Little Mac

Last updated

Little Mac
Punch-Out!! character
Little Mac.png
Little Mac, as depicted in Punch-Out!! for Wii
First appearance Punch-Out!! (1984)
Created by Genyo Takeda
Designed byMakoto Wada
Voiced by
Various
In-universe information
Origin The Bronx, New York
Nationality American

Little Mac [lower-alpha 1] is a fictional boxer and the protagonist in Nintendo's Punch-Out!! series of video games. He first appeared in the Arcade game Punch-Out!! . He is the smallest and youngest of all the boxers in the games, being only 17 years old across all Punch-Out!! games. His signature attack is the "STAR Punch". His design was changed for the SNES Super Punch-Out!! , but reverted to his original design in the Wii title. In the NES and Wii games, Little Mac is accompanied by Doc Louis, his trainer.

Contents

In addition to his own series, Little Mac has made multiple cameo appearances in and out of video games; video games include Captain Rainbow , Fight Night Round 2 and the Super Smash Bros. series, while he appeared in a variety of comic books, including those created by Valiant Comics. Little Mac has received positive reception since his debut and has been regarded as one of the best protagonists in video games by multiple publications.

Concept and creation

Since his appearance in Punch-Out!! for the NES, Little Mac has been represented with black hair; he usually wears a black tank top, green shorts, and green boxing gloves,[ citation needed ] though Super Punch-Out!! depicts him with blonde hair and blue pants. He was originally going to be named Peter Punch, but this was changed before the game's debut. [1] He is smaller than other opponents, able to perform various techniques, including the Star Uppercut, used by either collecting stars or filling a meter. Mac has a stamina meter where he becomes unable to fight for a time until he recovers. [2]

The identity of the player character in Super Punch-Out!! is the source of contention, with multiple sources disagreeing on whether he is Little Mac. [3] [4] [5] [6] According to Nintendo of America, the SNES title takes place after the events of the NES and Wii titles of the series; Little Mac looks different because he was given a makeover, and his repertoire has expanded since separating from Doc Louis. [5] Before the SNES Super Punch-Out!! was finished and released, some screenshots and video footage of the prototype seen in gaming magazines showed him with a different look compared to his final version seen in the finished and released version. [7] [8]

He was voiced in Punch-Out!! for Wii by Matt Harty, a sound designer for Next Level Games. Unlike his opponents, his design in Punch-Out!! for Wii has not changed much. They specifically kept him a silent protagonist due to how similar the Wii game is to the NES game as well as the tradition of silent Nintendo protagonists such as Kirby, Link, and Ness. The designers also wanted Mac to be an avatar for the player. [9] They were originally going to allow players to upgrade Little Mac's abilities; however, they felt that it would take away from the challenge of overcoming opponents, as well as diminish peoples' interests in Little Mac. [10]

Appearances

Little Mac first appeared in the arcade video game Punch-Out!! as an unnamed boxer. [11] He would later get his name in the NES game Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! , the third game in the series and his third appearance. He has appeared as the main protagonist in every Punch-Out!! game since. His next appearance was in Super Punch-Out!! for the Super NES, which gave him a drastically different design. Most recently in his series, he appeared in the Wii video game Punch-Out!!. The Wii game adds a multi-player mode, where a second player can take control of an alternate Mac. In this mode, either player can transform into Giga Mac, a larger and more powerful version of Mac. Giga Mac's name was planned to be "Big Mac" in keeping with the "little" in Little Mac's name, but this was changed to avoid comparison to McDonald's Big Mac. [12]

Little Mac has made multiple cameo appearances. His first was in the GameCube version of Fight Night Round 2 , where his SNES incarnation is featured as a playable character alongside the ability to play the entire SNES game. [13] He appeared in the Wii video game Captain Rainbow , which featured a variety of obscure Nintendo characters, as an "overweight has-been". [14] Mac also appeared as an Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl , assisting players who summoned him. [15] Little Mac joined the playable roster in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U , where he is a fighter who is fast and strong on the ground, but is substantially weaker in the air. A mechanic unique to Little Mac is the Power Meter, drawn from the arcade titles, which builds as Mac deals and receives damage. When the meter is full, Mac gains access to the K.O. Uppercut. Little Mac makes a return appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate .

