SSBM/Mr. Game and Watch

Overview Combos Matchups Strategy Resources Discord

Edit Introduction

Introduction

Mr. Game & Watch is currently ranked 19th in Melee's tier list. Mr. Game & Watch's positive attributes include extremely powerful killers that can last a long time and a slew of moderately effective special moves, one of which can give a OHKO. Surprisingly Mr. Game & Watch also has a great wavedash and an amazing fastfalling and traction attributes. 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 low 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 most of his aerial attacks (only Fair and Dair cancellable); all of this gives him very poor matchups against a majority of the cast and define his weak points.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Disjointed hitboxes - All of Game & Watch moves can outrange most of the melee cast, with the only exception being Marth and Roy. Good Combo Game - Mr. Game & Watch' moveset mixes well enough to allow him to rack up easy percent combos at low percent, while being notoriously great against fast fallers like Fox and Falco. His combo game is accentuated with his ability to chaingrab all of the cast in vast stages. Decent Kill Power - In combination to his combo game, Mr. Game & Watch can finish off his opponents well enough in good interactions. It can be through a grab combo finisher, EdgeguardThe act of preventing the opponent from safely returning to the stage. sequences, powerful smash attacks, or a straight aerial kill on any stage' corners.

Very Light - Being the second light weight character in the game along with Jigglypuff (both of them being behind Pichu), Mr. Game & Watch has a very hard time surviving against dangerous hits without proper DI. Mediocre Defensive Tools - Mr. Game & Watch has an agglomeration of many wrong, and strange, attributes that results into his mediocre defense on stage. First, he cannot L cancel most of his aerial attacks. Second, he has the worst shield in the game, which only covers the center of his body and leaves his head, feet, and hands exposed. In consequences, he is very susceptible to shield poke in many situations. Light shield compensates for that problem, it has more inconveniencies itself such as prolonging hitlag and having a lot of pushback when hit by an opponent. Linear Toolset - While his tool kit makes his pros, Mr. Game & Watch is very predictable in terms of approaches in many important matchups. His safe, main approaching tools are Fair, Dair, and down tilt. While good, they can easily be avoided and exploited by an experienced player. Below Average Frame Data - Although his moves have amazing range and long lasting hitboxes, his startup frames on many moves are very slow. While forward air and down air can be L canceled, their startup frames are okay to barely bad. His grounded tilts and smash attacks suffers the same, down tilt and jab being the fastest tools available to him. Easy to Combo - His low weight in combination with high hitstun makes him susceptible to also get easy combos on him. Average Speed - Mr. Game & Watch has a good wavedash and traction, but his dash, runspeed, and acceleration is average. Therefore, he can't outrun or keep up with top speed characters like fox, falco, falcon, and jigglypuff in the air.

Physics
Weight	60 (24th)
Fall Speed	1.7/Fast 2.3 (16th)
Gravity	0.095 (14th)
Ground Movement
Walk Speed	1.1 (12th)
Initial Dash Speed	1.5 (9th)
Initial Dash Length	9f (23rd)
Run Speed	1.5 (25th)
Traction	0.06 (15th)
Jumping
Jumpsquat	4f (8th)
Jump Height	Full 29/Short 11.025/Air 26.7 (21st/17th/11th)
Air Speed	1 (6th)
Air Acceleration	0.05 (12th)

Ground moves

Normal

Jab 1/7A
A

First Active	Active	Recovery	IASA	Landing Lag	Autocancel
4	4-6	16	16	N/A	N/A
Damage	Base Knockback	Knockback Growth	Angle	Effect	On Shield
Clean: 3 / Rapid Jab: 3	0	100	70	Normal	0
Mr. Game & Watch attacks with an insecticide pump. Press A again to transition to a Rapid Jab (window for next blast = 3-16). This move originated from the Green House Game and Watch.

