Draft:Mr. Game and Watch
Mr. Game and Watch | |
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Game & Watch character | |
First appearance |
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Created by | Gunpei Yokoi, Masahiro Sakurai |
Mr. Game & Watch[a] is a 2D generic stick figure styled silhouette character, created by Nintendo and themed around the Game & Watch series. He was created for the Super Smash Bros. series, with an intention of representing the Game & Watch collection, as the consoles had no main mascot, rather characters designed for the minigames. He debuted in Super Smash Bros. Melee, and every other future title, including Super Smash Bros. Brawl Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. As he represents the Game & Watch series, he pre-dates Pac-Man by one month as being the oldest character on the roster.[1] Mr. Game and Watch have appeared as a cameo in several other Nintendo games, such as Donkey Kong Country Returns and Rhythm Heaven Fever.
Concept and design
Being designed by Gunpei Yokoi.[2] When Yokoi saw someone fiddling with a calculator on the train, it inspired him on designing Mr. Game & Watch concept and the series, and the systems were built on calculator technology.[3] In Super Smash Bros., the character pummel, edge attacks (Brawl and later), up and side taunts are references to the clocks and alarms that are included in a Game & Watch console. His character icon also represents this alarm feature, where it depicts the character holding a bell. The character comes with seven alternate colors to choose from before a match.[4] Most of the character moves appeared from the Game & Watch: Ball, a game who contributed a lot of the character's move set of the character appearance in Super Smash Bros. series.[5]
Appearances
Reception
Mr. Game & Watch received mixed reviews by critics, mostly the character appearance on Super Smash Bros. series. UGO.com listed Mr. Game and Watch on their list of "The Cutest Characters", stating "Mr. Game and Watch is adorable because he's completely oblivious to his condition."[6] David Mello of Screen Rant ranked second of the forgotten Nintendo characters, and stated that Mr. Game & Watch is a classic character from the younger days of Nintendo.[7] Michael Derosa of Screen Rant also listed Mr. Game & Watch as the sixth character that should be added in Mario Kart, and stated that 2D character in the magical 3D Mario Kart world would offer the type of visual contrast that gamers love.[8]
Masahiro Sakurai made a fighter like Mr. Game & Watch to offer outside of people’s typical expectations, and explaining further that without them the roster might only have typical “hero/heroine” type fighters in the lineup, and said it's probably not interesting.[9] IGN noted that Mr. Game & Watch became weirder as it maintains his unique 2D nature in an otherwise 3D world.[10] Jeremy Parish of Polygon ranked 73 fighters from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate "from garbage to glorious", listing Mr. Game & Watch as last on the list and criticizing the character for not being a real classic character.[11] Gavin Jasper of Den of Geek ranked Mr. Game & Watch as 21st of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate characters, praising the character addition to the roster and stated that the character is a Nintendo icon what Bosko was to Looney Tunes.[12] Cecilia D'Anastasio of Kotaku listed Game & Watch on Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U as the fifth most annoying character in the game.[13] During the latest addition of Ryu to the Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, Owen S. Good of Polygon claimed that Mr. Game & Watch is the best victim of Ryu's focus punch, and stated that the one-frame-per-second LCD-animated of the character that makes gleeful worthy of being punched.[14] In 2020, A professional Smash Bros. player “Maister” was one of the first successful players on the tournament that only boast major results primarily with Mr. Game & Watch on the tournaments, from being unranked on the last season of the Panda Global Rankings to the sixth in the world best player. It also resulted in the hatred of the character in the game for being too annoying, especially the character's Up B out of shield (quick attack).[15] VG247 noted that the players who play Mr. Game & Watch knows how to fuck in the game.[16] CJ Andriessen of Destructoid criticize and placed him fourth from the last list on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate characters.[17]
