Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Little Mac (SSBU)

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This article is about Little Mac's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. For the character in other contexts, see Little Mac.
Little Mac
in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
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PunchOutSymbol.svg
Universe Punch-Out!!
Other playable appearance in SSB4


Availability Unlockable
Final Smash Giga Mac Rush
Little Mac (SSBU)
As a boxer, Little Mac fights with his fists alone—no kicks! When his Power Meter fills up, he can use a special KO Uppercut, which can really turn a battle around. For his Final Smash, he turns into Giga Mac and pummels the opponent with a furious rush of punches!
Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Little Mac (リトル・マック, Little Mac) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, officially confirmed on June 12th, 2018. Little Mac is classified as fighter #49.

Kosuke Toriumi reprises his role as Little Mac in the game, via reused voice clips from Smash 4.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

With the exception of the third method, Little Mac must then be defeated on Boxing Ring.

Attributes

Little Mac offers a simple yet polarized fighting style, performing well on the ground, but poorly in the air. Fittingly, Little Mac is of below-average size, especially compared to other realistically proportioned characters. This can make him somewhat difficult to hit, but also means that most of his moves have short range, which makes spacing crucial for avoiding punishment. Little Mac is a lightweight with the eighth fastest walking speed, the third fastest dashing speed, and above average traction, granting him effective out of shield options. He also has the second fastest initial dash, which lasts moderately long with a duration of 15 frames, giving him a long pivot and an excellent dash dance, only losing to Zero Suit Samus. His sidestep and rolls are also among the fastest in the game, with the latter also being long-distanced, making it easy for Little Mac to punish grounded attacks. He also has below-average gravity and fast falling speed, which gives him good vertical endurance for a lightweight. Aside from his great air speed (tied with Mario, Donkey Kong, Sonic and Inkling for the 12th highest) and his wall jump, which is the fourth highest, however, the rest of Little Mac's aerial attributes are notoriously poor: his jump is tied with Ryu and Ken for fifth lowest, his double jump is the third lowest, his air acceleration is tied with Ganondorf for the sixth worst, and his directional air dodge travels the least distance. These attributes effectively force Mac to stay on the ground as often as possible.

Little Mac's greatest strength is his potent ground game. None of his grounded moves have more than 15 frames of start-up, whereas only his up smash has more than 30 frames of ending lag. Only five non-special moves (forward smash, back air, up smash, down smash and forward air) become active after frame 9, and only the former two after frame 10. His neutral attack in particular is tied with Zero Suit Samus' for the fastest in the game, activating on frame 1. Despite his low weight, Little Mac boasts superb KO potential, as his forward tilt, dash attack and smash attacks have high damage output and knockback scaling while being somewhat fast despite their power. Forward smash can be angled, with the downward variant dealing immense shield damage and the upward variant being one of Mac's most effective vertical KO options on the ground. Up smash's coverage allows it to serve as an effective anti-air, and its sweetspot also deals heavy shield damage. Finally, down smash is a semi-spike with fairly long range, allowing it to tech chase as well as edge-guard easily against careless or vulnerable recoveries. Besides their speed and strength, Little Mac's grounded moves are also difficult to interrupt, which combined with his high dashing speed gives him an excellent punish game, similarly to Zelda. His tilt attacks boast anti-rebounding priority; this prevents them from clanking with opposing ground attacks provided they're within priority range, allowing Mac to punish opponents very quickly due to his own attacks' high speed. While his smash attacks have normal priority, they instead boast super armor during their use. This offers Mac a unique way of punishing attacks by tanking the hit while immediately retaliating. These traits make him arguably the most difficult opponent to directly challenge on the ground.

Little Mac's special moves also have fairly respectable utility. Straight Lunge gains distance and power as it charges, deals heavy damage, and boasts light damage-based armor while charging, allowing him to tank through weak attacks before retaliating immediately afterward. As such, it is an effective tool against most rapid jabs even while uncharged. The move can also be canceled by shielding, giving it utility for escaping certain combo moves such as Witch Twist, and it can be turned around when released, offering decent mix-up potential and a way to get out of combos. However, Straight Lunge's considerable ending lag limits its offensive utility as it can be easily intercepted or punished, while it's defensive utility depends on the character and the attack. Jolt Haymaker propels Mac forward with a leaping punch that travels a fair distance, can be unleashed on command and grants brief intangibility during start-up, making it useful for tech-chasing, repositioning, and escaping or punishing laggy moves or projectiles, and making it Mac's only useful KO option while off-stage. It also does not leave him helpless, making it a much less dangerous recovery move when compared to Little Mac's Smash 4 iteration. Rising Uppercut grants brief intangibility on start-up and travels fairly high when used on the ground. This makes the move an effective combo breaker; combined with the last hit's high knockback scaling, it is also quite potent out of shield and for scoring aerial KO's and KO's close to the upper blast line. Slip Counter is an extremely fast counterattack, making it useful for escaping pressure, especially aerial combos. It's also one of the few counters that slides forward before attacking, allowing Little Mac to get close to his opponent or even recover horizontally in response to an edgeguard attempt.

Lastly, Little Mac has a unique mechanic in the Power Meter. Shown over the damage meter, the Power Meter charges by dealing 333% or receiving 100%. When fully charged, Straight Lunge is replaced by the KO Uppercut, which can KO any character before 40%. KO Uppercut is also unblockable (barring Witch Time), boasts fast startup, and leaps slightly into the air (allowing it to catch opponents on low platforms such as Battlefield's); combined with its immense power, this can quickly turn the tide of a match or further secure a lead if used successfully. However, Mac loses the KO Uppercut if tumbled after a 4 second grace period (not including footstool jumping), forcing him to use the move quickly. KO Uppercut also has considerable endlag regardless of whether it hits or not, and its short leap can cause Mac to fall off the stage if used while next to an edge. As a result, it is unarguably one of the riskiest, yet most rewarding attacks in the entire series.

Despite his incredible strengths, Little Mac is held back by a slew of exploitable weaknesses, with the most notorious being his deliberately ineffective air game. His air attacks have some perks; neutral aerial is the fastest aerial attack in the game, making it a decent combo breaker, and it can combo into itself; forward and back aerials are semi-spikes, with the former being effective for combos or edgeguarding; up aerial is a fast anti-air; and down aerial is an extremely fast meteor smash. However, his aerials all have short range and minimal damage output, and while his neutral and down aerials can auto-cancel from a short hop, his forward, back, and up aerials cannot. This leaves Mac incredibly vulnerable in the air, as he has no means of properly defending himself beyond point-blank range without exhausting any of his special moves. The low power of his aerials also makes them ineffective for flinching opponents, and Mac's only aerial KO options are indeed his special moves, which are highly likely to result in sacrificial KOs if misused off-stage. This also means that Mac is more severely affected by stale-move negation than most other characters, as he is effectively limited to using little more than half of his moveset in most situations, although his variety of powerful finishers compensates for it to a degree. Mac's weak air mobility and high falling speed make him incredibly susceptible to gimps from meteor smashes, semi-spikes, and even footstool jumps, especially if he doesn't have his double jump. Compounding this, his directional air dodge has the least distance, and his air dodge's ending lag is only average relative to the cast due to the universal changes to air dodges, since now the ending lag depends on the character's falling speed and gravity. Thus, it is not only a situational option while in a disadvantage state, but also poor as a normal recovery move. Mac can grab the ledge by using a directional air dodge if he is close enough, however, allowing him to cover the remaining distance to the ledge, making it very useful if combined with his double jump and special moves.

