Nintendo Game & Watch
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- For emulators, see Game & Watch, and for system information, see Game & Watch.
As legend tells, one day Nintendo's toy designer Gunpei Yokoi was riding the subway and he noticed a businessman messing with a pocket calculator out of sheer boredom, so he had the idea to create a game device that people could play on the go. And so the Game & Watch series was born, a line of handheld mini-games which could also be used as a clock or alarm. Despite their relative simplicity, they were a huge success, as they were very fun time wasters.
At least 60 different titles were developed for the Game & Watch series. The now-popular cross D-pad was born here, as was the two-screen design which would later be used for the Nintendo DS. They were later succeeded by the Game Boy series.
The list
[edit | edit source]Note: some games have multiple variants.
| Gameplay | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Series №1: Silver | ||
| Ball | The first game ever released for the Game & Watch line: you're required to juggle balls in the air for as long as you can. | |
| Flagman | A game similar to Simon Says. | |
| Judge | Attack your opponent using hammers or avoid his attacks. | |
| Vermin | Moles will occasionally come toward your garden, your goal is to lodge the giant mallet you wield into their skull to drive them off. | |
| Fire | Save people jumping out of buildings by using the trampoline. In Game B, people jump from the third floor and the fourth floor. | |
| Series №2: Gold | ||
| Manhole | There are four holes in the ground, pedestrians walk by and your goal is to make sure that they don't fall into the holes. | |
| Helmet | In this game you're required to move from point A to point B without getting hit by the falling projectiles such as mallets. | |
| Lion | The goal here is to control two lion tamers on contrary sides of a cage. A lion is inside and you're required to keep the lion inside the cage. | |
| Series №3: Wide Screen | ||
| Parachute | Here, you control a boat and save all of the paratroopers. Be sure not to let any of them into the water as they'll be gobbled up by sharks. | |
| Octopus | Here you'll have to be sure not to be attacked by the Octopus' tentacles and come in possession of the treasure deep in the ocean. | |
| Popeye | Capture the objects Olive throws your way and avoid Brutus. | |
| Chef | Here you control a chef to flip all sorts of foods that the cooks toss your way. Make sure not to allow any of the food to drop on the ground. | |
| Mickey Mouse | A game in which Mickey (Disney's mascot) attempts to catch eggs before they fall on the ground. This is not in fact Nintendo's first collaboration with Disney, as Nintendo once made cards with famous Disney characters on the cover. They were quite successful. | |
| Egg | Almost identical to Mickey Mouse other than the fact that you control a wolf rather than the famous mouse. | |
| Turtle Bridge | Here you'll get packages from side A to side B by jumping on top of the turtle's shells. | |
| Fire Attack | Your fortress is under fire by Indians. Your goal here is to either attack the Indians or the torches they throw in order to not let your building collapse. | |
| Snoopy Tennis | Here you'll control Snoopy the dog and hit tennis balls back to the other side. | |
| Series №4: Multi Screen | ||
| Oil Panic | Here you'll control a man whose goal is to capture oil drops and drop them into another man's bucket below. | |
| Green House | Similar to the game Donkey Kong 3. In it you'll spray bugs. | |
| Donkey Kong | This game is based on the arcade (and NES) videogame of the same name. You'll control Mario who'll jump over barrels in an attempt to save Pauline. | |
| Donkey Kong II | You'll once again take control of Donkey Kong Jr. in an attempt to save his father. | |
| Mickey & Donald | Mickey and Donald are both fire fighters in this game. Your goal is to extinguish fires. | |
| Pinball | A simple game of pinball. | |
| Black Jack | A simple game of blackjack. | |
| Squish | Moving platforms will come towards the protagonist of this particular game. Your goal is to avoid them in order not to get squished. | |
| Bombsweeper | Opponents are throwing bombs your way. Try to catch them and put them out. | |
| Safebuster | In this you'll have to try and get out of labyrinths. | |
| Goldcliff | Try and get valuable items. | |
| Zelda | In this game based on The Legend of Zelda, you'll control the protagonist of the series Link and fight off skeletons and bosses. It's handheld model bears a resemblance to the Nintendo DS | |
| Series №5: Horizontal Multi Screen | ||
