Little Mac, W.V.B.A. Champion confirmed for SSB4

[Spinosaurus]

One of the best things about Punch Out Wii translated into Smash's Little Mac. Good POTD!

 

[Little-Mac!!]

I hope this pic showed that little mac will get those things while gaining %, but if it's just for the screen K.O. I'm okay with that. Little Mac is just getting everything his fans want for smash!!

 

[BluePikmin11]

http://www.gonintendo.com/s/233365-smash-bros-wii-u-3ds-sakurai-talks-about-little-mac-s-inclusion

Vol. 448 - "Little Heads May Contain Much Learning"

"Punch-Out!!" arcade machines were in operation thirty years ago. The game was copyrighted in 1983--the same year that saw the birth of the Famicom.

Everything about the game was incredible to me: the wire-frame avatar and the cartoonishly exaggerated opponents, the multi-screen display reminiscent of the Nintendo DS, the synthesized speech. In a genre that tends toward launching punches at random, this game stood out as one that encouraged you to logically consider how to attack the opponent.

I suppose the Famicom version of the game is far more popular--which I of course understand, but its arcade predecessor is a classic in its own right.

That said, I certainly never thought I would ever get involved with the game's protagonist. I mean, the same goes for Mario, Link, Pit, and Megaman. At this point, I must have officially worked with the protagonists of more popular series than any other game designer in the world.

I recently announced the fifth newcomer to "Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U": Little Mac. Seeing as he is a boxing character, all he can use are his two fists, which places considerable limits on his movements and techniques--not to mention the fact that he's also pretty tiny. He's a truly interesting character, though.

First of all, his offensive capabilities on the ground are extremely high. He can close distances with a speedy sprint then counter with a powerful Smash attack without flinching from weak incoming attacks. He can swiftly dodge an oncoming barrage, counter in a pinch and then blast the opponent away with a megaton punch to turn the tables.

Little Mac also has his very own special system: the KO Gauge! The meter fills as you dish out and receive damage; once the gauge is completely full, you can unleash a deadly KO Uppercut. Utilize this system well, and you can easily blast through your opponents. Little Mac is a force to be reckoned with!

He's an adrenaline rush embodied, but he also comes with a glaring weakness: he's extremely clumsy in the air. His attacks are weak, and he leaves himself wide open both while attack and landing. He just flaps his arms around up there--it's pretty pathetic. His jump and recovery are also pretty unimpressive; get tossed off the ledge and it could easily prove fatal. He scores a lot of KOs in combat, but he also often becomes KO fodder himself.

In that case, you might imagine that a walk-off stage (note: stage in which characters cannot fall to their deaths) would be quite advantageous for such a character. I suppose that would tend to be the case, but there's no such thing as a walk-off stage without platforms or some difference in the level of its terrain.

Balancing a character comprised of opposing extremes is always quite difficult. Depending on the style of match, he'll either clobber the competition or get completely shut out. He could even become broken in some combat environments.

However, when choosing a character, I want to focus on whether he/she has some kind of special ability that no other character does, and whether he/she contributes to making a better and more enjoyable gaming experience. Compared to these two primary concerns, "balance" and "fairness" are afterthoughts. I mean, hasn't Smash Bros. always been that kind of game? You get together with your friends, duke it out and have a good laugh--that's what the game is really about. It's no fun if all the characters are the same.

After many rounds of testing, I can say with certainty that Little Mac will be a character to watch out for. You will need to strategize when you select him as your character--and when you face off with him as your opponent. I think having him in Smash really spices things up.

...That said, I haven't even announced the game's release date yet. For now, I'm going to keep on adding all sorts of elements to the new Smash.

 

[Banjodorf]

I'm a little disappointed he still has the same overall view of the game as a party game first and foremost, rather than "also".

However, if we could make Brawl work, we can make a game that actually looks competitive work. And **** man, Mac looks like such a beast. As he should.

 

[shinhed-echi]

Interesting read there, thanks BluePikmin!11.