His special moves are also considerably less effective while in the air. Straight Lunge loses much of its power when used in midair, and its long charge time makes it impractical for recovery. Aerial KO Uppercut is also significantly weaker, only KO'ing around 150%, and is also blockable. While Jolt Haymaker and Rising Uppercut are Little Mac's most effective aerial KO options, they are very poor for recovery, offering poor travel distance, small edge sweet spots, and minimal intangibility. Jolt Haymaker does not cause helplessness, allowing Mac to follow up with a wall jump, directional air dodge or Rising Uppercut; however it travels a mediocre distance and can only be used once before landing or grabbing the edge, leaving Mac one of the most vulnerable characters to edgeguarding as he is unable to use it again of he gets hit. Rising Uppercut loses roughly half its travel distance when used in midair, and while aerial Slip Counter can be a good response to an edgeguard attempt, it loses its intangibility, can be predicted, and its endlag if unsuccessful is likely to result in Mac self-destructing if used at a low enough altitude. These traits result in Little Mac having more difficulty with recovering than most other characters, resulting in his recovery being commonly cited as one of, if not the worst overall. While his below-average gravity and high falling speed grant solid vertical endurance for a lightweight, they also make him extremely vulnerable to combos and juggling. Additionally, the super armor granted by Mac's smash attacks still causes him to take full damage, and must be timed carefully to avoid being punished. These traits make Mac extremely prone to momentum shifts; his lacking air game and overall frailty allows opponents to easily combo or even zero-to-death him after one mistake, even if Mac was otherwise dominating the match.

Because of these issues, his neutral game, while decent, is very linear and predictable. Mac relies more heavily than most other characters on his shield and dodges for avoiding damage and general positioning, both of which are predictable and easily punished if overused. His short range can be problematic against characters with long or disjointed attacks. He also has trouble dealing with camping; while his super armor and special moves provide options for dealing with projectiles, he is still forced to approach as he lacks projectiles of his own. His short jumps and weak aerial attacks also leave Mac especially vulnerable to platform camping, arguably more so than any other character in the game. While Little Mac's strong ground game helps to compensate, it has some flaws of its own. Besides his downward angled forward smash and sweetspotted up smash, none of Mac's other moves deal extra shield damage and also lack shieldstun, making his jab, up tilt, and dash attack especially unsafe against opponents who shield frequently, due to their short freeze frames despite not having a lot of endlag. Compounding this is Little Mac's mediocre grab game; Mac's pummel is among the fastest, but his grabs are slow and have short range, and the ending lag and collateral hitboxes for his throws limit their ability to KO or start combos. However, they still have some uses: his down throw can combo into Rising Uppercut, but it's susceptible to DI; his back throw has decent power and can KO at around 130%, but its collateral hitbox weakens it; up throw can combo into Jolt Haymaker at low to mid percents, and forward throw can tech chase at the same percentages. While Mac is very effective at tech chasing due to his high ground speed and wide, semi-spiking down smash, his combo potential is otherwise underwhelming, which combined with his linear neutral can sometimes make it difficult to safely rack up damage despite his attacks' high damage output. As a whole, Little Mac's poor combo game requires him to win neutral exchanges more often in order to succeed.

Overall, Little Mac's playstyle is like that of a real boxer, with a defensive bait and punish style: keeping constant control of the middle of the stage, capitalizing on the opponent's mistakes, staying on the ground as much as possible, and utilizing his excellent ground mobility to his advantage, similar to his playstyle in Punch Out!!. He can be difficult to utilize effectively despite his straightforward fighting style, as his weaknesses outweigh his strengths.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Despite being a lower mid-tier character in Smash 4, Little Mac has received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition to Ultimate, but he was nerfed overall. While he has received good improvements both directly and from game engine changes, he received heavy nerfs to his damage and combo potential. He also is mostly harmed by the universal engine changes in Ultimate compared to most of the cast who benefit from said changes.

His biggest buff involves his notoriously poor recovery: it has been extended and has greater mixup potential due to readdition of directional air dodges, Jolt Haymaker no longer causing helplessness while traveling more distance, and KO Uppercut granting recovery distance in midair. His attributes have also been modified, as he now has a considerably faster air speed which helps him recover easier, higher jumps which no longer make him as vulnerable to platform camping (while also improving his recovery), and the second highest falling speed which makes it easier for him to return to the ground.

He also benefits heavily from some universal changes: the readdition of dash dancing grants him one of the game's best dash dances, the universal nerf to grabs and shield grabs makes him more difficult to punish out of shield, and dash cancels give him arguably the biggest benefit of any fighter, as he now has access to all his grounded options at any time. Some of his ground moves have been improved: his jab is faster and can now both jab lock and jab cancel, his forward tilt connects better on opponents in the air, down tilt has more range to the point it outranges some swordfighter's down tilts, such as Meta Knight or Ike, all versions of forward smash have lost their blind spots, while Straight Lunge gains damage while charging, can now be shield-canceled, can be turned around if needed, and deals a consistent 30% when fully charged. Also, many of his attacks no longer have a sourspot on Little Mac's arm, causing them to deal consistent damage and knockback.

However, Little Mac has received significant nerfs. Many engine changes have removed some of his strongest ground advantages: the inability to run past shields make it easier to corner Little Mac and read his fairly linear approach, the removal of perfect pivoting eliminates his extremely strong microspacing tactics, and Straight Lunge's armor can no longer withstand edge attacks due to them now doing more than 8% throughout the cast. He has also been nerfed directly: KO Uppercut KOs very slightly later, his best damage-racking abilities are weaker as neutral attack, neutral infinite and up tilt all deal less damage (with the latter being less safe at low percents), while his down tilt is slower and has lost many of its combos outside of low percentages, removing most of his damage racking abilities as well as kill confirms. His weaker neutral attack and down tilt also make them less likely to out-prioritize attacks (since they offer anti-rebounding priority). Down smash is less consistent as an edgeguard tool since the hitbox is smaller. As a result, Little Mac's ground game has actually become worse, as he has to deal more hits and has less followup potential, while still lacking useful moves to edgeguard or attack offstage opponents with (apart from Jolt Haymaker and down smash).

In addition, despite some of the universal changes improving Mac, other indirect changes have significantly harmed him. Since defensive options (shielding, air dodges, rolls, and spot dodges) have been nerfed, Little Mac's defense is more exploitable since he is extremely reliant on dodges and shielding, and the limitation to a single air dodge makes him even more susceptible to juggling and gimps despite his improved recovery. His recovery has ironically become less consistent than before, as Jolt Haymaker can now only be used once before landing (making misuse or interception usually fatal for him), and the ending lag of directional air dodges makes it difficult to fully extend his recovery. Finally, the universal reduction of jumpsquats and landing lag benefits him far less while strengthening most of the cast's aerial games, making it even harder for him to contest against aerial rushdowns.

