History
Little Mac is the main protagonist in the Punch-Out!! series of games.
Background
Little Mac is 17 years old, 5' 7" (170 cm) (4' 8" (142 cm) in the NES version), weighs 107 lb (49 kg) and hails from the Bronx, New York. He usually appears as a medium built Italian-American with black hair and wears a black singlet, black and white shoes and green shorts and boxing gloves. His black hair changes between games from a short ball cut in the NES installment to a standing-up hairstyle. In Super Punch-out!! however, he is now tanner, has blonde hair, wears blue shorts and no top. In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS, his design is more detailed, as he appears more muscular than in his Wii installment and looks more realistic, being drawn up in a similar fashion to the Fire Emblem characters and Legend of Zelda characters that are included in the game.
He is interested in getting into the World Video Boxing Association, which has a long history of rookie boxers joining the ranks in an effort to become world champions. He traveled to New York City in hopes of searching for someone that could train him. It was not until he met Jerome "Doc" Louis, who was a former heavyweight champion in his own right, then he began his journey to the top of the World Circuit, beating many other boxers standing in his path.
Punch-Out!! (Nintendo Entertainment System)
Little Mac's first appearance is actually in the NES version of Punch-Out!! Prior arcade titles starred a nameless green haired boxer who appeared looking older and taller. He was born in 1970.
Prior to this game, Little Mac and Doc Louis met by chance one day. Doc began teaching him everything he knew about boxing. After immense training, Little Mac enters the World Video Boxing Association. After beating several circuits under Doc's guidance, he finally becomes champion after defeating Mike Tyson or Mr. Dream, depending on which version you play.
Super Punch-Out!!
The taller, tan, and blond boxer is stated to be Little Mac in some US promotional materials. However this is never stated in Japanese materials, and the producers of Punch-Out!! for Wii claim it was a separate character.
If this is Little Mac, then he has changed his appearance completely in this game, with blonde hair. There is no sign of Doc Louis either. The blonde boxer enters the WVBA and again takes the title "Ultimate Champ" after beating Nick Bruiser.
Punch-Out!! (Wii)
Assuming the commercials for the game can be taken as non-canon, Mac had lost his title as champion to King Hippo fifteen years ago in the NES game, though his age is shown to be 17 in the game. He has re-entered the WVBA once again to win back his title as champion with Doc Louis as his coach once again.
After numerous battles, Mac climbs to the top of the WVBA and defeats the champion, Mr. Sandman, thus allowing Mac to become the new champion. However, all of his previous opponents want to try to defeat him and claim the title, thus Mac goes off to defend his title. He defeats all of his opponents, and remains the Champ. There is no Mike Tyson in this game.
However, Mac eventually grows tired of his fame, and after a small chat with Doc, begins his last stand, where if he loses three times, he'll retire.
After going for as long as the player can against all of the previous opponents (in their Title Defense strategies), Little Mac loses three times and retires. Doc visits a boxing museum and examines Mac's exhibit, containing images and trophies of his victories. After Doc looks at the same bike he rode to train Mac, he announces that he's proud of Mac and respectfully leaves.
Instant Knockdowns: Use a one- or two-star uppercut when he is out of hearts. (Head-to-Head)
Instant Knockouts: Use a three-star uppercut when he is out of hearts. (Head-to-Head)
Giga Mac
Giga Mac has so far only appeared in Punch-Out!! (Wii), as well as Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as Little Mac's Final Smash. Unlike the fast and lightweight Little Mac, Giga Mac is a slow, hulking powerhouse, similar to King Hippo. Little Mac becomes Giga Mac after one of the players fills up a blue bar with "Giga Mac Juice" by punching the other player at certain times. His snarls, growls and roars are provided by Frank Walker.
Giga Mac plays like if the player was an opponent, similar to the ones from Career Mode. This is because when he shows up, the multiplayer split-screen becomes only one screen, and in order to defeat Giga Mac, the other player has to dodge his attacks and then punch him.
Giga Mac has moves that range from a wind-up punch to a double-handed overhead strike. He can also earn stars just by posing and can also refill his blue bar, but it's recommended to use these when the opponent is tired, since both can be countered and (in case of the latter) deplete the majority of the bar. If the Giga Mac player doesn't do anything for a while, Giga Mac will face his opponent and roar at him, however, this doesn't actually help Giga Mac, as the other player can punch his face to get a star.
Giga Mac actually can get up faster than Little Mac, with the ability to get up as fast as the count of 2.
Stars:
- Punch Giga Mac during his Star Taunt.
- Punch Giga Mac when he roars.
