, we strive on interactive stages, whether that means platforms, hazards, both, etc, and we do less well the more linear and "bland" a stage is. Don't get this confused, though; G&W is good on all stages, but he really benefits from the counterpicking system more than most characters. Where Ice Climbers get destroyed by having more CP stages available, G&W enjoys the more options.
On starter stages, the least interactive stages typically in a stage list, Final Destination is our worst stage. It's flat, no platforms, no hazards to note, and it really benefits horizontal based characters like MK and Falco (G&W is vertical based). Interactive stages let us focus on our strengths in punishing, baiting, mobility, and our strong vertical gameplay, so when a ruleset excludes options like Norfair or situational CPs like Japes, G&W doesn't do that well. A lot of his bad matchups actually do better the less interactive a stage is, so our matchup discussions can be really skewed both ways.
Summary: Platforms are good, hazards are good. Stages that move are also very good, though it's typically limited to Delfino and RC in most lists.
Do you have any idea what sparked this negative public opinion? Are G&W players more susceptible to falling into patterns? Or is the interest in him fading and have too few people stood up for him when people named his recent flaws? I'd like to see some more vids of G&W (I've checked out some UTD Zac, for starters), can you name a few other real good ones, especially those that play him in such a way that every move and aspect is used to its maximum (like Xyro plays Samus)?
This downward spiral was likely sparked by a few things. First, we lost a lot of our key players of G&W. OBM switched from G&W to Wario despite being a successful Game & watch. Hylian stopped using him too. xYz I guess as well. Anyway, we had top players for the first half of Brawl's lifetime playing as him, but ended up switching. This wouldn't be such a problem if it weren't for the fact that G&W is an unpopular character choice, as we may of been able to get new G&W mainers.
Another thing that sparked this opinion is the actual Game & Watch community. The issue here is that our already small community doesn't participate in other board's discussions or just Tactical debates involving G&W. This lack of "show" makes Game & Watch a lesser known character to mains of other characters, so when they are advancing their meta game, we still *seem* the same. People then assume G&W is represented by their local tournament main or that he's of the same playstyle as he was early in Brawl. So now we have people shifting their opinions that their main does "better than previously thought" versus us (can be true, but the huge shift that practically every character now does better is ridiculous).
Lastly, the little activity in our community is extremely negative towards Game & Watch. This really seals it for the public opinion on us; "wow, even the users of G&W think he's a bad character, must be true".
<AmazingAmpharos> in the end, our biggest enemies are ourselves really
<AmazingAmpharos> Is it surprising G&W would have an increasingly poor reputation with the G&W doom and gloom brigade around?
<AmazingAmpharos> What other character boards go around telling people how bad their character is?
<AmazingAmpharos> I'll tell you which
<AmazingAmpharos> The Captain Falcon boards.
So pretty much, you hit the point exactly when you said this:
"Or is the interest in him fading and have too few people stood up for him when people named his recent flaws?"
And it's not like G&W is extremely easy to use at high levels, so you get a recipe for disaster.
UTD Zac is probably the only G&W main at high levels who really shows a lot of what we can do. Valdens doesn't mixup nearly as much, but he's a top player to look at if you are really interested in. Pretty much, we have extremely little representation... UTD Zac is the only one I feel does Game & Watch justice at high levels of play (OBM did a solid job when he was around).