Overall, despite some changes to Little Mac's notorious recovery and the ability to dash cancel moves, Little Mac has indirectly lost many tools that made him effective in the previous game, making him perform worse than his iteration in Smash 4. As a result of this, his early reception within the competitive community was extremely negative, which extended to the point where he was almost unanimously considered the worst character in the game (which included professionals such as ZeRo). This has been reflected in his tournament representation, as it is almost non-existent at national level tournaments; however, he still has several dedicated mains to his credit, including Sol, who continues to attain respectable results with him at the regional levels and a few noteworthy placements in nationals. In addition, patch 3.1.0 heavily improved his grounded kit, and has granted him a more formidable neutral attack, down and forward tilts, as well as specials having decreased lag. As a result, his representation and results have gradually improved even in nationals such as SoCal Chronicles, Smash Factor 8, or Low Tier City 7. In the latter, two Little Mac players reached top 50 placements, tied for 33rd and 49th respectively, and Mr Newport placed in the top 100 in EVO 2019 while using only Little Mac, showing that he has some potential. In one particular case of a Little Mac placing unusually high, Tarakotori placed 13th at Umebura SP 4, a tournament with over 500 entrants, using only Little Mac. As a result, while ZeRo still thinks that Little Mac is the worst in the game, many professionals have reevaluated their opinions on Little Mac, considering him to be a low tier rather than a bottom tier character, while VOID notably sees him as a mid tier character, thanks to his more versatile and more reliable combo tools and improved results, albeit not enough to go higher due to his very poor aerial game and recovery still being mediocre and inconsistent. As such, his viability remains up for debate.

Aesthetics

  • Change As with all veterans returning from SSB4, Little Mac's model features a more subdued color scheme. His clothing now features simple detailing and his muscles are slightly more pronounced.
  • Change Little Mac no longer has sixteen alternate costumes, only eight. Of the cut costumes, his blue and orange outfits have been removed, while Wire-Frame Mac has notably been reduced to just two outfits: his standard and sweatshirt outfits.
  • Change Little Mac's alternate costumes no longer change his skin tone.
  • Change For certain attacks, the visual trail textures will match the color of Little Mac's boxing gloves.
  • Change Side taunt has been altered to have a significantly more noticeable glove-tightening and arm-swinging animation.
  • Change Air dodge has an altered animation.
  • Change Once KO Uppercut is used or lost, the Power Meter now shows the meter physically draining to zero, rather than cutting immediately to the lowest level.
  • Change Little Mac now winces and frowns while clapping during the results screen.
  • Change Doc Louis' quotes have been shortened in Little Mac's victory poses.
  • Change Doc Louis no longer appears in Little Mac's victory pose during Team Battles.
  • Change Little Mac is much more expressive. He now scowls in many more animations, smiles in his down taunt, appears shocked when he gets hit, and pained when he is laying on the ground or tumbling.

Attributes

  • Buff Like all characters, Little Mac's jumpsquat animation now takes three frames to complete (down from 5).
  • Buff Little Mac benefits from the re-addition of directional air dodges, which grant him a new option to mix up his landings and giving him a new recovery option.
    • Nerf However, Little Mac's directional airdodge has the shortest distance in the game, hampering its use as a recovery option compared to most other fighters.
    • Nerf Air dodges have higher endlag and can only be performed once before landing or getting hit, leaving Little Mac more susceptible to edgeguarding if he does not grab the ledge.
  • Buff Little Mac benefits significantly from the ability to dash cancel almost any grounded attack, increasing the versatility of his ground game.
    • Nerf In turn, Little Mac suffers from the removal of perfect pivoting due to his previous heavy reliance on the technique in Smash 4.
  • Buff As characters no longer dash through each other, many of Little Mac's moves now connect consistently better, most notably with forward smash, Straight Lunge, and KO Uppercut.
    • Nerf This change hinders his mixup options, as he can no longer run through opponents for a positional advantage.
  • Buff Little Mac dashes much faster (2.24 → 2.464).
  • Buff Little Mac walks slightly faster (1.32 → 1.386).
  • Buff Little Mac's air speed is much faster (1 → 1.208), going from tied for 31st fastest in Smash 4 to tied for 12th in Ultimate. Among other things, this improves his recovery.
  • Buff Little Mac's max additional air acceleration is slightly higher (0.028 → 0.03).
  • Buff Little Mac jumps higher, now being able to reach the lower platforms of Battlefield with one full hop, and the top platform with both jumps. This improves his offstage survivability and prevents him from being camped as easily.
  • Nerf Little Mac's falling speed (1.8 → 1.95) and fast falling speed (2.88 → 3.12) are much faster, now tied with King Dedede for the 2nd highest falling speed. This severely weakens his recovery, makes him easier to combo, and removes his ability to autocancel Forward and Back Aerial in a shorthop, effectively weakening his combo potential.
  • Change Little Mac is heavier (82 → 87). This increases his survivability but makes him easier to combo.

Ground attacks

  • Buff Like most neutral attacks in the game, the first two hits of Mac's jab can jab lock due to their altered angles (85°/80° → 361°/180°), though it can be difficult to land on smaller characters.
    • Buff Due to the universal improvements to neutral infinites, Little Mac's neutral infinite connects significantly better, as it could be escaped from relatively easily in SSB4.
    • Buff Neutral attack's first and second hit has less ending lag (FAF 22 → 17), giving them jab canceling potential.
    • Buff Neutral attack's third hit has slightly less ending lag (FAF 32 → 30).
    • Nerf All hits of neutral attack except for the infinite finisher deal less damage (2% → 1.5% (hit 1), 2% → 1.5% (hit 2), 7% → 5% (hit 3)).
    • Nerf Neutral infinite deals less damage (0.7% → 0.5% (loop)).
    • Nerf Neutral attack no longer has anti-rebounding priority.
    • Nerf Neutral attack can no longer be edge canceled into KO Uppercut, as the universal change to neutral infinites prevents Mac from being pushed off edges while hitting opponents.
    • Change Holding down the standard attack button causes Little Mac to do his three hit jab, while mashing it causes him to perform his neutral infinite. Previously, the infinite would be initiated by holding down standard attack.
  • Up tilt:
    • Nerf The removal of perfect pivoting significantly harms up tilt's overall versatility.
    • Nerf Up tilt deals less damage (9% → 6.5%).
    • Nerf Up tilt's base knockback was reduced, while its knockback scaling was increased (50 (base), 80 (scaling) → 25/120). This makes up tilt unsafe on hit at very low percents (as opponents can air dodge or attack out of it) while still being a non viable KO move.
      • Buff The reduced damage output and altered knockback improves its combo potential at low and mid percentages.
    • Nerf Up tilt is less effective for out-prioritizing attacks with its anti-rebounding priority, due to the move's lowered damage.
  • Forward tilt:
    • Buff Forward tilt's second hit connects more consistently.
  • Down tilt:
    • Buff Down tilt has noticeably more range.
    • Nerf Down tilt has more ending lag (FAF 22 → 26), significantly reducing its combo ability and followups with a majority of its followups only usable at extremely low percents, while limiting its few consistent followups at higher percents (Jolt Haymaker and Rising Uppercut).
  • Change All smash attacks cause the screen to shake.
  • Change While using any smash attack, Little Mac voices out with his weak knockback voice clip if he takes damage during the move. This allows for a minor mindgame when Mac is hit during his super armor state, but is otherwise a small detail.
  • Change All smash attacks trigger Special Zoom if Little Mac is hit during their startup and lands the move on an opponent.
  • Forward smash:
    • Buff Forward smash no longer has a blindspot.
    • Buff Normal and up angled forward smash no longer have sourspots on the arm that deal 18%.
    • Change Unangled forward smash produces a softer "wind" sound, rather than the sharp punching sound effect used in Smash 4.
    • Nerf Downward angled forward smash deals more base knockback (50 → 65), harming its combo potential while still being too weak to KO.
  • Up smash:
    • Change Up smash's first frame produces a spark akin to a glancing blow, which visualizes its stronger flame sweetspot.
    • Buff Up smash has more super armor (frames 8-11 → frames 8-13).
  • Down smash:
    • Nerf Both hits of down smash have a smaller hitbox.

