You're at a local tournament, it's game three, and you're staring down a flat, flickering silhouette that looks like it crawled out of a 1980s calculator. It feels ridiculous. Honestly, it is. But then you get hit by a Chef pan, dragged into a Down Smash, and buried into the stage before a giant hammer ends your run. That’s the Mr. Game & Watch Smash Ultimate experience in a nutshell. He is arguably the most tilting character in the roster. He defies the physics that every other fighter has to follow.
The thing about Mr. Game & Watch is that he doesn't play the same game as everyone else. While Mario or Fox are out here worrying about frame data and precise spacing, this 2D nightmare is just fishing for a beep-boop combo or mashing one of the best out-of-shield options in history. He's a glass cannon, sure, but the cannon is loaded with RNG and some of the most disjointed hitboxes Nintendo ever programmed.
The Frame 3 Problem: Why Fire Is Broken
Let's talk about Up-Special. In most fighting games, being stuck in a corner or under pressure means you have to guess right or block. Not here. Mr. Game & Watch has Fire. It comes out on frame 3. It has invincibility. It’s basically a "get out of jail free" card that also starts combos. If you hit his shield, you're probably getting hit by a diving helmet.
Maister, the world’s best Mr. Game & Watch player, has built an entire career on this single move. He uses it to reset the neutral game whenever things get hairy. It’s frustrating to play against because it invalidates so many fundamental pressure strings. You can't just pressure his shield like you would against a Ganondorf or a Ridley. You have to respect the beep. If you don't, you're going into the air, and that's where the real trouble starts.
The Aerial Wall of Frustration
Have you ever tried to land against a good G&W? It’s a nightmare. His Up-Air (the Turtle) and his Down-Air (the Key) create a vertical zone that is incredibly hard to contest. The Turtle blows a gust of wind that pushes you upward, stalling your descent and letting him juggle you for what feels like an eternity. It’s not just about damage; it’s about psychological warfare. You’re stuck in the air, unable to reach the ground, watching a flat man blow bubbles at you.
Then there’s the Neutral-Air. It’s a multi-hit move that lingers. It’s great for edge-guarding, it’s great for drag-down combos, and it’s honestly just annoying to deal with. Most characters have to commit to an aerial. G&W just sort of exists in the air with a hitbox surrounding him.
The Judge Factor: RNG in Competitive Play
We have to talk about the hammer. Side-B, or Judge, is the ultimate "clip" generator. It’s a literal gamble. You pull a number from 1 to 9.
- A 1 hurts G&W himself.
- A 9 is essentially a Home-Run Bat swing that kills most of the cast at 0% or 10% near the ledge.
In a high-stakes competitive environment, RNG is usually hated. But for Mr. Game & Watch Smash Ultimate mains, it’s a legitimate secondary win condition. It forces the opponent to play scared. Even if the odds of a 9 are low, the possibility of a 9 changes how you approach. You can't just mindlessly rush him down when he's got the hammer out. It adds a layer of unpredictability that even the most technical players like MkLeo or Tweek have to account for.
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Defying Projectiles with Oil Panic
A lot of people think zoning is the answer. "Just stay away and throw stuff," they say. Wrong. Down-B, Oil Panic, is one of the most lopsided counters in the game. It absorbs three energy-based projectiles and then turns them into a massive bucket of oil that can one-shot opponents.
If you’re playing Samus, Mega Man, or even Ness, you’re basically handing him a nuclear weapon. I’ve seen full-stock leads evaporate because a Samus player got greedy with a Charge Shot. Once that bucket is full, the game changes. The G&W player doesn't even need to use it; the threat of it is enough to make the opponent stop using their best tools. It’s a silent win.
The Lightweight Curse and How to Beat Him
He’s light. Extremely light. He’s one of the lightest characters in the game, which means he dies early. A well-placed back-air from Cloud or a stray hit from Bowser can end his stock at 60%. This is the trade-off. To win as G&W, you have to be nearly perfect with your movement because you can't afford to take big hits.
The strategy for beating him usually involves baiting out the Up-B. If you can make him miss that move or catch him coming down, he’s vulnerable. His Down-Air key is predictable once you've seen it a thousand times. If you shield the key, you can usually get a heavy punish.
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Why the Pro Scene Still Fears Him
Even with his weight issues, he remains a top-tier threat. Why? Because his advantage state is oppressive. When G&W is winning, you aren't playing the game. You're just reacting. He has some of the best smash moves in the game—his Down Smash buries you, and his Forward Smash (the Fire Attack) has surprisingly long range and disjoint.
His Forward-Air (the Bomb) was changed from Smash 4, and while people hated the change at first, it turned out to be a massive buff for his ledge-trapping. He can just drop bombs at the ledge, covering multiple get-up options at once. It’s efficient. It’s safe. It’s classic G&W.
Learning the Matchup: Practical Steps
If you're tired of losing to the 2D menace, you need to change your mindset. You aren't playing a standard Smash match. You're playing a game of "Don't touch the shield."
- Stop over-committing on his shield. Unless you have a move that is safe on shield (like most of Chroy’s kit or certain Spacie moves), just back off. Bait the Up-B and punish the landing.
- Abuse his weight. Don't fish for fancy combos. Go for high-knockback kill moves earlier than you usually would.
- Watch the bucket. If you have energy projectiles, use them sparingly. Use them to bait a bucket absorb, then rush in while he's stuck in the animation.
- Respect the bury. If you get hit by Down-Smash, mash like your life depends on it. At high percentages, it’s a death sentence, but at mid-percent, you can often escape if your fingers are fast enough.
Mr. Game & Watch is a relic of Nintendo's past, but in Smash Ultimate, he’s a modern powerhouse. He represents a specific kind of "jank" that makes the game unique. Whether you love him or hate him, you have to respect the flat man. He’s not going anywhere, and as long as Fire is a frame 3 move, he’ll be gatekeeping top 8s at majors for years to come.
To really master this matchup, you should head into training mode and look at the hitboxes. G&W’s visuals can be deceptive because he’s 2D; the hitboxes often extend slightly further than the sprites suggest. Understanding exactly where his Chef bacon bits land and the range of his Hammer will save you more stocks than any tier list ever could. Start focusing on his landing lag—or lack thereof—and start timing your punishes for the micro-seconds he's actually vulnerable. That's the only way to beat a master of the flat world.