NAKAT
Smash Champion
Hey guys it's NAKAT. I am a professional Super Smash Bros Brawl player now moving on to Smash 4! One of the characters I main is Little Mac. I would like to give a guide to beginning Little Mac players as well as those aspiring to play him! I will also explain how to fight him because it is smart for everyone to know both!
Generally the way I see the majority of people playing vs Little Mac is standing next to the ledge waiting for him to approach or camping him with projectiles.
This is dangerous for both you and Little Mac!
Why this hurts you:
Why this hurts him:
NO, generally the idea is that Little Mac's recovery game is extremely bad. Please listen to why I think it is not bad, but it is subpar and requires a lot more thought to survive over the rest of the cast.
Little Mac has 5 options when recovering (ALWAYS SAVE YOUR JUMP)
Dash attack- Dash attack is very fast and has a great deal of knock back. It can combo into itself at low percents if they do not tech after being hit by the first one.
(Downward tilt) Dtilt- His D-tilt is like a bullet shot. It is fast and knocks you up. It can also lead into his KO punch, ftilt, and usmash. Avoid this like the plague. He isn't an air fighter use this to your advantage Try and shield grab it if it is mis-spaced and punish him.
(Forward Tilt) F-tilt- is one of his best moves. If spaced correctly you can't be punished. It's a quick series of two jabs that do a lot of damage, have a lot of knock-back, can potentially kill you, and are near impossible to shield grab. Best method of dealing with this is punishing him from above, rolling behind him, spot-dodging it. If your character has projectiles you need to abuse them vs him. However he is a rush down character so his speed allows him to get in your zone very fast so you will not be able to wrack up too much percent with them in a short period of time.
(Upward Tilt) U-tilt- is good for knocking people away above you. It's fast and doesn't really kill.
(Upward) Fsmash, (Straight) Fsmash, (Downward) Fsmash- So the on stage game is where it gets hard. As you know Little Mac has armor on his Smash attacks. His fsmash has 3 variations resulting in a forward hook, forward punch, and forward downward hook
The Upward and Forward variation can kill at as early as 70% when sweet-spotted. They are very quick and when spaced can be very hard to punish. The downward variation has little knock-back, but deals a ton of damage and can knock people away that are on the ledge are on their way toward it.
The key to beating his Smash attacks is to not try and trade with or challenge them. You will lose and eat a lot of damage you don't want because he will kill you early. Instead simply roll behind him or spot dodge them and punish him with a grab or attack. You want to use moves that will either put him in the air or offstage. Both may not lead to an early kill, but they will certainly lead to early percent. Also if you get sweetpot smashed by him you can die at as little as 70%. Be wary.
(Downward Smash) Dsmash- Dsmash is very fast! Has amazing knock-back, very far range, and is a useful edge-guarding tool because it hits opponents on the ledge and under the ledge! Use this move to punish players who roll a lot and attempt to stall on the ledge. Also use this to punish opponents for recovering too high!
(Upward Smash) Usmash- This move is very quick, but needs to be properly spaced to be truly effective. If spaced correctly you can kill opponents off the top blast zone relatively early. If blocked you can definitely be punished with a grab or well spaced attack.
(Regular) Neutral B- This move keeps Little Mac stationed and charges up a strong punch that lunges him across the entire stage. He also does not receive knock back during this move. However it is extremely easy to dodge and has a horrible amount of lag!
(Special) Neutral B- is the famous and unique KO Punch. It is safe to say that if you under at least 25% you will not die in one hit! However this move is very fast and has a good amount of range. The meter for this move will be built upon giving and taking damage. Once this meter is filled the KO symbol will flash and Little Mac will grow hungry to land this move in hopes of killing you. He can lose this very quickly by taking a bit of damage while he has it. There is no timer to it so it will remain there until he uses it or loses it by taking damage. Play passive and make a read on a roll, spot dodge, whiffed attack, and let it rip! However for those fighting it you need to not play scared because you will mess up and die. Just play defensive and maneuver around Little Mac crossing him up and baiting the punch so you can dodge it and punish it's end lag.
(Upward B) Up-B- can be used offensively out of d throw, or if you read an air-dodge from above. Down throw can chain into his Up-B. This can also be used to punish opponents if they have him in rapid attacks.
(Downward B) Down B- Counter is a double edge sword. If you bait him into using it you can really destroy him for just throwing it out and missing. However if it hits you that is bad damage and has good knockback. Be wise, and play passive.
