Game & Watch Gallery 4
| Game & Watch Gallery 4 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 North American box art For alternate box art, see the game's gallery. | |||
| Developer | TOSE Software Co. | ||
| Publisher | Nintendo | ||
| Platform(s) | Game Boy Advance, Virtual Console (Wii U) | ||
| Release date | Game Boy Advance: Template:Release Virtual Console (Wii U): Template:Release[?] | ||
| Genre | Platformer | ||
| Rating(s) |
| ||
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer | ||
| Input | Wii U:  Wii Remote (horizontal)Game Boy Advance:
| ||
- Everyone
Game & Watch Gallery 4, known as Game & Watch Gallery Advance in Europe and Australia and Game Boy Gallery 4 (ゲームボーイギャラリー4 Gēmu Bōi Gyararī 4) in Japan, is the fourth in a series of compilations of the classic Game & Watch games made between 1980 and 1991, and the only one to be released on the Game Boy Advance. Like the previous incarnations in the series, the featured games have both Classic modes, which attempt to recreate the looks of the original units as faithfully as possible, and Modern modes, which feature Mario characters along with all-new graphics, all-new gameplay, and music. The Japanese version was originally unpublished, then released on the Wii U's Virtual Console in 2016.
Stars
Like all other games in the series, Game & Watch Gallery 4 features a system to unlock bonus features. As before, every 200 points in the high score for a game earns the player one star, up to five per game mode. A high score between 200 and 399 is worth one star, 400–599 is two stars, 600–799 is three stars, 800–999 is four stars, and 1,000 and above is five stars. Each game counts its stars separately (for example, the player cannot earn 150 points in one game and 250 points in another and earn two stars for the cumulative total), and the total (up to 220) is what unlocks new features in the game.
Gallery Corner
The Gallery Corner is where most special features are unlocked. These include a sound test, a Game & Watch timeline, the credits, and nine games (listed below). However, the games must, in essence, be unlocked twice—the first time a game is unlocked, the player is treated to a short write-up on the game and a video of the game in action. Later on, the player can unlock playable versions. After 160 stars have been collected, Link becomes playable in the final unlockable game, Zelda.
Games
Game & Watch Gallery 4 features 11 Game & Watch titles in its main roster of playable games, six of which are available from the start and five of which are unlocked by obtaining stars. Five of the games are new, while six return from the previous Game & Watch Gallery compilations, two from each one: Fire and Octopus from the first game, Chef and Donkey Kong from the second, and Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong Jr. from the third. Additionally, nine extra games are accessible from the Museum and are unlocked initially for viewing, but eventually if a set number of stars is collected, they can be played in Classic Mode only.
Primary games
These games are playable from the beginning.
- Fire – Mario and Luigi must bounce their friends to safety after they jump out the window of Princess Peach's burning castle. In Classic Mode, two firemen are helping pedestrians escape from a burning apartment, but if any of the pedestrians fall on the ground, the player receives a miss.
- Boxing* – Luigi must KO his opponents (Wiggler, Big Boo, and Waluigi) before they KO him. A star is earned for every three KOs.
- Rain Shower – Mario must move his friends away from the water balloons dropped by Bowser in Modern Mode. Also, on Hard Mode, Waluigi occasionally moves the ropes around to make things harder for Mario. In Classic Mode, a boy is trying to keep his clothes dry from the rain. On Hard Mode, crows move the clotheslines around, much like Waluigi. If a shirt gets hit, the boy wrings it out and the player gets a miss.
- Mario's Cement Factory – In the Modern version, Mario and company are working in a cookie factory, with the cement factory present only in Classic Mode.
- Donkey Kong Jr. – Donkey Kong Jr. must collect keys to free his dad, which he does later in Donkey Kong II.
- Donkey Kong 3* – Mario must shoot bubbles to move fireballs and Boos towards Donkey Kong. In Classic Mode, Stanley must send the bees towards Donkey Kong.
In the games marked with a *, the Hard mode (Game B) is replaced with a two-player mode. Each time a game is played with two players, a star is earned regardless of the winner.
Secondary games
These games are unlocked by obtaining stars. They are listed in the order in which they will be unlocked.
- Chef – Peach must cook food thrown into the air by the Mario Bros. and feed it to Yoshi. In Classic Mode, the player controls a chef, who is trying to keep food from falling to the floor. However, a cat sometimes interferes, and if a piece of food touches the floor, a mouse grabs it and the player gets a miss.