I'm not TOO afraid of Little Mac's stats right now, because if the demo is anything to go by, we know that aerials are much more punishable this time around.

What does make me uneasy is how Sakurai suggests that it's better to choose another character for certain matchups.

 

[Little-Mac!!]

So adorable:3

 

[shinhed-echi]

So adorable:3

Haha yeah! Serious business Kirby over here. :D

Those eyebrows, man. Looking awesome!

 

[SolemnDIvide]

I'm going around all my SSB4 "I'm interested in them" character forums and posting my input so sorry to anyone that might get a little annoyed. ^-^ So yeah on to . When I saw this character announced I simply had this unexplained amount of joy as I saw a character who not only used one my favorite fighting styles ever but was such an iconic figure and reminded me so much of Ippo from Hajime no Ippo which is also on my "list of greatest things ever". I loved the way they've gone about this character from they way he fights right down to the "K.O" gauge and back again with his bad air game. He's definitely on my "must play list" of characters.

 

[Moon Monkey]

Moveset analysis

Greatest strengths: Close combat, ground combat, ground speed, KO power

Greatest weaknesses: Long range combat, air combat, air speed, recovery

They really weren’t exaggerating when they told us Little Mac was amazing on the ground, but simply terrible in the air. Almost all of his ground moves can KO you easily, and all of his smash attacks have super armor–that is, for a certain period of time while he’s initiating them, he’ll sustain hits without taking knockback. He runs and strikes with great speed, as well. His rolls are even super fast. However, once you get this guy in the air, it’s a wrap. His aerials are pathetic–even the animations make them look like joke moves, akin to Dan in Street Fighter. If he’s knocked even a little far off the stage, it’s almost guaranteed that he’s not making it back, especially against an opponent who hits him out of his double jump. Little Mac was a thrill to play, and in my opinion, was definitely one of the better characters.

Jab – 2, 3, 8 (3 hits), 16 damage total rapid

Little Mac does a super quick right jab, which can be followed up with a left straight and then either a right hook or a series of rapid punches that ends in a right hook when you decide to stop holding/tapping A (I’m not actually sure which hands he uses, but I think this is correct). The final hit has pretty strong knockback for a jab. Very solid move no matter how many hits you decide to go for.

Forward tilt – one-two punch – 4, 8

Mac swings a nasty one-two. Seems to have enough knockback to be a KO move.

Up tilt – overhead sweep – 9

Little Mac swings his fist over his head in an arc. This covers the entire area around his body, which is very useful, especially because this move sets up for combos. If your opponent has taken too much damage to follow up with a ground attack afterward, you can chase them with up B.

Down tilt – low punch – 9

Little Mac sweeps the ground in front of him with his fist, popping the opponent up in front of him. This move can definitely be followed up, and like all of Mac’s ground moves, it’s quick.

Dash attack – overhead punch – 10

Mac runs forward and swings an arm over his head, nearly falling over while doing so. He really puts his heart into this move. Pops opponents up for a follow-up, very good and fast.

Forward smash – straight – 19-27

Mac fires off a straight punch, which can be aimed up or down. Like all of his smash attacks, this move has huge power and super armor on startup.

Up smash – uppercut – 20-28

This move is a standard uppercut with massive damage/knockback and super armor on startup.

Down smash – double sweep punch – 12-17

Little Mac sweeps in front of him, then behind him with a low punch. It has super armor on startup, but is noticeably lower in knockback than his up and forward smashes.

Neutral air – rapid punch – 3?

Little Mac punches downward roughly at a 45 degree angle. This is probably his most useful aerial, although they’re all terribly weak and short-ranged. This one comes out fast and can be repeated quickly with continued presses of the A button, and it doesn’t seem to have much landing lag. I actually forgot to test how much damage all of his aerials did, but none of them do more than 5-6%.

Forward air – forward swing – 4?

