Retro Game Walkthroughs For
"Game and Watch Gallery 4"
(Game Boy Advance)

CPFace presents a guide for:

======================
Game & Watch Gallery 4
======================

Version 0.45

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1. Introduction and Credits
2. FAQ History
3. A tour of the gallery
4. Basic Tips
5. The Headliners
a. Fire
b. Boxing
c. Rainshower
d. Mario's Cement Factory
e. Donkey Kong Jr.
f. Donkey Kong 3
6. Hidden Games
a. Chef
b. Mario Brothers
c. Donkey Kong
d. Octopus
e. Fire Attack
7. Q & A
8. Special Thanks

------------------------------------------------------------

1. Introduction and Credits

Well, here it is, my third game guide ever! I've loved the Game
& Watch
Gallery series since the first time I tried it, and Gallery 4 is
pretty much
an answer to everything I ever wanted from the series. After
racking up a
couple hundred stars and a few thousand points, I thought I'd
rise to the
occasion and make a guide for it, if only to round out G&WG4's
entry at
GameFAQs. Since it /is/ an arcade collection and all, there's
really no way I
can make a "walkthrough" for the game, so here there will be
tips for each
game in the collection, from the six headliners to the Nifty
Nine, as well as
some odds and ends about the collection in general.

Unless otherwise noted, this entire document was written by me,
Edward
Griffiths, and is copyright 2003. It may be freely distributed,
but you are
not allowed to sell a copy of it in any way, nor are you allowed
to use any
material in it for any purpose unless I'm credited as the
original author.

Contact me at [email protected] with questions, comments, and
suggestions.

------------------------------------------------------------

2. FAQ History

(01/07/03) v0.45
First version -- Gallery tour, basic tips, The Headliners,
Hidden Games, and
Q & A added.

------------------------------------------------------------

3. A tour of the gallery

When you start up the game for the first time, your gallery will
be quite
bare. You'll have six games to choose from and a Gallery Corner
that contains
nothing but a Message Board. However, as you play the games and
improve your
scores, you'll earn stars, which will open up new games and
other amusements
in the Gallery. Here's some of the stuff to look forward to:

Message Board
=============

From time to time, messages will pop up containing information
about G&WG4.
They're stored right here, if you ever need to review them.
Game rules pop up
whenever you play a game for the first time, and tips pop up
whenever you fail
to earn 100 points before you get a game over.

Music Room
==========

Here you can listen to any song that you encounter in the game,
be it music
from the Modern modes or incidental tunes played while browsing
the menus.

Gift
====

You're automatically taken here whenever you meet the
requirements to unlock a
new game. Selecting it in Gallery Corner doesn't do anything
except show you
a message from Mario and Mr. Game & Watch encouraging you to
gather more
stars, at least until you unlock the ending...

Game & Watch History
====================

This is a time line showing the title of every Game & Watch game
ever made.
It's a nice handy reference for the curious, even if they got
Mario the
Juggler wrong.

Museum
======

Just like the last three Game & Watch Galleries, you can unlock
a few bonus
titles (the Nifty Nine), which start out as being view-only,
teasing you with
a short demo of what the games look like. Unlike previous Game
& Watch
Galleries, you can actually play them if you get enough stars.

------------------------------------------------------------

4. Basic Tips

Here's a few general tips to keep in mind for just about any
game in the
collection:

-- For games where you only move left and right (Fire, Chef,
Octopus, etc.)
you'll often have the option to move left and right using the B
and A buttons,
respectively. It's usually a good idea to use Left on the
control pad to move
left and the A button to move right. These games require
lightning-fast
reflexes, and having one thumb dedicated to each direction will
improve your
reaction time.

-- Practice, practice, practice. Having so many games on one
cartridge makes
it easy to move on to something else if you're frustrated by a
game, but the
only way to master these things is to play them over and over
until you've
learned how they work.

-- In Modern mode, nothing -- I repeat, NOTHING -- is worth
risking a miss
over. Not even the hearts that clear misses for you. (After
all, what good
will it do if you just get a miss again right away, especially
if you don't
even reach the heart before you get another miss!) You'll get a
lot more
points just by staying alive than you'll get by risking your
life for bonus
items.

-- Most Classic versions don't display the thousands place in
your score.
Many times, if there's a bonus that you can get at a particular
score, you get
the same bonus every 'lap' around the dial. That is, if you get
a bonus at
300 points, you'll probably get the same bonus at 1300, 2300,
3300, etc.

-- With few exceptions, you'll move faster by repeatedly tapping
a directional
button than by holding it down.

-- On the game select screen, leave the cursor on a title
without pressing any
buttons for a while. You'll be treated to a cute little
animation based on
that game. ;)

------------------------------------------------------------

5. The Headliners

And here they are, the first six games you can play:

=======================
a. Fire (1980)
Game & Watch Gallery
=======================

Classic
Difficulty: Hard

Overview
People leap out of a burning building, and you have to catch
them and get them
safely to the ambulance. They bounce every time you catch them,
and you have
to catch them again as they come back to Earth. In Game B,
people will
sometimes leap out of a lower floor of the building.

Scoring
Catching people: 1 point
Misses are cleared at 200 and 500 points.

Tips
-- Learn to spot which person is going to hit the ground first.
As soon as
you catch someone and hear the beep, move to catch the next guy.
This is a
game of rhythm more than anything else; learn to move with the
beat.

