Little Mac Playstyle Impressions Thread

[Opossum]

Pretty self-explanatory. Give your impressions of Mac's style in this thread.

 

[Tino]

Honestly, he's a very decent fighter despite his terrible airborne attacks. He's gonna be one of my six main fighters to play as.

 

[shinhed-echi]

Favorite inclusion alongside Megaman. Those 2 are my definite mains. With Sonic and Samus right behind them.

I almost dropped my laptop from my hands when I stumbled upon his trailer the day they revealed him.
I couldn't care any less for the rest of Nintendo's presentation that day, and I kept refreshing all around until the trailer got uploaded. :D

It was about time Punch Out! got the love it deserved. Not to mention it turned 30 years this year.

 

[pokeman2223]

i think he looks op and i don't think he will be a fun character to play as all he does is punch

 

[AustarusIV]

Pretty awesome. He's not my kind of character after trying him out in the demos, but it's still amazing that he's an actual playable character this time and not an AT.

 

[Ehn Jolly]

Me personally, I love professional fighting, so Little Mac was a godsend to me. The way he fights looks like a lot of fun, he's very iconic, and everything about him seems enjoyable. The fact that he looks like he plays as my style of play (timed rushdown) is only a bonus, but I look forward to using him and seeing just how good this little champ can be.

 

[STiCKYBULL3TZ]

I was too pumped about his inclusion. I own both the original Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! and Super Punch-Out!!. I put many hours into both games and Little Mac became one of my favorite characters. I actually finally beat Mike Tyson a couple years ago. But I was hype when he was in Brawl. Now he's definitely gonna be my main for Smash 4

 

[KaZe_DaRKWIND]

I think he's a good newcomer. I'm gonna play him and I'll likely enjoy it.

 

[Thundersparkbomber]

For all people wanting to do a livestream featuring little mac as the only playable character check out this thead. From October 3rd I'll be live streaming little mac vs the world a smash bros stream where little mac (hopefully) beats people up! I will add my friend code later so send me yours and be on smash bros 3ds on October 3rd (eu launch date)

 

[Oracle_Summon]

Thank you for this Stream. I will try to make sure to watch your Stream if I am not too busy myself with my version of the game.

Even though I voted Arena Ferox, I suggest trying on Spirit Tracks since that stage has limited room for mobility and range for Little Mac's attacks.

Although I voted Arena Ferox, I still think watching and dissecting how Little Mac works on transformable stages would help me gather necessary data and knowledge on Little Mac's possible weaknesses on such stages.

 

[Thundersparkbomber]

Thank you for this Stream. I will try to make sure to watch your Stream if I am not too busy myself with my version of the game.

Even though I voted Arena Ferox, I suggest trying on Spirit Tracks since that stage has limited room for mobility and range for Little Mac's attacks.

Although I voted Arena Ferox, I still think watching and dissecting how Little Mac works on transformable stages would help me gather necessary data and knowledge on Little Mac's possible weaknesses on such stages.

Thanks! I will try both stages out and do about 16 matches in the stream so I can hopefully fight a few different characters without making the stream too long.

 

[pokeman2223]

oh i am alone lol

 

[Farorae]

I'm all about flashy looking moves and little Mac doesn't really have too many of those so he's a little boring visually, IMO. He still looks like he could be fun to play though.

 

[solitonmedic]

I'll be joining!

Gonna be maiming Mac, so I have to.

 

[JoseStriker]

Practice, and practice a lot, i think that one of the weakness of the people is that they are not used to the Little Mac style of play, and do things they're use to do with another characters that doing them with Little Mac is suicide, like jumping out of the stage to atack recovering people, please don't do that :s

Always aware of your super armor and you'll do great, i'll be joining the stream ^^

Oh! and if you could do the dtilted fsmash in a battle that would be awesome, i want to analyse its efect

 

[Trogdorbad]

I'll probably like to join you in that too when it comes out

 

[Misinko]

i think he looks op and i don't think he will be a fun character to play as all he does is punch

So, having terrible airborne attacks and a crappy recovery make a character OP? He's a glass cannon. He hits hard but once he goes off the edge, he's done. He's a ground figher, and doesn't have much to offer outside of ground moves.

