This page explains in detail the interactions between the Game & Watch Gallery series and the Mario series.
Game Boy Gallery[]
April 27, 1995
Game & Watch Gallery
Mario
One of the five games included in Game Boy Gallery is a slightly remade version of Mario's Cement Factory. In this version Mario was removed and replaced by an unnamed character, in fact the game was retitled simply "Cement Factory". Oddly the character actually comes out of one of the cement truks at the bottom as a ball of cement, and then shapes itself into a person.
The gamepay, however remains loyal to the original, and specifically to its Tabletop version, since it features the upper safe spot for the character, as well as the lower one. A notable visual difference is the presence of arrows indicating the movement of the elevators, making moving around possibly easier.
Game & Watch Gallery[]
February 1, 1997
Game & Watch Gallery
Mario
Title screen of Game & Watch Gallery, featuring Mario.
Game & Watch Gallery (known in Japan as Game Boy Gallery 2) features Mario as a host and "Mario" versions of the included games, something that also returns in later series. We consider it an In-universe link because Mario appears outside the featured minigames, so he's considered to exist physically in the Game & Watch Gallery universe. For this reason the Game & Watch Gallery series can be seen as a spin-off of the Mario Series. It may not be considered a spin-off by some however, because while Mario elements are prominent, the series is first and foremost a collection of Game & Watch games, and Game Boy Gallery didn't feature Mario.
Mario himself is featured in the title screen as well as in the "Gallery Corner", while Mario symbols are used to identify the difficulty settings of games, like in Mario Kart, with the Mushroom used for easy mode (corresponding to Type A settings) and the Fire Flower used for Hard Mode (Type B settings). Also Starmen from the Mario series are used in Gallery Corner to indicate unlocked games.
Gallery games[]
While no Mario game is playable, two of them are unlockable in the "Gallery Corner", and are Mario Bros., unlocked after obtaining 800 points in "Classic" Fire, and Mario's Cement Factory, unlocked after obtaining 800 points in "Classic" Octopus.
"Modern" games[]
The "Modern" versions of all four games include characters and elements from the Mario series, with Mario being playable in all of them except Manhole, where the player's character is Yoshi, with Mario only making a small cameo. Also in Fire the player actually controls both Mario brothers. Yoshi also has a supporting role in Oil Panic, where Bowser is the villain and there are cameos of Luigi and Donkey Kong Jr. Peach has a supporting role in Octopus, but makes a cameo in Fire as well. Finally, Toads and Donky Kong Jr. act as pedestrians alongside Mario in Manhole, while they're the people to be saved in Fire, alongside Baby Yoshis. In Fire there also are Yoshi Eggs, Bob-Ombs and Starmen. Finally, 1-Up Hearts from Super Mario Land are featured in all games as bonuses to remove misses. For details about the single games see specific pages:
- Mario elements in Manhole.
- Mario elements in Fire.
- Mario elements in Octopus.
- Mario elements in Oil Panic.
Game & Watch Gallery 2[]
Title screen of Game & Watch Gallery 2, featuring Mario.
September 27, 1997
Game & Watch Gallery
Mario
Like its predecessor, Game & Watch Gallery 2 features Mario as the "host", being in the title screen, as well as in the Gallery corner and in the Museum. Additionally the game also features a Note Board with hints and instructions, featuring Toad as the postman while Mario is seen playing the Game Boy, and there also is a Music Room, where Mario is at the mixer while Luigi plays the trumpet, Peach plays the piano and Toad plays the drums. Like in the previous game, the Gallery features Starmen as the selectable options. Also like the previous game, the Super Mushroom is used to indicate Easy Mode and the Fire Flower to Hard Mode, but now there also is an unlockable Very Hard Mode, indicated by the Starman, still following the difficulty meter from Mario Kart. The Very Hard Mode, as well as the other two modes, return in the later Game & Watch Gallery games.
Finally in the game's credits, unlocked after obtaining 50 stars at games, many characters from the Modern versions of the games are shown, and are Mario, Peach, Yoshi, Luigi, Wario, Donkey Kong Jr. and a Lakitu.
Gallery games[]
The game doesn't include any Mario Game & Watch game, but after collecting 120 stars and connecting the game with Game & Watch Gallery, every Gallery game unlocked in that game will also be available in Game & Watch Gallery 2, including Mario Bros. and Mario's Cement Factory.
