Game & Watch Gallery

Game & Watch Gallery features four games based upon the Game & Watch brand of handheld games. Each game contains a 'Classic' mode, resembling the gameplay and presentation of the original Game & Watch title, and a 'Modern' mode, which contains additional gameplay mechanics and revised graphics based on the Mario franchise. Normal and Hard difficulty settings can be selected for each mode. The following four Game & Watch games are included: • Fire: Players must use a tarp to catch people jumping from a burning building and bounce them to safety. In the 'Modern' version, different characters have different bounce durations. • Manhole: Players must place a manhole in gaps in the street to allow pedestrians to safely cross without falling. In the 'Modern' version, different characters move at different speeds, and Yoshi can prepare a manhole in advance, which will only drop after being stepped on. • Octopus: Players must retrieve treasure from a sunken chest while avoiding an octopus' moving tentacles. In the 'Modern' version, Mario's speed is affected by the amount of treasure he is carrying. • Oil Panic: Players must catch falling oil droplets and dispose of them without hitting bystanders or letting their bucket overflow. In the 'Modern' version, Mario carries two buckets at once and can rotate their position. For every 200 points players accrue in each game, they earn 'stars' which can be used to unlock entries in an in-game gallery displaying animations of other Game & Watch titles; up to five stars can be earned in each mode and difficulty of each game, for a total of 80 stars. == Development ==

Game & Watch Gallery was designed by Tose and Nintendo R&D1 and published by Nintendo. It was released for the Game Boy in 1997 for Japan on February 1, for the United States on May 5, for Europe on August 28, and for Australia the same year. It was released for the Nintendo Power for the Game Boy in Japan on March 1, 2000. for North America on July 14, and for Europe and Australia on July 21; while it was originally released under the title Game Boy Gallery 2 in Australia, the Virtual Console release uses the title Game & Watch Gallery. == Reception ==

Game & Watch Gallery received generally positive reviews. It holds an average score of 76.65% on GameRankings, based on four reviews. Joe Ottoson of Allgame echoed Averett, stating that "every game on the cart is a simple yet dangerously addictive dose of pure unfettered and unvarnished fun." Clark Anderson of Digitally Downloaded called the Virtual Console re-release a good value, describing several of the games—especially Fire—as addictive. Andrew Brown of Nintendo World Report found that the game offered broad appeal, citing the inclusion of both original and updated versions of each game. Some criticism was directed at the game's limited depth. Kristan Reed of Eurogamer argued that players without nostalgia for the original Game & Watch titles might find the compilation "little more than a curiosity". In his book Best Before: Videogames, Supersession and Obsolescence, author James Newman cited the game as an early example of the remastering trend that became prominent during the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 era, highlighting its enhanced visuals while retaining original gameplay mechanics. == Notes ==