-- Get good at moving two spots quickly. One way to do that is
to tap left
and B or right and A almost simultaneously; the game will
register two
movements and take you directly to the other side of the screen.
However, if
you're playing with left and A, you might lose some reaction
time by moving
your thumbs, and it can be a risky maneuver to begin with -- if
you tap the
buttons at exactly the same time, you'll only move one space.
Figure out what
works best for you.

-- There's never a case where two characters fall at exactly the
same time.
If it looks like they are, watch carefully and see which
character is being
updated first; that's the one you have to catch.

-- The people fall in recognizable patterns. Learning these
patterns is
essential to surviving at the higher speeds. If, for example,
you see people
falling in all three positions and notice that the one in the
center has a
slight lead, you know that you can catch them all if you catch
the middle,
then quickly tap left, A, A.

-- Don't watch the bottom of the screen; learn to use sound cues
to figure out
when it's time to move. Keep your attention around the middle
of the screen,
where it's easiest to figure out who's going to land first.

-- The screen doesn't clear when you get a miss. As the miss
animation plays,
you can still move the rescue workers. Use this time to size up
the situation
and move into position to catch the next guy.

-- In Game B, the man on the lower level can be hard to predict.
However, if
someone's leaping out of the level above him, you can be certain
that he won't
leap until that guy passes him and bounces up about halfway to
the top of his
bounce. Even when he does jump, he has two spaces to go before
he hits the
pavement; it's usually not necessary to drop what you're doing
just to catch
him.

-- Play somewhere warm. It's amazing how much cold thumbs will
affect your
reaction time. ;)

My high scores
Easy: 900
Hard: 862

Modern
Difficulty: Moderate

Overview
Toads, Yoshis, and Donkey Kong Juniors leap out of a burning
castle. Mario
and Luigi have to bounce them to the safety of the wagon on the
other side of
the screen. Watch out for Bob-ombs!

Scoring
Catching people: 1 point
Catching an egg: 2 points
Catching a moon: 5 points
Catching a Bob-omb: 0 points
Every 200 points, the background will change.
If you have any misses, Peach will throw a heart onto the screen
at 200, 500,
and 700 points. Catch it to clear one miss.

Tips
-- Most of your strategy from Classic Fire will work here.
Unfortunately, the
bouncing people don't move in quantums anymore, so it'll be
trickier to judge
who's closest to the ground. Keep an eye on the bottom of the
screen;
characters tend to pull ahead of each other suddenly as they
reach the drop
point, especially the ones falling into the leftmost position.

-- Yoshi and Donkey Kong Junior don't necessarily fall faster;
they just don't
bounce as high to begin with. The game is still about catching
the guy who's
closest to the ground; try not to play favorites.

-- Avoid catching the Bob-omb, but don't risk dropping someone
to do so. It's
safe to catch it after the first bounce, as long as you don't
catch it a
second time!

My high scores
Easy: 1173
Hard: 938

=========================
b. Boxing (1984)
Game & Watch Gallery 4
=========================

Classic
Difficulty: Easy

Overview
Two boxers square off in a ring. Hit your opponent to bring
down his stamina,
then deliver a KO blow to finish him off. Watch out; you can
throw punches
high or low, and your opponent can block them or even duck back
out of the
way. Three KOs earn you one star. This game can also be played
two-player
with one cartridge; win or lose, each match you play and finish
earns you one
star.

Scoring
Hitting your opponent removes 1 point from his stamina and one
bar from his
energy meter. Forcing him to the other side of the screen by
clearing his
energy meter removes 3 points. Knocking him down on the left
side of the
screen by clearing his energy meter again removes 5 points the
first time, 6
the second, etc. Knocking him down on the left side of the
screen when his
score is 0 results in a KO.

Tips
-- The CPU opponent is a cinch. Throw a punch that he isn't
going to block
(low if he's guarding high, high if he's guarding low), then
time your next
blow so that you'll hit him as he recovers. If he manages to
hit you, fade
back immediately as you recover, then drive forward with another
punch.

My high score: 15

Modern
Difficulty: Easy

Overview
Luigi's in the boxing ring, going up against Wiggler, Boo, and
Waluigi. Use
your punches to eliminate all their hearts and knock them out.
Three KOs earn
you one star, and each two-player bout earns you another star.

Scoring
Hitting your opponent removes one heart from his energy bar.
Clear all of his
hearts to knock him to the left side of the screen. Clear all
of his hearts
on the left side of the screen to KO him.

Tips
-- The CPU opponents are pushovers. Fade back and take a look
at where your
opponent is guarding. While you're still dodging, press up or
down to aim
where he's vulnerable. Throw a punch as soon as you return.
Whether you hit
or miss, immediately fade back again, and repeat.

My high score: 24

=========================
c. Rainshower (1983)
Game & Watch Gallery 4
=========================

Classic
Difficulty: Moderate

Overview
You've just put your laundry out to dry, and it's started to
rain! As the
rain drops fall, move your clotheslines back and forth to keep
your shirts out
of the way. In Game B, watch out for the crows; they'll move
your
clotheslines when you're not looking.

Scoring
Avoiding a raindrop: 1 point
Every 100 points, raindrops stop falling. When all of the
raindrops on the
screen are gone, the sun comes out and you can take a quick
breather; you also
get a 10 point bonus. This stops happening when you reach 1100
points.
If you have any misses, they're cleared at 300 points. If you
have no misses
at 300 points, you earn double points on everything until you
get a miss.

