Sakurai discusses Little Mac’s inclusion in Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS
One of the folks over on NeoGAF has translated an older Famitsu column from Masahiro Sakurai in which he discusses the inclusion of Little Mac in the new Super Smash Bros. He talked about his strong impression of Punch-Out!! before going into the character’s abilities and other elements.
Here’s the translation in full:
“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.
