At the request of...one of our frequent Game Night visitors, I'm proud to present a playing guide to one of Brawl's more eccentric playable characters: Mr. Game & Watch. If you guys like these, I'll write plenty more of them for any character you want! I'll be covering the following aspects of the character: an overview, A-button attacks and tilts, aerials, smashes, special moves, his final smash, and an overall "how you should play him" section. Well, here we go!
Overview:
Mr. Game and Watch is a versatile short-range character, and he's significantly stronger than his Melee incarnation. Unfortunately, he's also incredibly light and lacks any real projectile moves, excluding Chef, which is really just an up-close randomized projectile, which sort of negates the point of HAVING a projectile. His KO moves are very strong, though, his recovery is fantastic, and he can pretty much shut down any character that uses projectile moves made of "energy", like Pit's arrow, Fox's, Falco's, and Wolf's blasters, and Pikachu's electric-themed moves. For an up-close character, though, his grab reach is pretty short. Additionally, his recovery move is sometimes blocked by the lips of stages, giving him a similar weakness to the recovery moves of the aforementioned Starfox characters.
A-Button Attacks and Tilts:
Jab and neutral combo: 3% for the first hit and 1% for every subsequent hit. -- It's a good combo, but better ones exist in the game. After repeated hits, it produces a slightly upwards knockback, making it impossible to corner someone with this move for long. Also, it has a terrible ending lag. Once you stop smashing the A button, expect to be hit back...hard. Try not to rely on this move too much.
Forward tilt: 10% -- This move comes out quickly, but if you miss with it, it also comes with a bit of lag as you just stand there with a chair in your hands. Save this move for on-the-ground edgeguarding, but it's not advisable to use it elsewhere, since it opens you up to a lot of counterattacking if you whiff with it.
Upward tilt: 8% -- G&W lifts a flag above him, hitting everything within a 45 degree angle to the front and back of him, as well as slightly above him. The knockback isn't great, but the lag isn't bad, and it's useful for creating a little distance between you and your opponent.
Downward tilt: 6% -- The lag isn't terrible on this move, either, and it comes out rather fast. It's a good combo starter at middle damage percentages, but this move really shines when used on people that are trying to climb back up from the edge of the stage.
Dash attack: 11% -- His dash attack isn't quite as good as most, forcing him to actually slow down to initiate it, making it that much easier to dodge successfully. The only practical application of the move is to use it against opponents that are hanging onto the ledge, since it acts as a powerful spike. Bear in mind, though, that the speed of the attack will probably clue them in on what you're trying to do.
Ledge attack: 8% -- G&W climbs back onto the stage and attacks with his bell for minimal damage and knockback. There's a lot of delay when using this move, so don't even think about doing it at high damage percentages.
Smash Attacks:
Forward smash: 18-25% (fully charged) -- This is G&W's second best smash attack, believe it or not. The knockback is incredible, and sends opponents flying away at a 45 degree angle. The startup lag is a little noticeable, but the range on it can't be beat. Not a lot of people know this, but the hitbox for the move actually extends a little bit beyond the tip of the flame.
Upward smash: 18-25% (fully charged) -- G&W has a lot of good moves, but this isn't one of them. The range of the move is pitiful and doesn't extend outside of his hitbox. The damage might be fair, but it's just too slow to have any practical value in a match. You're much better off taking to the air to score a knockout than relying on this move while waiting on the ground.
Downward smash: 13-21% (fully charged tipper) -- Without a doubt, G&W's best smash is his down smash. The range of the move is very long, it hits both sides of him simultaneously, does good damage, and can deliver knockback in any direction you choose, depending on how the opponent is hit. If you hit with this move point-blank, it delivers an incredible amount of horizontal knockback, but if you connect with the tip of the hammers, they'll fly in a directly vertical direction, making it easy to score KOs on stages with low ceilings.
Aerial Attacks:
Neutral air: 4-17% -- G&W's neutral air consists of four hits that likely won't score any knockouts, but sets up your opponent for other combos. The range of this move is incredible, and can hit in any direction except for directly below you.
Forward air: 16% and 6% -- This move is good or bad, depending on when you land it. If you connect with an opponent as soon as this move comes out, it'll deal 16% damage and incredible horizontal knockback. If you launch the move early and only get a glancing blow, it'll deal 6% damage and barely any knockback whatsoever. Be warned that, although it's a powerful KO move, it has a very long ending delay that will be taken advantage of if you miss. Aim carefully and stay close to the ground for quick recovery if you're attempting this one.