Little Mac is also featured as the protagonist in the Punch-Out!! stories featured in Valiant Comics' Nintendo Comics System. He appears in the stories "The First Fight", "Outsiders", and "Fox and Hounds." [16] Mac also makes a cameo in the prologue short of the Captain N comic books.[ citation needed ]

Promotion and reception

Boxer Paulie Malignaggi portrayed Little Mac in an American commercial for the Wii version of Punch-Out!! Paul Malignaggi.jpg
Boxer Paulie Malignaggi portrayed Little Mac in an American commercial for the Wii version of Punch-Out!!

In 2009, he was portrayed by former professional boxer Paulie Malignaggi in an American commercial for Punch-Out!! on the Wii. In an interview, Malignaggi commented that he was asked to play a "young Italian-American guy, good looking with a cocky attitude and a heavy New York accent". [17]

Since his appearance in the Punch-Out!! series, Little Mac has received generally positive reception, and is regarded as a major Nintendo character. [18] [19] GameSpot featured him in a user poll as part of the "all time greatest video game hero" contest. [20] Nintendo Power listed Little Mac as their 11th favorite hero, stating that he taught gamers that more intimidating foes can be overcome by patience, persistence, and "pattern recognition". [18] GamesRadar listed him as the 68th greatest video game hero, and called him the "definition of an underdog hero", due to fighting much larger opponents than himself. [19] GamesRadar's Mikel Reparaz listed Mac's Star Uppercut as one of the most satisfying uppercuts in video games. [21]

However, Little Mac has also received criticism. Both his updated design and Doc Louis' absence were listed by NintendoWorldReport's Neal Ronaghan as weak points of Super Punch-Out!! [22] In their list of the top five racist video games, 1UP.com listed the Punch-Out!! franchise, and referred to Little Mac as the "Great White Hope" relative to the stereotypical character designs of his opponents. [23] The Escapist 's Sumantra Lahiri wrote that Little Mac was the only boxer in the game who did not have a "negative stereotype associated with him". [24]

After being a long-time requested inclusion within the Super Smash Bros. series, [25] [26] Little Mac made his debut in the series in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as an "Assist Trophy", a non-playable character that assists the fighter who summoned them. [26] [27] [28] [29] The series' subsequent installments, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, transitioned Mac into a full-fledged playable character. [30] In addition to using his updated design from the Wii version of Punch-Out!!, his Giga Mac transformation from that same game is also featured as his "Final Smash", a one-use special move that can only be activated upon breaking a "Smash Ball". [30] Little Mac also appears as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate , although his Final Smash has been modified like other transformation-esque Final Smashes. [31] Little Mac's reputation as an underdog has also made its way into the Smash fanbase, as his moveset in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has been met with harsh criticism as he is one of the easiest characters to defeat once off stage, but maintains one of the best ground games in the entire series, leaving fans polarized about his playstyle. Prior to his inclusion in the Super Smash Bros. series, Gamasutra's Kyle Orland commented that Little Mac's absence from it was "mind-boggling". The qualities listed included his popularity, fighting ability, and "retro cred"; Orland felt that it did not make sense to feature characters such as Ice Climbers and Mr. Game & Watch instead of Mac. [25] IGN's Lucas M. Thomas and Matt Casamassina expressed disappointment that Little Mac was not playable in Brawl, and suggested that perhaps series creator Masahiro Sakurai could not think of a good moveset for him. [28] Jeremy Parish of Polygon ranked 73 fighters from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate "from garbage to glorious", listing Little Mac as 37th. [32]

Little Mac has also been featured in a number of merchandise items and collectibles. As part of a "boxing challenge" held by Nintendo at its Nintendo World store in Rockefeller Plaza, Nintendo awarded, in part, a training sweatshirt similar to Little Mac's. [33] Nintendo also released a pair of Little Mac-signed green boxing gloves on Amazon.com, which were contained in a wood frame and casing. [34] The band Game Over created a song called "Little Mac's Confession", which follows Little Mac's "crushing KO" against Mr. Dream. [35]

Notes

  1. ↑ Japanese: リトル・マック, Hepburn: Ritoru Makku

Related Research Articles

<i>Super Mario World</i> 1990 video game

Super Mario World, known in Japanese marketing as Super Mario World: Super Mario Bros. 4, is a platform game developed by Nintendo EAD and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It was released in Japan in 1990, North America in 1991 and Europe and Australia in 1992. The player controls Mario on his quest to save Princess Peach and Dinosaur Land from the series' antagonist Bowser and the Koopalings. The gameplay is similar to that of earlier Super Mario games; players control Mario through a series of levels in which the goal is to reach the goalpost at the end.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yoshi</span> Video game character

Yoshi is a fictional dinosaur who appears in video games published by Nintendo. Yoshi debuted in Super Mario World (1990) on the SNES as Mario and Luigi's sidekick. Throughout the mainline Super Mario series, Yoshi typically serves as Mario's trusted steed. With a gluttonous appetite, Yoshi can gobble enemies with his long tongue, and lay eggs that doubly function as projectiles. Yoshi is the title character of the Yoshi series and a supporting character in Mario spin-off games such as Mario Party and Mario Kart, as well as many Mario sports games. He also appears as a playable character in the crossover fighting game series Super Smash Bros. Yoshi is a member of the same-named species, which is distinguished for its wide range of colors.