(Sideways B) Side-B- on stage is not that great because it is pretty telegraphed and can be punished fairly easily when the little Mac misses it. If a Little Mac is mindlessly throwing this move out just punish him every single time he misses.
Jab- This move is incredible and can tack on up to 30% if not Smash DI'd correctly. Not only does it do a lot of damage, it knocks you away giving him stage control! It is also very hard to block and shield grab so if you do shield all of it you need to hit him after he finishes the finisher hook. Your shield can not eat two whole jabs back to back it will break!
So he seems pretty scary right? What if I told you that this all becomes irrelevant because he lacks aerials with damage and knockback!? Little Mac literally has no air game aside from Up-B and nair.
(Neutral-A) Nair- can be used by little mac to break him out of rapid jabs from other characters, combos, and it can be used to chain an enemy to the ground if started in the air and lead directly into his tilts and jab with little to no lag.
Even then that move is alright and that priority is hard to obtain.
Here is an interesting way to use Nair!
(Forward-A) Fair- is very weak and does no real knock-back at low percents, but if they are at a high percent fair can knock people back quite nicely.
(Backward-A) Bair- is very weak and does no real knock-back.
(Downward-A) Dair- is weak and does nothing but spike a tiny bit. I wouldn't even call it a spike. You get tickled.
(Upward-A) Uair- Very weak with minimal range.
What you need to focus on!
Find the holes in the Little Mac's neutral game and get him into the air and demolish him with your air game and juggle him! If you get him offstage you are in a good spot, but don't underestimate his recovery tools!
Don't forget you are not just fighting the character you are fighting the player as well, and every player has different habits, a different way of thinking, spacing, timing, etc. You have to adapt to win! That is what will strengthen you as a player!
Little Mac has an amazing on stage game, and probably the strongest neutral game in Smash 4, but he gets killed by getting juggled, being put in the air, and thrown offstage. Even then, once you get familiar with how fast he is and his moves timings you will be able to go toe to toe with his on stage game and shut him down for good!
A bit of how I like to play Little Mac!
The way I play him is varies. I am a defensive and passive aggressive player depending on the match-up. Vs projectile based characters I rush them down so they are not given time to set up. I cross their shield up with rolls either behind them or backwards because Little Mac's roll is fast and difficult to punish. Then I wrack up damage with jabs and quick smash attacks because they can't be challenged and are hard to punish.
When I am defensive I do not run. I walk and literally play nothing but the neutral game. I space f-tilt a lot on my opponents and follow up with dash attacks or mix up by approaching with grabs. When I have the lead I force them to come to me and continue pressuring their approach options with f-tilts and punishing whiffs with jabs,
Strongest Stages!
Little Mac will benefit from stages with little to no platforms. This makes avoiding the KO punch very difficult for opponents, but in return limits your already terrible aerial options even more!
Worst stages!
Platforms allow for potential timeouts vs Little Mac when he is down. He does not have enough aerial options or priority to counter platform camping. This stage allows players to also stall and run away from the KO punch with having to worry about being punished by fighting him on the ground.
Gameplay!
NAKAT vs Vinnie
NAKAT vs Nairo (Game 2)
NAKAT vs Trela
and when you are in the air struggling for you life.....don't forget....
"You ain't no air fighter Mac...Smash ain't no joke!"
This is dangerous for both you and Little Mac!
Why this hurts you:
- You are cornered between him and the ledge limiting your movement and defensive options.
- You can be knocked off stage and edgeguarded by his down smash. You also lose stage control
- Little Mac is a rush down character with great Mix-ups. He will not mindlessly run into you. He will approach you and fade back before attacking, straight up attack you, run at you and grab you if you attempt to bait an attack in hopes of a shield grab, or roll behind you. He has many options still even if you do this.
Why this hurts him:
- One mistake and he can get thrown off the ledge, but does Little Mac offstage mean an instant death?
NO, generally the idea is that Little Mac's recovery game is extremely bad. Please listen to why I think it is not bad, but it is subpar and requires a lot more thought to survive over the rest of the cast.
Little Mac has 5 options when recovering (ALWAYS SAVE YOUR JUMP)
- He can up B under the Ledge. This is your best bet. Try and fall under the ledge then jump and Up-B. This can be punished because Little Mac does not sweetspot (Auto-grab) the ledge meaning he can be hit while doing it. This is why spacing it near perfect so that Mac does not go above the edge at all, but goes far enough to grab it is very important. It also has a nasty hitbox that can punish enemies that try and hit you from above.