"Modern" games[]
The "Modern" versions of all six playable games include characters and elements from the Mario series. Mario is once again the player's character in most of them, but in Chef Peach is playable instead and the Mario Brothers and Yoshi have a supporting role, while in Vermin Yoshi is playable and Mario is nowhere to be seen. Also in Helmet, Wario is a secret playable character. Ball comes in four different "Modern" Modes, each one with a different playable character: Yoshi in Y Mode, Mario in M Mode, Wario in W Mode and Bowser in W Mode. Peach replaces Pauline in Modern Donkey Kong, while Mario enemies replace the Donkey Kong enemies, as well as the moles in Vermin, the obstacles in Helmet and the juggled items and obstacles in Ball. There also are Starmen and coins in some games, while the 1-Up Heart returns in all games to remove a miss. For details about the single games see specific pages:
- Mario elements in Parachute.
- Mario elements in Helmet.
- Mario elements in Chef.
- Mario elements in Vermin.
- Mario elements in Donkey Kong.
- Mario elements in Ball.
Game & Watch Gallery 3[]
August 04, 1999
Game & Watch Gallery
Mario
Title screen of Game & Watch Gallery 3, featuring Mario.
This time the game features a playable Mario game, Mario Bros., and a new gallery game, Super Mario Bros..
Like its predecessors, Game & Watch Gallery 3 features Mario characters and elements in the title screen and menus, but this time it also features a more complex Gallery Corner, made to look like a town from a Mario game, with the player controlling Mario and moving around. Notably, the Note Board is shaped like a Toad House from Super Mario Bros. 3, while the two "Secrets" are rapresented in Gallery Corner as Warp Pipes. Before being fully unlocked, the secrets will be rapresented as hills, and labeled "Under Construction", but selecting thme won't produce any effect. Mario once again guides the player through the Museum, but also appears in the two "Secret" screens, and in the "Gift" screen, where also Peach is, and actually she's the one to describe the unlocked features and give instructions. The Music room once again features mario in the foreground watching the band, but this time there also are Luigi and Wario, that can be selected respectively to change the song's tempo and to add sound effects. The band is composite of Yoshi at the guitar and, like in the previous game, Peach at the piano and Toad at drums. Like in the previous game, the Note Board features Toad giving instructions on how to play the game, but this time there also is Yoshi, giving tips and secrets about them. While Toad is selected, Yoshi plays the Game Boy, somewhat taking Mario's place from the previous game, and while Yoshi is selected Toad sleeps.
Finally, in the game's credits, unlocked after obtaining 50 stars at games, many characters from the Modern versions of the games are seen coming on stage and hitting a POW block from Mario Bros. making the credits appear. These are Yoshi, who throw an egg that then hatches into a Baby Yoshi, then a Shy Guy, Toad, Bowser, who throws a fireball making a Podobo appear, then Donky Kong Jr., Mario, Luigi, Peach, who oddly hits the block with a hammer, a Bullet Bill, and a Nipper Plant. In the end Mario brings flowers to Peach, who rewards him with a kiss.
Mario Bros.[]
The Game & Watch game Mario Bros. is featured as one of the main playable games, available in both "Classic" and "Modern" versions:
"Classic" Version[]
The "Classic" version of Mario Bros. uses the same gameplay and recreates the graphics of the original game, but since it was a Multi-Screen game, both screens are here squeezed into the Game Boy screen. Like all other games, the Super Game Boy border recreates the design of the original game, still adapted to the single screen.
"Modern" Version[]
Artwork for "Modern" Mario Bros.
The "Modern " version of Mario Bros. features improved graphics with Mario and Luigi now fully recogniseable and instead of a bottling plant it takes place in a cake factory. However probably to better use the space of a single screen, this version lacks the animation of Mario and Luigi resting while the truck is away and the foremans talking at them when they get a miss and after a pause. Also the truck is not visible during gameplay, but only when Luigi throws a case to it: the camera then moves to the left showing another screen for a moment. It also features new elements from the Mario series, including Bowser on top of the screen, the cakes coming from a Warp Pipe on the right, and Wario as the truck driver. The background changes significantly if the game is played on a Game Boy Color rather than on a regular Game Boy or Super Game Boy, with the factory being outdoor in on Game Boy Color, and including some used blocks in the left screen. The gameplay is the same from the original with some changes:
- Succesfully throwing a case to the truck is worth 3 points, not just 1.
- Loading five trucks without getting a miss earns the player 30 points. Each loaded truck is represented by a Star on top of the left screen.
- Instead of having all misses cleared at 300 points, or getting double points if the player has no misses, the game rewards the player with a 1-Up Heart at 200, 500 and 700 points, that erases a miss if picked. If the player has no misses the heart just doesn't appear, without giving extra points.
