The Golden Age Of Gaming brought many of the characters that we love and play as today to the fold, and many of them shot to fame in the best Game & Watch games.
Mario’s 35th Anniversary has brought these one-title handhelds back to the forefront of the retro gaming scene, and gamers young and old are heading back to check out the ‘original portable console’ out for size. Back before the Gameboy shot to fame, this is what Nintendo’s handheld console series looked like.
There was no cartridge function or the ability to play multiple games. Each handheld had one game on it, and that was that. This meant that if you wanted to play more of the best Game & Watch games, you had to purchase multiple handhelds. It was a great time for collectors, and now some of these single-title handhelds are worth a small fortune!
Table of Contents
1. Super Mario Bros
- Release Date: November 13th, 2020
- Where To Buy: Amazon & eBay
- Our Review: Super Mario Bros. Game & Watch Review
Of course, we had to kick things off with the eagerly awaited Super Mario Bros Game & Watch console, recently announced as part of Mazza’s 35th birthday celebrations! I know that I’ve made a lot of emphasis on these titles only having one game in them, but this brand new classic console remake comes with not one, not two, but three games on it.
Not only that, but you can now experience one of the best Game & Watch games in glorious colour! The Super Mario Bros Game & Watch remake features the original Super Mario Bros adventure as well as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, and Ball (Mario version). It also comes with an updated digital clock too, so you can always find out what time it is no matter when or where you’re gaming!
2. Donkey Kong
- Release Date: 1982
- Units Sold: 8,000,000
- Where To Buy: eBay
Now we’re getting onto the classics! Next up in our list is Donkey Kong, one of my all-time favourite games and a treasured handheld here at Retro Dodo Towers. You’ve all played Donkey Kong, the original arcade classic that sees Mario (a.k.a Jumpman) trying to save his girlfriend from the clutches of Donkey Kong.
Well, this time the ladders and the rolling barrels are here to stay in a multi-screen format that feels like a Nintendo DS with Nintendo’s first ever “cross” DPAD designed by the legendary Gunpei Yokoi. This was the first DPAD Nintendo ever placed on a handheld console.
There are only 4 stages to play through, but it’s a classic hit and one that you should definitely consider adding to your collection. This was also one of the first Widescreen Game & Watch handhelds on the scene too, a fun fact for your next nerdy party.
3. Zelda
- Release Date: 1989
- Units Sold: 250,000
- Where To Buy: eBay
As a die-hard Zelda fan, it gives me great pleasure to talk about the next entry in our list of the best Game & Watch games. Towards the end of the 1980s, Nintendo branched out into a series of dual-screen clamshell Game & Watch handhelds.
Looking at the picture above, it’s not hard to see where the inspiration for the Nintendo DS or the GBA SP came from! This Game & Watch title takes influence from Zelda II: Adventure of Link for the NES, but it’s a fully-fledged original adventure of it’s own, making it a must have for Hero of Time fans out there.
Unlike the DS, however, both screens aren’t in operation at the same time. The player must take Link through a series of chambers on the bottom screen, fighting classic Zelda baddies such as Stalfos and Poes.
When the chamber is complete and key items have been collected, a set of stairs take you up to the top screen where you have to pit your skills against a fire-breathing dragon! How cool is that! Once the game ends, you appear back down on the bottom screen and try to complete the whole thing again, this time faster, all while retaining your high score!
4. Mario’s Cement Factory (Tabletop)
- Release Date: 1983
- Units Sold: 250,000
- Where To Buy: eBay & Forgotten Worlds
Mario’s Cement Factory is another classic that many of you might have played on the GBA Game & Watch Gallery series. Not content with being a plumber, a Kong capturer, or an all-round princess-saving do-gooder, Mario is now trying his hand at running a cement factory, in tabletop form.
And when I’m in control, he’s pretty terrible at it! The player must move Mario along platforms as he transfers cement between funnels and down into trucks. I guess they’re waiting to take it off to make warp pipes or other Mushroom Kingdom landmarks.
Players can increase their scores by succesfully transfering concrete and will lose points if it spills over the edge and falls onto the workers below. That would probably be enough to kill a person in real life, but thankfully, these 4-bit people tend to come out unscathed (or at least not seriously injured).
5. Mickey Mouse
- Release Date: 1981
- Units Sold: 1,200,000
- Where To Buy: eBay & Forgotten Worlds
Mickey Mouse stars in his very own Game & Watch adventure, and not only is it named after him, but it’s in widescreen too! The gameplay is very similar to another Game & Watch title called Egg. Mickey has to catch eggs as they roll down four different slopes.
Sounds easy, even if eggs and mice are the same size! If you let three eggs drop, then it’s game over. A missed egg counts as a point lost, though if Minnie Mouse is peering out of a window to look at Mickey, then you only lose half a point when dropping an egg.