Star Fox is an arcade style rail shooter and third person action-adventure video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto, produced and published by Nintendo. The games follow the Star Fox combat team of anthropomorphic animals, led by chief protagonist Fox McCloud. Gameplay involves many adventures around the Lylat planetary system in the futuristic Arwing fighter aircraft, in other vehicles, and on foot. The original Star Fox (1993) is a forward-scrolling 3D rail shooter, but later games add more directional freedom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fox McCloud</span> Fictional character and the protagonist of the Star Fox video game series

Fox McCloud is a fictional character and the chief protagonist of Nintendo's Star Fox series. He is an anthropomorphic fox created and designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takaya Imamura. He was introduced as a player character in the original 1993 video game Star Fox. In each game, to varying extents, the player controls Fox in his Arwing. He is the leader of the Star Fox team and is joined by his wingmates on various missions.

Ridley (<i>Metroid</i>) Fictional antagonist of the Metroid franchise

Ridley is one of the main antagonists of Nintendo's Metroid series. An evil and aggressive draconic extraterrestrial hailing from the planet Zebes, he became Samus Aran's archnemesis after murdering the latter's parents as he led a Space Pirate raid on her homeworld. Though having been destroyed numerous times by Samus, he is always resurrected, due in equal part to Space Pirate engineering and his natural regenerative ability, which allows him to swiftly recover from what would otherwise be fatal wounds as long as he is able to consume enough biomatter from his fallen adversaries.

<i>Punch-Out!!</i> (arcade game) 1984 video game

Punch-Out!! is an 1984 arcade boxing video game by Nintendo. It was the first in a series of Punch-Out!! games.

<i>Kirby Super Star</i> 1996 video game

Kirby Super Star, released as Kirby's Fun Pak in PAL regions, is an anthology platform video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1996. It is part of the Kirby series of video games by HAL Laboratory. The game was advertised as a compilation featuring eight games: seven short subsections with the same basic gameplay, and two minigames.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masahiro Sakurai</span> Japanese video game designer (born 1970)

Masahiro Sakurai is a Japanese video game director and game designer best known as the creator of the Kirby and Super Smash Bros. series. Apart from his work on those series, he also led the design of Meteos in 2005 and directed Kid Icarus: Uprising in 2012.

Super Smash Bros. is a crossover platform fighting game series published by Nintendo. The series was created by Masahiro Sakurai, who has directed every game in the series. The series is known for its unique gameplay objective which differs from that of traditional fighters, in that the aim is to increase damage counters and knock opponents off the stage instead of depleting life bars.

<i>Super Punch-Out!!</i> (arcade game) 1984 video game

Super Punch-Out!! is a 1984 arcade boxing game by Nintendo. The sequel to Punch-Out!!, it follows the same format while adding several new features and characters. Along with punching, blocking and dodging, players also have the ability to duck. The game also saves and displays the three fastest knockout times, while the game's difficulty is increased.

<i>Super Punch-Out!!</i> 1994 video game

Super Punch-Out!! is a boxing video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It was released on September 14, 1994 in North America and again in the same region in 1996. It was released in Europe on January 26, 1995 for the same console and in Japan in 1998 for the Nintendo Power flash RAM cartridge series and the Super Famicom. The game is also included in the GameCube version of Fight Night Round 2 as an extra game due to the inclusion of Little Mac in the game. The game was released for the Wii's Virtual Console in Europe on March 20, 2009, in North America on March 30, 2009, and in Japan on July 7, 2009. The game was also released on the New Nintendo 3DS eShop on May 5, 2016. Nintendo re-released Super Punch-Out!! in the United States in September 2017 as part of the company's Super NES Classic Edition. It is the fourth game in the Punch-Out!! series, taking place after the Punch-Out!! game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glass Joe</span> Fictional character in Punch-Out!!