Aerial attacks

  • Buff All aerials have noticeably less landing lag (Neutral: 16 → 10 frames, Forward: 22 → 13, Back: 26 → 16, Up: 22 → 13, Down: 30 → 16).
  • Nerf Due to Little Mac's faster falling speed, forward aerial and back aerial no longer auto-cancel in a short hop.
  • Buff Neutral aerial auto-cancels earlier (frame 25 → 16), allowing Little Mac to use it twice or three times in a short hop without landing lag.
  • Buff All aerials no longer have a sourspot, causing them to deal consistent damage.
  • Nerf However, down aerial deals less damage (5%→ 4%), hindering its already low power even further.

Throws/other attacks

  • Buff Grab range has been significantly increased, with the grabbox now properly covering Little Mac's whole arm and hand and even in front to his face, matching the animation properly. This makes it safer to use.
  • Nerf Dash grab and pivot grab have increased startup (Dash grab: frame 10 → 13, Pivot grab: frame 11 → 14).
  • Nerf All grabs have more ending lag (Standing: FAF 33 → 39, Dash: FAF 41 → 47, Pivot: FAF 34 → 42).
  • Change Pummel is much faster, but deals less damage (2.1% → 1%).
  • Up throw:
    • Buff It has marginally increased knockback scaling (104 → 105).
  • Change Down throw deals less base knockback, but higher knockback scaling (78 (base), 40 (scaling) → 50/88).
    • Buff The lower base knockback allows Mac to combo into moves besides Rising Uppercut at low percents.
    • Nerf The higher knockback scaling combined with Ultimate's knockback and hitstun changes makes down throw combo less reliably at higher percents.
  • Change Little Mac has altered swing animations for battering items like the Beam Sword, no longer performing a stab forward when using a forward smash. This applies to all except his dash attack. Like in Smash 4, he shares this change with Captain Falcon.

Special Moves

  • Straight Lunge:
    • Buff Straight Lunge can be canceled by shielding.
    • Buff Like with most non-storable charge moves, Straight Lunge can be unleashed in the opposite direction upon releasing the move.
    • Buff Fully-charged Straight Lunge no longer has a blind spot, as characters can no longer pass through each other.
    • Buff Straight Lunge gains power and damage as it is charged; previously, it had fixed damage values for an uncharged and fully-charged attack.
    • Buff Uncharged Straight Lunge has less ending lag (FAF 49 → 44).
      • Nerf Uncharged grounded Straight Lunge deals less damage (14% → 12%) and has lower knockback scaling (90 → 65) significantly hindering its KO potential. The aerial version also has lower knockback scaling (95 → 80).
      • Buff Late uncharged aerial Straight Lunge deals more damage (7% → 8%).
      • Buff Fully-charged Straight Lunge deals much more damage (25% → 30% (grounded), 15% → 20% (aerial)) without full compensation on its knockback (55 (base), 86 (scaling) → 50/77 (grounded), 25/100 → 25/95 (aerial)), and deals consistent damage throughout the move instead of having a weaker late hit.
    • Nerf Straight Lunge's heavy armor doesn't scale with the 1v1 multiplier, resulting in it becoming less effective in non-doubles gameplay.
    • Nerf Because all edge attacks now do at least 9% damage, Straight Lunge can no longer tank through them as its heavy armor caps at 8%, removing a key ledge trapping option for Mac.
  • KO Uppercut:
    • Change KO Uppercut has a new animation. Little Mac performs a jumping uppercut while facing the screen, making it appear more identical to the Star Punch from Punch-Out!! on the NES.
    • Change The new animation is treated as an actual jump, meaning it is possible to use the grounded variant and end up offstage, especially if the punch is used out of a dash.
    • Change KO Uppercut now uses Special Zoom. As a result, the move will no longer zoom in the camera outside of a 1v1.
    • Buff KO Uppercut's new animation gives the move more vertical range, allowing it to hit opponents on the lower platforms of Battlefield. It also grants recovery distance if used in midair.
    • Buff KO Uppercut is performed faster in general, making it harder to punish.
    • Buff KO Uppercut no longer has a windbox, making the hitbox connect more consistently.
    • Buff KO Uppercut has less ending lag (FAF 93 → 77).
    • Buff Aerial KO Uppercut deals more knockback (40 (base), 80 (scaling) → 50/95), giving it KO potential.
    • Nerf Aerial KO Uppercut is no longer unblockable. [1]
    • Nerf The change to the move's animation causes a ledge-cancelled KO Uppercut (the "Gazelle Punch") to land as an aerial attack, removing its KO potential at the ledge.
  • Jolt Haymaker:
    • Change Grounded Jolt Haymaker makes Little Mac spend less time in the air. He also lands with significantly more traction.
    • Buff Jolt Haymaker has 1 less frame of startup (frame 9 → 8).
    • Buff Grounded Jolt Haymaker has reduced ending lag.
    • Buff Jolt Haymaker deals more base knockback (33 → 75), sending opponents into tumble at 0%.
    • Nerf Jolt Haymaker has less knockback scaling (98 → 63), killing slightly later as its base knockback was not fully compensated.
    • Nerf Grounded Jolt Haymaker travels a shorter distance.
    • Buff Jolt Haymaker no longer renders Little Mac helpless and keeps more forward momentum, thus granting more distance. This significantly improves his recovery and turns what was previously a common suicidal mistake into a potent edge guarding tool.
    • Nerf All versions of Jolt Haymaker can only be used once until Mac touches the ground again, even if he is hit out of it. This makes it less safe to use, especially if at the risk of being sent offstage.
    • Buff Grounded Jolt Haymaker will stop Little Mac from going over the ledge in the last few frames, preventing him from just barely overshooting the ledge and having to get back to the stage.
  • Rising Uppercut:
    • Buff Little Mac no longer suffers from RCO lag if he is hit out of Rising Uppercut.
    • Buff Rising Uppercut travels a higher distance when performed on the ground.
    • Buff Aerial Rising Uppercut snaps to the ledge earlier on during the move, instead of only during startup and after the final hitbox appears.
    • Buff Aerial Rising Uppercut travels slightly higher.
    • Buff Aerial Rising Uppercut keeps a small amount of forward momentum, slightly improving its horizontal distance.
    • Change Rising Uppercut's first hit has a trail to highlight its hitbox.
  • Slip Counter:
    • Buff Slip Counter has less ending lag (FAF 61 → 57).
    • Change Slip Counter grants less momentum after an aerial counter. This lowers its recovery potential, but makes it less likely that Mac gets accidentally sent offstage by a counter.
    • Change Slip Counter produces an aesthetic spark upon retaliating.
    • Change When Slip Counter connects, the opponent's knockback is initially slowed before going to normal speed.
  • Final Smash:
    • Change Little Mac has a new Final Smash called Giga Mac Rush. Rather than using Giga Mac as a controllable transformation, Little Mac transforms into his Giga Mac form and rushes forward, and if he comes into contact with an opponent, he unleashes a rush of punches before launching them.