Backward air: 3-15% -- Believe it or not, the seldom used turtle is one of G&W's best moves. It's quick, well outside of his hitbox, eats shields likes crazy, and has an impressive amount of knockback. Even the priority beats most other aeriel moves, since G&W's reach often won't beat most sword-using characters or projectilists. Use this move whenever you can, because it's beautiful in every regard.
Downward air: 13-14% and 6% -- A favorite of most G&W players, the downward air is incredibly versatile. When first used in the air, it deals 13-14% damage when connecting with an enemy, but if used a second time and close to the ground, the area that he collides with once he touches the ground has a small, additional hitbox that deals 6% to anyone too close and minor knockback. There's virtually no lag time after you hit the ground with this move, unlike Link and Toon Link's similar moves, too. If you hold down after you launch this move, you'll actually fall slower than you would if you didn't press anything. It also has spiking capabilities, but only if you initiate the move as soon as you're very close to and above your opponent.
Upward air: 7% and 9% -- Since you can't rely on G&W's up smash, his upward air is the best move to use to score vertical KOs. It hits twice if pulled off properly. The first hit deals moderate damage, while the second deals slightly more and an impressive amount of knockback. The only drawback to this move is that it's very short-range. G&W seems to be played best when relying on horizontal knockouts, since aside from a tipped down smash, his upward-directed moves are average, at best. If it's near, but doesn't connect with your opponent, a small gust of wind will blow them upwards slightly, at least setting you up for another attempt at an aerial knockout.
Special Moves:
Neutral B: 9% (pan) and 4% (food) -- G&W's neutral B move has some interesting applications. If you're fighting an aerial attacker, hitting your opponent with any of the food produced by this move will instantly stop them in their tracks. It's a good defensive manuever, but don't spam it too much against ground attackers, since the ending delay is pretty huge. The pan itself has a downward knockback at roughly a 40% angle, making it very useful to use against people grabbing onto the ledge.
Forward B: If you've played G&W before, you know that the effects of this move are randomized. If you manage to secure a "9", then you're probably going to score a knockout. Other than that, though, the effects of the other attacks just aren't that great. It's funny to see what you'll get sometimes, but very unreliable. If you're trying to win a match, don't waste your time pressing your luck with this one.
Downward B: Various amounts of damage -- Ah, the infamous bucket. Nothing strikes fear into the heart of a player (except for Super Sonic) quite like this tool of destruction. It deals damage equivalent to the combined damage that the collected energy moves would have dealt multiplied by 2.8, and the knockback is incredible. Since the effectiveness of this move is circumstantial, though, don't count on it all the time. Eventually, projectilist characters will see what you're doing and try a new approach.
Upward B: 6% -- As an offensive move, G&W's Up-B is terrible. As a recovery method and means to spike people without worrying about dying, though, it's amazing. G&W has one of the absolute best recoveries in the game, considering the sheer amount of upward and horizontal recovery it provides. What's nice is that you can even launch attacks after using it, just like Snake's recovery. It's a little easy to get caught under the lips of stages, though, so aim very carefully when initiating it.
Final Smash:
Octopus: For seventeen seconds, G&W turns into an octopus and wreaks havoc while invincible. Touching any part of G&W during his Final Smash deals 16% damage and relatively minor knockback at low levels. Though he may appear to be flying, he needs to have land beneath him, or he'll fall through the bottom of the stage, resulting in a self-destruct. Opponents can take advantage of his relatively slow movement through platforms and the Final Smash is more easily avoidable on large stages.How You Should Play Him:
Mr. Game & Watch is, first and foremost, a melee character. He's outranged by a lot of characters, so you need to accurately determine which of your moves work best against your opponent's moves. For instance, Marth's upward smash outranges G&W's downward aerial due to the length of Marth's sword. G&W's backward aerial outranges Marth's forward aerial, though, so you'd want to take advantage of it.
Against projectilists, the bucket is your best friend. Don't hold on to a stored bucket for too long, though, as you won't have a defense for their energy moves, since it can only hold three shots. Anticipate their laggy moves and empty the bucket on them when they miss and can't recover in time, not just randomly.
Against heavyweights, use your fastest moves, play defensively, and take advantage of their easy-to-dodge laggy moves. G&W is a light character, so he can't afford to take much punishment before he flies off the screen. Play smart, and don't leave yourself too open by trying to use lag-causing moves.
Against other melee users, it all comes down to gauging lag and taking the fight to the air. G&W can beat a lot of characters in terms of move priority when he's airborne, and his ground smashes are brutal as edge-guarders due to their ridiculous amounts of knockback.
Experiment with the guy a bit and see which moves work best for you. He's really powerful and hard to anticipate, but tough to completely master. Hope this guide helped, and good luck with your Brawling!
Remember, I'm always up for writing more character guides, so if you want more tips and tricks, just let me know!
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