Tips
-- I count the columns that the drops fall in from 1 to 4,
starting from the
house, on both sides. So, from left to right on the screen,
you have 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4. The parity of a column is whether
it's even or odd.

-- Get comfortable with working the lines and knowing how they
need to be set
up to avoid raindrops from each position. Note that the lines
with one shirt
don't need to be tended to as often; out of the four possible
raindrop
positions, only one will be dangerous to the one-shirt line at
any given time.
Don't play with the one-shirt lines if you don't need to.

-- The action always goes back and forth, from the left side of
the screen to
the right and back again. When you see a drip come, set up the
shirts on that
side of the screen, then switch your attention to the other
side.

-- Hang out at the top of the screen; you'll need to get the
lines at the top
out of the way of falling drops before the ones on the bottom.

-- Note that when the shirts are lined up one over the other,
you'll dodge all
raindrops of a certain parity, either even or odd. When you
have raindrops of
differing parities falling at the same time on one side of the
screen, first
make sure the other side of the screen is safe, then set up both
lines to miss
the first drop. As soon as the first drop falls past the top
line, switch the
top line and move down to the bottom. As soon as the drop falls
past the
bottom line, switch it and move back to the top. Repeat as
needed until all
of the drops have the same parity again. If you get good at
this to the point
where it's automatic, you can keep an eye on the other side of
the screen to
make sure you aren't missing anything.

-- In Game B, a crow will land on a line. Then the drops on
that side of the
screen will move forward one space. Then the crow will switch
the line. Then
the drops will go forward one space again. Remember this and
plan accordingly
when a crow is swooping down. If you know a crow will move a
line into a
position that will get a shirt wet, move it yourself before the
crow gets
there, and he'll move it into a safe position again for you. If
you aren't
sure, stand next to the line and wait for the crow to make his
move. If he
moves a shirt under a drop, quickly move it back to dodge it.
Be careful that
the rest of your shirts are safe while your attention is
diverted!

My high scores
Easy: 1402
Hard: 1088

Modern
Difficulty: Hard

Overview
Bowser is throwing paint balls at Mario's friends. You've got
to pull the
lines they're hanging from back and forth to keep them out of
the way. As
time goes on, more friends join, making things even more hectic.
Catch five
falling moons without getting a miss to turn the tables on
Bowser. In Hard
mode, Waluigi pops up from time to time to mess with your
lines.

Scoring
Missing a balloon: 1 point
Catching a moon: 2 points
Filling your moon meter: 20 points
Every 100 points, the game will stop and Mario will hit a P
switch to turn all
the balloons on-screen into coins. You'll get 10 points
regardless of how
many balloons there are.
At 200, 500, and 700 points, if you have any misses, Lakitu will
drop a heart
in one of the four positions. Move Mario onto the heart to
clear one miss.

Tips
-- A lot of the strategies you used in classic will be important
here too, but
there can be as many as three paint balloons on each side of the
screen at a
time, and the parity changes more often. Each color will fall
in a particular
column -- green is 1, red is 2, black is 3, and blue is 4. Get
in the habit
of spotting the color as it's being thrown to tip you off, then
switch the
characters on the lines to the safe position immediately.

-- A character is safe from a paint balloon as soon as it's past
their head.
Get in the habit of switching them as soon as possible; you'll
have to do a
lot more quick switching than you did in Classic.

My high scores
Easy: 2585
Hard: 1085

================================
d. Mario's Cement Factory (1983)
Game & Watch Gallery 4
================================

Classic
Difficulty: Easy

Overview
Mario's working at a cement factory, and he has to keep the
cement from
spilling. Cement drips into the tanks on the top level, which
have to be
emptied into the tanks on the bottom level. The tanks on the
bottom level
then have to be emptied into the waiting trucks. Don't let any
of the tanks
overfill, and be careful riding the elevators -- don't hit the
bottom floor or
get stuck against the ceiling!

Scoring
Draining one level of cement from the upper tanks: 1 point
Draining one level of cement from the lower tanks: 2 points
If you have any misses, they're cleared at 300 points. If you
have no misses,
you earn double points until you get a miss.

Tips
-- Be patient and play conservatively. Don't go racing for an
elevator; if
you keep all of the tanks empty on a regular basis, you can
afford to wait for
the next one. In general, it's safe to dash two spaces before
the elevators
move again, but don't count on them to stay put long enough to
make a dash all
the way to the other side of the elevator shaft; ride up or down
until another
elevator appears in the next space over, then ride it back to
the level you
wanted to get to.

-- Try to visit all of the tanks, one after the other, and get
rid of any
cement they may be holding. It's easiest if you visit them all
in a
counterclockwise circle. The game moves slowly enough that you
should be able
to spot any situations that need special attention long before
they become a
problem. For example, if you notice a tank on the other side of
the screen is
about to receive its third level of cement, you should be able
to get over to
it and empty it long before a fourth one arrives.

-- If you need to cross to the other side of the screen, make
sure you step
onto an elevator before the elevators on the other side of the
screen
'click' -- that is, as soon as possible after an elevator
arrives. If you
make a point of always doing this, you'll find that there'll
always be an
elevator on the other side of the shaft that you can safely hop
onto without
hitting the ceiling or the floor, and you'll never have to use
the safety spot
at the bottom of the left shaft. I'd advise against using it
anyway,
especially in Game B; it can be very tricky to plan it so that
you can hop
onto the next up elevator to take you out again.

