Little Mac: Ready for Round 2!


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Little Mac has been a part of SSB Crusade long before he was announced for the roster of Smash 4. As such, it is very interesting to put the two interpretations side to side and compare them. Crusade Mac does well in any situation, and relies on his combo count to power up finishing attacks. The Smash 4 interpretation of Little Mac is much more polarizing; Little Mac’s performance in the air is at very least lackluster but makes up for it by being among the most potent in the game on ground. Inspired by said interpretation and wanting to add our own touches, we introduce Little Mac’s Smash 4 playstyle!


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For this playstyle jab is faster than ever before, coming out on frame 1. If it misses, the first jab can quickly be repeated to keep opponents at bay! On hit this attack now consists of 3 full hits before the flurry, followed by an ending hit that helps Little Mac transition into his combos! That's not the only attack with changed animations however, we've been changing up his moveset to better follow Smash 4 wherever possible!
Additionally, this attack in particular as well as other offensive options have been made more powerful against shield in an effort to establish the theme of Little Mac being superior on the ground.


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In the Console version Little Mac’s throws are lackluster, making him not particularly effective against shields. We’ve rectified this by converting forward and back throw into potent finishers! Up and down throw on the other hand toss opponents close enough, allowing Little Mac to follow through with his combos. This change, along with higher shield damage on ground attacks, allow Little Mac to circumvent shields and maintain dominance of the grounded fight!


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Smash Attacks are now faster and provide Little Mac with armor during startup, allowing Little Mac to set up his attacks and punish more safely! Their increased power means that Little Mac can finish his opponents a bit more reliably. Console players will be delighted to experiment with a new side smash inspired by Smash 4 and the 2-hit side tilt in Crusade!


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Sadly but necessarily, all of these improvements come with a cost; this playstyle is extremely bad in the air. All aerials severely lack in priority, damage and knockback. Landing lag also is far more noticeable. Needless to say, the same goes for Little Mac’s mobility and jump height.

The same applies to this playstyle’s specials. For the most part, the aerial versions cover much less distance and also provide no armor or invincibility. Little Mac (Wii U) is no air fighter!


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This playstyle’s neutral special is greatly inspired by the console version; much like in Smash 4, the Straight Lunge is capable of covering large distances while also delivering a strong hit! Charge it up to increase your distance!


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The side special is our interpretation of the Jolt Haymaker. It begins by granting Little Mac invincibility which transitions into gradually deteriorating armor throughout the leap! It still leaves Little Mac helpless, however. Just like in console, you can press B to unleash the punch early. Use this attack to plow through projectiles and attack from afar!


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The up special has also gotten a Smash 4 treatment. The Rising Uppercut has no horizontal movement, but hits multiple times and ends with a finishing uppercut! When used on the ground, there is invincibility and a significant height boost, but in the air Little Mac has trouble gaining height. Try ending combos with this attack on the ground for an early finisher! You'll have to get creative if you want to survive off-stage...


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This playstyle’s counter has a larger window, making it all around safer. Additionally, the strike that follows now deals added hitstun that increases in accordance to the damage of the countered attack, rather than smash4's added knockback! Use this unique hitstun counter to turn the tables on your foes with a variety of follow-up attacks!


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Ding-ding! The K.O. punch is ready! Watch out Klonoa!


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OUCH!
The KO Punch is back in all it's glory! Plow through shields and destroy your foes in a single hit!


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That’s gonna hurt in the morning…

Now you can play Smash 4 Little Mac with a few improvements to stay viable among the varied cast of Crusade!

Full Gallery: http://imgur.com/a/ujjVm

Excited to try out Smash 4 Little Mac in 0.9.1? Let us know what you think! Tune in next week to see what Goku has been practicing in the time chamber!

Goku Trains For v0.9.1!


Goku is known for two things; his endless appetite for food and never-ending lust for training and fighting. No matter how strong Goku gets, there is always someone stronger to threaten the Earth! Therefore, Goku never stops training and refining his techniques!


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GOKU: 10x GRAVITY!