Glass Joe is a fictional French boxer from Nintendo's Punch-Out!! video game series. He first appeared in the arcade game Punch-Out!! in 1984 and three years later in the NES game of the same name. His most recent appearance was in the Wii installment of Punch-Out!!. He was originally designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and was revised by Makoto Wada for the NES game. He is voiced by Christian Bernard in the Wii game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King Hippo</span> Fictional character

King Hippo is a fictional boxer from Nintendo's Punch-Out!! series. King Hippo first appeared on the Nintendo Entertainment System game Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, as the second competitor in the Major Circuit. Subsequent reviews have characterized King Hippo as one of the most iconic characters from the game, owing to the fact that he was a complicated boss to defeat. In the Wii Punch-Out!!, King Hippo returns, having a second fight where he uses a manhole to protect his weak point.

<i>Super Smash Bros. Brawl</i> 2008 fighting video game

Super Smash Bros. Brawl is a 2008 crossover fighting game developed by Sora Ltd. and Game Arts and published by Nintendo for the Wii. The third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series, it was announced at a pre-E3 2005 press conference by Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. Masahiro Sakurai, director of the previous two games in the series, assumed the role of director at Iwata's request. Game development began in October 2005 with a creative team that included members from several Nintendo and third-party development teams. After delays due to development problems, the game was released worldwide in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GameCube controller</span> Primary game controller for the Nintendo GameCube

The GameCube controller is the standard game controller for the GameCube home video game console, manufactured by Nintendo and launched in 2001. As the successor to the Nintendo 64 controller, it is the progression of Nintendo's controller design in numerous ways. The contentious M-shaped design of its predecessor was replaced with a more conventional handlebar style controller shape; a second analog stick was added, replacing the C buttons with a C stick and the X and Y face buttons, last seen on the Super Nintendo controller, were reintroduced; the shoulder buttons were changed to hybrid analog triggers. A wireless variant of the GameCube controller known as the WaveBird was released in 2002.

<i>Punch-Out!!</i> Video game series

Punch-Out!! is a video game series of boxing created by Nintendo's general manager Genyo Takeda, and his partner Makoto Wada. The first game was Punch-Out!! made in 1984 as an arcade unit, which was followed by a sequel Super Punch-Out!! (1984). The series was released on home consoles soon after, starting with Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! on the NES in 1987 and Super Punch-Out!! on the Super NES in 1994.

Punch-Out!! is a series of boxing video games created by Genyo Takeda and Makoto Wada, and published by Nintendo. The main protagonist and player character of the series is Little Mac, a short boxer from the Bronx who climbs the ranks of the fictional World Video Boxing Association (WVBA) by challenging various opponents. These opponents come from different countries and feature various ethnic stereotypes associated with their place of origin.

<i>Punch-Out!!</i> (Wii) 2009 video game

Punch-Out!! is a 2009 boxing video game developed by Next Level Games for the Wii. It is the fifth and most recent mainline game in Nintendo's Punch-Out!! series, following the SNES version of Super Punch-Out!!, and is a reboot of the series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toad (Nintendo)</span> Fictional character in Nintendos Mario franchise

Toad, known in Japan as Kinopio, is a fictional character who primarily appears in Nintendo's Mario franchise. A humanoid with a mushroom-like head, Toad was created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, and is portrayed as a citizen of the Mushroom Kingdom and is one of Princess Peach's most loyal attendants, constantly working on her behalf. Toad is usually seen as a non-player character who provides assistance to Mario and his friends in most games, but there are times when Toad takes center stage and appears as a protagonist, as seen in Super Mario Bros. 2, Wario's Woods and Super Mario 3D World.

<i>Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS</i> and <i>Wii U</i> Pair of 2014 video games

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, both commonly referred together as Super Smash Bros. 4, are 2014 crossover platform fighter video games developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U video game consoles. It is the fourth installment in the Super Smash Bros. series, succeeding Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The Nintendo 3DS version was released in Japan on September 13, 2014, and in North America, Europe, and Australia the following month. The Wii U version was released in North America, Europe, and Australia in November 2014 and in Japan the following month.