Personally, I'm excited for him and I'm definitely going to try him out in Smash 4. I'd love to see what he brings to the table.

 

[Mr.Seven]

I couldn't be more excited for Little Mac. He's a character that should have been in the game since Smash 64. Why it took so long is baffling to me.

 

[pokeman2223]

So, having terrible airborne attacks and a crappy recovery make a character OP? He's a glass cannon. He hits hard but once he goes off the edge, he's done. He's a ground figher, and doesn't have much to offer outside of ground moves.

Personally, I'm excited for him and I'm definitely going to try him out in Smash 4. I'd love to see what he brings to the table.

as long he is on the ground its hard to get him up probably hes gonna be a heavy character so yeah ;D but that's just what i think

 

[pokeman2223]

I couldn't be more excited for Little Mac. He's a character that should have been in the game since Smash 64. Why it took so long is baffling to me.

good for you ;D i love it when a character you love gets in

 

[Thundersparkbomber]

Thanks for all the support I will stream around 6:30 England time so yeah!

 

[Themandme]

What time is that in est

 

[nintyplayer]

I'm definitely going to be playing a lot of Little Mac, probably going to main him. I think it's odd that most matches I've seen so far have people not doing so well as him. If my approach is correct, as I'll test on the 3rd, people may be playing Mac all wrong right now. We'll see.

 

[X WaNtEd X]

So, having terrible airborne attacks and a crappy recovery make a character OP? He's a glass cannon. He hits hard but once he goes off the edge, he's done. He's a ground figher, and doesn't have much to offer outside of ground moves.

Personally, I'm excited for him and I'm definitely going to try him out in Smash 4. I'd love to see what he brings to the table.

he might be the captain falcon of this game. he's got that ko meter and when he gets it full he can just...kill you. he has the potential to have a nasty punish game.

 

[Malkasaur]

Well, the game is out, now it's time to begin analyzing stuff. Now, since I haven't played the game outside of the demo (I played the E3 build on both the Wii U and 3DS, but I didn't use Little Mac), my thoughts on Little Mac are based off of the gameplay I've seen of him (Most of which has come from ZeRo). Let's begin!
Now, I've heard many people say that Little Mac is good, but I have to disagree. I'll start off by pointing out some of his weak points. As many know, Little Mac has a terrible air game, and also has a horrible recovery, leaving him vulnerable to easy GIMPs. But that is how he was designed; weak in the air, strong on the ground. But that's kind of the problem with him. You see, his ground game... well, it's not that good. He's fast, but weak. His attacks aren't very strong, and since he only punches, he has limited range. The KO uppercut? It doesn't always kill, though it usually will if you build up their percent. These attributes will make him terrible against characters with a strong air game *cough* Jigglypuff *cough* . Aside from Little Mac's speed, I don't see him having any strong points. To be honest, he was doomed from the beginning. He's a character that's limited to the ground in a series where we attack from the air.
I've heard many people say "Oh, well nobody has used him to his full potential", but really, Little Mac doesn't much any potential, if any (this is coming from somebody who mains Kirby in Melee). I know the meta hasn't developed yet, but based on what I've seen, I don't see Little Mac ever being good.
But hey, what do I know? Most of what I've said comes from memory. Plus, I haven't seen too many matches of Little Mac. Maybe I'm wrong, but for now, I'm sticking with my opinion. Feel free to disagree.

 

[Virum]

I don't agree at all with the assertion that his attacks aren't strong. I'm not sure what footage you've been watching, but from the footage I've seen Little Mac is able to consistently kill people onstage at below 100% which very few other characters can say they're able to do. I honestly don't see how anyone can come to the conclusion that he isn't strong when he has overall some of the most reliable kill moves in the game and despite his combo game not being all that strong, he has the necessary tools to rack up damage quickly (namely FTilt and jab).