Where better to train than the iconic Hyperbolic Timechamber? This classic training ground makes its debut in SSB Crusade v0.9.1! Take in the stunning visuals while you train your skills against foes without impeding platforms, slopes, walls or even edges. This stage features a flat, walk-off design for a test of fighting prowess. But that's not all; play with hazards on and gravity is amped up!


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So what has Goku learned with his time in the chamber? For starters, let's revisit what we learned during the v0.9.1 direct. Rather than shooting a large beam fairly quickly, Goku now has to charge his neutral special in order to achieve the same results. Pressing "Special" will initiate a charge, and pressing "Special" again will fire.


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But that’s not all! Aiming to be as close to canon material as possible, we’ve given Goku the ability to aim the wave up and down. Hold up or down to direct the attack accordingly!


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That's not all Goku has learned from training. Introducing: Warp Kamehameha!

This iconic move was first seen in Goku’s duel against Cell. Your opponent thinks you’re immobile while you’re charging the Kamehameha… think again! Teleport away from your original position and fire away! By pressing "Attack" or "Grab" followed by a direction, Goku can teleport once during charging. He can even come out of the teleport facing a different direction by using left or right directionals as he reappears!

But that’s not all, as you can continue the charging where it left off and aim the wave up or down after teleporting! Use this keep your opponent on their toes!


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The Continuous Kamehameha is an interesting variation of Goku’s Side Special: the Ki Blast. The input is similar to the regular Ki Blast, but functions like a “Smash Special”, meaning that the input is similar to a Smash Attack.

Before moving on to talk about Continuous Kamehameha, let’s talk about Ki Blast. It now boasts decreased end-lag and increased hitstun at the cost of less Knockback. However, this is overall beneficial, as Ki Blast now is a projectile that can provide adequate pressure and even provide Goku with the opportunity to transition into his combos, depending on the circumstance.

Continuous Kamehameha on the other hand requires a charge-up time, but produces several Ki Blasts that amount to far higher damage if all connect. The projectiles travel with lower velocity and travel less distance overall, but home in on opponents and cover more area at once, assisting Goku with his spacing game!

Continuous Kamehameha has more end-lag than Ki Blast, but slows Goku’s descent, whereas Ki Blast does not. Choose between the two accordingly!


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An additional tool in Goku’s arsenal is the Dragon Dash! By pressing "Grab" in the air, Goku will charge forward with a surrounding hitbox that knocks in the direction he is flying! Use it to gain some extra distance in the air and hit unaware opponents! You can even aim the dash up or down as you go!

Beware however; not only does it leave Goku helpless, it doesn’t snap to the ledge either. Use the Dragon Dash with caution!


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Lastly, Goku's Kaio Ken attack has been adjusted. In previous versions, this move was just as overpowering and spammable as Kamehameha. It could be used over and over again until it connected, providing a massive built-in combo on hit. We've redesigned the attack to feel more fair while still being useful.

The spectacular combo that ensues after the Kaio-Ken Attack connects now transpires faster than it did before. As a result, Goku will now actually deal more damage during Kaio-Ken Attack than what he’d receive as per the Kaio-Ken state. Additionally, Kaio-Ken Attack will cause the Kaio-Ken state to be automatically switched off regardless of whether the attack connects, preventing spamming of the attack and adding risk to using it!

This can be either bad or good depending on whether you wanted to stay in the Kaio-Ken state for longer. Mr. Popo thinks you should choose wisely!

Full-Res Images: http://imgur.com/a/B7NWS
Excited to try out Goku in v0.9.1? Let us know what you think! Tune in next week to see how we've improved Geno!

We have two very special announcements to make today! But, the first one speaks for itself…




That’s right, 0.9.1 will be launching with new and much improved character portraits for a much better-looking character select screen!

If you would like to check out the full portraits, consider checking out these desktop wallpapers! There’s one for every character in Crusade. Here is a gallery of all of them:

https://imgur.com/a/74CHn


Okay, so what about the other announcement!?

We are happy to announce that Super Smash Bros. Crusade version 0.9.1 will be releasing on November 1, 2017!