- Mario Bros. – Mario and Luigi try hard to make cakes in a factory, while Bowser tries to stop them. In Classic Mode, Mario and Luigi prepare packages of bottles that go up every time they touch one. If a pallet falls to the floor, either Mario or Luigi gets disciplined by their boss, causing the player to get a miss.
- Donkey Kong – Mario must avoid falling barrels and Koopas to save Peach (replacing Pauline) from Donkey Kong. In Classic Mode, Donkey Kong tosses barrels at Mario while he ascends a construction site. At the top, Mario must flip a switch and grab a swinging hook. If the player hits a barrel, misses the hook, or hits a moving construction beam, they get a miss.
- Octopus – Mario must avoid octopus arms while he dives for treasure to give to Peach. In Classic Mode, three people are taking turns trying to get the treasure from the Octopus. If the player is caught, one of the three people disappears, which counts as a miss.
- Fire Attack – Wario must defend a giant golden statue of himself from Bob-ombs and Bullet Bills. In Classic Mode, a soldier must prevent attackers from lighting his base on fire, and if they succeed, the player gets a miss.
Tertiary games
These games are unlocked in the Museum, can be played only in Classic Mode, and cannot earn the player stars.
- Manhole – The protagonist must hold up manhole covers in order to prevent the pedestrians from falling through holes in the floor.
- Tropical Fish – A man holds up a fishbowl so that tropical fish can get from one fish tank to another by jumping from the fishbowl. If a fish falls to the ground, it will be eaten by a cat, resulting in a miss.
- Mario's Bombs Away – Mario must carry a bomb from one buddy to another across a jungle. Enemy soldiers hide in the trees and try to light the bomb, and the Heavy Smoker carelessly throws finished cigars to the ground, causing the nearby oil to ignite. Mario must also avoid all of this fire, or his bomb will light.
- Parachute – A man must use his rowboat to catch people falling through the sky with their parachutes.
- Bomb Sweeper – John Solver goes inside a labyrinth-like sewer and tries to stop a bomb, set by Dynamite Jack, from exploding. If John does not stop the bomb in time, the maze will explode and the player will receive a miss.
- Climber – Climber must make his way up 25 floors. If he stands on top of a non-platform floor, he will go back down a few floors and get a miss. There is no Game B for this title.
- Safe Buster – A bank guard is preventing bombs thrown by the Wily Bomber from hitting his safe by disposing of them on either side of the screen. If the bomb catcher is full and a bomb touches the safe, the safe is blown open. The Wily Bomber then takes the money, and the player gets a miss.
- Life Boat – Two men are trying to save the people from a burning ship. The little raft can carry only four people, and if the player tries to catch a fifth person, the person falls into the water and the player gets a miss.
- Zelda – A remake of the Zelda Game & Watch in which Link must battle monsters, including dragon bosses, in order to collect pieces of the Triforce. When he completes the Triforce, Zelda is freed from her prison.
Character appearances
Fire
- Mario (playable)
- Luigi (playable)
- Toad (NPC)
- Yoshi (NPC)
- Donkey Kong Jr. (NPC)
- Princess Peach (NPC)
- Para Troopa (NPC)
- Albatross (NPC)
- Bob-omb (enemy)
Boxing
- Luigi (playable)
- Wiggler (opponent)
- Big Boo (opponent)
- Waluigi (opponent; playable in two-player mode)
Rain Shower
- Mario (playable)
- Luigi (NPC)
- Princess Peach (NPC)
- Yoshi (NPC)
- Toad (NPC)
- Donkey Kong Jr. (NPC)
- Wario (NPC)
- Bowser (boss)
- Waluigi (NPC)
- Fishin' Lakitu (NPC)
Mario's Cement Factory
Donkey Kong Jr.
- Donkey Kong Jr. (playable)
- Donkey Kong (NPC)
- Mario (NPC)
- Goomba (enemy)
- Bullet Bill (enemy)
- Nipper Plant (enemy)
- Albatross (NPC)
- Spiny (enemy)
Donkey Kong 3
- Mario (playable)
- Donkey Kong (opponent; playable in two-player mode)
- Fireball (enemy)
- Boo (enemy)
Chef
- Princess Peach (playable)
- Yoshi (NPC)
- Mario (NPC)
- Luigi (NPC)
- Baby Yoshi (NPC)
Mario Bros.