Dash Attack
Forward + A

First Active	Active	Recovery	IASA	Landing Lag	Autocancel
6	6-29	37	38	N/A	N/A
Damage	Base Knockback	Knockback Growth	Angle	Effect	On Shield
Clean: 9	70	30	120	Normal	0
Mr. Game & Watch trips forward with an helmet on. This move originated from the Helmet Game and Watch.

fTilt
Take a seat
t.6a

First Active	Active	Recovery	IASA	Landing Lag	Autocancel
13	13-30	44	42	-	-
Damage	Base Knockback	Knockback Growth	Angle	Effect	On Shield
10	10	100	361	normal	-
Mr. Game & Watch shoves a chair forward to attack his opponent. All around bad, but can be useful for EdgeguardThe act of preventing the opponent from safely returning to the stage. and sometimes oblivious attacks. This move originated from the Lion Game and Watch.

uTilt
t.8a

First Active	Active	Recovery	IASA	Landing Lag	Autocancel
9	9-29	29	30	-	-
Damage	Base Knockback	Knockback Growth	Angle	Effect	On Shield
9	30	127	100	normal	-
Mr. Game & Watch weaves a number one flag upwards. Left to right if he's facing left, and right to left if he's facing right. Good anti-air tool, and combo starter if the opponent is airborn. Can combo onto itself. This move originated from the Flagman Game and Watch.

dTilt
t.2a

First Active	Active	Recovery	IASA	Landing Lag	Autocancel
6	6-13	29	26	-	-
Damage	Base Knockback	Knockback Growth	Angle	Effect	On Shield
Clean: 12 / Late: 9	Clean: 65 / Late: 80	40	Clean: 85 / Late: 361	normal	-
Mr. Game & Watch. flips a manhole cover plate from the ground. This is by far his best move of all his grounded moves, use it to kill, or to start combos at low/mid percents. This move originated from the Manhole Game and Watch.

fSmash
s.6/4a

First Active	Active	Recovery	IASA	Landing Lag	Autocancel
13	13-33	44	42	-	-
Damage	Base Knockback	Knockback Growth	Angle	Effect	On Shield
Clean: 18 / Late: 6	44	100	Clean: 55 / Late: 55	Flame (normal if body hitbox)	-
Mr. Game & Watch swings a torch forward to attack. Good kill move. Decently fast for a forward smash, and has better utility for grounded EdgeguardThe act of preventing the opponent from safely returning to the stage. and sometimes surprise kills. Safe on shield. This move originated from the Fire Attack Game and Watch. Note: Charge Frame: 8

uSmash
s.8a

First Active	Active	Recovery	IASA	Landing Lag	Autocancel
24	24-28	44	40	-	-
Damage	Base Knockback	Knockback Growth	Angle	Effect	On Shield
18	40	96	83	normal	-
Mr. Game & Watch swings his head from back to front with a diving helmet. Decent option for shield friendly opponents with practically no endlag since Mr. Game and watch can act as soon as frame 40. Safe on shield. This move originated from the Octopus Game and Watch. Note: Head invincible: 24-28. his nose is not intangible. Charge Frame: 18

dSmash
s.2a

First Active	Active	Recovery	IASA	Landing Lag	Autocancel
15	15-19	34	35	-	-
Damage	Base Knockback	Knockback Growth	Angle	Effect	On Shield
Sweetspot: 16 / Sourspot: 10	Sweetspot: 60 / Sourspot: 10	Sweetspot: 80 / Sourspot: 50	Sweetspot: 80 / Sourspot: 20	normal	-
Mr. Game & Watch pulls two hammer, side to side, and swing them to the ground. Situational kill move, but difficult to space and very punishable on hit if the hammer sweetspot doesn't hit the opponent. This move originated from the Vermin Game and Watch. Note: Charge Frame: 8

Aerial Moves

nAir
j.5a

Show Hitboxes

Hide Hitboxes

First Active	Active	Recovery	IASA	Landing Lag	Autocancel
20	10	14	N/A	15 L-cancelled: N/A	1-2
Damage	Base Knockback	Knockback Growth	Angle	Effect	On Shield
16	20	100	361Sakurai Angle, grounded hit sends at 0° under 32 KB, 44° above 32.1 KB; and always sends at 45° on aerial hit./361Sakurai Angle, grounded hit sends at 0° under 32 KB, 44° above 32.1 KB; and always sends at 45° on aerial hit.	normal	-6
Mr. Game and Watch pulls a parachute. Active frames are when the parachute fully expands. Overall the most powerful neutral aerial in Melee and is one the most powerful aerials in the game. Massive hitbox that covers the entire parachute as well as all of Mr. Game and watch except the bottom ~3/4 of his feet. Can be combo'd into by many of Mr. Game and Watch's kit, such as dtilt, utilt, uthrow, and dthrow to name a few. This move originates from Parachute.