- Counter his charging overhead with a left jab.
- Counter his charging jab with a right jab.
- Counter his left uppercut with a left hook.
- Counter his right uppercut with a right hook.
- Counter his left hook with a left punch.
- Counter his right hook with a right punch.
Moves:
- Left Hook: A slow hook from the left side. Dodge left or duck to avoid it.
- Right Hook: Just like the Left Hook, but from the right side instead.
- Jab: A quick jab forward. Can be blocked as well as ducked or dodged.
- Charging Jab: Giga Mac will wind up his hand before thrusting forward, dealing more damage the longer the punch is charged. Cannot be blocked, unlike the uncharged version, and the dodge window is small.
- Overhead Punch: Giga Mac lifts his hand up before slamming downwards. Can be dodged in either direction, but dodging early may result in getting hit on the way back.
- Charging Overhead: Like the regular Overhead Punch, but Giga Mac will wind up his arm, dealing more damage the longer it's held. This is why dodging the regular Overhead Punch is not a good idea.
- Left Uppercut: A slow uppercut after Giga Mac crouches down. Can be dodged or countered with a left hook for a star.
- Right Uppercut: The right side equivalent of the Left Uppercut.
- Star Punch: A very fast overhead smash, increasing in power with the amount of stars Giga Mac has. The dodge window is very small, and it can't be ducked or countered.
- Star Taunt: Giga Mac does a strongman pose, earning a star upon its completion.
- Refill Taunt: Giga Mac will shrug to the side, refilling a portion of Giga Mac juice on completion. Punching him on the left side will interrupt the taunt and drain even more juice from his meter.
- Roar Taunt: Giga Mac quickly moves his hands outward and roars at you. Punch him for a star.
Instant Knockdown: Counter the taunt or the refilling move with a one- or two-star uppercut.
Instant Knockout: Counter the taunt or the refilling move with a three-star uppercut.
Quotes
Punch-Out!! (NES):
- I'm tired Doc! (When the round is over)
- He's hurting me Doc! (When you are hurt too much after a round)
- I can't win, Doc! (Between rounds, when Mac has been knocked down at least twice)
Super Punch-Out!!! (SNES) (Blond Little Mac):
- Piece of Cake! (after not being knocked down)
- Got 'em! (After being knocked down once)
- Too Close! (After being knocked down 2 times)
- Right On! (After defeating the champion)
- OOF! (After taking a hard punch)
- Uuuuuhhh..... (Knocked down)
Punch-Out!!! (Wii):
- Gooooo... Ohhh... Ugh! Oooogggghhh.... (When being KO'd or TKO'd)
- Haha! Whoo hoo! Yeah! (After easily winning a fight)
- Gooooo... Ohhh... Urgh! RAHHHHHH! (If the 1 and 2 buttons on the Wii Remote are pressed during Little Mac's KO scene.)
Doc Louis's Punch Out:
- Uh-huh. (after completing training and warm up)
Other appearances
Fight Night Round 2
In Fight Night Round 2, Little Mac (in his SNES incarnation) is a playable bonus character in the GameCube version of the game. He was included due to a licensing deal with EA to include Nintendo characters in some EA games for the GameCube at the time.
Captain Rainbow
Little Mac appears in the Japanese-exclusive Wii game, Captain Rainbow. He has gotten very obese and you must get him back into shape so he can fight again.
Little Mac seen fat
compared
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Little Mac appears as an Assist Trophy. He appears on the stage and dashes around, punching and using uppercuts on enemies. The uppercut causes 25% damage and the normal punches cause high amounts of damage as well. He often falls off the stage, however. He also has a normal trophy as all other Assist Trophies do. In its description, it says:
"A lightweight scrapper from the Bronx. After meeting with a former boxing great named Doc Louis who fell from glory, Mac takes Doc on as his coach, and together the pair try for the championship belt in the WVBA. Little Mac works his way up the ranks of the WVBA, taking out foes several times his size. By landing multiple blows, Little Mac gains a "☆" uppercut."
Super Smash Bros.
Little Mac appears as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
In these games, Mac is a strong, fast, melee-based fighter that can make quick work of other fighters on the ground. By contrast, his aerial attacks and recovery moves are weak and cover little range, leaving him extremely vulnerable in the air. One of Mac's unique attributes is his K.O. Meter, a bar that builds up when Mac deals or receives damage. Once full, it alters Mac's standard special attack into the "K.O. Punch", an extremely powerful close-range uppercut that sends opponents flying, usually for a K.O. at higher damage. His Final Smash in both games is a transformation into Giga Mac. In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, the player controls Giga Mac as an extremely powerful version of Little Mac who cannot flinch from damage and hits much harder with all of his attacks. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, activating the Final Smash causes Little Mac to transform and charge forward in a straight line, and anyone caught in his range is automatically delivered a series of powerful punches and launched before Little Mac transforms back.