Donkey Kong
- Mario (playable)
- Princess Peach (NPC)
- Donkey Kong (boss)
- Koopa Troopa (enemy)
- Para Troopa (enemy)
Octopus
- Mario (playable)
- Princess Peach (NPC)
- Octopus (enemy)
- Lakitu (NPC)
Fire Attack
- Wario (playable)
- Bullet Bill (enemy)
- Bob-omb (enemy)
- Hen (NPC)
Unlockables
As the player collects stars, they unlock new things to check out. Below is a list of all unlockables.
| Stars | Unlockable |
|---|---|
| 2 | Music Room added to Gallery Corner |
| 4 | Museum added to Gallery Corner + Manhole added to Museum |
| 7 | New game: Chef |
| 10 | Tropical Fish added to Museum |
| 15 | Mario's Bombs Away added to Museum |
| 20 | New game: Mario Bros. |
| 25 | Parachute added to Museum |
| 30 | Bomb Sweeper added to Museum |
| 35 | New game: Donkey Kong |
| 40 | Climber added to Museum |
| 45 | Safe Buster added to Museum |
| 50 | New game: Octopus |
| 55 | Life Boat added to Museum |
| 60 | Zelda added to Museum |
| 65 | New game: Fire Attack |
| 70 | G&W History added to Gallery Corner |
| 80 | New game: Manhole |
| 90 | New game: Tropical Fish |
| 100 | New game: Mario's Bombs Away |
| 110 | New game: Parachute |
| 120 | New game: Bomb Sweeper |
| 130 | New game: Climber |
| 140 | New game: Safe Buster |
| 150 | New game: Life Boat |
| 160 | New game: Zelda |
| 170 | Credits |
| 220 | Cast credits |
Staff
- Main article: List of Game & Watch Gallery 4 staff
Hitoshi Yamagami and Hitoshi Yamagami served as the directors. Yamagami previously held the role of director for all prior Game & Watch Gallery games. The music was composed by Riyou Kinugasa and Kengo Hagiwara.
Pre-release and unused content
Within the game's data are unused variations of sprites found in the final game, including sprites of Peach from Chef with less shading and larger versions of Toad's sprites from Mario's Cement Factory.
Reception
| Reviews | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Release | Reviewer, Publication | Score | Comment |
| Game Boy Advance | Lasse Pallesen, Nintendo World Report | 8/10 | "In conclusion, this game is a must-have for anyone who isn’t familar with G&W. For those who are, the experience will be considerably more limited. The modern modes with updated graphics and sounds are very good, but, ultimately, they are not what’s carrying this game. What’s carrying this game is that you get 20 slices of pure, classic Nintendo gameplay." |
| Game Boy Advance | Kevin Murphy, Gamespy | 61/100 | "It's really hard to recommend Game & Watch Gallery 4 to GBA owners when games like Metroid Fusion and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 are out there. If some of the modernizations were a little deeper, or some of the unlockables a little more complex, or at least one of the games stood out head-and-shoulders above the rest as really fun, it'd be easy to recommend. But as it stands, I cannot." |
| Game Boy Advance | Frank Provo, GameSpot | 7/10 | "Nintendo has packaged a grand total of 31 games together into a collection that exists more for posterity than glamour. If you're looking at Game & Watch Gallery 4, chances are you know what you're getting into and don't care that the graphics and sound are modest and dated. The games are certainly strong enough to stand on their gameplay alone." |
| Aggregators | |||
| Compiler | Platform / Score | ||
| Metacritic | 71 | ||
| GameRankings | 71.38% | ||
Gallery
- For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Game & Watch Gallery 4.
Toad gets covered in "paint" in Rain Shower.
Mario and Donkey Kong fight in Donkey Kong 3.