- Punishment: Down Smash at the ledge, run off and stage spike him (This can be done by running off stage and having you opponent in between you and the stage. Once this placement is achieved throw out a move that will knock him into the stage boundaries or under which will then spike him and net an early KO)
- Side B above to or above the ledge has somewhat alright range. You want to use this only if you REALLY HAVE TO. This is the recovery that is baited out and punished the most and will result in your death. Why is this used the most? Beginner Little Mac's tend to be afraid to fall under the ledge and up-B because they do not know the spacing to reach the ledge and make it as safe as possible to grab it. A neat trick is if you side B and press side b again while in the lunge animation you can initiate the attack earlier or later and still carry momentum toward the stage. Use that to knock enemies away while you are trying to grab hold of the ledge. Sometimes you will have to initiate this move very early if you are high and far into the blast zone in order to live!
- Punishment: Jump over the Side B and spike him, Take the impact of the Side B early before he is in range of the ledge, Use a move that has more priority and knock him away.
- Down B to counter which pushes him forward when it connects. When you know your opponent is going to come out and attack you to knock you even further (Edge Guard) Counter the attack to move you forward and punish them. If you are not close enough to the stage yet you can still side b or up after you counter.
- Punishment: Bait the Down B and wait for it to end then knock them further away from the ledge or spike them.
- If high enough he can literally fall to the ledge and just snap it without doing nothing as a mix-up because players will always assume the Mac will Side B or Up B to make it back. Sometimes doing nothing can save you life.
- Punishment: If you read this you can literally force an air-dodge and punish him by knocking him further away or you can just hit them if they don't air-dodge.
- He can wall jump into Up B
- Punishment: Read the wall jump and hit him or let him wall jump and then hit his Up-B
Dash attack- Dash attack is very fast and has a great deal of knock back. It can combo into itself at low percents if they do not tech after being hit by the first one.
(Downward tilt) Dtilt- His D-tilt is like a bullet shot. It is fast and knocks you up. It can also lead into his KO punch, ftilt, and usmash. Avoid this like the plague. He isn't an air fighter use this to your advantage Try and shield grab it if it is mis-spaced and punish him.
(Forward Tilt) F-tilt- is one of his best moves. If spaced correctly you can't be punished. It's a quick series of two jabs that do a lot of damage, have a lot of knock-back, can potentially kill you, and are near impossible to shield grab. Best method of dealing with this is punishing him from above, rolling behind him, spot-dodging it. If your character has projectiles you need to abuse them vs him. However he is a rush down character so his speed allows him to get in your zone very fast so you will not be able to wrack up too much percent with them in a short period of time.
(Upward Tilt) U-tilt- is good for knocking people away above you. It's fast and doesn't really kill.
(Upward) Fsmash, (Straight) Fsmash, (Downward) Fsmash- So the on stage game is where it gets hard. As you know Little Mac has armor on his Smash attacks. His fsmash has 3 variations resulting in a forward hook, forward punch, and forward downward hook
The Upward and Forward variation can kill at as early as 70% when sweet-spotted. They are very quick and when spaced can be very hard to punish. The downward variation has little knock-back, but deals a ton of damage and can knock people away that are on the ledge are on their way toward it.
The key to beating his Smash attacks is to not try and trade with or challenge them. You will lose and eat a lot of damage you don't want because he will kill you early. Instead simply roll behind him or spot dodge them and punish him with a grab or attack. You want to use moves that will either put him in the air or offstage. Both may not lead to an early kill, but they will certainly lead to early percent. Also if you get sweetpot smashed by him you can die at as little as 70%. Be wary.
(Downward Smash) Dsmash- Dsmash is very fast! Has amazing knock-back, very far range, and is a useful edge-guarding tool because it hits opponents on the ledge and under the ledge! Use this move to punish players who roll a lot and attempt to stall on the ledge. Also use this to punish opponents for recovering too high!
(Upward Smash) Usmash- This move is very quick, but needs to be properly spaced to be truly effective. If spaced correctly you can kill opponents off the top blast zone relatively early. If blocked you can definitely be punished with a grab or well spaced attack.