Mac takes a weak swing in front of him, clearly looking like he’s struggling. Very low knockback, has some landing lag. Back air – backward punch – 5? Mac sticks out a punch behind him, again looking rather helpless. Same story as all the other aerials–weak and not particularly useful.

Up air – upward swing – 5?

Same as the previous moves, just above him.

Down air – downward swing – 5?

See above, except he swings his fist down.

Neutral B – Straight Lunge – 14-25

Before the KO meter is charged, Little Mac’s neutral B is a charging punch move. The longer you hold B, the further he’ll slide when you release and the more powerful the punch will be. He has super armor the entire time he’s charging, which turns this otherwise slow and telegraphed move into something pretty dangerous, especially in doubles or free-for-alls.

Neutral B – One Hit KO Punch – 35

After Mac has dealt or sustained a solid number of hits, his KO meter will flash indicating that it’s full, and his neutral B changes to the one hit KO punch. Despite the name, the OHKO will not actually take you out 100% of the time–in the E3 invitational tournament, we saw Liquid`KDJ survive TheRapture’s punch with Rosalina at 0% on the PilotWings stage. However, without phenomenal directional influence and a heavy character or a large stage, getting hit by this move will seal your fate. It’s unlikely that any opponent will be able to survive this move any higher than 10%. While the punch is very quick and sneaky (and not unblockable, thanks to juice.Ksizzle for the tip), it can be very easily stuffed by attacks. If Mac has one of these charged up, don’t get scared and sit in your shield–disobey your intuition and challenge him! He’ll be meterless and robbed of a KO opportunity. Also, if you don’t use this move within roughly 10 seconds, it’ll go away automatically. Thanks to TheRapture from NE for the find!

Side B – Jolt Haymaker – 14

This is a really unique and interesting move. Mac does a jumping punch that goes pretty far across the ground. Using Jolt Haymaker against a vulnerable opponent will cause Mac to strike them, but if they put up their shields, he’ll quickly fade right through them and end up on the other side without much recovery time. This move also gives him a bit of lift in the air (and also the same horizontal movement as on the ground), so you can use it as an alternate recovery to his up B.

Up B – Rising Uppercut – multi-hit, 10 total

Mac jumps and does a spinning uppercut. The vertical distance this move gets is absolutely horrible, so don’t expect great things as far as recovery goes, but it’s a good follow-up to combo starters that leave opponents too high to reach with ground moves.

Down B – Slip Counter

This is a standard counter move much like Marth’s, Roy’s, Ike’s, or Lucario’s from previous iterations of Smash. I was unable to test its damage output because I was playing versus Sandbag, who can’t hit you!

Source: http://nintendoenthusiast.com/article/competitive-smash-bros-wii-u-3ds/

 

[augustvincent5]

I cant wait for this game to come out already!
ps. if anyone knows where i can get some awesome super smash merchandise I would appreciate it! So far the coolest thing I can find is this sweet Smash bros 4 button which has Mac on it!!!! It reflects the 3DS cover art on ETSY.com under the shop "NintendoNeeds"
its great, but im looking for maybe a t-shirt or something

 

[Yoichi Hiruma]

I went back to the OP and I checked out my original moveset and realized...I was somewhat in the ballpark.
For Neutral Special: A very powerful Punch titled the KO Punch.
For Side Special: A move that infiltrates and moves past attacks.
For Up Special: An uppercut that doesn't travel very far in the air.
For Down Special: A counter.

Now the execution in SSB4 is radically different from my ideas, but that's pretty in the ballpark.

 

[LF2K]

Something interesting popped up on the rating description for the 3DS version.

"The video game contains very mild nudity involving an overweight character who incidentally shows the upper part of his buttocks due to his pants slightly slipping. This element would of been allowed at a lower category."

This sounds like King Hippo to me. Could he have some role?

 

[shinhed-echi]

Something interesting popped up on the rating description for the 3DS version.

"The video game contains very mild nudity involving an overweight character who incidentally shows the upper part of his buttocks due to his pants slightly slipping. This element would of been allowed at a lower category."

