Line #27 Platform/GameAndWatch


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/game_watch.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:''Ball'', the first Game & Watch. Note the "Time" button, which switches the screen to a clock.]]
3
4	Back when Nintendo was in its early days of video game making, Creator/GunpeiYokoi saw a businessman playing with his LCD calculator while commuting. This inspired him to make a watch that doubled as a game to kill time with. Thus the Game & Watch, a small[[note]]the earliest models were 9.5 x 6.3 x 1.2 cm (3.7 x 2.5 x 0.5 inches) and weighed 48 grams (1.7 ounces)[[/note]], portable, single-game console that could also tell the time, was born. This was a huge innovation, and the product sold well despite its games being simple even by '80s standards. It was Nintendo's first major video game success, as well as its first product to gain much attention outside Japan.
5
6	Dozens of different models were produced, with later series trying concepts such as a [[Platform/NintendoDS DS-like]] clamshell ("Game & Watch Multi Screen") or two attached controllers for multiplayer games ("Game & Watch Micro Vs.") The Game & Watch sold ~43 million units, helped popularize handheld video games, started Nintendo's near-monopoly on handhelds, and contributed to Yokoi's ascent within Nintendo, where he would be instrumental to many well-known projects.
7
8	Some games were remade into the ''VideoGame/GameAndWatchGallery'' series for Nintendo Game Boy, and there have been further ports to various Nintendo products as well.
9	----
10	!!Some of the popular Game & Watch games:
11	* ''Ball'' (1980): The very first game. The player has to juggle a number of balls in the air. Re-released in ''Game & Watch Gallery 2'', ''VideoGame/GameBoyCamera'', and on Platform/DSiWare, and was a reward offered through Club Nintendo.
12	* ''Flagman'' (1980): The player mimics a sailor, who holds numbered flags. Appears in ''Gallery 3'', as a mini-game in ''VideoGame/WarioLandII'' and as [=DSiWare=].
13	* ''Fire'' (1980): Perhaps the most popular game in the series, and the basis for Mr. Game & Watch's ''Smash Bros.'' design. Two firemen must bounce people from a burning building to an ambulance. Appears in ''Gallery 1'', ''3'', and ''4''.
14	* ''Octopus'' (1981): Three divers go under the sea to salvage treasure. A large octopus guards it. Appears in ''Gallery 1'' and ''4'', and part of Club Nintendo's Game & Watch collection.
15	* ''Egg'' (1981) (Later re-released as ''Franchise/MickeyMouse''): Playing as a [[VillainProtagonist hungry fox]], the player collects eggs from hens. Appears in Gallery 3. The original game saw a rare re-release with WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse in place of the fox, as a tie-in game. This game was later ported in the Soviet Union as a tie-in to the popular Soviet cartoon series ''Animation/NuPogodi''.
16	* ''Helmet'' (1981): A simple Point A to Point B game, where the player must dodge falling tools. Playable in ''Gallery 2'' and as [=DSiWare=].
17	* ''Lion'' (1981) Two men must keep wild lions inside a cage. Appears in ''Gallery 3''.
18	* ''Manhole'' (1981): The player must fill in the holes in a bridge to keep travelers safe. Appears in ''Gallery 1'' and ''4'', also as [=DSiWare=].
19	* ''Chef'' (1981): As a busy chef, the player must avoid dropping various foods. Playable in ''Gallery 2'' and ''4'', where [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Princess Peach]] is the chef. Downloadable through [=DSiWare=].
20	* ''ComicStrip/{{Popeye}}'' (1981): As Popeye, catch objects thrown to his boat from Olive Oil while avoiding strikes from Bluto.
21	* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' (1982): Practically the same as the arcade game. Playable in ''Gallery 2'' and ''4''. The D-Pad was created especially for this game, and would be used in virtually every game system, Game & Watch and otherwise, thereafter.
22	* ''Donkey Kong Jr.'' (1982): Partially the same as the arcade version. Appears in ''Game & Watch Gallery 3'' and ''4''.
23	* ''Greenhouse'' (1982): Playing as a gardener, the player guards precious flowers from insects. Appears in ''Gallery 3''.
24	* ''Oil Panic'' (1982): A boss and employee of a gas station must keep an oil leak under control. Appears in ''Gallery 1''.
25	* ''Turtle Bridge'' (1982) The player must deliver a package from one side to the other, across a bridge of hungry turtles. Appears in ''Gallery 3''.
26	* ''Mario Bros.'' (1983): Very different from the [[Videogame/MarioBros arcade game of the same name]]. Mario and Luigi[[labelnote:*]]making his FirstAppearance here a full 3 months before his arcade debut[[/labelnote]] are in charge of a bottling factory, and must get the cases of bottles through the factory belts safely. Playable in ''Gallery 3'' and ''4'', where the bottles are replaced with cakes.
27	* ''Boxing'' (1984) (Later renamed to ''VideoGame/PunchOut''): Similar to ''VideoGame/UrbanChampion''. Also available in ''Game & Watch Gallery 4''.
28	* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'' (1986): A condensed version of the NES game. Introduced the AutoScrollingLevel to ''Mario'', which would be embraced by future games in the main series. An UpdatedRerelease in 1988 would feature improved artwork, with Mario resembling his official character design rather than the original's more generic "Mr. Game & Watch" with a cap and mustache.
29	* ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI Zelda]]'' (1989): Another condensed version of an NES game; the only Game & Watch title featuring Link, a definite ending and the ability to continue should the game be over as a result of the player character's death. Appears as the final game in ''Gallery 4''.
30	* ''Mario the Juggler'' (1991): The very last game. A remake of ''Ball'' featuring Mario.
31
32	When the Game & Watch celebrated 40 years in 2020, the same year ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' celebrated 35 years, a new Game & Watch system was released which contained ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'', and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosTheLostLevels'' as well as a special version of ''Ball'' starring Mario. One year later, another new Game & Watch would release for the 35th anniversary of ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' which was bundled with ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'', ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'', the original Game Boy version of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'', and a special version of ''Vermin'' starring Link.
33
34	For information about the series' gameplay, go [[VideoGame/GameAndWatch here]]. The ''VideoGame/GameAndWatchGallery'' video games have their own trope page.

Context Platform / GameAndWatch