-- If you've emptied a tank on the top level and you see another
load of
cement coming toward it, it's a good idea to wait for that load
to arrive and
dump it before going on to the next tank -- it's harder to
control when
cement will arrive in the top tanks, so it's best to keep them
as clear as
possible. Of course, if the tank below is full, you should drop
everything
and empty that as soon as possible first. ;) And don't
hesitate if there's an
emergency on the other side of the screen that needs to be
addressed; you
should be able to take care of it and return long before that
empty tank gets
all filled up again.

My high scores
Easy 1224
Hard 1010

Modern
Difficulty: Easy

Overview
Mario's working at a haunted cookie factory. Empty the cookie
dough from the
tanks on the top floor into the ovens below, then drop the
finished cookies to
the ground floor for Yoshi and Toad to take care of. Be careful
on the
elevators, and watch out for mischevious ghosts who'll hide in
the ovens!

Scoring
Dropping dough into the oven: 1 point
Dropping dough onto Yoshi or Toad: 2 points
If you have any misses at 200, 500, or 700 points, a heart will
appear. Grab
it to clear one miss.

Tips
-- The things you learned in Classic mode still apply -- keep
regular rounds,
and watch out for sudden emergencies. The vats seem to fill a
bit faster, but
Mario has a little more mobility to make up for it.

-- Mario can fall safely to a lower level in Modern mode, so
take advantage of
gaps when you need to get to a lower level quickly. Just make
sure there's an
elevator to catch you; you can still die by slipping to the
bottom of the
shaft. Also, you can switch elevators between stops. Hop off
the elevator as
soon as you can.

-- Be a little more conservative and cautious in Hard mode --
gaps between
elevators appear more frequently, and the elevators don't stay
put as long
between stops.

-- The ghosts add a new wrinkle to the game, but it's generally
not worth the
trouble to go out of your way to get rid of them unless they're
mixed in with
some dough. You never get more than one ghost on a side, so
having a ghost is
at least a guarantee that nothing unexpected is going to happen
to the oven on
that side. Your focus should still be on making sure the vats
on the upper
floor stay as empty as possible, taking quick excursions below
to clear out
the cookies. Ghosts only appear on the opposite side of the
screen, so at
least you don't have to worry about one sneaking in while you're
dumping
dough.

My high scores
Easy 1011
Hard 1024

=========================
e. Donkey Kong Jr. (1982)
Game & Watch Gallery 3
=========================

Classic
Difficulty: Hard

Overview
Mario has kidnapped Donkey Kong, and now it's up to Donkey Kong
Junior to
rescue him. Make your way up to Donkey Kong's cage, avoiding
the snapjaws and
birds along the way. Time your jump carefully to grab the key
and use it to
unlock the cage.

Scoring
Jumping over a snapjaw: 1 point
Hitting a snapjaw on the top level with a fruit: 3 points
Hitting a bird with a fruit: 6 points
Hitting a snapjaw on the bottom level with a fruit: 9 points
Snagging the key: 15 points or less (varies by how long you
take)
Freeing Donkey Kong: 15 points
If you have any misses at 300 points, they're cleared. If you
have no misses
at 300 points, you earn double points until you get a miss.

Tips
-- Make the transition to the upper level as quickly as
possible, then jump up
to the safe spot on the vine. You're very vulnerable while
going up the
double vines; you have to wait for the snapjaws to pass and hope
the birds
don't come after you.

-- On the lower level, try not to jump up into the spots where
you can't hang
from the vines; you can't control when you come back down if
you're just
dangling in the air like that, which makes the birds a big
risk.

-- On the lower level, if snapjaws are coming one right behind
the other and
there are birds overhead, it's generally safest to retreat until
the birds
pass overhead, then jump up to a vine until the snapjaws leave.

-- There's a very cheap way to earn stars in this game: just get
to the upper
level and jump over snapjaws one after the other. It's slow,
but infinitely
easier than trying to maneuver through the lower level at the
higher speeds.

My high scores
Easy 1006
Hard 820

Modern
Difficulty: Moderate

Overview
Mario has kidnapped Donkey Kong, and it's Junior to the rescue.
Find the key
somewhere on each level, then make your way to Donkey Kong's
cage to unlock it
and release him. Watch out for the goombas, nipper plants, and
Bullet Bills.

Scoring
Stomping a goomba: 1 point
Jumping over an enemy: 1 point
Bringing the key to Donkey Kong's cage: 15 points and down
(varies depending
on how long you take)
Freeing Donkey Kong: 15 points
If you have any misses at 200, 500, or 700 points, a heart
appears. Snag it
to clear a miss.

Tips
-- Give the enemies a wide berth; this game is absolutely cruel
about
collision detection. Slightly grazing an enemy will give you a
miss. If you
see an enemy emerging from a pipe, it's generally prudent to
retreat and get
ready to dodge it. Trying to sneak under an emerging enemy to
leap to Donkey
Kong's platform is a bad idea. Even if it's not touching you
when you're
standing still, chances are it'll touch you when you make that
leap.

-- The enemies vanish whenever you get a key to Donkey Kong's
platform. Take
advantage and dash as quickly as you can through the beginning
of the stage
before more enemies show up.

-- Unlike most Game & Watch games, you can continue to move just
by holding
down a direction; you don't need to tap for each quantum. Also,
Up on the
control pad doubles as a jump. Take advantage as necessary.