In summary, don’t drop any eggs. As with many of the other best Game & Watch games, the gameplay gets faster and harder as you progress. Try not to get distracted; one false move and you could end up with egg on your face…and your hands, ears, shoes, etc.
6. Mario’s Bombs Away
- Release Date: 1983
- Units Sold: 250,000
- Where To Buy: eBay
Mario’s back to take the Number 9 slot in our list, and this time he’s featuring on a Panoramic Screen! This Mario’s Bombs Away Game & Watch device differed to the other handhelds as it used an unlit colour screen that faced downwards as opposed to towards the player.
This exposed the rear, translucent part of the handheld towards an external light source like a lamp or the sun if you were playing outside during the day. It was a bit of a cool gimmick, but it’s pretty annoying now in our world of backlit modded Gameboy units! Still, the gameplay is exciting. You play as Mario as he moves bombs from one side of the screen to the other.
If you come into contact with oil spills or flaming torches held by the enemy, then it’s game over and goodbye Mario!
7. Crystal Screen Game & Watch Series
- Release Date: 1986
- Units Sold: 250,000 (per game)
- Where To Buy: eBay & Forgotten Worlds
One of the most unique handhelds every created by Nintendo is the Crystal Screen, a Game & Watch titled handheld that features a transparent display where you can literally see your hands through the other side. Pretty cool right, however they are so rare that they can only be found in the hands of avid Nintendo collectors these days.
There were a total three different Crystal Screen’s release in 1986: Super Mario Bros., Climber and Baloon Fight, each featured a transparent shell and a range of buttons. One of them being an action button to typically jump in the games.
Ther were also tiny directional buttons, individually placed, which was the “DPAD” before the real “DPAD” by Gunpei Yokoi. The games were fun, and it was a unique version of the popular handheld series, although because of its display it was easy to be damaged by sunlight, so many still kicking to this day are typically damaged in some way, unless boxed.
Nonetheless, they are still a pleasure to play on and are proof that Nintendo innovated aggressively with their hardware throughout the 80’s.
8. Legend of Zelda Game & Watch
- Release Date: November 2021
- Where To Buy: Amazon & eBay
- Our Review: Legend of Zelda Game & Watch Review
After the huge success of the Super Mario bros. Game & Watch Remake in 2020, Nintendo decided to release another big Game & Watch, this time it featured not one, not two, but three Legend of Zelda games, prebuilt into the console alongside an adorable clock.
This console featured The Legend of Zelda, The Adventure of Link and The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening which you could open up in the main menu individually. Each games ran flawlessly thanks to emulation and on this bright display it’s certainly an incredibly unique way to play some of the best Zelda games.
Because it was a remake the Game & Watch features a large battery that can be charged via USB-C and the clock function has been changed, with new animations, new designs and different noises for you to select, making it a very interesting alarm clock for Nintendo fans.
9. Donkey Kong 3 Micro VS System
- Release Date: 1984
- Units Sold: 250,000
- Where To Buy: eBay
- Our Review: Nintendo Micro VS System Review
Another incredibly unique handheld that has been apart of my collection for many years now is the Micro VS. System, a handheld that features hidden pucl-like controls that can be stored inside the handheld to make it more compact. It’s likely Nintendo took inspiration from this when designing the Nintendo Switch joy-cons too.
The best game on this system is Donkey Kong 3, an update on the classic game, but this time you can play it with a friend using the second controller. The puck attaches using a wire then can be twisted back into the controller so that it doesn’t get tangled when closing the console shell.
Its an incredibly smart design and one that certainly took the Nintendo crowd by storm, another to release other Micro VS. Systems to the market with two player modes such as Boxing (Punch Out!) and Donkey Kong Hockey.
The screen is much smaller and wider than a typical Game & Watch, with a unique design and continuing the ability to transform it into a clock. The only real issue at the time was that the cables could be easily damaged by children, meaning many made it’s way into the bin shortly after launch… probably due to rage quits.
10. Gold Cliff
- Release Date: 1988
- Units Sold: 250,000
- Where To Buy: eBay
GoldCliff was the last Game & Watch to be released (if you don’t count the remakes) and launched in 1988 before the Nintendo team started working on the infamous Game Boy. I think this is one of the better looking Game & Watch’s in terms of colour palletes and icons used.
In GoldCliff you are an archaeologist that climbs up platforms that dissapear in what is an ancient ruin of some sort. You need to grab a key on one side of the screen and take it to the other side in the top corner to progress to the next level. On the last level you take a sword to the top instead where you will be greeted by an enemy which needs to be defeated.
The longer the timer goes on throughout the levels the higher chance of crabs appearing that kill you if touched, so make sure you’re completing the levels in under 30 seconds if you want to miss the crabs. It’s a great game, and one that will certainly please you Indianna Jones fans out there.