I also don't agree that he will automatically be terrible against characters with a strong air game. Infact against a character like Jigglypuff I think he'll destroy her onstage. He has the tools to combat her short hop approaches, most notably his USmash as it not only kills her really early but also has armour to eat up any poorly spaced approach. Infact a lot of your argument is under the assumption that you can only combat the air game with the air game which isn't true at all. If you have strong ground anti airs (which Mac very much does) it's not as bad as one may think.

In addition, the combination of speed and armour functions as a remedy for his overall poor range. Moves like his FTilt and even his low angled FSmash, which are safe on block if spaced correctly, are good examples of this.

Now his weaknesses are definitely huge. He struggles immensely if he's put into the air, only really having his counter and air dodge as ways to get out. His offstage game is non existent and his recovery is probably the worst in the history of the series. However, to say the character doesn't have any strong points is just plain incorrect. The long term question of course is how much can his current strengths offset his current weaknesses, and how far can players willing to commit to him really take him? We'll have to wait and see.

In the mean time however, I'd recommend watching this set that was uploaded literally today on D1's channel. KelVindictive is the Little Mac player (or @ksizl4life here). He wins every single match he plays: http://www.twitch.tv/d1mx/b/569142898

 

[Malkasaur]

Most of the gameplay I've seen comes from ZeRo. I may be wrong about his power, but I don't remember Little Mac being very strong. But no matter what kind of moves he has, I still think he'll get dominated by characters with a strong air game. Regardless of powerfull moves, I still fail to see much potential in him. I cannot see him becoming good. He looks like a character that's going to rely on heavily on avoiding hits and getting lots of punishes in order to win. If a Little Mac player ends up winning a national, I'll eat several hats.

 

[Virum]

I honestly feel that you're jumping the gun waaaaaaaay early more than anything. Sure have your reasons for thinking a character is bad but you haven't even played him and you've only seen minimal footage. How can you possible draw such a strong assertion based on so little?

 

[A2ZOMG]

Strong air games don't automatically beat Mac. You're misunderstanding something.

As other people have stated previously, Mac can very very viably fight people within standard shorthop ranges. Rather, it's really dangerous to attempt short hop spacing against Mac simply because he has a lot of high damage options for blowing it up.

The real problem for Mac is dealing with air-camping, and edgeguards. Characters that are able to run away from Mac and focus on gimping him are probably his worst matchups.

 

[Malkasaur]

Well, the way I see it, Air Game > Ground Game.

 

[AttorneyMacro]

HE ISNT A TRADITIONAL SMASH CHARACTER!!! (sorry i had to yell so everybody understands that from the beginning) Is Little Mac good? ****. Yes. or i should say he can be in the right hands. we need to understand that Little Mac is a boxer and thus you must play like a boxer, think about Punch-Out!! for example. In Punch-Out you never attack first, ever! you wait for your opponent to attack look for the opening and go in fast and furious to get great damage off and then get the **** back and wait for another opening. That is the best explanation on how Little Mac plays and how he will be a terror once people realize how he plays. A few other rules to keep in mind about Little Mac. 1. ROLL! for the love of god roll everywhere and you control the stage! don't run, don't walk, just ****ing roll, you move fast and dodge hits which is number one for Little Mac. 2. NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER JUMP! jumping is what will kill you, trust me no matter what air combo you think you could pull off (although if you want to take your chances witht he up b, it can kill but its high risk high reward) don't ****ing jump! Little Mac is not a regular smash bros character, he is a challenge to the form and thats great but people need to realize that he won't be playing like other smash character there for no air moves just floor control and pain!Once people figure all this out he will be a ****ing terror

 

[Virum]

1. ROLL! for the love of god roll everywhere and you control the stage! don't run, don't walk, just ****ing roll, you move fast and dodge hits which is number one for Little Mac.

Sorry but this is a terrible suggestion. This is exactly the kind of thing you SHOULDN'T be doing regardless of what character you're playing. You're asking to get rekt by any half competent playing if all you're doing is rolling. Even though Little Mac's rolls are quick, they travel a set distance. Your movement becomes linear and predictable and your opponent can just easily punish you.