(Regular) Neutral B- This move keeps Little Mac stationed and charges up a strong punch that lunges him across the entire stage. He also does not receive knock back during this move. However it is extremely easy to dodge and has a horrible amount of lag!
(Special) Neutral B- is the famous and unique KO Punch. It is safe to say that if you under at least 25% you will not die in one hit! However this move is very fast and has a good amount of range. The meter for this move will be built upon giving and taking damage. Once this meter is filled the KO symbol will flash and Little Mac will grow hungry to land this move in hopes of killing you. He can lose this very quickly by taking a bit of damage while he has it. There is no timer to it so it will remain there until he uses it or loses it by taking damage. Play passive and make a read on a roll, spot dodge, whiffed attack, and let it rip! However for those fighting it you need to not play scared because you will mess up and die. Just play defensive and maneuver around Little Mac crossing him up and baiting the punch so you can dodge it and punish it's end lag.
(Upward B) Up-B- can be used offensively out of d throw, or if you read an air-dodge from above. Down throw can chain into his Up-B. This can also be used to punish opponents if they have him in rapid attacks.
(Downward B) Down B- Counter is a double edge sword. If you bait him into using it you can really destroy him for just throwing it out and missing. However if it hits you that is bad damage and has good knockback. Be wise, and play passive.
(Sideways B) Side-B- on stage is not that great because it is pretty telegraphed and can be punished fairly easily when the little Mac misses it. If a Little Mac is mindlessly throwing this move out just punish him every single time he misses.
Jab- This move is incredible and can tack on up to 30% if not Smash DI'd correctly. Not only does it do a lot of damage, it knocks you away giving him stage control! It is also very hard to block and shield grab so if you do shield all of it you need to hit him after he finishes the finisher hook. Your shield can not eat two whole jabs back to back it will break!
So he seems pretty scary right? What if I told you that this all becomes irrelevant because he lacks aerials with damage and knockback!? Little Mac literally has no air game aside from Up-B and nair.
(Neutral-A) Nair- can be used by little mac to break him out of rapid jabs from other characters, combos, and it can be used to chain an enemy to the ground if started in the air and lead directly into his tilts and jab with little to no lag.
Even then that move is alright and that priority is hard to obtain.
Here is an interesting way to use Nair!
(Forward-A) Fair- is very weak and does no real knock-back at low percents, but if they are at a high percent fair can knock people back quite nicely.
(Backward-A) Bair- is very weak and does no real knock-back.
(Downward-A) Dair- is weak and does nothing but spike a tiny bit. I wouldn't even call it a spike. You get tickled.
(Upward-A) Uair- Very weak with minimal range.
What you need to focus on!
Find the holes in the Little Mac's neutral game and get him into the air and demolish him with your air game and juggle him! If you get him offstage you are in a good spot, but don't underestimate his recovery tools!
Don't forget you are not just fighting the character you are fighting the player as well, and every player has different habits, a different way of thinking, spacing, timing, etc. You have to adapt to win! That is what will strengthen you as a player!
Little Mac has an amazing on stage game, and probably the strongest neutral game in Smash 4, but he gets killed by getting juggled, being put in the air, and thrown offstage. Even then, once you get familiar with how fast he is and his moves timings you will be able to go toe to toe with his on stage game and shut him down for good!
A bit of how I like to play Little Mac!
The way I play him is varies. I am a defensive and passive aggressive player depending on the match-up. Vs projectile based characters I rush them down so they are not given time to set up. I cross their shield up with rolls either behind them or backwards because Little Mac's roll is fast and difficult to punish. Then I wrack up damage with jabs and quick smash attacks because they can't be challenged and are hard to punish.
When I am defensive I do not run. I walk and literally play nothing but the neutral game. I space f-tilt a lot on my opponents and follow up with dash attacks or mix up by approaching with grabs. When I have the lead I force them to come to me and continue pressuring their approach options with f-tilts and punishing whiffs with jabs,
Strongest Stages!
Little Mac will benefit from stages with little to no platforms. This makes avoiding the KO punch very difficult for opponents, but in return limits your already terrible aerial options even more!
Worst stages!
Platforms allow for potential timeouts vs Little Mac when he is down. He does not have enough aerial options or priority to counter platform camping. This stage allows players to also stall and run away from the KO punch with having to worry about being punished by fighting him on the ground.
Gameplay!
and when you are in the air struggling for you life.....don't forget....
"You ain't no air fighter Mac...Smash ain't no joke!"
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