Nintendo Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. - Not Machine Specific

If you didn't grow up in the 1980s with the old school Game & Watch devices and/or Super Mario Brothers, I'd find it hard to believe that you'd enjoy this device. In fact, even if you're a Super Mario Brothers fan, but didn't own one of the original Game & Watches, you might have a hard time enjoying this device. However, I personally did own a Game & Watch (Parachute) and played it to death when I was 7 years old (the buttons stopped working because I played it so much). I also spent countless hours on Super Mario Brothers starting at age 9. Because of these two experiences in my past, I knew I had to buy this Game & Watch when I first heard they were going to release it. Now that I've had it for about a week, I can say, for a fan like myself, it was worth the $50. Holding the Game & Watch in my hands when I first opened it brought a HUGE RUSH of memories of me playing Parachute as well as the memories of my grandparents searching all over the place to buy and gift it to me almost 40 years ago. Not gonna lie, I cried. This alone confirmed it was worth the purchase. And while I haven't been playing SMB1 too much, I've been addicted to the SMB2 as I never had a chance to play it when I was younger. The physics of Mario moving are exactly as I remember, which is something that can't be said for the versions of SMB1 and SMB2 included with Super Mario All Stars for the SNES/Wii, you know the brick breaking "bug". Ok enough of the nostalgia, let's quickly go over the device itself and the games. First of all, the LCD isn't bad. It's not great, but not bad. It is clearly a TN panel as the vertical viewing angles are pretty horrible. Luckily, it's so small that you probably will never be viewing it off angle in the vertical axis. Horizontally, it fares much better off angle. It is small, but not too small at 2.36". I haven't noticed any ghosting, but if I look closely, I definitely can see the pixels, so the DPI isn't the best either. However, it's perfectly reasonable for games that weren't high resolution to begin with. The display does seem to be stretched horizontally just a little bit, the screen probably isn't the exact aspect ratio of the original game as the blocks on the screen aren't perfectly square and the mushrooms look a little fat to me; this is a little annoying but does not affect game play at all. My 40+ year old eyes aren't what they used to be, but the display is big enough for me to play without any hindrance. The only thing I can complain about are the parts of SMB2 where there are leaves blowing on the screen to suggest there is wind; the leaves are very hard for me to see. But the audio gives cues that there is wind as well so it wasn't a huge drawback. Besides that, I have nothing to complain about with the display. The controls are great. While the DPAD isn't as big as the original NES controllers, it's plenty big for me and feels solid and responsive. The B and A buttons, in addition to the game/time/pause/set buttons, feel just like how I remember from my Parachute G&W. The unit was a little light on weight, but that feeling could be because I'm not 7 years old anymore. The biggest complaint I have is that the unit does not come with a kickstand like Parachute did so it cannot sit upright on my nightstand while in watch mode. The games, as mentioned before, seem to be exactly like the originals except for a couple really welcome additions. 1) While you can't save the state, you can pause a game and come back to it at anytime. This is on a per game basis, so you can have a paused SMB1, SMB2, and Ball all at the same time and switch between them to play any of them. 2) SMB1 and SMB2 has an option to have infinite lives. This feature was absolutely necessary for me to play and beat SMB2 as it is exponentially harder than SMB1 The watch is a fun addition, you can cycle through different backgrounds of the clock by repeatedly pressing the time button. There are also some other easter eggs for the watch with various button presses I'll let you figure out. And finally Ball, while it's not as exciting as SMB1 and SMB2, I love hearing the "tick tick tick" sounds each time an "LCD" animation moves, just like the original G&W games. The battery lasts FOREVER. Their estimated 8 hours of gameplay is not exaggerated. I charged it full, played for 2 - 3 hours and the battery meter still showed over half. Keep in mind, I kept the volume and brightness low. Speaking of volume, if you're alone in a quiet room, the lowest volume setting is already plenty loud IMO. And at the highest volume, it's still very clear. The inclusion of a high quality USB-A to USB-C cable was a nice touch, and it chargers pretty quickly. Overall, I can't recommend this little device enough, even at $50, BUT, with the big caveat that the Game & Watch plus Super Mario Brothers must hold a very dear place in your childhood.

This thing is just pure novelty for collectors. Sure, you can play Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels and the Mario version of Ball on it, but there are plenty of other (legit) ways to play those. Ball is the more difficult one to get hold of, but both Mario games are available for the Switch, as well as other platforms. But, this is still a fun unit with a really nice, although tiny, screen. This is the size of a Game & WAtch, so the screen is 2 inches by 1.5 inches. So, that makes Mario really tiny. But, it's still playable. The buttons and D-pad are nice, and the emulation is spot on, but that's what we expect from Nintendo's emulation. Aside from the games, you also get a nifty clock function with some cool animation. My only criticism is that it doesn't have the stand that the old Game & Watch units had, so you have to prop it up somehow to use it as a clock. Also, I don't believe it has an alarm function. The "instructions" it comes with are just how to charge it and then a bunch of warnings and warranty stuff. But, the functions are pretty much self explanatory. I had the clock set and had played all 3 games before I even looked at that sheet. Obviously, this is a bit pricey for a kid, but for an adult collector who just wants a cool novelty unit that works as intended, this is perfect. If you remember Game & Watch or just love Mario or collect Nintendo stuff, then this is for you.