-- In the first stage, dash as fast as you can and climb up onto
the second
level right away. Watch out for goombas as you climb the vine
to the third
level; you're only safe from them when you're at the very top,
which is a full
four quantums from the ground; the third and fourth positions
aren't very far
apart, but they make all the difference. (I told you the
collision detection
was cruel.)

-- In the second stage, the quickest way to the key is to hop up
one quantum,
slide all the way to the left, go up one quantum to get the key,
slide back
down one quantum, then slide all the way back to the right, all
the way to the
top, and hop onto the nipper plants' platform when the coast is
clear. In
other words, stay low until you're sure you know what those
plants are going
to do, then book it to the top when you see your opportunity.
And beware the
Bullet Bills, which seem to be everywhere in this stage. Note
that you are
/not/ safe from the nipper plants at the very top of the double
vines on the
right side of the screen.

-- The third stage is very similar to the first, complete with
the misleading
length of the vine that leads to the third level. The biggest
difference, and
the thing you need to watch out for, is the one-two punch of
nipper plants and
goombas on the second level. If they both come at you at once,
retreat a bit.
Usually the nipper plant will stop and take a dive, giving you
the opportunity
to stomp the goomba in peace. If the goomba gets there first
though, you can
stomp it and avoid the nipper plant as usual -- stand next to it
and watch it
dive, or else go under it as it jumps.

My high scores
Easy 1130
Hard 1266

=========================
f. Donkey Kong 3 (1984)
Game & Watch Gallery 4
=========================

Classic
Difficulty: Easy

Overview
Stanley the Bugman and Donkey Kong square off in a greenhouse
full of bees.
Catch drips of insecticide and use them to blow the bees at your
opponent.
The game can be played with two players as well, earning you one
star for each
match.

Scoring
Hitting a bee with a cloud of insecticide: 1 point
Getting Donkey Kong stung: 10 points

Tips
-- The bees move too erratically to reliably aim for them. The
best strategy
is simply to keep as many clouds of insecticide moving toward
Donkey Kong as
possible, and the best way to do that is to fire one shot, lean
back to catch
a drip, fire another shot, and repeat endlessly. Don't ever
completely empty
your tank; there'll be times when you'll need an extra shot for
an emergency.

My high score: 1001

Modern
Difficulty: Moderate

Overview
Mario and Donkey Kong face off in a haunted house. Catch drips
of bubble
solution and blow bubbles at the ghost and fireball hovering in
the center of
the room to push them toward your opponent. Watch out, because
Boo will come
after you if you turn your back too long! This is another
two-player game,
and you earn one star for each game.

Scoring
Hitting Boo or the fireball with a bubble: 1 point
Getting Donkey Kong hit by Boo or the fireball: 10 points

Tips
-- The exact same strategy applies. The fact that Boo will
travel towards you
of his own volition actually doesn't make a difference as much
as you'd think
it would. He doesn't start moving the exact instant you turn
your back. If
you get a good rhythm going, you can spit a bubble, catch a
drip, spit a
bubble, catch a drip, etc. and he'll never even have time to
start moving
towards you. Just keep that stream of bubbles moving.

My high score: 1616

------------------------------------------------------------

6. Hidden Games

Rack up the points in the first six games, and you should have
these five
classics available in no time:

=========================
a. Chef (1981)
Game & Watch Gallery 2
=========================

Classic
Difficulty: Hard

Overview
You're a short-order chef, and you're trying to cook three
pieces of meat at
once. Flip them in the air repeatedly with your skillet, and
don't let them
hit the floor. Keep an eye out for the cat on the left side of
the screen;
he'll grab a sausage and drop it when you aren't looking. In
Game B, you have
to keep four pieces of food in the air at once.

Scoring
Flipping a piece of food: 1 point
Misses are cleared at 200 and 500 points.

Tips
-- This is one tough cookie, no matter how you look at it. Your
best weapons
are going to be practice and experience. Like Fire, you have to
watch for
which piece is going to land first. Unlike Fire, the heights
they flip up to
are random, and you never know when a piece is going to start
coming back to
earth. You need to get a feel for when the pieces are likely to
change
direction and what you're going to do about it when they do.

-- When in doubt, favor the left-hand side of the screen.
Pieces are updated
from left to right.

-- Since the flip heights are random anyway, the cat on the left
hand side of
the screen is mostly a psychological annoyance; what difference
does it make
if the piece of food gets held in the air for a long time or if
it just has
an especially long flip? Of course, you should be on your guard
and ready to
catch it when it drops. Favor the piece of meat on the
right-hand side of the
screen over a piece being held when it comes within two quantums
of the
bottom.

-- The lowest possible flip is two quantums. Use that to your
advantage, if
you can. :)

My high scores
Easy: 1109
Hard: 1012

Modern
Difficulty: Moderate

Overview
Peach is flipping up a small banquet, and Yoshi is eating it.
Catch food in
your skillet to flip it and cook it, then let Yoshi catch it.
Don't let
anything hit the ground!

Scoring
Flipping a piece of food: 1 point
Feeding Yoshi raw food: 1 point
Feeding Yoshi cooked food: Varies
Feeding Yoshi burnt food: 1 point
Hatching a Yoshi egg: 20 points
If you have any misses at 200, 500, and 700 points, a heart is
thrown out into
the game. Catch it to clear one miss.

