Nintendo will never stop mining its past for new products on a nostalgic basis, but at least it tends to do so with aplomb and, on occasion, even generosity. The former is at least on display with the Super Mario Bros. Game & Watch, a standalone handheld that plays the first Mario game, its incredibly tough sequel to Lost Levels, that acts as a totally inconvenient clock.
This tiny gaming system isn’t the most practical in the world, but it’s a charming piece of hardware that does exactly what it says on the tin.
Turn on Game & Watch with a button on the side and of course you can choose between Game & Watch modes. In Game Mode, you can choose to play the original Super Mario Bros. for NES, the sequel we never got in the US but which ended up being released as The Lost Levels, and a replica of an LCD game The old school in which Mario plays juggles balls at ever faster speeds.
Credit: Devin Coldewey / TechCrunch
The screen, while certainly small, is bright and sharp, and apparently shows the exact pixel dimensions of the original Nintendo game. It plays well too – the controls are responsive, although playing the game on anything other than an original NES controller is strange. Game & Watch’s buttons are a little softer than I’d like them to be – but they were good enough that I got through the first few levels with no real frustration other than my own lack of skill.
While there’s no support for saving or rewinding the game – pretty important to 99 percent of us who can’t honestly beat it – at least you don’t have to try to beat it in one sitting. The game freezes its status when you turn it off or switch to another game or mode. This means you can play a few levels between the subway stations without having to worry about losing your progress.
Credit: Devin Coldewey / TechCrunch
You can also give it back and forth with a friend (after disinfecting, of course) as Player 2 uses the same controls.
The juggling game is a fun little change of pace, but like most of those old-school LCD games, it goes from really boring to almost impossible in 60 seconds.
Credit: Devin Coldewey / TechCrunch
The “Watch” mode has an adorable little brick landscape with the current time, and Mario runs across the screen, stomping on Goombas and avoiding bullet tickets. If you watch for a while, he’ll go for a moon walk, assemble a pipe, and do other hijinks. You can switch the background from normal to hills to mushroom platforms. I wouldn’t use it as a clock, but if you don’t want to pull out your phone while you play, you’re good to go.
At $ 50 it might seem a little steep, and maybe it is. If this had Marios 1 through 3 I would consider it a bargain, especially given the ability to keep coming back to the game – I would love to work my way through the epic third game.
However, it’s difficult to justify the price – except as a gift to a Nintendo-loving friend or loved one, of course. So I suspect these will sell like hot cakes this Christmas season. With no new switch hardware, no N64 mini, and no must-have games on Nintendo’s platforms, things look a bit dry, but a Game & Watch is just silly enough – and decent enough – a device to satisfy the hunger of a retro. minded gamer for a couple of days.