jet56
Smash Journeyman
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2015
- Messages
- 442
I've been putting a lot of thought into this. A lot. I've played in a number of tournaments, including Out of State and large tournies(Genesis 3, Pink Fresh saga, Rise 2016), watched footage of myself and other macs, labbed, discussed, posted, contemplated, and more.
Why is Little Mac considered a low tier despite his obvious strengths? Why do Mac mains like Vash, Sol, and Alphicans do so well, then sometimes just lose randomly or do poorly? What is it that makes Little mac so scary, yet at the same time seem nonviable in the competitive scene?
First, i want to make a quick comparison as to how mac functions, and what he embodies. First, he is a grounded version of Shiek and Ryu. Amazing neutral and frame data, Spacing and kill confirms, reliable setups, crazy punish ability, and so on. His moveset on the ground is the best in the game, with the fastest frame data out of all the characters while grounded.
Of course, obvious weaknesses include his Air ability and offstage game. But this i think is only a supplement to little mac's biggest flaw. And ironically, it's not the fault of the character, but of the player.
That's right, im talking about human error and inconsistency.
Think about it. When you lose a stock, game or match, why do you do so? For me, it wasn't because i got outplayed, but rather that i made a mistake. A whiffed attack, misspaced move, flubbed recovery attempt, Missed conversion, nonoptimized conversion or punish, and other human mistakes on my end cause me to lose the stock or the game. I'm almost never looking at a match and thinking "i just got outplayed" but rather "should've fsmashed instead of jabbed" "flubbed that dtilt>jc up B" or "misspaced my up B recovery".
All players have to work on their consistency. But smash 4 is a generous game, where most character can get back to the stage relatively easy, and making a mistake with a character like shiek, mario, fox, Ryu, and so on won't end the match for you, and for some characters, won't even get punished for it.
On the other hand, Little Mac suffers enormously for such things. Losing stage control and being in the air is awful, and the margin of error is small for him. One mistake can cost you the stock, the game, the match to get you out of pools. It hurts, it sucks.
Consistency is hard. Even if you play one game perfectly, can you play the rest of the match like that? How about the next one? Even if you go all the way and win the tourney, what about the next tourney? the one after that? Can you continue to perform at that consistent high level play, without flubbing? Chances are, No.
There is a bright side to all of this. While I have been ranting about Little Mac's flaw, which is his Consistency issue, it is also his strength. A Optimized, and perfected Little Mac is by far one of the best characters in the game. He embodies the punch out series perfectly. One missed dodge, one missed button input, and Mike Tyson is knocking little Mac to the ground. BUT...Little Mac succeeds because Mike Never gets that hit in. Not once. The same Idea applies to Smash. A perfect Mac will never lose, because he has the tools to pull it off. The potential of this character is enormous.
When you main or play mac, you are entering something deep. The character grows and feeds off of your play. The better you are and perform as a player, the more powerful and scary Mac becomes. Mac, more than any other character in the game, rewards you for fantastic play, and punishes you for inept and poor play.
When you play mac, you carry a double edge sword. A glass cannon. Champion, or buster.
I don't know about you, but I want to do it. To bring Mac out as his best version of himself, and my own. Let's make it happen Mac Nation.
Why is Little Mac considered a low tier despite his obvious strengths? Why do Mac mains like Vash, Sol, and Alphicans do so well, then sometimes just lose randomly or do poorly? What is it that makes Little mac so scary, yet at the same time seem nonviable in the competitive scene?
First, i want to make a quick comparison as to how mac functions, and what he embodies. First, he is a grounded version of Shiek and Ryu. Amazing neutral and frame data, Spacing and kill confirms, reliable setups, crazy punish ability, and so on. His moveset on the ground is the best in the game, with the fastest frame data out of all the characters while grounded.
Of course, obvious weaknesses include his Air ability and offstage game. But this i think is only a supplement to little mac's biggest flaw. And ironically, it's not the fault of the character, but of the player.
That's right, im talking about human error and inconsistency.
Think about it. When you lose a stock, game or match, why do you do so? For me, it wasn't because i got outplayed, but rather that i made a mistake. A whiffed attack, misspaced move, flubbed recovery attempt, Missed conversion, nonoptimized conversion or punish, and other human mistakes on my end cause me to lose the stock or the game. I'm almost never looking at a match and thinking "i just got outplayed" but rather "should've fsmashed instead of jabbed" "flubbed that dtilt>jc up B" or "misspaced my up B recovery".
All players have to work on their consistency. But smash 4 is a generous game, where most character can get back to the stage relatively easy, and making a mistake with a character like shiek, mario, fox, Ryu, and so on won't end the match for you, and for some characters, won't even get punished for it.
On the other hand, Little Mac suffers enormously for such things. Losing stage control and being in the air is awful, and the margin of error is small for him. One mistake can cost you the stock, the game, the match to get you out of pools. It hurts, it sucks.
Consistency is hard. Even if you play one game perfectly, can you play the rest of the match like that? How about the next one? Even if you go all the way and win the tourney, what about the next tourney? the one after that? Can you continue to perform at that consistent high level play, without flubbing? Chances are, No.
There is a bright side to all of this. While I have been ranting about Little Mac's flaw, which is his Consistency issue, it is also his strength. A Optimized, and perfected Little Mac is by far one of the best characters in the game. He embodies the punch out series perfectly. One missed dodge, one missed button input, and Mike Tyson is knocking little Mac to the ground. BUT...Little Mac succeeds because Mike Never gets that hit in. Not once. The same Idea applies to Smash. A perfect Mac will never lose, because he has the tools to pull it off. The potential of this character is enormous.
When you main or play mac, you are entering something deep. The character grows and feeds off of your play. The better you are and perform as a player, the more powerful and scary Mac becomes. Mac, more than any other character in the game, rewards you for fantastic play, and punishes you for inept and poor play.
When you play mac, you carry a double edge sword. A glass cannon. Champion, or buster.
I don't know about you, but I want to do it. To bring Mac out as his best version of himself, and my own. Let's make it happen Mac Nation.