Tips
-- Don't trust Yoshi to do a lot of quick maneuvers for you. If
he's growing
up or laying an egg, he'll stay in one spot instead of following
you. (He'll
still eat anything that lands on top of him; he just won't
move.) If two
pieces of food are falling for your skillet almost on top of
each other and
you want Yoshi to eat the second but not the first, it's safest
to just flip
them both anyway; it takes Yoshi a split-second to move, which
may be just
enough time for the second piece of food to hit the ground if
you try and
switch directions in between. Don't let him eat burned food
(he'll be
temporarily stunned) and don't let him catch your hearts (he'll
stand still
for a moment and look cute).

-- If a piece of food burns, keep flipping it until it
disappears.

-- Make good use of the A button to turn around. A lot of the
time, all
you'll have to do is stand between two columns and flip back and
forth to
catch everything.

My high scores
Easy: 1129
Hard: 4456

=========================
b. Mario Brothers (1983)
Game & Watch Gallery 3
=========================

Classic
Difficulty: Easy

Overview
Mario and Luigi have to work together to move the parts up
through a series of
conveyor belts and pack them up on the truck for delivery.

Scoring
Catching a part: 1 point
Filling a truck: 10 points
If you have any misses at 300 points, they're cleared. If you
have no misses,
you'll earn double points until you get a miss.

Tips

-- You need to get the controls down pat if you want to do well
in this one.
It helps me to remember how A and B work if I realize that the B
button is
slightly lower than the A button on the face of the controller.

-- If nothing's moving in Mario's direction, put him at the
bottom of the
ladder; the part that comes off the first belt doesn't have far
to go before
Mario has to snatch it, so it's good to keep him prepared when
you can. Favor
a new part entering the game over just about anything else.

-- Use the break time between trucks to figure out where Mario
and Luigi have
to go when things get moving again.

-- Watch the center of the screen -- the ones that emerge first
are the ones
you have to worry about first.

-- Whatever pattern Mario does to catch the parts, Luigi will
have to repeat
on the other side of the screen.

-- The action tends to move from one side of the screen to the
other. When
you've got one brother in a situation where it's safe to leave
him and he'll
do his thing automatically (if he's lined up with the only belt
that's moving
things to his side at the time), focus your attention on the
other brother.
Of course, this turn-around comes faster and more frequently at
higher scores
and in Game B.

-- Play with a friend! The Game Boy Advance is wide enough to
give two people
a grip and still let them see the screen. ;)

My high scores
Easy: 1010
Hard: 1014

Modern
Difficulty: Easy

Overview
Mario and Luigi are in a cake factory, and Bowser's the foreman!
Move the
cakes up to Wario's truck, but take heed when the chimes sound
-- Bowser's
about to reverse the conveyors. Hit a switch to put things back
to normal.

Scoring
Catching a cake: 1 point
Getting a cake to the van: 3 points
Filling up the van: 10 points
Getting five van marks: 20 points
If you have any misses at 200, 500, or 700 points, a heart
appears. Snag it
to clear a miss.

Tips
-- Since the cakes' movement isn't quantized, you'll start to
get some cakes
that arrive at very nearly the same time. Take advantage of the
fact that they
can safely hang for /just/ a second at the end of the conveyor
-- grab the
first cake, wait a split second, then grab the second. Their
arrival will be
spaced out a bit more for the rest of the trip, which should
give you a break.
But don't wait too long!

-- If there's a cake near the edge of the conveyor belt --
either about to be
put on or about to be taken off -- when Bowser changes the
directions, it may
be a good idea to let things back up a bit before you hit the
switch, to give
yourself time to get readjusted when things get back to normal.
Cakes moving
in the opposite direction will be picked up and returned again
as normal
during this time. Otherwise, just try and hit the switch as
soon as possible;
ideally, get one of the Mario Brothers near a switch when you
hear the warning
sound, then quickly tap the direction to change the switch back
just as Bowser
lands.

My high scores
Easy: 1012
Hard: 1014

=========================
c. Donkey Kong (1982)
Game & Watch Gallery 2
=========================

Classic
Difficulty: Moderate

Overview
Donkey Kong has kidnapped the beautiful Pauline and taken her to
the top of a
construction site! It's up to Mario to climb the scaffolding
and leap to her
rescue. Hit the switch to start the crane, and leap up to
remove a rivet from
Donkey Kong's perch. Remove them all to send him tumbling and
rescue Pauline!

Scoring
Jumping over a barrel on the first level: 1 point
Jumping over a barrel on the second level: 2 points
Reaching Donkey Kong: Varies
Knocking Donkey Kong down: 20 points
At 300 points, you get an extra life; this is the only Game &
Watch I know of
where you can exceed the original three lives. If you didn't
lose a life
before 300 points, you earn double points until you get a miss.

Tips
-- You can hit B to switch which screen gets squashed in the
display.
Personally, I've always found the switch to be too distracting
to be worth the
graphical boost it gives you. I suggest picking one display and
sticking with
it the entire game.

-- The Donkey Kong Junior trick -- jump over barrels forever --
doesn't work
here. The longer it takes you to get to Donkey Kong's platform,
the faster
everything gets. Eventually, the barrels get so fast that the
next one will
be on top of you before you even land. All in all, it's easier
to do this one
legitimately.

-- If you get a miss, try and wait for a good opportunity to
return to the
game before you hit A to start your next chance; no sense
getting a miss again
right away.

-- On the first level, wait in the first empty space until the
coast is clear,
then run to the next empty space. If the barrels on the level
above are two
quantums apart, stay in that safe spot and keep jumping barrels;
you'll never
make it to the upper level if they're that close together.
Watch to see if
any beams are coming, then scoot up to the upper level once the
barrel above
you moves off the edge of the platform.