This sounds like King Hippo to me. Could he have some role?

Where did you read this? That fits (no pun) King Hippo to a tee. He's probably a boss you fight in the boxing ring. But I havent readied my mind to the faint possibility of a playable King Hippo.

 

[Brother AJ]

Is there really not a thread on this board asking us if we're going to main Little Mac?! I couldn't find it! I can't wait till his face pops up right next to PM Link (I'm assuming this will happen around release date?). He was the one newcomer I wanted that actually made it in except Mega Man, but I did actually forget about the Blue Bomber for a bit because I didn't think his inclusion would ever happen! Little Mac looks much more appealing to me in play-style and seems all so satisfying, so there's no doubt who I'll be taking on Smash 4 with! No opponent will stand in his way! Look out smashers, a new champion will be in our hands shortly!

 

[shinhed-echi]

So here's a scenario.

Do you think Little Mac's superarmor could withstand a Falcon Punch? :O Cause that would skyrocket Mac's good reputation. :D

 

[VGM1]

Something interesting popped up on the rating description for the 3DS version.

"The video game contains very mild nudity involving an overweight character who incidentally shows the upper part of his buttocks due to his pants slightly slipping. This element would of been allowed at a lower category."

This sounds like King Hippo to me. Could he have some role?

An assist trophy seems highly likely. Maybe a stage boss in the Boxing Ring?

 

[STiCKYBULL3TZ]

So here's a scenario.

Do you think Little Mac's superarmor could withstand a Falcon Punch? :O Cause that would skyrocket Mac's good reputation. :D

I don't think so. In the article @ BluePikmin11 posted above, Sakurai stated that he can blow by weaker attacks. I would say jabs, tilts, aerials, and some specials. I don't think the superarmor could withstand a Falcon Punch tho. If it could...man oh man. There would be no fear in throwing out any superarmor attack. Except for the shieldgrabbing.

 

[Spinosaurus]

So here's a scenario.

Do you think Little Mac's superarmor could withstand a Falcon Punch? :O Cause that would skyrocket Mac's good reputation. :D

Olimar was always able to do that with down b.

 

[JoseStriker]

So here's a scenario.

Do you think Little Mac's superarmor could withstand a Falcon Punch? :O Cause that would skyrocket Mac's good reputation. :D

I saw a video in youtube where it shows in a split second that mac's superarmor can even take a bob omb and dont even care about it :D

And being that the bob omb those 30 - 40% damage and the falcon punch 27% ... so yes, he can withstand a falcon punch, he can take that and even more than that! he's a real tank :D

 

[ChikoLad]

Did I do it right?

 

[shinhed-echi]

Did I do it right?

You did it extremely right. :D
Not only that, your sig is off the charts of right-yness.

 

[Hong]

Only thing this translation might have missed is that the original article emphasized that the stun punch has particularly long range, as in, to more degree than it suggests. I could be misinterpreting it as enthusiasm, but it's worth mentioning.

 

[Jessi.mac.fire]

Only thing this translation might have missed is that the original article emphasized that the stun punch has particularly long range, as in, to more degree than it suggests. I could be misinterpreting it as enthusiasm, but it's worth mentioning.

Wow man just thanks so much! :D there are two cool customs for the straight there, and its says on the normal one 'If atacked while charging the move, he will not flinch.'
Well i've seen him charging it and flinch a lot, so i suppose they'll fix that (?) the numbing straight is cool because is another way to counter and it seems very powerfull, i can see it being very usefull in FFA scene for how easy you can get hit there and the insta great range it has

Engulfing fire straight will be the faster but weaker way to use it

Good information all there, again thanks

 

[shinhed-echi]

Thanks for the info!

Man I had completely forgotten about the custom moves!
Can't wait to see the variations of Slip Counter, Rising Uppercut, and Jolt Haymaker.