| Mario Bros. | Here you'll control Mario and Luigi and merge packages from point A to point B. | |
| Rain Shower | Here you'll have to save your clothes from a rainshower that are hanging to dry outside by pulling on the wires. | |
| Lifeboat | Here you'll have to take control of two lifeboats and save passengers who are falling out of a cruiser. | |
| Series №6: New Wide Screen | ||
| Donkey Kong Jr. | Simply a Game & Watch remake of the popular arcade video game, you'll control Donkey Kong Jr. in an attempt to save his dad Donkey Kong from Mario's clutches. This was the first of the Game & Watch video games to feature Nintendo characters; many of them from here on out would do so. | |
| Mario's Cement Factory | Here you'll play as Mario and make sure that the cement flows nicely to its destined location. | |
| Tropical Fish | Place Goldfish in your fishbowl and safely merge them into another. | |
| Super Mario Bros. | Another game featuring Nintendo's mascot Mario. Here, you'll make Mario run from left to right in order to save Princess Peach. The gameplay was inspired by the NES video game of the same name, though was less advanced. | |
| Climber | This game is based on the NES game Ice Climber. Here you'll help a kid get to the top a mountain, just as you did in the NES classic. | |
| Balloon Fight | This game is not actually based on the NES game of the same name, but is probably just a reference to it. Here you'll ride on a jet pack and attempt to shoot balloons. | |
| Mario the Juggler | This game is nearly identical to Ball, though this time you'll control Mario. | |
| Series №7: Table Top | ||
| Donkey Kong Jr. | Simply a Game & Watch remake of the popular arcade video game, you'll control Donkey Kong Jr. in an attempt to save his dad Donkey Kong from Mario's clutches. This was the first of the Game & Watch video games to feature Nintendo characters; many of them from here on out would do so. | |
| Popeye | ||
| Mario's Cement Factory | Here you'll play as Mario and make sure that the cement flows nicely to its destined location. | |
| Series №8: Panorama | ||
| Snoopy | Once again you'll take control of Snoopy. Here you'll have to hit the musical notes that appear. | |
| Popeye | ||
| Donkey Kong Jr. | ||
| Mario's Bombs Away | Here Mario will have to move bombs safely from point A to point B. | |
| Mickey Mouse | ||
| Donkey Kong Circus | Juggle the sticks, but watch out for torches. | |
| Series №9: Super Color | ||
| Spitball Sparky | A Breakout type game. | |
| Crab Grab | Be sure not to let the crabs grab you while you push them out of the way. | |
| Series №10: Micro Versus | ||
| Boxing | Here you'll control one boxer and fight against another. | |
| Donkey Kong 3 | Based on the arcade game of the same name. You'll control Stanley and spray all of the bees. | |
| Donkey Kong Hockey | You'll play hockey as Donkey Kong and Mario. | |
| Series №11: Crystal Screen | ||
| Super Mario Bros. | ||
| Climber | ||
| Balloon Fight | ||
| Special models | ||
| Super Mario Bros. | This was a promotional game given as a prize to Nintendo players winning the F-1 Grand Prix Tournament in Japan in 1987. Only 10,000 of these were made.[1] | |
| Ball | A 2010 reissue of the first Game & Watch title for Club Nintendo members. | |
| Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. | Released in 2020 for the 35th anniversary of the Super Mario series and the 40th anniversary of the Game & Watch, it includes the Super Mario Bros. and the Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels NES games, plus a Mario-themed Ball. | |
| Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda | Released in 2021 for the 35th anniversary of the Zelda series, it includes the The Legend of Zelda and the Zelda II: The Adventure of Link NES games, the The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening GameBoy game and a Zelda-themed Vermin. | |
Videos
[edit | edit source]External links
[edit | edit source]- lcdgame.js - play various LCD handhelds in your browser
- Game & Watch: Donkey Kong Collection - recreation of DK games for PC
Pica PicNo longer works due to Flash support ending
| Second Generation | ||
| Consoles | Emerson Arcadia 2001 - Atari 2600 - Atari 5200 - Epoch Cassette Vision - ColecoVision - Fairchild Channel F - Mattel Intellivision - Magnavox Odyssey² - Bally Professional Arcade - Sega SG-1000 - RCA Studio II - Interton VC 4000 - Milton Bradley Vectrex | |
| Handhelds | Entex Adventure Vision - Nintendo Game & Watch - Milton Bradley Microvision | |
| Computers | Apple I - Apple II - Apple III - Atari 8-bit - Acorn BBC Micro - Commodore PET - Tandy TRS-80 - Tandy TRS-80 CoCo | |