Update history

Likely because of his widespread perception as one of the worst characters in the game, Little Mac has been noticeably buffed by game updates. Although update 2.0.0 granted inconsequential buffs to his neutral and up aerials, update 3.1.0 significantly improved his ground game. Neutral attack was heavily improved in three distinct ways. Its hits connect better, thanks to improved ranges for and, more notably, its first and second hits had their ending lag reduced to the point that it is only attack in Ultimate that is capable of jab canceling reliably. Forward tilt connects much better against airborne opponents, which was a notorious flaw that remained unaddressed throughout SSB4's lifespan. Down tilt's range was improved, to the point that it is actually on par with Mii Swordfighter's and out-ranges Ike's, while up smash's super armor has a longer duration.

Jolt Haymaker received a new hitbox that increased its vertical range, thus allowing its grounded version to hit opponents on Battlefield's low platforms. KO Uppercut, Slip Counter and uncharged Straight Lunge had their ending lag reduced by various amounts. Lastly, Little Mac indirectly benefits from the update's changes to shield damage for projectiles, as they make it somewhat easier for him to handle camping.

However, update 4.0.0 removed one of, if not Little Mac's best, combo option. Update 3.1.0 introduced an unintentional mechanic that decreased the ending lag of neutral attack's third hit by 10 frames if that it was inputted manually. This gave his neutral attack the ability to combo into itself (using a dash-cancel), forward smash, grab, or Jolt Haymaker at low to medium percents. Sol had even named this technique, christening it the "Dreamland Express" as proposed by his Twitch chat. Despite the loss of this option, it is not enough to eclipse the other buffs that update 3.1.0 granted Little Mac in the first place.

Overall, Little Mac's buffs have heavily improved his kit, granted him new potential set-ups, and slightly improved his defense. Sol, one of the pioneers of Mac's metagame in SSB4, has notably viewed the buffs as sufficient enough to render Mac better than he was in SSB4[2] (although he had made this statement before the Dreamland Express was removed). However, how these buffs will affect him the long run is yet to be known.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 2.0.0

  • Buff Neutral aerial auto-cancels earlier (frame 25 → 16), matching the move's interruptibility.
  • Buff Little Mac can grab the edge earlier after using his neutral (46 frames → 40) and up aerials (73 frames → 66).

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 3.1.0

  • Buff Neutral attack's first and second hits have less ending lag (FAF 22 → 17). This restores their jab canceling potential.
  • Buff Neutral attack's first hit connects into its second hit more reliably.
  • Buff Neutral attack's second and third hits have more range.
  • Buff Neutral attack's third hit has less ending lag (FAF 32 → 30).
  • Buff Neutral attack has a slightly different animation when all of its hits are inputted manually, which allows Little Mac to act 10 frames earlier (FAF 20). This grants it combo potential at low to medium percents.[1]
  • Buff Forward tilt connects more reliably against airborne opponents.
  • Buff Down tilt has more range.
  • Buff Up smash has more super armor (frames 8-11 → 8-13).
  • Buff Grounded non-fully charged Straight Lunge has less ending lag (FAF 50 → 45).
  • Buff Grounded KO Uppercut has less ending lag (FAF 97 → 77).
  • Buff Jolt Haymaker has received a hitbox during its first frame that is positioned above and in front of Little Mac. This improves its vertical range.
  • Buff Slip Counter has less ending lag (FAF 63 → 57).

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 4.0.0

  • Nerf Manually inputted neutral attack no longer lessens its third hit's ending lag. This removes its combo potential.

Moveset

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

  Name Damage Description
Neutral attack   1.5% A left jab, followed by a right hook, followed by a left uppercut. If the button is mashed, Little Mac will perform an extremely fast flurry of alternating punches, followed by a right uppercut. Holding the attack button will have Little Mac repeat the first hit rapidly. Like in Smash 4, it is one of the fastest attacks in the game, with the first hit coming out on frame 1. As it offers anti-rebounding priority, it can also beat out most weak attacks. As a result, it is an excellent point-blank interrupting tool. The first two hits can lock floored characters, although this is difficult to perform on most characters due to the move's height. The first two hits have very low ending lag, allowing either to jab cancel into Rising Uppercut; this acts as a KO combo at various percents, with hit 2 working past around 145%, and hit 1 working past 200%. However, this combo can be safely shielded.
1.5%
5%
0.5% (loop), 3% (final hit)
Forward tilt   4% (hit 1), 8% (hit 2) A one-two combo. The first hit leads into the second hit, which deals excellent knockback that can KO Mario from the edge of Final Destination at 90%. Due to the first hit coming out at frame 4 and the second at frame 12, it's extremely fast while also being one of the strongest forward tilts in the game. It also has anti-rebounding priority and the longest range of his tilts due to Mac moving slightly forward during both hits,especially the first, making it useful out of a dash. As of patch 3.1.0, the second connects more reliably on opponents in the air, unlike in SSB4.
Up tilt   6.5% An overhead arcing backfist. Very fast, coming out on frame 4 and has low ending lag. It covers the entirety of Little Mac's body, which allows him to use it as a quick option to punish overhead attacks or rolls. It is Little Mac's best combo initiator in general due to its anti-rebounding priority, low knockback and speed. The back hit combos better due to Mac having less endlag after. Combos include itself at low percents, and Rising Uppercut or KO Uppercut at low/mid percents if the opponent is close to him. It can also lead into tilts or smash attacks depending on an opponent's reaction. However, it is unsafe at very low percents, as opponents can act before Little Mac can. It resembles Don Flamenco's Twirling Backhand used during Title Defense Mode in the Wii version of Punch-Out!!, albeit performed vertically instead of horizontally.
Down tilt   8% A crouching short straight-punch. Like his neutral attack and tilts, it has anti-rebounding priority and has extremely fast startup at frame 3. However, it has lost its formidable combo potential from Smash 4 due to its higher ending lag and altered knockback angle, which sends opponents diagonally in front of Little Mac. As a result, it can only combo into tilts at 0%, and its only consistent combos at higher percents are Jolt Haymaker, forward aerial, dashing Rising Uppercut, or KO Uppercut on heavyweights. Otherwise, it is mainly used to force opponents into a landing situation for Mac to capitalize on. As of patch 3.1.0, down tilt's range now exceeds those of some swordfighters, now being on par with Mii Swordfighter's and longer than Ike's.
Dash attack   10% A lunging overhand. It is fast for a dash attack (frame 7), travels a long distance, and acts as a situational KO option, doing so on Mario at 136% from the edge of Final Destination. However, due of its lack of shieldstun, it is notoriously punishable on shield, and is easily punished with a grab and throw, which puts Little Mac at a severe disadvantage due to his abysmal air game. The first frame has an early hitbox that deals the same damage, but KOs much later.
Forward smash Straight Smash 20% Steps forward and throws one of three right-handed punch variations, depending on which angle the control stick is tilted. It's active on frame 14(15 if angled down) making it somewhat fast for its power. Little Mac also rushes forward during before the hixbox becomes active, giving it deceptively good range.