I hope there'll be a stun inducing Counter! :D

 

[IsmaR]

I think it'd be funny if there was a variation of Rising Uppercut that made him shoot up extremely high, but do no-flinch/paltry damage.

 

[BravadoMan_13]

Little Mac is the newcomer I look forward to playing as the most. He looks great so far!

 

[shinhed-echi]

I was just thinking that I really think they should buff Little Mac's aerials a bit.
I get that a boxer's strength in punches depends a lot on the weight distribution and legwork.
But to say that a pro-puncher hits weaker in the air than... I don't know... Pichu, it's an exaggeration.
He should at least hit as hard, or a little less harder than Mario in the air.
Otherwise there's clearly a case of disadvantage.

Even from a "For Fun" perspective. Little Mac is weak as heck in the air, yet in the air is mostly where the Smash Ball appears. There's almost no guarantee that a LIttle Mac player will successfully break the Smash Ball before another character does.

 

[Yoichi Hiruma]

You guys know me. Still holding out hope for the Star Punch.

 

[Virum]

I was just thinking that I really think they should buff Little Mac's aerials a bit.
I get that a boxer's strength in punches depends a lot on the weight distribution and legwork.
But to say that a pro-puncher hits weaker in the air than... I don't know... Pichu, it's an exaggeration.
He should at least hit as hard, or a little less harder than Mario in the air.
Otherwise there's clearly a case of disadvantage.

Even from a "For Fun" perspective. Little Mac is weak as heck in the air, yet in the air is mostly where the Smash Ball appears. There's almost no guarantee that a LIttle Mac player will successfully break the Smash Ball before another character does.

They absolutely should not do this. He's a character of design extremes and it's part of what makes him interesting. You buff his aerials and you clash with that philosophy. What they should do instead to buff him, whilst remaining consistent with his current design, increase the potency of moves like UTilt, USmash and Up B so they can be amazing anti-airs. Up B in particular should be significantly more powerful that it is now considering how ass it is for recovery. I'd go as far as saying it should be the strongest Up B in the game in terms of knockback and damage barring something like landing every hit of DK's Up B). His Up B should do a minimum of about 16% imo (currently all hits connecting does a measely 10%).

 

[Spinosaurus]

I was just thinking that I really think they should buff Little Mac's aerials a bit.
I get that a boxer's strength in punches depends a lot on the weight distribution and legwork.
But to say that a pro-puncher hits weaker in the air than... I don't know... Pichu, it's an exaggeration.
He should at least hit as hard, or a little less harder than Mario in the air.
Otherwise there's clearly a case of disadvantage.

Even from a "For Fun" perspective. Little Mac is weak as heck in the air, yet in the air is mostly where the Smash Ball appears. There's almost no guarantee that a LIttle Mac player will successfully break the Smash Ball before another character does.

Even if the aspect of being weak in the air makes sense for a boxer, it is done in a very extreme way here. Mac clearly has strong arms, he's a boxer, so he should deal a lot of damage regardless. Most of the disadvantages of swinging wide compared to weight shifting for basic punches comes from how slow and predictable they are. (and other stuff like wasting energy and such but those don't matter here lol)

I'd honestly rather they redesign him all together, but being true to boxing was clearly not a part of the vision for the character. He's a Punch Out character first, boxer second. I'll reserve judgement towards his playstyle until I get my hands on him.

 

[Yoichi Hiruma]

Even if the aspect of being weak in the air makes sense for a boxer, it is done in a very extreme way here. Mac clearly has strong arms, he's a boxer, so he should deal a lot of damage regardless. Most of the disadvantages of swinging wide compared to weight shifting for basic punches comes from how slow and predictable they are. (and other stuff like wasting energy and such but those don't matter here lol)

I'd honestly rather they redesign him all together, but being true to boxing was clearly not a part of the vision for the character. He's a Punch Out character first, boxer second. I'll reserve judgement towards his playstyle until I get my hands on him.

