Game & Watch Gallery

"Only for the fans of the original handheld"

Game & Watch Gallery is a Game Compilation developed by Nintendo. I believe that most gamers at least of my age have played at least once one of the games available here… you know the very simple handheld games that you would buy at a very cheap price and spent a couple of hours while in your parents car on a trip or something. These games where good and G&WG brings them back on a nice collection along with their improved versions.

Graphics: 6.8/10
Design: 7/10

The game is true to the spirit of the original handheld and features both versions, the old and the new one and both look great. Of course the old version is very simple and minimalistic, but good nonetheless, on the other hand the new graphic style looks very good with the old and unknown characters replaced with characters from the Mario universe like Yoshi, Mario, etc. Generally for a game of this type less means more and this game looks good in all its simplicity.

Sound: 6/10
Music: 5/10

Like in the graphic section, sound is nice and simple. In the “old” version of the games the sound is identical to the handheld and in the new version it's also of good quality. When it comes to music I don't have anything special to say, it could be better but at least it isn't annoying.

Gameplay: 5.5/10
Replay Value: 2/10

What we have here is a compilation of the old & classic handheld games. Let me give you a brief description of each one. In Manhole you move your character between 4 gaps in a bridge in order to help people not fall in the river below, in Fire you hold a trampoline and some people are falling from a building and you must go under these people so that they bounce and not fall down, but before someone is safe you must bounce him off a couple of times while more people are falling down. In Octopus you must dive into a lake and take the treasury in the bottom while avoiding the tentacles of the octopus and finally in Oil Panic you fill your can with oil dripping from the ceiling and then must empty the can in the man below you who constantly moves.

All these games are available in their original state but there are also new versions for all of them. What has changed in the new versions though is just the graphics… instead of the unknown man we have Yoshi, Mario, Toads walking around, Bowser spilling the oil and things like that. Any other change in the game? Nope, you just collect score points like crazy and that's it, no innovation whatsoever.

Positives:
-Old & New versions of the game and graphics
-Nice and simple gameplay, very good to pass the time

Negatives:
-The new versions of the games just have improved graphics
-Gets boring fast

Overall: 5.4/10

My final opinion is that this game compilation will give you only a couple of hours of fun. The games are good just to pass the time while traveling or something, just like the original handhelds and apart from a being a great fan of them, I don't see any reason in buying this game.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 06/08/09

Game Release: Game & Watch Gallery (US, May 1997)