Up: An uppercut. It launches opponents vertically and has the largest hitbox out of all three punch variations, which makes it the easiest to connect while also being a decent anti-air. It deals powerful vertical knockback that KOs Mario at 102%, allowing it to finish off fighters with poor vertical endurance. It also grants super armor on frames 8-15. It resembles Little Mac's Star Punch and One-Star Punch in the NES and Wii versions of Punch-Out!!, respectively.

Forward: A cross. It has the highest knockback scaling out of all three punch variations, KOing Mario from center-stage at 89%. This makes it the most reliable out of the three in regard to KOing. It also grants super armor on frames 8-15. It is based on the cross Little Mac hits King Hippo with during the cutscene in which he defeats Hippo in the Wii version of Punch-Out!!

Down: A body hook. It deals the most damage out of all three punch variations, but its extremely low knockback scaling makes it unusable for KOing. Its high shieldstun makes it safer on shield than the other two punch variations, and it deals heavy shield damage, allowing it to deplete more than half a shield. It also grants super armor on frames 9-15.

20%
24%
Up smash   21% (clean), 16% (late) A wide uppercut. Its first frame is highlighted by a spark, which acts as a sweetspot that possesses a flame effect and deals significant shield damage and is among the strongest up smashes in the game. Its sourspot also makes it useful for aerial protection and for KOing, thanks to its respectable damage output, high knockback scaling, and hitbox placement. Fast despite its power, since it comes out on frame 10. However, it has the highest amount of ending lag out of his grounded moves with 34 frames, making it punishable if not used carefully. Despite its appearance, it also only hits in front of Little Mac, but it has good vertical range, reaching high enough to challenge opponents standing on the bottom platforms of Battlefield, and low enough to reach some opponents on a ledge. It also grants super armor on frames 8-13.
Down smash   13% Spins 180° to throw a quick, downward angled right hook in each direction. It comes out on frame 10 and acts as a powerful semi-spike which hits on both sides. Coupled with its long range, it is one of Little Mac's only edgeguarding options. Like his other smash attacks, it grants super armor (frames 7-10 and 15-17). Unlike most down smashes, both of its hits have the same damage outputs.
Neutral aerial Weak Jab 2% A downward angled straight jab. Due to it hitting on frame 2 and having almost no ending lag, it is the fastest aerial of any kind in the game. It can be used as a combo breaker of sorts or spammed to combo when in the air. It also sends the opponent at the autolink angle, allowing Mac to combo on landing. However, it has extremely low range, making it risky and difficult to use.
Forward aerial   5% A hook. It comes out on frame 10 and has a low damage output, but hits at a semi-spike angle, allowing it to act as a gimp. It can combo out of several of Little Mac's moves, though this is offset by its meager damage. It can combo into Jolt Haymaker, being risky but very rewarding if used precisely: at mid percents leaves the opponent in an unfavorable position, and even KO early offstage. His most reliable and best aerial move.
Back aerial   6% A backfist. Like his forward aerial, it has a low damage output and hits at a semi-spike angle, but comes out one frame slower and deals 1% more damage. It can edge guard, but it has poor range and a short hitbox duration. It's also his strongest aerial, but is still too weak to KO.
Up aerial   5% An upward arcing hook. It is extremely fast for an up aerial (frame 5), though this is significantly offset by its short range, low hitbox duration, and noticeable ending lag. If used while near the ground, it can combo into up tilt and Rising Uppercut at high percents. It appears to be based on the jump Little Mac performs during his victory animation in the Wii version of Punch-Out!!
Down aerial   4% A downwards punch. The fist hitbox acts as a meteor smash. It autocancels in a short hop and is one of the quickest meteor smashes in the game due to coming out on frame 7, but is situational due to its extremely low knockback and damage, with its meteor smash being ineffective against anyone but fast-fallers unless Little Mac footstool jumps on the opponent immediately after. However, it can lock floored opponents, allowing Mac to finish them with any of his strongest attacks. It can also gimp, being good with opponents with poor recoveries, especially vertically. It will only get a meteor smash kill at 247% at the least.
Grab   Clinches the opponent. In addition to having average range, Little Mac possesses moderate ending lag in his grabs. Its range can be increased by performing a roll cancel boost grab and it can even be used to cross-up opponents, although this is difficult to pull off.
Pummel   1% A body hook. Low damage, but it's one of the fastest in the game, making it great for racking up damage before a throw.
Forward throw 4% (hit), 4% (throw) Rears his arm back and throws an overhand. Its low knockback scaling and slight endlag makes this move virtually impossible to lead into any combos: outside of dealing damage or set up tech-chases at low-to mid percents, it does not have much utility. Nearby opponents will be launched at a near-perfect vertical trajectory.
Back throw 4% (hit), 5% (throw) Spins the opponent around and throws an uppercut. The most damaging out of all of Little Mac's throws, as well as the highest knockback scaling. This is his only throw with any KO potential, although it is not the strongest KOing option as it KOs Mario starting at 140% from the very edge of Final Destination. Nearby opponents will be launched at a near-perfect vertical trajectory.
Up throw 4% (hit), 3% (throw) An uppercut. Nearby opponents will be launched at a near-perfect vertical trajectory. Due to Mac's weak aerial presence, this throw has little use apart from mixups involving forcing opponents to land. However it can combo into Jolt Haymaker at low and mid percents.
Down throw 4% (hit), 3% (throw) A double axe handle. Its knockback was increased from the previous installment, which makes it much more difficult to lead into combos. Nearby opponents will be launched at a near-perfect vertical trajectory. It can combo into Rising Uppercut, but it has some ending lag and the combo will fail if the opponent DIs in time.
Forward roll
Back roll
Spot dodge
Air dodge
Techs
Floor attack (front)
Floor getups (front)
  7% Gets up while throwing a punch behind himself, then in front of himself.
Floor attack (back)
Floor getups (back)
  7% Gets up while throwing a punch in front of himself, then behind himself
Floor attack (trip)
Floor getups (trip)
  5% Gets up while throwing a punch in front of himself, then behind himself
Edge attack
Edge getups
  9% Throws a lunging punch while climbing up the ledge.
Neutral special Straight Lunge 12%/10%/8% (uncharged), 10%/8% (uncharged, reversed), 30% (fully charged), 28% (fully charged, reversed), 35% (KO Uppercut), 13% (midair KO Uppercut) Rears his arm back and then throws a dashing cross. It is chargeable, grants 8% (9.6% on 1v1) heavy armor while charging, can be reversed upon release, and moves Little Mac at a good distance forward, which increases with charge. The charge can be cancelled by pressing the shield button. When fully charged, it deals consistent 30% damage throughout the move, lacking a weaker late hit and launching the opponent away with extreme knockback. Due to the heavy armor, it can be useful to prevent the opponent from starting a combo with a tilt or extending the combo with an aerial attack, giving Mac a way to escape from combos. However it depends on the move and sometimes the character, as it's not useful against hits that deal more than 8%. If the Power Meter is fully charged, it becomes the KO Uppercut, a fast and extremely powerful leaping uppercut, with the ability to pierce shields and also has enough range to reach through the bottom platform of Battlefield. Despite the name, however, it is not a true one-hit KO, but instead KOs at low to mid percentages (KO's the lightest character starting at 12%, and the heaviest starting at 36%), while also granting super armor on frames 8-9. However, KO Uppercut possesses a considerable amount of ending lag, making it punishable regardless if it hits or not, and the Uppercut is immediately lost if Little Mac holds it for 4 seconds and is then hit by any move that causes tumbling. A midair KO Uppercut, although weaker and blockable/counterable, can also be used as a recovery option, and despite the much weaker power, it is still strong enough to KO, especially when high enough.
Side special Jolt Haymaker 14% An overhand version of the Superman punch. It can be used almost instantly by pressing the special button immediately after first pressing it. Grants brief intangibility on the ground during startup, and its long hitbox duration allows it to punish moves effectively. It deals high damage and good knockback, making it a great combo finisher and reliable KO move at the ledge, even in the air. It does not render him helpless if used in midair, making it a good horizontal recovery option. However, it can only be used once before landing, thus the player must use it carefully due to Little Mac's mediocre recovery. Jolt Haymaker was given more range as of patch 3.1.0, allowing the grounded version to hit opponents on the bottom platforms of Battlefield.
Up special Rising Uppercut 3% (hit 1), 1% (hits 2 - 5), 3% (hit 6) A right-handed, jumping corkscrew uppercut, followed immediately by a left-handed uppercut. The first uppercut hits multiple times, whereas the second uppercut hits once and has extremely high knockback. Thanks to Little Mac's excellent traction, it is a very potent out of shield option, and is also one of his only reliable aerial finishers aside from Jolt Haymaker. It also grants 3 frames of intangibility on start-up, while the grounded version covers a decent amount of vertical distance. Conversely, the aerial version is less effective at covering vertical distance and granting maneuverability compared to the grounded version, which make it very ineffective for recovery. It appears to be based on Little Mac's Three-Star Punch in the Wii version of Punch-Out!!
Down special Slip Counter 1.3× (minimum 10%) Assumes a full crouch stance and, if hit, immediately counterattacks by slipping inside to throw an uppercut. It shoots Little Mac forward during the counterattack, allowing it to hit distant opponents and act as a recovery extended offstage, albeit with high risk. Due to the counter window being active on frame 5, it has one of the fastest startups of any counter, making it an effective defensive option. However, the mechanics of the uppercut's delivery, such as the short delay and Mac's own movement, can also make it infrequently whiff. It appears to be based on Glass Joe's Delayed Right Hook used during Title Defense Mode in the Wii version of Punch-Out!!
Final Smash Giga Mac Rush 3% (beginning), 2% (beginning, late), 59% (entire) Little Mac transforms into his Giga Mac form and rushes forward, attacking any caught opponents with an uppercut. He then proceeds to unleash a rush of punches that concludes with an uppercut. For a Final Smash, it deals a massive amount of damage, and the initial dash can be used as a niche recovery option.