References

  1. ↑ Sheff, David. "Game Over: How Nintendo Conquered the World. Vintage, 1994. P 312. ISBN   0679736220.
  2. ↑ Hoffman, Joshua. "Punch-Out!! Overview". Allgame . Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  3. ↑ Slate, Chris (May–June 2009). "Nintendo Power interview with Punch-Out!! developers". Nintendo Power. p. 62. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
  4. ↑ Scullion, Chris (March 20, 2009). "Virtual Console Review: Super Punch-Out!! (Super NES)". Official Nintendo Magazine . Archived from the original on March 21, 2009. Retrieved May 12, 2009.
  5. 1 2 Wii Shop Channel details for Super Punch-Out!!. Retrieved on March 30, 2009.
  6. ↑ Official Punch-Out!! (Wii version) website of America Archived March 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ "Play It Loud". Nintendo Power. Vol. 62. July 1994. p. 25.
  8. ↑ "Pam Watch". Nintendo Power. Vol. 63. August 1994. p. 105.
  9. ↑ Totilo, Stephen (July 28, 2009). "Nintendo Breaks Its Silence About Silence". Kotaku . Archived from the original on October 3, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  10. ↑ East, Tom (August 30, 2009). "Making of Punch-Out!!". Official Nintendo Magazine . Archived from the original on October 9, 2014. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  11. ↑ ""The Little Pepper is Very Hot!" Sakurai Famitsu Column vol. 448". Source Gaming. July 22, 2015. Archived from the original on January 2, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Punch-Out!! Video Game, Exclusive Multi-Player Trailer | Video Clip | Game Trailers & Videos". GameTrailers.com. April 10, 2009. Archived from the original on September 23, 2013. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  13. ↑ Torres, Ricardo (January 25, 2005). "Super Punch-Out!!, Little Mac enter the Fight Night 2 ring". GameSpot . Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  14. ↑ Ciolek, Todd. "Import Only: The Wii Games That Never Came to America". 1UP.com . Archived from the original on September 23, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Little Mac". Smash Bros. DOJO!!. October 18, 2007. Archived from the original on February 25, 2014. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  16. ↑ Nintendo Comics System Vol. 1, No. 1 & 2. Valiant Comics. 1990.
  17. ↑ Iole, Kevin (May 19, 2009). "Mailbag: Paulie Punch Out!". Yahoo! . Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  18. 1 2 Nintendo Power 250th issue!. South San Francisco, California: Future US. 2010. pp. 40, 41.
  19. 1 2 "100 best heroes in video games". GamesRadar . November 9, 2012. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  20. ↑ "All Time Greatest Video Game Hero contest". GameSpot . Archived from the original on August 17, 2009. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  21. ↑ Reparaz, Mike (June 23, 2012). "Gaming's most satisfying uppercuts". GamesRadar . Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  22. ↑ Ronaghan, Neal (April 4, 2009). "Detana!! Virtual Console Phantasy Punch-Out!!". NintendoWorldReport. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  23. ↑ "Top 5 Racist Videogames". 1UP.com . Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  24. ↑ Lahiri, Sumantra (January 13, 2009). "Punch-Out!!'s Black Eye". The Escapist . Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  25. 1 2 Orland, Kyle (April 24, 2008). "The Top 20 Underutilized Licenses". Gamasutra . Archived from the original on July 8, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  26. 1 2 Bates, Ryan (June 9, 2013). "Top 11 Characters Who Should Be In Super Smash Bros. Wii U". Game Revolution. Archived from the original on September 23, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  27. ↑ Pigna, Kris (October 18, 2007). "Little Mac Assist Trophy in Smash Bros. Brawl". 1UP.com . Archived from the original on September 23, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  28. 1 2 Thomas, Lucas M.; Casamassina, Matt (April 4, 2008). "Super Smash Bros. Brawl FAQ". IGN . Archived from the original on February 24, 2014. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  29. ↑ Gamin, Mike (October 19, 2007). "Smash Bros. Dojo Updates". NintendoWorldReport. Archived from the original on September 22, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  30. 1 2 "Nintendo Direct 2.13.14". YouTube . Archived from the original on December 21, 2021.
  31. ↑ "E3 2018: All Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Character Changes That We Know Of (So Far)". Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  32. ↑ Parish, Jeremy (December 3, 2018). "We rank the Smash Bros. (and friends)". Polygon. Archived from the original on October 6, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  33. ↑ "Nintendo Fans Duke it Out in a Punch-Out!! Boxing Challenge in NYC". IGN . May 14, 2009. Archived from the original on September 19, 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  34. ↑ McWhertor, Michael (April 10, 2009). "Amazon's Selling Punch-Out!! Boxing Gloves For Regular Macs". Kotaku . Archived from the original on April 13, 2009. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  35. ↑ "OverClocked ReMix's Top Ten Tracks". 1UP.com . Archived from the original on February 24, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.