-- Second level's the real challenge here, especially on Game B,
all because
of those beams that are moving overhead. Remember that the
beams don't move
as fast as the barrels -- they only move on every other click.
If there's a
lot of them coming all at once, it might be best to retreat back
to the second
safe spot on the lower level and jump the barrels there until
the coast is
clear. Try and get to the second safe spot on the upper level
while you're
waiting to jump the barrels coming at you; if a beam is coming
at the same
time as a barrel, you'll lose less ground if you can just back
up to the
previous safe spot to dodge it than if you had to back up all
the way to the
lower level. Get all the way to the left, then jump onto the
ladder when a
beam isn't coming.

-- The hardest part about the third level is just getting up
there; while
you're on that ladder, you've got the beams to watch out for on
one side and
the barrels on the other, plus you have the handicap that your
attention is
divided between the two screens here. Just wait for the barrel
on the upper
level to pass by, then get up to the first position on the upper
screen; you'll
be safe there for just a moment. At this point, Donkey Kong
might try to pin
you down by sitting on the left side of the screen and just
throwing barrel
after barrel at you, especially in Game B. Don't panic -- just
wait until a
barrel is directly overhead, then scoot up and to the right.
Try to draw
Donkey Kong over to the right side of the screen. When he
starts throwing
barrels over there, go back over to the switch. Ideally, you
want to wait
until DK takes a break from throwing barrels so that you can tap
left to hit
the switch, tap right twice, and hit A to nab the crane before
it even starts
moving. If Kong starts throwing some more barrels after you hit
the switch,
all you can do is dodge them and wait. The crane pauses just a
second longer
in the position where you can grab it, but be careful anyway.

My high scores
Easy: 3556
Hard: 870

Modern
Difficulty: Moderate

Overview
Donkey Kong has kidnapped Peach, and Mario's off to the rescue.
Hit the
switch to activate the secret platform that will take you up to
Donkey Kong's
perch, and persue him through three different worlds.

Scoring
Jumping over a barrel: 1 point
Stomping a Koopa: 5 points
Reaching Donkey Kong: Varies
Finishing a level: 15 points
If you have any misses at 200, 500, or 700 points, a heart
appears. Snag it
to clear a miss.

Tips
-- There's a very cheap way to get a lot of points in this game,
of course --
just stand on the lower platform, jump over the barrels, and
stomp the koopas.

-- Anything that Mario can grab and hang from is temporary; stay
too long, and
it vanishes for a short time. In general, don't stay in the air
any longer
than you have to.

-- If Mario jumps into the pipe at the same time as a barrel,
they'll miss
each other.

-- All of the levels are laid out pretty much the same; the only
difference is
how Mario reaches Kong when the switch is flipped. In the first
and second
level, the platforms move differently, but the idea is the same:
wait for it
to reach the right edge of the upper platform, then hit A to
jump to it. Wait
for it to move under the door, then jump up to reach it. The
third level's a
bit trickier. The first time you go up, hop three times as
quick as you can
from the upper platform to get up; both clouds shake at the same
time. After
that, you want to hop to the first cloud, wait for the second
cloud to shake,
then hop twice before the first cloud starts to shake.

-- Don't count on Mario to make any sudden hops; it seems like
it takes a
little bit for him to "settle" in a new position before he can
make a jump.
So beware!

-- Watch out for the paratroopas that sail past the upper level.
On Easy,
they go straight across, but on Hard, they hop up and down.
Watch for the
place it'll land, and jump over it or scoot under it when it's
in the air.

-- Even though you can jump over the barrels by leaping into an
empty spot,
it's generally better to stand under a rope when you need to
dodge a lot of
barrels. You never know when you'll need that extra hang time
to dodge what's
coming up, and you can just press down right away to drop down
if you need
to -- it's even possible to drop down before Mario even starts
clinging to the
vine.

My high scores
Easy: 1008
Hard: 1022

=======================
d. Octopus (1981)
Game & Watch Gallery
=======================

Classic
Difficulty: Moderate

Overview
There's a sunken treasure being guarded by a giant octopus.
Avoid the
tentacles as you dive down to gather the riches and return them
to your boat.
In Game B, the tentacles don't always retract all the way.
Don't let it
throw off your timing!

Scoring
Grabbing a piece of treasure: 1 point
Returning to your boat: 3 points
Misses are cleared at 200 and 500 points

Tips
-- Use the shadows to your benefit; you can see where each
tentacle is going
to strike and plan your moves accordingly.

-- Don't get greedy. The right side of the screen is a very
dangerous place
to be; when all the tentacles are extended at the same time, the
only safe
spots are on the left side of the screen. My strategy is to
hang out on the
left side of the screen, make a dash to the treasure when the
three tentacles
on the right are rising, grab a couple pieces of treasure, then
return to the
boat. Some people think that there's no point in returning to
the boat since
you only get three points, no matter how much treasure you
collected. I say
it's the easiest three points you'll get in this game, and it
provides some
valuable breathing time to boot. At the higher speeds, it's
certainly safer
to snag one piece of treasure and take it back to the boat than
to sit there
and try to get three more. Of course, if the tentacles have you
trapped
against the right edge of the screen, you might as well take all
the treasure
you can carry.

-- When you're ready to get to the treasure chest, make sure the
second
tentacle from the right is on its way back up. This will make
the second
position from the right safe for as long as possible, so you'll
have
somewhere to retreat to if that last tentacle starts coming down
to get you.
When you see that second tentacle from the right starting to
come down, make
plans to get yourself out of there.