Media
Music
 Title Screen - Title Screen theme | File info 0:30 |
| Game Select - Game Select theme | File info 0:30 |
| Mode Select - Mode Select theme | File info 0:30 |
| Fire - Fire theme | File info 0:30 |
| Boxing - Boxing theme | File info 0:30 |
| Rain Shower - Rain Shower theme | File info 0:30 |
| Rain Shower 2 - Rain Shower theme (P Switch) | File info 0:30 |
| Rain Shower 3 - Rain Shower theme (Bowser defeated) | File info 0:30 |
| Mario's Cement Factory - Mario's Cement Factory theme | File info 0:30 |
| Donkey Kong Jr. Area 1 - Donkey Kong Jr. Area 1 theme | File info 0:30 |
| Donkey Kong Jr. Area 2 - Donkey Kong Jr. Area 2 theme | File info 0:30 |
| Donkey Kong Jr. Area 3 - Donkey Kong Jr. Area 3 theme | File info 0:30 |
| Donkey Kong 3 - Donkey Kong 3 theme | File info 0:30 |
| Chef - Chef theme | File info 0:30 |
| Mario Bros. - Mario Bros. theme | File info 0:30 |
| Mario Bros. 2 - Mario Bros. theme (reversed conveyor belts) | File info 0:30 |
| Donkey Kong - Donkey Kong theme | File info 0:30 |
| Octopus - Octopus theme | File info 0:30 |
| Fire Attack - Fire Attack theme | File info 0:30 |
| Message - Message theme | File info 0:30 |
| Gallery Corner - Gallery Corner theme | File info 0:30 |
| Message Board - Message Board theme | File info 0:30 |
| Music Room - Music Room theme | File info 0:30 |
| Museum - Museum theme | File info 0:30 |
| Present - Present theme | File info 0:30 |
| G&W History - G&W History theme | File info 0:30 |
| Credits - Credits theme | File info 0:30 |
Sound effects and jingles
| Fire miss - Fire miss jingle | File info 0:07 |
| Boxing win/lose - Boxing win/lose jingle | File info 0:05 |
| Rain Shower miss - Rain Shower miss jingle | File info 0:25 |
| Mario's Cement Factory miss - Mario's Cement Factory miss jingle | File info 0:05 |
| Donkey Kong Jr. miss - Donkey Kong Jr. miss jingle | File info 0:01 |
| Donkey Kong 3 miss - Donkey Kong 3 miss jingle | File info 0:05 |
| Chef miss - Chef miss jingle | File info 0:03 |
| Donkey Kong miss - Donkey Kong miss jingle | File info 0:01 |
| Octopus miss - Octopus miss jingle | File info 0:05 |
| Game Over - Game Over jingle (Fire and Octopus) | File info 0:05 |
| Game Over 2 - Game Over jingle (Chef and Donkey Kong) | File info 0:05 |
| Game Over 3 - Game Over jingle (Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong Jr.) | File info 0:04 |
| Game Over 4 - Game Over jingle (Boxing, Rain Shower, Mario's Cement Factory, Donkey Kong 3, and Fire Attack) | File info 0:05 |
Trivia
- The starting sequence of the credits includes certain alarm characters from Octopus, Tropical Fish, Mario's Bombs Away, Bomb Sweeper, Fire Attack, Chef, Life Boat, Manhole, Donkey Kong, Parachute, and Zelda.
- This game marks the last appearance of the Donkey Kong design first seen in the 1994 Game Boy version of Donkey Kong.
- Game & Watch Gallery 4 also includes 1 UP Hearts. These appear after 200, 500, and 700 points in most games and replenish a life that was lost.
- A "Very Hard" mode called Star Mode is also included. It is unlocked for every game, with the exception of Donkey Kong 3 and Boxing, after the player gets at least 1,000 points in Modern Mode.
- 3-Up Moons appear in the Modern versions of the games Fire and Rain Shower. In Fire, they fall from the burning building at times, as Yoshi, Toad, and Donkey Kong Jr. do, but failing to bounce one to the carriage does not count as a miss. In Rain Shower, they can be collected until the 3-Up Moon meter fills up, causing Bowser to fall and giving the player points.
- Unlike in the other Game & Watch Gallery games, when the player selects a game on Game Select, that game's title changes to the logo on its original port. Similarly, when the player selects a game in the Museum, that game's logo on its original port appears on top of the screen.
References
| Game & Watch games | ||
|---|---|---|
| Super Mario franchise | Donkey Kong (1982, MS) • Mario Bros. (1983, MS) • Mario's Cement Factory (1983, TT/NWS) • Mario's Bombs Away (1983, PS) • Donkey Kong Hockey (1984, MVS) • Super Mario Bros. (1986, CrS | 1987, Sp | 1988, NWS) • Mario the Juggler (1991, NWS) • Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. (2020, CoS) | |
| Donkey Kong franchise | Donkey Kong (1982, MS) • Donkey Kong Jr. (1982, NWS | 1983, TT & PS) • Donkey Kong II (1983, MS) • Donkey Kong 3 (1984, MVS) • Donkey Kong Circus (1984, PS) • Donkey Kong Hockey (1984, MVS) | |
| Miscellaneous | Green House (1982, MS) | |
| MS: Multi Screen • TT: Table Top • PS: Panorama Screen • NWS: New Wide Screen • MVS: Micro VS. System • CrS: Crystal Screen • Sp: Special • CoS: Color Screen | ||
