Game & Watch
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Game & Watch (ゲーム＆ウオッチ Gēmu ando Uotchi, or G&W) is a line of handheld electronic games produced by Nintendo from 1980 to 1991. Created by game designer Gunpei Yokoi, each Game & Watch features a single game to be played on an LCD screen in addition to a clock and an alarm (thus, 'Game & Watch').
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[edit] Origin and design
Gunpei Yokoi, traveling on a bullet train, saw a bored businessman playing with an LCD calculator by pressing the buttons. Yokoi then thought of an idea for a watch that doubled as a miniature game machine for killing time.[1]
The units use LR4x/SR4x "button-cell" batteries, the same type used in most laser pointers or handheld calculators. Different models were manufactured, with some having two screens and a clam-shell design (the Multi Screen Series). The Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance SP later reused this design.
Titles available in Game & Watch form vary from Mickey Mouse to Balloon Fight, including Nintendo staples such as Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, and Mario Bros.. For a more complete list, see List of Game & Watch games.
[edit] Game A and Game B
Most titles have a 'GAME A' and a 'GAME B' button. Game B is generally a faster, more difficult version of Game A, although exceptions do exist, including:
- In Squish, Game B is radically different from Game A — the player must touch aliens to eliminate them as opposed to avoiding moving walls.[2]
- In Judge,Boxing, Donkey Kong 3, and Donkey Kong Hockey Game B is a two-player version of Game A.[3]
- In Climber,[4] Balloon Fight,[5] and Super Mario Bros.,[6][7] there is no Game B button.
[edit] 998>999 high score bug
If a player reaches 300 points on the later Multi Screen series games, they are rewarded with double points until they lose a life, whereupon the game returns to single-point increments. If the player surpasses 1000 points without losing a life, the game will only register 998 points earned, the next increment rolling back to 0 and skipping 999 altogether. If a later player then reaches 999 points, the game will still register the former 998 as the higher score.
[edit] Series
- Silver (1980)
- Gold (1981)
- Multi Screen (1982–1989)
- Tabletop (1983)
- Panorama (1983–1984)
- New Wide Screen (1982–1991)
- Super Color (1984)
- Micro Vs. System (1984)
- Crystal Screen (1986)
- Mini Classics (1998)
There were 59 different Game & Watch games produced for sale and 1 that was only available as a contest prize, making 60 in all.[8] The prize game was given to winners of Nintendo's F-1 Grand Prix tournament, a yellow-cased version of Super Mario Bros. that came in a plastic box modeled after the Disk-kun character Nintendo used to advertise their Famicom Disk System.[7] As only 10,000 units were produced and it was never available for retail sale, the yellow version is considered rare.[8]
Mario the Juggler, released in 1991, was the last game created in the Game & Watch series.[9]
[edit] Evolution
The Game & Watch games were renewed with the Game & Watch Gallery series for the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance. They feature the original ports, as well as new, modernized versions starring the Mario series cast.
For Club Nintendo, a Game & Watch Collection cartridge was produced, featuring three games from the Game & Watch Multi Screen series: Oil Panic, Donkey Kong, and Green House. Furthermore, a second compilation, Game & Watch Collection 2, was also released for Club Nintendo in Japan, containing Parachute, Octopus, and a new dual-screen game with Parachute on the top screen and Octopus on the bottom. Unlike the first in the series, 2 has not yet seen a Western release.
Most recently, Nintendo has announced the upcoming release of several Game & Watch games for DSiWare, including Ball, Flagman, Manhole, and Mario's Cement Factory.[10]
[edit] Mr. Game & Watch
Mr. Game & Watch (Mr.ゲーム＆ウォッチ Misutā Gēmu ando Wocchi) is the mascot of the Game & Watch series, following his appearance in the 2001 video game Super Smash Bros. Melee,[11] although the character was first seen in the Game & Watch game Ball. Mr. Game & Watch does not speak in the games that he is featured in, instead makes beeping noises similar to those heard while playing Game & Watch games. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the main storyline suggests Mr. Game and Watch is made of a primordial substance that can take on any number of forms. Mr. Game and Watch was harvested for this reason to create The Subspace Army.[12] It is also stated on the Smash Dojo that Mr. Game and Watch allowed this to happen because he has no concept of good and evil.
[edit] Appearances
Mr. Game and Watch has appeared in several Game and Watch Gallery games. In Game & Watch Gallery 4, wherein he was the manager of the "classic games" area alongside Mario, he was able to speak, unlike prior appearances. He is a part of the rosters of Super Smash Bros. Melee and its sequel, Super Smash Bros. Brawl.[11][13] In both games, the character's special abilities include attacks derived from various aspects of the Game & Watch series (such as turning into the octopus seen in the game Octopus). Mr. Game & Watch appears in several games in the WarioWare series, along with several other characters that bear a strong artistic similarity to him, usually as a brief cameo appearance. He also appears in the Nintendo DS title Cooking Guide: Can't Decide What To Eat? in the Game & Watch game Chef, after it is unlocked.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ The Escapist: Searching for Gunpei Yokoi
- ^ "gw / squish". http://www.gameandwatch.com/screen/multiscreen/squish/index.html. Retrieved 2009-07-11.
- ^ van Spanje, Martin. "#026: Judge - a Nintendo Game & Watch collection". http://p-edge.nl/parachuter/game_watch_games/026_judge. Retrieved 2009-07-11.
- ^ "gw / climber". http://www.gameandwatch.com/screen/crystal/climber/index.html. Retrieved 2009-07-11.
- ^ "gw / balloon fight". http://www.gameandwatch.com/screen/crystal/balloonfight/index.html. Retrieved 2009-07-11.
- ^ "gw / super mario bros.". http://www.gameandwatch.com/screen/crystal/supermario/index.html. Retrieved 2009-07-11.
- ^ a b "Nintendo Super Mario Bros Promo". http://www.handheldmuseum.com/Nintendo/SMBPromo.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
- ^ a b "Super Mario Bros. YM-901". 2009-01-02. http://www.gameandwatch.ch/en/faqs/super-mario-bros-ym-901.html. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
- ^ "Obscure Pixels - Nintendo Game&Watch". http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~pinwhiz/g&w.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-11.
- ^ "GAME&WATCH". Nintendo.co.jp. 2009-07-10. http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ds/dsiware/game_and_watch/index.html. Retrieved 2009-07-11.
- ^ a b "Super Smash Bros. Melee guide: Mr. Game & Watch". IGN. http://guides.ign.com/guides/16387/page_26.html. Retrieved 2008-05-15.
- ^ Shadow Dans - Trophy Description. Super Smash Dans. Brawl. Nintendo. 2008
- ^ "Mr. Game & Watch Biography". IGN. http://stars.ign.com/objects/142/14222522_biography.html. Retrieved 2008-05-15.
[edit] External links
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