fAir
j.6a

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Hide Hitboxes

First Active	Active	Recovery	IASA	Landing Lag	Autocancel
10	hit 1: 3/hit 2: 19	12	N/A	25 L-cancelled: 12	1-2
Damage	Base Knockback	Knockback Growth	Angle	Effect	On Shield
Clean: 16/Late: 6	30/10	80	361Sakurai Angle, grounded hit sends at 0° under 32 KB, 44° above 32.1 KB; and always sends at 45° on aerial hit./361Sakurai Angle, grounded hit sends at 0° under 32 KB, 44° above 32.1 KB; and always sends at 45° on aerial hit./67	normal	-3
Mr. Game and Watch smacks the opponent with a cement block. Very disjointed from Mr. Game and Watch, this move is very good at anti-approach, and, with good air-control, can be deceptively safe, even in neutral. Very useful overall tool, for combos, kills, and edgeguards. Certainly one of Mr. Game and Watch's best moves. This move originates from Mario's Cement Factory, however the object looks closer to the boxes from Game & Watch version of Mario Bros.

bAir
Go get 'em Franklin!
j.4a

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Hide Hitboxes

First Active	Active	Recovery	IASA	Landing Lag	Autocancel
hit 1: 10/ hit 2: 13/ hit 3: 16/ hit 4: 19/ landing hit: 1 (of landing animation)	hit 1: 2/ hit 2: 2/ hit 3: 2/ hit 4: 2/ landing hit: 1	17	N/A	18 L-cancelled: N/A	1-10
Damage	Base Knockback	Knockback Growth	Angle	Effect	On Shield
5/5/5/5/3 (hits always alternate 5-4-5-4-etc)/ 18-21 total (depending on hitting landing hit)	-	-	361Sakurai Angle, grounded hit sends at 0° under 32 KB, 44° above 32.1 KB; and always sends at 45° on aerial hit.	normal	-14
Mr. Game and Watch pulls out a river turtle to bite his opponents. Although this move cannot be L-cancelled, it is quite disjointed from Mr. Game and Watch, making it a good anti-approach move. Due to the way that the landing hit works - as in, no matter where you are in the animation, landing will cancel the current animation and play the landing animation - it is possible to hit opponents in a way that cannot be crouch-cancelled. This, along with the moves somewhat high damage, makes this a pretty effective anti-crouch-cancel tool, especially against tall or large-bodied characters. This move originates from Turtle Bridge. The turtle is colloquially known as "Franklin"

uAir
j.8a

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Hide Hitboxes

First Active	Active	Recovery	IASA	Landing Lag	Autocancel
hit 1: 7 hit 2: 21	hit 1: 10 hit 2: 2	17	N/A	15 L-cancelled: N/A	1-6
Damage	Base Knockback	Knockback Growth	Angle	Effect	On Shield
9/7	12/55	100/100	94/90	normal	-13/-12
Mr. Game and Watch blows two air blasts upward. Niche combo extender, due it being difficult to land the second hit and the amount of landing lag, due to not being able to L-cancel the move. can be quite useful against floaties at lower-mid percents and on fastfallers at mid-higher percents in certain situations. This move originates from Spitball Sparky.

dAir
j.2a

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Hide Hitboxes

First Active	Active	Recovery	IASA	Landing Lag	Autocancel
Clean: 12/Late: 13 Landing hit: 1	Clean: 1/Late: 25 Landing hit: 1-2 (Depending on L-cancelled or not)	11	N/A	20 L-cancelled: 10	1-5
Damage	Base Knockback	Knockback Growth	Angle	Effect	On Shield
16/13/6	-	-	-	normal	-5
Mr. Game and Watch pulls out a key to hit below him. This move is quite versatile, being active for a whopping 26 frame, the first of which is a meteor smash. Has a lot of combo use, the meteor smash hitbox being able to set combo true into nair at kill percent for almost every character in the cast, and the late hit is quite strong itself at both comboing and killing. This move also gets a consistent -5 due to the landing hit, and it can be tricky to punish as fastfalling or not can change the timing that the landing hit comes out. This move originates from Donkey Kong Jr.