- Occasionally, more frequently on higher diffuculty, Bowser stomps the ground inverting the direction of the conveyor belts. A bell sounds a moment before he stomps, warning the player. Moving a cake from a conveyor belt to another while moving backward is not worth any point, but the player can still get a miss not moving them. The conveyor belts return to their regular direction if one of the Mario Brothers flips one of the two switches at the top and bottom of the screen, or when all cakes return back into the pipe where they came.
- Cakes near the end of the conveyor belt don't disappear after a truck is loaded, unlike in the original game.
- A minor change that affects gameplay is the shape of a coming cake being visible inside the Warp Pipe and it making a noise when the cake comes out, helping the player to get ready for it, unlike the original game.
One last note goes to the official artwork for the game, that shows Mario and Luigi holding a cake with puppet versions of Toad and Peach on it.
Gallery games[]
Super Mario Bros. is unlocked in the Gallery after obtaining 55 Stars in the games. Additionally, like in the previous game, by connecting it with Game & Watch Gallery, every Gallery game unlocked in that game will also be available in Game & Watch Gallery 3, including Mario Bros. and Mario's Cement Factory. These games can all be alternatively unlocked by obtaining 120 stars in games.
"Modern" versions of other games[]
The "Modern" versions of the other four main playable games once again feature elements from the Mario universe, however Egg and Greenhouse are actually based on Yoshi games (see Egg (G&W) X Yoshi and Greenhouse X Yoshi). Also, Mario Bros. is the only game where Mario is playable, the player character being Toad in Turtle Bridge, the titular character in Donkey Kong Jr. and Yoshi in the other two games. Mario only has a supporting role in Donkey Kong Jr. and, alongside Peach in Turtle Bridge. He also appears in Egg, but he does so in his Yoshi's Cookie incarnation. Donkey Kong Jr. features Mario enemies replacing the ones from the original game, while 1-Up Hearts return to remove misses in all games. For more details see specific pages:
Game & Watch Gallery Advance[]
October 25, 2002
Game & Watch Gallery
Mario
Title screen of Game & Watch Gallery Advance, featuring Mario and other charachters.
Like its predecessors, Game & Watch Gallery Advance features Mario characters and elements in the title screen and menus, as well as in "Modern" versions of games. Three Mario games are also included: Mario's Cement Factory, available from the start, the unlockable Mario Bros., that was already featured in Game & Watch Gallery 3, and the museum game Mario's Bombs Away.
This time the Title screen not only shows Mario, but many other characters as well: there are Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Wario, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Peach, two Toads, Bowser, a Koopa Troopa, a Bob-Omb, two Yoshi Eggs, with one partially hatched into a Baby Yoshi, then a Fishin Lakitu holding a Starman, a Goonie and a Nitpicker. Also Mario comes in balancing atop of a circus ball with stars on it, possibly referencing Lemmy Koopa from Super Mario Bros. 3. Additionally the carpet on the ground reads "Mario's Show," this shows the increasingly prominent use of Mario characters in the Game and Watch Gallery series, as "Mario's Show," it could be considered a spin-off of the Mario series, akin to Mario Party.
The game's Gallery Corner this time shows a room with various items, each one corresponding to a specific room, but instead of moving Mario, the player moves both him and Luigi. The Note Board once again features Toad and Yoshi, but their roles are swapped, with Yoshi giving instructions, and Toad giving tips and secrets. They also appear at a carnival, and "Mario's Circus" can be seen written on a sign, while Yoshi's baloons are shaped like a Yoshi Egg, a Super Mushroom, a Starman and a Bob-Omb. The Music room features a giant record player with Mario charging it while selecting the music, and Luigi walking by holding an accordion or some records. As the music plays Mario and Luigi are on top of the giant record playing a drum and a trumpet, respectively. The Present room once again features Mario, but instead of Peach there's Mr. Game & Watch, a character actually first identified in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Also every time a new game is unlocked, it will appear in a "? Block" before being revealed.
Mario's Cement Factory[]
Gameplay scene of "Classic" Mario's Cement Factory.
Mario's Cement Factory is one of the six games available from the start and it's new to the Game & Watch Gallery series.
"Classic" Version[]
"Classic" Mario's Cement Factory is based on the New Wide Screen version of the original game, and features the same gameplay and graphics, also thanks to the sizes of the Game Boy Advance screen being almost exactly the same of a New Wide Screen Game & Watch.
"Modern" Version[]
Mario making a cookie in "Modern" Mario's Cement Factory.
