Editing Mr. Game & Watch (SSBU)

Mr. Game & Watch has some of the most noticeable changes of any veteran in the transition to ''Ultimate'', as several of his animations have been altered to change his appearance to the games they originate from when he performs them. This has led to a massive overhaul in his moveset that goes beyond changes to aesthetic appearances, as many of these moves have been mechanically altered and, in some cases, completely reworked altogether in their purpose and utility. As a result, Mr. Game & Watch has undergone a large mix of buffs and nerfs in his transition to ''Ultimate'', arguably the most out of any other returning veteran; however, while these changes have weakened a few of his most powerful tools and set-ups from ''SSB4'', they have also greatly improved several of his more underwhelming moves in his toolkit from the previous game, and the changes to game mechanics have benefitted these changes as well. As a result, Mr. Game & Watch has been significantly buffed overall.

Mr. Game & Watch's KO and edgeguarding potential have been drastically improved, since a majority of his regular moves, including [[forward tilt|forward]] and [[down tilt]]s, all of his [[smash attack]]s, and [[back aerial|back]] and [[down aerial]]s, have much stronger knockback; this drastically tones down one of his main weaknesses from ''SSB4''. His smash attacks have also improved beyond higher power — [[down smash]] now has faster startup and can now [[bury]] grounded opponents when [[sweetspot]]ted, allowing it to lead into followups and KO confirms, and its long range and burying time make it the best move of its kind. [[Forward smash]] is even easier to sweetspot than in ''SSB4'', while up smash has faster startup with increased duration and now renders Mr. Game & Watch himself completely invincible during the attack, as opposed to just his head and foot.

His attacks have also increased utility overall. Changes to [[neutral aerial]]'s first hits allow them to link together more reliably and catch opponents above him more effectively, and the move's reduced landing lag means it can now be used as a landing option and set-up tool (notably having a KO confirm into down tilt at high percentages), while retaining its decently strong knockback. Forward tilt has a much longer duration, making it an effective option for both [[2 frame punish|2-framing]] and [[spotdodging]], and up tilt's hits connect into each other much more reliably, improving its consistency. [[Chef]]'s trajectory can now be controlled, which makes it much easier to catch opponents who are trying to reach for the ledge and is now more effective keeping control of the neutral game. [[Oil Panic]] can now reflect physical projectiles in addition to absorbing energy-based projectiles (though it doesn't increase their power), and [[Judge]]'s numbers 5, 7, 8, and 9 have improved. Mr. Game & Watch now sports a much more disjointed dash and pivot grab, giving it effective reach. However, his [[up special]], [[Fire]] has seen the most improvements; it now has a frame 3 hitbox that replaces its windbox from ''SSB4'', which launches opponent directly upwards, and can even be comboed up with a neutral or up aerial at low percentages to keep juggling opponents. Because of this, it is now infamously considered both the best up special and the best out of shield option in the entire game.  

Mr. Game & Watch has gained two new attacks in his [[forward aerial|forward]] and [[up aerial]]s. Forward aerial now has Mr. Game & Watch drop a bomb in front of him; compared to his old forward aerial, it posseses stronger knockback and damage output, as well as much more versatility, as its explosion can cover the entire ledge of a stage, it can be used as a combo starter at low percentages, as a shield pressuring tool, and a landing option (as it is much safer on block). Meanwhile, his up aerial now has Mr. Game & Watch shoot a single puff of air upwards as a projectile, functioning very similarly to {{SSBU|Mega Man}}'s up aerial; this projectile has much more vertical range than his old up air, and is more reliable for keeping opponents trapped in it. It, combined with his neutral aerial, now gives Mr. Game & Watch more respectable juggling potential.

However, Mr. Game & Watch has also received a few notable nerfs, most notably to his two most potent strengths from ''SSB4'' — his [[up smash]] and [[down throw]] setups. Down throw now deals much more knockback, removing its follow-up potential at higher percents Despite the startup reduction and increased knockback to up smash, it has lost all of its invincibility frames during the move's startup, making it much less effective as an anti-air, and allows opponents to challenge it easier.

Many of Mr. Game & Watch's new animations have resulted in hitbox reductions for several of his attacks, including forward tilt, up aerial, up tilt, and most notably, his down tilt, the latter of which is now incapable of hitting aerial opponents altogether. This tones down Mr. Game & Watch's deceptive reach, and requires him to be closer towards opponents more often than before. Judge's number 9 is also less effective, since its new high SDI multiplier, combined with the hit's high hitlag, makes it much easier to prepare for and slightly reduces its effectiveness for early KOs. His new moves have also come with drawbacks; while his new forward aerial possesses more utility than his oldone, it has much weaker priority to the point that the bomb disappears if it gets hit and the hitbox does not completely cover it, making it a riskier option to challenge opponents in the air with. His new up aerial has also lost all of its KO power, which compounded with the changes to his down throw effectively removes his "Toot Toot" KO confirm from ''SSB4''.

Gameplay mechanics both strengthen and hamper Mr. Game & Watch. The ability to [[run cancel]] also improves the newfound utility of his ground attacks further, and now him very quick KO options he previously didn't have access to. He also possesses a much higher traction, which combined with the improvements to Fire gives him a much stronger [[out of shield]] game, which was a weakness he suffered from in ''Smash 4''. However, while the universal increase in mobility benefits his below-average dashing speed, several other veterans now boast overall faster mobility as well, making it hard for him to keep up with them. The changes to [[air dodge]] mechanics and reintroduction of directional air dodging give Mr. Game & Watch an option to either extend his recovery in a pinch, or use one as a short-ranged recovery without the necessity to use his up special, but this has also resulted in his air dodges becoming some of the slowest in the game, making them susceptible to punishment. Finally, the weakening of [[rage]] improves Mr. Game & Watch's endurance, but due to his surprisingly good survivability for a lightweight, this also weakens his ability to use it to his advantage, due to his plentiful strong attacks such as Judge 9. Of note is that despite his numerous improvements, Mr. Game & Watch retains some of the same issues from ''Smash 4'', namely his poor endurance and short reach.

Overall, Mr. Game & Watch generally retains much of his bait-and-punish playstyle from ''SSB4'', though the adjustments and increased utility he received to several of his attacks, as well as his significantly improved KO power, have led him to become more of an "all-rounder" type of character to his fellow lightweight brethren. This has garnered Mr. Game & Watch a strikingly positive reception overall, and, this incarnation of Mr. Game & Watch is near universally considered to be his best iteration in the series yet.