Well he's fairly true to boxing in the sense that he needs firm and fancy footwork. Most boxers don't jump anyway XD
Punch-Out itself defines boxing as "fighting backed by technique". Balance and power come from a proper stance, something he can't achieve in the air. You can't shift weight very well if at all in midair. Without proper footwork and the ability to shift weight and momentum, you can't get force behind your punches, so it's fairly true to boxing.

And his playstyle is EXTREMELY true to Punch-Out (other than the lack of Star Punch). He's fast and is all about disruption. He's got Super Armor out the wazoo, which means he can predict moves and interrupt them with a quick punch. But he's much lighter than other characters meaning that he has to be strategic. He has his Slip Counter to intercept moves, the Jolt Haymaker to slip past projectiles, and his KO Punch, while powerful, is easily telegraphed and mercurial. Your best bet is to wait for someone to be open and then use the KO Punch. It's all about dodging and weaving and bobbing and waiting for the perfect time to strike. Like in Punch-Out!!

 

[shinhed-echi]

If it's going to be that way, I think the only aerial that should actually be really strong is his UP+B. This move looks he closest to the Star Punch, the srongest of Little Mac's canonical moves.

And at the very least, if it's executed from the ground. Like, in the air it should be a Lvl1 Star Punch, and on the ground a Lvl2, or Lvl3 star punch.

 

[Spinosaurus]

Well he's fairly true to boxing in the sense that he needs firm and fancy footwork. Most boxers don't jump anyway XD
Punch-Out itself defines boxing as "fighting backed by technique". Balance and power come from a proper stance, something he can't achieve in the air. You can't shift weight very well if at all in midair. Without proper footwork and the ability to shift weight and momentum, you can't get force behind your punches, so it's fairly true to boxing.

Except everything from his form down to his footwork is sloppier than Street Fighter's Dictator (which is saying a LOT) here, so it baffles me how he can be a monster on the ground despite his form being all over the place while hitting like a kid in the air.

 

[Yoichi Hiruma]

Except everything from his form down to his footwork is sloppier than Street Fighter's Dictator (which is saying a LOT) here, so it baffles me how he can be a monster on the ground despite his form being all over the place while hitting like a kid in the air.

How is his form sloppy?

 

[shinhed-echi]

To be fair... a lot of Punch Out's boxers' forms are sloppy if translated to real world boxing.
But I see what you're saying. Little Mac didn't strike me as a character who'd drop his guard for after-lag, or do these giant swings to show off more power.

 

[Spinosaurus]

To be fair... a lot of Punch Out's boxers' forms are sloppy if translated to real world boxing.

Hence why I said "Punch Out character first, boxer second".

Just to be clear here. I don't really mind how he is in Smash 4 much, since I still love PO anyhow. Though when you box yourself, seeing a boxer lack basic fundamentals can get really jarring lol. But you know, cartoon characters and all that. I didn't really mind it in Punch Out at all for some reason, though.
I was just giving an explanation about why being this weak in the air doesn't really make that much sense.

 

[STiCKYBULL3TZ]

I hope he's not so weak in the air that he can't even overcome. That means there would probably be no reason to ever jump with him unless you want to catch someone falling on a platform to tech chase. Anti-air moves are gonna be super key for him. That along with knowing when to use super armor to blow by moves. Either way I'm super excited to main him.

 

[shinhed-echi]

Yeah, shortcoming and all I will main Mac alongside Megaman. I'm used to uphill battles with Ness back in Melee, and PT/Sonic in Brawl.

We have to at least aknowledge that Little Mac is almost Sonic-like fast, and apparently DK-like strong on the ground. :D

 

[CRMS]

I'm still trying to figure out what could be the best possible way of not getting knocked out so far that I can't get back on the ledge, and if I do get knocked off, how to get back. Too bad his recovery is only vertical movement and no horizontal.

 

[shinhed-echi]

So I just found out that Jolt Haymaker spikes. :3

I know it's going to be really hard to land this in 1v1 matches, but it's great to know!