"Modern" Mario's Cement Factory features improved graphics with Mario now fully recogniseable and instead of a cement factory it takes place in a cookie factory, with cookie paste replacing the cement. the trucks are also replaced with Toad on the right, packing up each cookie that falls at him, and Yoshi on the left, eating the cookies instead. If no cookie is given to Yoshi for a while he will get mad, while if no cookie is given to Toad he will fall asleep, but these animations don't affect gameplay. The gameplay is the same from the original with some changes:
- There are more elevators at the same time.
- Walking to a gap between elevators, instead of making Mario fall to the basement and get a miss, it makes Mario fall to the lower elevator, getting a miss only if there are no elevators at lower floors. This also makes it much easier to move downward in the playfield.
- The cookie past falls significantly faster than the cement in the original game.
- Occasionally a Boo enters one of the bottom tanks, occupying one space. It must be sent away by activating the switch, but it doesn't earn any point.
- Instead of having all misses cleared at 300 points, or getting double points if the player has no misses, the game rewards the player with a 1-Up Heart at 200, 500 and 700 points, that erases a miss if picked. If the player has no misses the heart just doesn't appear, without giving extra points. Apart from that the scoring system is unchanged.
Mario Bros.[]
Mario Bros. being unlocked.
Mario Bros. is the second game to be unlocked and becomes available after obtaining 20 stars at games.
"Classic" Version[]
The "Classic" Version of Mario Bros. appears to be based on the version already seen in Game & Watch Gallery 3, with the two screen squeezed in one in almost the same exact way. Despite the Game Boy Advance screen being almost twice as wide as a Game Boy or Game Boy Color screen, the game wasn't re-adapted to better resemble the original, but rather it appears zoomed-in from the previous Classic version. The gameplay is the same, except that packages near the end of a conveyor belt don't disappear after a truck is fully loaded. This is an inaccurancy in the emulation of the game.
"Modern" Version[]
The "Modern" version of Mario Bros. is basically the same of Game & Watch Gallery 3 with only minor changes. The game takes place indoors, like the Game Boy and Super Game Boy version of the previous, however there are three blocks in the left screen, like in the Game Boy Color version. One of the most noticeable change is the Stars indicating how many trucks have already been fully loaded, being replaced with truck symbols. Also the various platforms where the Mario Brothers move may be based on brick blocks from Super Mario Bros. There no longer are spikes on the ground. Wario's look has been updated and he now can be seen climbing the ladder to reach the truck while Luigi throws the fourth and fifth cake to the truck. The only direct change in the gameplay is the bonus for loading five trucks without getting a miss being only 20 points, not 30. Also, since the Game Boy Advance screen is significantly wider than a Game Boy or Game Boy Color screen, the conveyor belts are longer, affecting the gameplay in a way.
Mario's Bombs Away[]
Mario's Bombs Away is unlocked in the museum after obtaining 15 stars at games and it becomes playable after obtaining 100 stars. Like all other secret games, it is only playable in "Classic" mode and you can't earn any star by playing it.
The graphics and gameplay are loyal to the original game, and it's notable for being the only Panorama Screen or Tabletop Game & Watch playable in the whole Game & Watch Gallery series, making it the only playable game to feature colored graphics in the "Classic" version.
"Modern" versions of other games[]
As always, the "Modern" versions of all the other nine main games contain elements from Mario games. The returning Fire, Donkey Kong Jr., Chef, Donkey Kong and Octopus arew the same as in their previous appearance, with only minor changes. About the other four games, Mario is the player's character in Rain Shower and Donkey Kong 3, while it's Luigi in Boxing and Wario in Fire Attack. Boxing and Donkey Kong 3 also feature a two-player mode with respectively Waluigi and Donkey Kong as player 2's character. Mario enemies Wiggler and Big Boo appear as rivals in Boxing, while a Boo is featured in Donkey Kong 3 and Bob-Ombs and Bullet Bills are featured in Fire Attack. Rain Shower features Bowser as the villain and Waluigi as a secondary rival, while Luigi, Toad, Wario, Yoshi, Donkey Kong Jr. and Peach are supporting characters. For details see specific pages:
- Mario elements in Fire.
- Mario elements in Boxing.
- Mario elements in Rain Shower.
- Mario elements in Donkey Kong Jr.
- Mario elements in Donkey Kong 3.
- Mario elements in Chef.
- Mario elements in Donkey Kong.
- Mario elements in Octopus.
- Mario elements in Fire Attack.
License[]
Copyrights for both series are held by Nintendo.