Power Meter and KO Uppercut

Little Mac performing a KO Uppercut as shown by a Skill Preview in Ultimate.
Deal damage to opponents or receive damage to charge the meter. Charge it to the max to make your neutral special a KO Uppercut.
—Move List Description for the Power Meter.


Unleash a powerful uppercut that launches opponents. You get various perks for using this on the ground.
—Move List Description for the KO Uppercut.

Little Mac has a unique mechanic known as the Power Meter, which is permanently shown above his damage meter. Dealing damage or receiving damage from opponents will charge the meter; when full, Little Mac's neutral special (Straight Lunge) is replaced by the KO Uppercut. Of note is that the meter is also charged if Little Mac hits a shield or invincibility and if he is hit while in shield or invincibility. KO Uppercut has multiple perks: it can KO almost the entire cast around 35%, has very fast startup, grants super armor right before the hitbox appears, is unblockable, and cannot be countered. This only applies to the grounded version, as the aerial version is significantly weaker and blockable; however, it grants good recovery distance.

KO Uppercut will replace Straight Lunge until it is used, Little Mac is KO'd, or if he is sent tumbling 4 seconds after he gains a KO Uppercut.

On-screen appearance

Walks onto the stage while throwing a series of punches before tossing his hooded sweatsuit off. If either of his sweatsuit alternate costumes are being used, he will still perform the tossing animation while keeping his sweatsuit on.

Taunts

  • Up taunt: Turns his back to the screen, bends down, then raises his fist triumphantly. Sometimes, Doc Louis will chime in and say "Hit 'em, baby!" (叩け,マック!, Strike, Mac!)
  • Side taunt: Pulls the string of his right boxing glove tight with his teeth, then gets back to his battle stance while scoffing. Sometimes, Doc Louis will chime in and say "Let 'em have it, Mac!" (ぶちかませ,マック!, Hit them hard, Mac!)
  • Down taunt: Performs a series of punches while facing the screen. Sometimes, Doc Louis will chime in and say "Show 'em what you got, Mac baby!" (お前のパンチを見せてやれ!, Show them your punch!)

Idle poses

  • Shuffles his feet.
  • Shifts his head back and forth in front of his fists.

Victory poses

Little Mac wears a Champion belt in all three of his victory poses.
In Team Battles, Doc Louis will not appear, and he will not say anything.

  • Left: Does a fakeout punch against Doc Louis, who stumbles, before they both pose with an arm raised while facing towards the camera.
  • Up: Doc Louis bumps Little Mac with his belly before holding up Mac's arm, like a referee would after a boxing match.
  • Right: Runs and turns his back towards the screen, shuffles his feet, then performs a spinning uppercut while Doc Louis cheers him on.

In all of Little Mac's victory poses, Doc Louis will say one of the following quotes random depending on which pose is selected and which costume is used:

Note: Doc Louis will randomly say "Y'know, that belt looks good on you, son." no matter which costume is used.
Left Up Right
Normal Costumes
"You win, Mac!" "World Circuit's all yours Mac!" "Ahh, winnin' feels good, don't it?"
"Was that a little too easy for ya, son?" "(in tandem with the announcer) And the winner is… Little Mac!" "Way to go, Mac! You're the champ, baby!"
"Nice work, Mac. You got it all figured out." "Ya got what it takes, Mac!" "I think I hear a chocolate bar callin'."
Wireframe Costumes
"I could barely keep my eyes on ya, son." "You making my eyes water, son." "Just like old times, huh?"
A remix of the theme that plays when the player defeats an opponent in the NES and Wii Punch-Out!! games.

In competitive play

From Ultimate, hopes were high on Little Mac when the game was released, due to improvements to his notoriously awful recovery. However, the game’s mechanics proved to downgrade some of his best tools (such as his ground game) while his aerial game’s weaknesses were only further worsened. Thus, his perception underwent an overwhelming decline, with the general perception of him being not only a bottom tier, but extended to the point that he could be the absolute worst character in the game. Patch 3.1.0 granted Mac useful, yet significant buffs. These revamped his ground game to be more daunting than before, which includes revamping his neutral attack, down and forward tilts, as well as diminishing lag from his special attacks. As such, he started to appear more often and his results are improving, so professionals have begun to acknowledge the significance of his gameplay, citing that his placement is inaccurate and think of him as a low tier character instead of a bottom tier. However, Little Mac is still hindered by his abysmal air game and an improved but inconsistent recovery, resulting in him having poor matchups across the cast who can effectively deal with these weaknesses. Little Mac's representation, while still poor in top-level play, manages to get solid results both in regionals and in nationals. While professionals say that he is no longer the worst character overall, some still consider his cons to be too detrimental to allow him to rise any higher.