The "Boxing Ring" appears as a Punch-Out!! themed stage modeled after both the Major and World Circuit rings from Punch-Out!! (Wii). The ring itself is from the World Circuit, but the surrounding stadium seats matches the Major Circuit's stadium interior. There is also a jumbotron screen in the back that views the fight in real-time and displays stats and exaggerated titles for two fighters in a similar fashion to the Punch-Out!! arcade game.
Along with the regular Little Mac trophy, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U features a trophy of Little Mac as he appeared in Captain Rainbow.
WarioWare series
Little Mac - assumingly - is the playable character in the boss stage "Punch Out" in the game WarioWare Mega Microgame$ and WarioWare Mega Party Game$.
In WarioWare Touched, Little Mac is assumed to be the main character in the micro game "Button Masher" on its third level of difficulty.
In WarioWare Smooth Moves, he appears as a boxer in a micro game called "Punch-Out!!", where Mario must count down as a boxer (Glass Joe) is felled.
Bit.Trip Presents... Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien
In this game the player can unlock a secret costume for Commander Video called "Mac Daddy", this costume gives Commander Video Mac's Pink Hoodie and Green Boxing Gloves.
Abobo's Big Adventure
Little Mac appeared in this flash game as the main antagonist and final boss villain. Unlike original Little Mac, Abobo's Big Adventure's Little Mac is very brutal and an evil character. He kidnaps Abobo's son, Aboboy to prove himself to the NES world.
Also, if Abobo knocks him twice in a row, Little Mac will eat the mushroom and will grow up and name himself as "Big Mac".
Trivia
- Little Mac had 6 trophy figurines, an Applause mini figure, and a Topps trading card.
- If you hover your pointer around Little Mac in Punch-Out!! (Wii), he reacts to it, such as trying to step on it, shoo it away, jump over it, or even trying to punch the pointer. If your pointer flies around his face, he'll get dizzy.
- Lots of fans believe Hitmonchan, a boxing styled Pokémon, which is classified as Pokémon #107 in the original Pokemon Red version and Pokemon Blue version Pokédexes, is a nod to Little Mac whose weight is listed as 107 lbs. However, this is not true, as Hitmonchan (Japanese name: エビワラー Ebiwalar), as well as its counterpart Hitmonlee (Japanese name: サワムラー Sawamular), are really based off of real-life boxer Hiroyuki Ebihara and real-life kickboxer Tadashi Sawamura.
- Mac, weighing in at 107 lbs., would be in the light flyweight/junior flyweight class if he were fighting in most major real-life boxing promotions (WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO), including the Olympic games.
- Little Mac heavily resembles the real-life legendary boxer Jake LaMotta. Both fighters are Italian-American, from the Bronx, look similar, have nearly the same short height (Mac is 5' 7", Jake is 5' 8") and fought many opponents bigger and taller than them. It is possible Jake LaMotta is the basis for Little Mac.
- The reason why Little Mac was shorter in the NES games than in modern Punch-Out!! titles is to allow the player to see his opponent's face easier. With the Wii's obviously superior graphics and moving camera angles, combined with Mac's transparency, the idea of keeping Mac at 4' 8" was unnecessary and awkward, especially since the size comparisons against his enemies would appear distractedly obvious.
- In the Wii title, the later Mac gets up, the more stamina can he recover (e.g. If you get up at 9 you recover all of your stamina or at least almost all of it).
- Little Mac is the second lightest boxer in the series, the lightest being Hoy Quarlow.
- In the Super Punch-Out!! beta, the main boxer design beared a heavy resemblance to the NES Little Mac before being changed to the blond-haired design in the final version.
- In the NES game, Little Mac becomes the champion on April Fools Day in 1987, making it seem like Little Mac winning is a joke.
- It also implies that Little Mac was born in 1970.
- In Super Smash Bros., Little Mac uses some elements from past Punch-Out!! games as attacks. Unique to his character, he can build up a KO Punch in a similar way to his arcade debut. His special attacks include his 3 star jumping Star Punch from Punch-Out!! (Wii), a standard dodge-counterattack, and a jumping hay-maker similar to Nick Bruiser's.
Gallery
.jpg "Little Mac y Doc Louis en SSB4 (Wii U).jpg (21 KB)")