Other attacks

• Ledge attack -
• 100% ledge attack - Mr. Game & Watch gets up from ledge slowly and attack with his bell. 8% Damage for the bell, 6% for the body.
• Floor attack -

Aerials

• Neutral Air:
• Forward Air:
• Back Air:
• Up Air:
• Down Air:

Grabs & Throws

Grab

First Active	Active	Recovery	IASA	Landing Lag	Autocancel
7	2	23	N/A	-	-
Damage	Base Knockback	Knockback Growth	Angle	Effect	On Shield
-	-	-	-	-	-
Fairly standard grab, frame-wise; pretty decent range, due to Mr. Game and Watch leaning forward on the same frame the grab comes out.

Pummel
a

First Active	Active	Recovery	IASA	Landing Lag	Autocancel
-	-	-	-	-	-
Damage	Base Knockback	Knockback Growth	Angle	Effect	On Shield
3	-	-	-	normal	-
Mr. Game and Watch bonks you with his bell

fThrow
6

First Active	Active	Recovery	IASA	Landing Lag	Autocancel
-	-	-	-	-	-
Damage	Base Knockback	Knockback Growth	Angle	Effect	On Shield
8	100	40	68	normal	-
Mr. Game and Watch juggles you back to front and throws the opponent away from him. Niche-ish throw option for use as a DI mixup, specifically on fastfallers near the ledge, which can lead to a guaranteed followup at virtually any percent if DI'd towards Mr. Game and Watch (could still get up-b to kill at 300% during testing)

bThrow
4

First Active	Active	Recovery	IASA	Landing Lag	Autocancel
-	-	-	-	-	-
Damage	Base Knockback	Knockback Growth	Angle	Effect	On Shield
8	100	40	112	normal	-
Effectively speaking, Mr. Game and Watch simply turns around and forward throws the opponent. Same knockback, growth, angle, and damage as fthrow, and also leaves Mr. Game and Watch turned in the opposite direction.

uThrow
8

First Active	Active	Recovery	IASA	Landing Lag	Autocancel
-	-	-	-	-	-
Damage	Base Knockback	Knockback Growth	Angle	Effect	On Shield
8	100	40	90	normal	-
Mr. Game and Watch juggles the opponent front to back, lifting his back-foot on the same frame that the opponent is thrown. This, throw, paired with his dthrow are fantastic at setting up combos and kill confirms on almost every single member of the cast. When uthrow doesn't set up for a follow up, generally dthrow does, and vice versa. Can also chaingrab fastfallers at relatively low percents.

dThrow
2

First Active	Active	Recovery	IASA	Landing Lag	Autocancel
-	-	-	-	-	-
Damage	Base Knockback	Knockback Growth	Angle	Effect	On Shield
8	80	40	88	normal	-
Mr. Game and Watch juggles the opponent front to back, lifting his back-foot on the freeze frame just before the opponent is thrown. This, throw, paired with his uthrow are fantastic at setting up combos and kill confirms on almost every single member of the cast. When dthrow doesn't set up for a follow up, generally uthrow does, and vice versa. Can also chaingrab: Fox and Falco to death Falcon to very high percent Ganondorf, DK, Young Link, Roy, and Sheik at relatively low percents Link, Yoshi, Bowser, Pichu, and Pikachu if DI'd poorly

"B" Moves List

Move Analysis

• Neutral B

• Side B

Judgment Properties

1. 1: Move with no knockback and self inflicts 12% damage to Mr. Game & Watch if he hits this number.
2. 2: Weak knockback move. 4% damage.
3. 3: Okay knockback move. 6% damage.
4. 4: Slashing move with moderate knockback. 8% damage.
5. 5: Okay knocback electric move that hits up to 4 times. 3% damage, with 1-4 hits (around 11% if all hits connect).
6. 6: Has good knockback and Flames the opponent on hit. 12% damage.
7. 7: Has an okay knockback (only spawns food if items are on). 14% damage.
8. 8: Freezes the opponent on hit. 4% damage.
9. 9: Extremely High Knockback move designed to finish off the opponent in one hit. Inflict 32% damage. Has a small hitbox.

• Down B

Strategies

Match-ups

Serious Advantage Match-ups

Kirby

Advantage Match-ups

Mew2, Ness, Bowser, Pichu

Fair Match-ups

Roy, Yoshi

Disadvantage Match-ups

Puff, Peach, IC, Doc, Samus, Pikachu, Mario, Luigi, DK, Link, Zelda, Y.Link

Serious Disadvantage Match-ups

Fox, Falco, Marth, Sheik, C.Falcon, Ganon