Notable players

Classic Mode: Friendly Sparring

Little Mac's congratulations screen.

Little Mac fights fighters that are close range martial artists. During the battles, every item except the Sandbag is disabled. As such, the Sandbag can be hit but will only spawn visual confetti.

Round Opponent Stage Music Notes
1 Incineroar Incineroar (SSBU) Boxing Ring Battle! (Elite Four) / Battle! (Solgaleo/Lunala)
2 Ryu Ryu (SSBU) Suzaku Castle Ryu Stage Could also possibly reference to "Piston Hondo", One of Little Mac's enemies in the Major Circuit.
3 Mii Brawler Mii Brawler (SSBU) (x4) Arena Ferox Battlefield - Super Smash Bros. Brawl Mii Brawler costume combinations:
  • No headwear and Red Tracksuit
  • Ninja Headband and Purple Fighter Uniform
  • No headwear and Pink Protective Gear
  • Flying Man Hat and Flying Man Outfit.
4 Captain Falcon Captain Falcon (SSBU) Port Town Aero Dive Dream Chaser
5 Little Mac Little Mac (SSBU) Boxing Ring Jogging / Countdown If the player uses the Wireframe Mac costume, the default Little Mac Little Mac (SSBU) will be fought instead.
6 Donkey Kong Donkey Kong (SSBU) Boxing Ring (Ω form) Donkey Kong / Donkey Kong Jr. Medley Based on the boss battle against Donkey Kong in Punch-Out!! (Wii).
Bonus Stage
Final Master Hand Final Destination Master Hand (Less than 7.0 intensity)
Master Hand / Crazy Hand (Intensity 7.0 or higher)
On intensity 7.0 and higher, Crazy Hand fights alongside Master Hand.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Little Mac has Jogging / Countdown accompany the credits.

Role in World of Light

Finding Little Mac in World of Light

Although Little Mac does not appear in the World of Light opening cutscene, he was vaporized and later imprisoned alongside the rest of the fighters (sans Kirby) when Galeem unleashed his beams of light.

Little Mac can be found near a city area blocked through a door. To reach him, the player must first complete the Power Plant sub-area so the door can open.

Fighter Battle

No. Image Name Type Power Stage Music
49
Little Mac SSBU.png
Little Mac Attack 3,300 Boxing Ring (Ω form) Jogging / Countdown

Template:-

Spirits

Little Mac's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking Little Mac in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a Fighter Spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Each Fighter Spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in Ultimate.

Additionally, Little Mac makes an appearance as a Primary Spirit as Giga Mac.

In Spirit battles

As the main opponent

Spirit Battle parameters
No. Image Name Series Enemy Fighter(s) Type Power Stage Rules Conditions Music
217
Ricky Spirit.png
Ricky The Legend of Zelda series Little Mac Little Mac (SSBU)
Attack
1,800 Bridge of Eldin (Battlefield form) N/A •The enemy loves to jump
•The enemy has increased jump power
Tal Tal Heights
460
Porygonspirit.png
Porygon Pokémon series Little Mac Little Mac (SSBU)
Shield
1,700 Pokémon Stadium •Assist Trophy Enemies (Akira) •Hostile assist trophies will appear Main Theme - Pokémon Red & Pokémon Blue (Melee)
568
Teddy.png
Teddy Earthbound series Little Mac Little Mac (SSBU)
Attack
3,600 Onett N/A •The enemy's melee weapons have increased power
•The enemy starts the battle with a Killing Edge
Bein' Friends
933 Giga Mac Punch-Out!! series •Giant Little Mac Little Mac (SSBU)
Attack
13,900 Boxing Ring N/A •The enemy has super armor and is hard to launch or make flinch
Stamina battle
•The enemy is giant
Title Theme - Punch-Out!! (Wii)
934 Doc Louis Punch-Out!! series Little Mac Little Mac (SSBU)
Neutral
3,300 Boxing Ring •Attack Power ↑
•Defense ↑
•Move Speed ↑
Stamina battle
•The enemy has increased move speed
•The enemy has increased defense after a little while
Jogging / Countdown
936 Bald Bull Punch-Out!! series •Giant Little Mac Little Mac (SSBU)
Shield
4,400 Boxing Ring N/A •The enemy's dash attacks have increased power
•The enemy has super armor but moves slower
Stamina battle
Jogging / Countdown
945
Piston hondo.png
Piston Hondo Punch-Out!! series •Giant Little Mac Little Mac (SSBU)
Attack
2,000 Boxing Ring N/A Stamina battle
•The enemy favors smash attacks
•The enemy is giant
Jogging / Countdown
986 Balrog Street Fighter series Little Mac Little Mac (SSBU)
Attack
9,100 Fourside (Ω form) •Jump Power ↓ Stamina battle
•All fighters have reduced jump power
•The enemy doesn't like to jump
Balrog Stage Type A
1,120
Urbanchampionfighter.png
Urban Champion Fighter Urban Champion series Little Mac Little Mac (SSBU)
Attack
2,100 New Donk City Hall (Ω form) Assist Trophy Enemies (Kapp'n) •Timed battle
•Hostile assist trophies will appear after a little while
•The enemy doesn't like to jump
Wrecking Crew Retro Medley
1,142 Commander X Little Mac Little Mac (SSBU)
Shield
2,300 Lylat Cruise Assist Trophy Enemies (Andross) •Hostile assist trophies will appear Tunnel Scene - X
1,157 Harry Teleroboxer Little Mac Little Mac (SSBU)
Mega Man Mega Man (SSBU)
Shield
1,900 Boxing Ring N/A •The enemy's punches and elbow strikes have increased power Tunnel Scene - X-Scape

Alternate costumes

Palette swap (SSBU)
Little Mac (SSBU) Little Mac (SSBU) Little Mac (SSBU) Little Mac (SSBU) Little Mac (SSBU) Little Mac (SSBU) Little Mac (SSBU) Little Mac (SSBU)

Gallery

Character Showcase Video

Trivia

  • Little Mac's Showcase Video has him follow Wario's motor bike while wearing his pink sweatsuit. This is a reference to the Punch-Out!! series, where Little Mac runs alongside Doc Louis on his bicycle.
  • Little Mac's pose in his official art resembles the pose he performs while using Slip Counter.
  • Little Mac's Classic Mode has a high spawn rate of Sandbag, as a reference to his reveal video where he has a Sandbag in his training ring, as well as usage of similar punching bags by real-life boxers.
  • Little Mac's penultimate battle in Classic Mode is against Donkey Kong, which alludes to their previous bout in the Wii version of Punch-Out!!.
    • Also, Little Mac can be unlocked by clearing Classic Mode as Mario which alludes to the latter's cameo as a referee since the very first Punch-Out!! game.
  • There's an positioning error in Little Mac's on-screen appearance when facing to the left; before removing his sweatsuit, he will be facing away from the camera. This did not occur in Smash 4.
  • Little Mac, Dr. Mario, Ivysaur, Greninja, Olimar, Ryu, Cloud, Dark Samus, and Ken are the only characters to never appear as minions in any Spirit battles.

References