Constant Limit

Super Smash Bros. Brawl is out and its cast of characters defintely pay homage and tribute to video game greatness. One of the characters, Mr. Game & Watch is no exception. This fellow is back and is out to prove that Nintendo’s history is still as important as its future. Before Nintendo release their black and white handheld portable gaming device, the Game Boy, there was something else that came before it. Prior to the Game Boy existed another handheld called the Game and Watch. This is where one of Nintendo’s oldest Smash characters, Mr. Game and Watch was born. This character is probably one of the most obscure and unknown characters to most new gamers since his time was back in the 80s.

However, like R.O.B, Mr. Game and Watch is a great example of how Nintendo not only anticipates the future of gaming with their revolutionary Wii Remote, but also acknowledges their historical greatness. Longevity is very important in order to evolve and grow throughout the years and Nintendo has done a great job at outlasting their competitors. The once great Sega soon disappeared after the Dreamcast and has jumped on the Nintendo bandwagon. Even Sonic appears in Brawl and that is because Sega needs Nintendo in order to survive. I remember having one those Game and Watch handhelds back then. These game were a lot different than today’s Nintendo DS. The first thing that I recall was that were no video game cartridges for Game and Watch games. Each handheld device had only one game on it. So there was no swapping of catridges to play different games on the same devices. Of course, this soon changed with the Game Boy, which I also had. Video gaming was so great in the 80s in that you were entertained and satisfied with what you had. The need for fancy 3D graphics and stereo hi-fidelity sound did not exist back then. We had what was available and we still found the games to be fun. Now there is too much demand on perfection to the point where nothing lasts long anymore because society is placing to much pressure to have the next best thing. I do miss the slower days of the 80s where you could enjoy what you had and not worry so much about the newest and latest craze.

I found this image online of one of those old Game and Watch games back then:

Just look at this game. The characters are all in black and there are very few colors. Also, notice the animation. There are very few frames of animation present. The animations were like freeze frame slide shows, where the animation looked like snap shots with no smooth transitions between them. No “a” and “b” buttons here. All you get is up and down. This thing has a dual screen like DS but all you get is this one game where you deliver packages from left to right. The only thing you have to do here is to position the characters so that they properly place the items onto the conveyor belt. Gaming was great back then, simplicity at its best.

Mr. Game and Watch’s Final Smash: Octopus

You might all be wondering what the deal is with that Octopus that Game Watch transforms into. 

The octopus represents one of the games found in the Game Watch series. It is called Octopus and you play a scuba diver who goes into the ocean to collect buried treasure without getting caught by the Octopus.

The octopus behaves the same way as in Brawl, extending its tentacle to attack everyone. It has been fun reminscing about gaming in the 80s. If you have any comments or stories about Game and Watch feel free to post them.