Would you like the Mario-themed Game & Watch Gallery series to return?

[winstein]

Back in the 90's the Game Boy received a game that is remade from the Game & Watch, Nintendo's first successful handheld device. It however featured nameless characters as stand-ins, until they released Game & Watch Gallery, which added the Mario flavour so it's not as generic. In fact, you have the option to play the emulated classics, or perhaps a version featuring Mario characters with a modern twist. The games often featured incentives to score or have greater mercy to the player, so it's not totally the same game.

Up until now, we have 4 Mario-themed Game & Watch Gallery games, with 1 & 2 being for the Game Boy, 2 & 3 for the Game Boy Color and 4 being the Game Boy Advance game. Each game has more games than the last, starting from 4, then 6, and then 10, and finally a whopping 20! Note that 4 featured remade games from 1, 2 and 3, so not all are new.

Currently, there isn't any more Game & Watch Gallery games, but I loved those games so if Nintendo were to pump up another Game & Watch, it would very much be welcomed. Indeed, it would hopefully have more games than ever, and they will have both the Classic version and the more modern Mario touch, and characters that are not stand-ins (meaning, if they want Donkey Kong back, Pauline is used instead of Peach).

Is anybody interested in a new Game & Watch Gallery game, whether Mario-themed or not?

Thank you for reading.

 

[LeftyGreenMario]

Not sure if there's a lot to these games, but I've always liked the Mario flavor to them.

 

[winstein]

Not sure if there's a lot to these games, but I've always liked the Mario flavor to them.

A lot of Game & Watch Gallery games, or a lot of individual games within each game?

I hope that when the Game & Watch games return, the Mario flavour in them should be widened, such as the ability to choose the character you want to play as. One great part about Game & Watch Gallery 4 is that it has the widest range of playable characters, where besides Mario, you have Luigi (Fire, Mario Bros., Boxing), Peach (Chef), Donkey Kong Jr. (Donkey Kong Jr.), Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong 3, 2P), Wario (Fire Attack) and Waluigi (Boxing, 2P). Now if they could make it selectable, that would be a dream come true.

Thank you for reading.

 

[LeftyGreenMario]

The Game & Watch Gallery games seem like a minigame collection similar to Mario & Sonic. It doesn't do much more than that?

 

[winstein]

The Game & Watch Gallery games seem like a minigame collection similar to Mario & Sonic. It doesn't do much more than that?

I think that's a good way to put it, though I would say that because of the endless of every game, it wouldn't be similar to that since Mario & Sonic is more of a Time Attack/Record game, while Game & Watch is more endurance/high score based. Not sure if present in Mario & Sonic, but in the Game & Watch games there's a gallery where you can unlock past games for viewing only, but Game & Watch Gallery 4 took it a step further and made each game playable.

I am not sure if you are comparing both Game & Watch and Mario & Sonic because they are filled with shallow mini-games, but come to think of it, I can see why the Game & Watch games can be considered shallow: each of the games have basically one objective, except they get more difficult as time passes. I suppose Game & Watch is not all that popular and few people would've been interested in the arcade-like game.

Thank you for reading.

 

[Jumping Spider]

Like you said in the post above mine, they would be too arcadey, simplistic and repetitive, I can't imagine anyone buying a remaster of them today because of how utterly simple they are.
They were fine on GBA when phone games and apps weren't a thing yet so gaming on the go meant either getting a portable gaming console, a cheap LCD gaming devide or a phone game (albeit they were much harder to get compared to now as Internet acces was more limited...)

So maybe if they put a G&W Gallery game with HD graphics as a phone App then I'd say it could be good, it'd fit on a touch screen due to their super-simple controls: you could have virtual buttons on the screen to push, or simply allow players to drag or point where to move (which would work wonders in the case of Fire, for example...)
But as a game for Switch/3DS? Naah, it'd be terrible, never gonna happen...

 

[winstein]

Like you said in the post above mine, they would be too arcadey, simplistic and repetitive, I can't imagine anyone buying a remaster of them today because of how utterly simple they are.
They were fine on GBA when phone games and apps weren't a thing yet so gaming on the go meant either getting a portable gaming console, a cheap LCD gaming devide or a phone game (albeit they were much harder to get compared to now as Internet acces was more limited...)

So maybe if they put a G&W Gallery game with HD graphics as a phone App then I'd say it could be good, it'd fit on a touch screen due to their super-simple controls: you could have virtual buttons on the screen to push, or simply allow players to drag or point where to move (which would work wonders in the case of Fire, for example...)
But as a game for Switch/3DS? Naah, it'd be terrible, never gonna happen...

I do agree that the game can be quite repetitive, given the nature of the games back then. However, I disagree with your assessment that they are terrible and nobody wants them. In fact, there are newer games currently that are "arcadey" and simplistic, and they are well-loved and sold quite well. An example on what I am referring to is the Bit.Trip games. They are as you described: it is easy to pick up and play (basically "arcadey"), it's graphically simple, and they are essentially repetitive games that get increasingly tougher as you progress. I am not sure what you think of the minigames in Super Mario 64 DS and New Super Mario Bros (DS), but there are children who found fun in the simplistic minigames found in both games.

Given that Game & Watch has historical significance for Nintendo's business, it's not an impossibility for them to revisit those games, especially at the Game & Watch's anniversary, because not only are the base games fun, there are dozens of Game & Watch games so by putting them in a collection, they could provide huge value over games that aren't easy to obtain these days. Moreover, some of the games essentially come with two controllers, and guess what: the Nintendo Switch has that too! It might be late for the 3DS to have a Game & Watch game, but I say the Switch is perfect for the Game & Watch. Sure some people might not like it, but that doesn't mean everyone view the Game & Watch the same way as you do.

I concur that the smartphone is not a bad solution for Game & Watch, but I think that a collection with those games will provide a better value. However, an alternative approach to playing (using your Fire example) isn't what I would call an authentic experience, unless you are looking at providing an alternative control scheme.

Thank you for reading.

 

[Toka Hebizuka]

I'd like to see a Game & Watch Gallery Collection, featuring the games from the first 4 G&W Galleries, alongside a bunch of new ones.