Good quality console, very entertaining

I bought it as a Christmas present for my wife and she loved the feel of it. The classic looks and the graphics were outstanding. It was great portable and holds long battery life. Brought back memories from childhood.

It’s kinda smaller than I thought, I watched plenty of reviews but didn’t expect it was this small, not a bad thing tho, just surprised. Still, I got this for my dad who loves playing the first Mario in our old NES and since he spends a lot of time away I wanted to give him something that would make him feel like he is at home doing what he likes. Screen looks amazing, colors are vibrant, if you’ve been playing on those cheap Aliexpress famicon clone consoles, trust me this screen actually looks beautiful. Also the USB-C cable it includes (not on the picture) is really short but you can feel it’s quality. This console also has plenty of Easter eggs, one of them is the possibility of having infinite lives (my dad loved that but he keeps doing the old cheat in World 3-1, but hey, the option is there) If you’re looking to purchase this to add it to your collection is also a great choice, I’ll keep the box

The amount of time my son has spent on this is ridiculous 🤣 much rather this than a tablet

I wasn't planning on purchasing the new Game & Watch, but since it was in stock I went ahead and bought it on impulse. Quite honestly, I don't think fifty dollars is a bad price for this little device (although I wouldn't pay more than that because it looks like plenty will be in stock for the holidays). The Game and Watch includes three built-in games: Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros 2 (The Lost Levels), and a remake of Ball. Despite the small screen size, both of the Super Mario Bros games are really easy to play on the system. The system even includes automatic suspension so that the games can be resumed at any point without starting over, which surprised me. The playability of the games is helped by the device's high-quality design. The screen is small but extremely bright and crisp, while the buttons feel sturdy and similar to original NES controller. I haven't completed either game yet, but I feel like I could if I really sat down and focused on it. The clock, however, is the main selling point for the Game and Watch in my opinion. More than just a typical digital display, the clock features a computer-controlled Mario that endlessly jumps on enemies in several different scenes. It's fun to watch and makes a nice desk piece when left plugged in. My biggest criticism is that the packaging and form factor make the Game and Watch perfect for display, but it's not actually well thought out in that regard. The USB-C cable that comes packaged with the Game and Watch is way too short to be plugged into any wall outlet or spare USB port while keeping the device on display. There's also no included stand to display the Game and Watch upright, which is a little bit disappointing because I could see the potential for some matching 35th anniversary designs. Overall, this is a neat little device and definitely something that collectors will enjoy. It's not really worth buying just to play the two Super Mario Bros. games because they can found on many other Nintendo systems, but the high-quality design, clock, and easter eggs make it a fun celebration of the Super Mario Bros. 35th anniversary.

Great product, the game I remember playing as a kid. Doesn’t connect online, I don’t need be worried about unwanted interaction. My kids love it. Wish they made more old games on these. Sometimes I just want a simple game.

Unbelievable nostalgic unit! Perfect assembly! Worth of spent money.

Mag er alstublieft een grotere versie van dit komen? Bijvoorbeeld als de xl Nintendo games console als vroeger. Veel speel plezier maar toch nog aan de kleine kant.Als de grote versie van dit uitkomt,koop ik die ook :-)

Pequeno, super leve e nostálgico. Perfeito para jogar a qualquer hora e esquecer da vida. Som e qualidade da tela muito adequado. Tem função de relógio que não vi necessidade de utilizar pois não fica parado em pé, só se apoiado em alguma superfície vertical. Embalagem externa linda, porém a caixa interna é de papelão, não condiz com a estética de fora. Tem um cabo para carregar USB-C, ótimo porque é compatível com os carregadores mais recentes.

Sinceramente nunca tuve la oportunidad de tener una Game & Watch hasta el día de hoy que pude obtener este objeto de colección, es nostalgia pura en cuanto a la calidad de materiales, los juegos y el valor que representa si eres fan de Nintendo, no hay más que decir. En cuanto a la consola es ligera, portátil, el hecho de que se pueda cargar con cable USB-C es genial para su portabilidad en cuanto a gestion de carga, las bocinas integradas son buenas, aunque tampoco quieras subir mucho el volumen, los botones son de buena calidad, tengo manos grandes y la consola después de una "larga" sesión de uso podría llegar a cansar, pero lo veo más como un objeto de colección que de "juego" aunque por pura nostalgia podría usarla de vez en cuando. Cabe recalcar que la había apartado cuando Amazon decía que se entregaría en Junio-Julio 2021, afortunadamente llego en Diciembre 2020, satisfeco con la entrega, paquete, en general todo bien!

Good to keep as a collectible