Controversy
After the re-animation, claims have been made that the character represents a racist Native American stereotype. In the 1992 Game & Watch title Fire Attack, a Cowboy is defending his western fort from Native Americans trying to burn it down. Doing the forward smash input, the Native American can be seen, exactly how he appears in his original game.[18] Nintendo took action by removing the feather headband on his head and responded with the following claim to Eurogamer:
"Nintendo has been planning to distribute an update for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate that removes the feather from the silhouette of Mr. Game & Watch. The original game on which this depiction of the character is based was released more than three decades ago and does not represent our company values today. We sincerely apologise that this change was not noticed in our marketing material and are continuing our work to make Super Smash Bros. Ultimate an experience that is both welcoming and fun for everyone."[19]
Amiibo
In September 2015, the Super Smash Bros. line of Amiibo released A Mr. Game and Watch Amiibo collectible.[20] The design also come with 3 additional detachable alternatives of the character in different positions and moves. Additionally, he is sold as well in the Amiibo Retro Pack, a 3 part Amiibo set including, Mr. Game and Watch, R.O.B., and Duck Hunt.[21]
The character can be scanned into the 3DS/Wii U and Ultimate titles, which a player can use to create a personal CPU, which can train and fight using artificial intelligence. The Amiibo can also be used to unlock a cosmetic option for Super Mario Maker.[22]
Notes
References
- ^ https://screenrant.com/super-smash-bros-oldest-character-duck-hunt-watch/
- ^ https://www.siliconera.com/learn-about-the-development-of-the-game-watch-series/
- ^ https://www.siliconera.com/learn-about-the-development-of-the-game-watch-series/
- ^ Green, Jake (2020-01-21). "Mr Game & Watch Super Smash Bros Ultimate Guide - Unlock, Moves, Changes, Mr Game & Watch Alternate Costumes, Final Smash". US Gamer.
- ^ https://www.denofgeek.com/games/best-nintendo-game-and-watch-handheld-games/
- ^ Marissa Meli (March 4, 2011). "]The 50 Cutest Video Game Characters - UGO.com". UGO.com. Archived from the original on January 10, 2014. Retrieved 2011-03-21.
- ^ https://screenrant.com/nintendo-forgotten-characters/
- ^ https://screenrant.com/mario-kart-nintendo-characters-should-add-game/
- ^ https://www.gamerevolution.com/news/460429-super-smash-bros-director-explains-characters
- ^ Thomas, Lucas (1 February 2008). "Smash It Up! - The Final Roster". IGN. News Corporation. Archived from the original on 2009-07-05. Retrieved 20 October 2009.
- ^ Parish, Jeremy (2018-12-03). "We rank the Smash Bros. (and friends)". Polygon. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- ^ https://www.denofgeek.com/games/super-smash-bros-characters-ranked/
- ^ https://kotaku.com/smash-4-characters-ranked-by-how-annoying-they-are-1819056279
- ^ https://www.polygon.com/2015/6/18/8808575/ryu-focus-punch-super-smash-bros-video
- ^ https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/esports/2020/01/31/mr-game-watch-helped-this-smash-pro-soar-it-came-with-cost/
- ^ https://www.vg247.com/2018/12/20/what-your-smash-bros-ultimate-main-says-about-you/
- ^ https://www.destructoid.com/the-debut-game-of-every-super-smash-bros-ultimate-fighter-ranked/
- ^ Singletary Jr., Charles (2018-11-08). "Nintendo will remove offensive Native American animation from Smash Ultimate".
- ^ Phillips, Tom (2018-11-07). "Nintendo to remove Native American references in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate". Eurogamer.
- ^ "Street Fighter® Icon Ryu Joins the Roster of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U". Business Wire. 2015-06-14.
- ^ Carter, Chris (2015-09-25). "The amiibo Retro 3-Pack is out today, comes with all four Game & Watch variants". Destructoid.
- ^ Sahdev, Ishaan (2015-06-14). "Ryu, Roy, Duck Hunt, And Mewtwo Amiibo Figurines Announced". Siliconera.