 

[Malkasaur]

HE ISNT A TRADITIONAL SMASH CHARACTER!!! (sorry i had to yell so everybody understands that from the beginning) Is Little Mac good? ****. Yes. or i should say he can be in the right hands. we need to understand that Little Mac is a boxer and thus you must play like a boxer, think about Punch-Out!! for example. In Punch-Out you never attack first, ever! you wait for your opponent to attack look for the opening and go in fast and furious to get great damage off and then get the **** back and wait for another opening. That is the best explanation on how Little Mac plays and how he will be a terror once people realize how he plays. A few other rules to keep in mind about Little Mac. 1. ROLL! for the love of god roll everywhere and you control the stage! don't run, don't walk, just ****ing roll, you move fast and dodge hits which is number one for Little Mac. 2. NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER JUMP! jumping is what will kill you, trust me no matter what air combo you think you could pull off (although if you want to take your chances witht he up b, it can kill but its high risk high reward) don't ****ing jump! Little Mac is not a regular smash bros character, he is a challenge to the form and thats great but people need to realize that he won't be playing like other smash character there for no air moves just floor control and pain!Once people figure all this out he will be a ****ing terror

My face hurts. A lot.

 

[Weiro_O]

I got to play as him quite a bit at Comic-Con. So fun to use and will definitely main with Bowser. They weren't kidding when they said that his air game was terrible

 

[DoubleYooToo]

It's clear that, for whatever reason, Sakurai decided to take 90% of inspiration from Punch-Out arcade in designing Little Mac's moveset and the general representation of the series in this game. All 3 opponent trophies are of characters originating from that game, the KO bar's design and general gameplay function is taken from that game, not to mention there are as many wireframe skins as there are normal Mac ones.

Very odd choice by Sakurai. Was the first one bigger in Japan?

 

[Opossum]

It's clear that, for whatever reason, Sakurai decided to take 90% of inspiration from Punch-Out arcade in designing Little Mac's moveset and the general representation of the series in this game. All 3 opponent trophies are of characters originating from that game, the KO bar's design and general gameplay function is taken from that game, not to mention there are as many wireframe skins as there are normal Mac ones.

Very odd choice by Sakurai. Was the first one bigger in Japan?

I actually didn't realize the extent of this until now. Quite interesting, really.

Which characters got trophies, by the way?

 

[DoubleYooToo]

I actually didn't realize the extent of this until now. Quite interesting, really.

Which characters got trophies, by the way?

Glass Joe, Bald Bull and Mr. Sandman. The big 3. There's also a Doc Louis trophy.

No King Hippo trophy pretty much sums up the extent of the disregard of Punch-Out nes.

 

[TheMasonOrder]

Sorry but this is a terrible suggestion. This is exactly the kind of thing you SHOULDN'T be doing regardless of what character you're playing. You're asking to get rekt by any half competent playing if all you're doing is rolling. Even though Little Mac's rolls are quick, they travel a set distance. Your movement becomes linear and predictable and your opponent can just easily punish you.

...

Isn't rolling an important thing in Smash 4?

Like, I played some For Glory 1v1s on my Japanese 3DS and most of the players spam the hell out of rolling, and it works. Rolls are used for mindgame I think.

 

[ndayday]

And if you know what way they're rolling you can easily plan for it and punish. Rolls definitely feel better but they're still punishable. I run into a lot of players that think they can (with Duck Hunt) throw a clay pigeon at me and roll allllll the way to the other side of the stage to rinse and repeat. All you do it fake running at them, wait for the roll, and down smash or something. If you know they roll EVERYTHING you start planning for it and attacking behind you when you approach to catch them in the roll.

Also something:
characters that hang onto the ledge with part of them exposed can get caught in the KO Punch. I kept getting it on a Charizard in Team Battles and it was amazing.

 

[pokeman2223]

really i think rolling is very good as falco you just roll around and then smash attack then keep rolling its realyyy good