My high scores
Easy: 1002
Hard: 894

Modern
Difficulty: Moderate

Overview
Mario must explore the deep to recover the sunken treasure.
Watch out for the
giant octopus guarding the riches; his tentacles and blasts of
ink will stop
you in your tracks! The more treasure you carry, the slower
you'll go, but
you can also throw it at the octopus to stun his tentacles.

Scoring
Getting a piece of treasure: 1 point
Returning to the ship: 2 points for every piece of treasure you
got
If you have any misses at 200, 500, or 700 points, a heart
appears. Snag it
to clear a miss.

Tips
-- Learn where the tentacles can reach you. The top one only
goes to the top
of the rope, the next one only to the bottom of the rope and the
ground next
to the rope, the next one only to the two positions on the
ground, and the
last one only to the treasure. Once you see which position a
tentacle is
going to, you know its other position is safe.

-- Unlike in most of the Modern games, Mario doesn't zip from
one position to
the next like Mr. Game & Watch, especially when he's loaded down
with
treasure. You can't change directions very quickly, so be sure
to look before
you move.

-- Try to travel light. You don't get any bonus points for
carrying a lot of
gold; bringing in seven pieces of gold in one trip is the same
as bringing in
one piece of gold each trip for seven trips. At the higher
scores, never grab
more than three pieces of treasure at a time. In Hard mode, you
should
generally try for only two.

My high scores
Easy: 1000
Hard: 1000

=========================
e. Fire Attack (1982)
Game & Watch Gallery 4
=========================

Classic
Difficulty: Hard

Overview
Defend your fort! Flying torches and assailants come at you
from four
directions. Whack them all with your mallet to keep them at
bay.

Scoring
Hitting a torch or enemy: 2 points
Misses are cleared at 200 and 500 points. If you have no
misses, a brief
bonus period begins where you get 5 points for every hit. It
ends if you get
a miss during this time.

Tips
-- There's not really any real trick to Fire Attack -- it's just
a really
tough egg to crack. Play and practice, and try to anticipate
where your next
attack will come from. Try and hit all enemies in the order
they arrive; you
can't really get away with leaving an enemy alone, especially at
the higher
scores.

-- The objects are updated in this order: left torch, right
torch, left enemy,
right enemy. If it looks like two enemies or two torches are
coming at the
same time, favor the one on the left. If an enemy and a torch
are coming at
the same time from opposite corners, favor the object coming
from the right.

-- Learn to use those shoulder buttons!

My high scores
Easy: 895
Hard: 771

Modern
Difficulty: Moderate

Overview
Wario must defend his most prized possession -- a giant golden
statue of
himself. Whack the Bob-ombs and Bullet Bills that try to blow
him sky-high,
and keep an eye out for tomatoes and chickens, worth bonus
points.

Scoring
Hitting a Bullet Bill or Bob-omb: 2 points
Standing next to a chicken: 5 points
Catching a tomato: 7 points
If you have any misses at 200, 500, and 700 points, a heart will
fly toward
you. Catch it to clear a miss.

Tips
-- You can smack the enemies a split second before they arrive.
And you
should.

-- The tomatoes are a big bonus, but it takes them slightly
longer to reach
your mouth. Don't neglect an approaching enemy just to catch
one!

-- If a Bob-omb and a Bullet Bill appear at the same time, it's
generally
better to go after the Bullet Bill first; it seems like they
don't have as far
to go.

My high scores
Easy: 1000
Hard: 1019

And that's as far as I got. :) Get practicing, rack up some
stars, and start
unlocking those museum games! In the next update, I'll have
some strategies
for the Nifty Nine, and anything I may have forgotten in the
first eleven
games.

============
SPECIAL NOTE
============

I was so excited about all the stuff I was unlocking the first
time I played
through this game, I didn't take notice of how many stars it
took to unlock
everything. First person to send me a list of all the star
milestones gets
credit for it -- provided, of course, that you assembled it
yourself. ;)

------------------------------------------------------------

7. Q & A

Questions are welcomed -- send them to [email protected], and
make sure to
include "Game & Watch" in the title of your e-mail. If it's not
answered
somewhere else in the guide, it'll be answered here.

Q: How do you earn stars in the games?

A: Stars are based on your high score, and they do not
accumulate. So, if you
get 800 points, you'll have 4 stars for that game. If you play
again and get
200 points, you'll still only have 4 stars; you'll need to score
1000 to get
all five stars. The only exception is in the two-player modes;
you'll get an
additional star for every game you play, no matter who wins.
And, of course,
Boxing awards stars for every 3 KOs you get (non-accumulative).

------------------------------------------------------------

8. Special Thanks

So very many thanks go to Voodoo Chile, who inspired my love of
the
Game & Watch series with his glowing reviews of the games way
back on the
dearly departed Game Boy Station. I never would have known what
I was missing
if it hadn't been for him.

Thanks of course to Nintendo. Say what you will about their
quick rehashes,
but it takes a lot of guts to keep releasing the antiquated Game
& Watch
games, especially on a system with more power than the Super
NES. And I
couldn't be happier that they did.

Thanks to Gamefaqs, without question. They make it look so easy
to keep
something this big and all-encompasing afloat. You've got to
admire that.

And thanks to everyone for reading my Zelda DX and Warioland II
guides. If I
hadn't gotten such a good response from them, this guide
probably never would
have happened.