Jolt Haymaker
| Jolt Haymaker | |
|---|---|
 Little Mac attacking Bowser with Jolt Haymaker in Ultimate. | |
| User | Little Mac |
| Universe | Punch-Out!! |
Jolt Haymaker (ジョルトブロー, Jolt Blow) is Little Mac's side special move in Super Smash Bros. 4 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Overview
Little Mac leaps forward and performs a downward hook at the end of the move. The punch will be thrown before maximum distance is traveled, but can be thrown at any time during the jump by pressing the special button, as early as right after initiating the leap. If the move is used on the ground, Little Mac will be briefly intangible from frames 5-14 as he leaps, allowing him to avoid projectiles and attacks, although throwing the punch early will reduce the amount of intangibility frames given (frames 5-8). If the move is used on an incline, such as a sloped platform or the slanted edges of certain stages, Little Mac will gain noticeably more height from the jump, depending on the steepness of the slope.
Like many of Little Mac's moves, Jolt Haymaker has high knockback scaling, and can KO at 105% near the edge on the ground and in the air. The grounded version also travels a very long distance (almost half of Final Destination), making the move useful for escaping from harm or punishing enemies suffering from lag. Unlike most of Mac's other aerial moves, Jolt Haymaker keeps its power in the air, allowing it to be used as a surprise aerial KO option. It can also cause a sacrificial KO by chaining several forward aerials into a Jolt Haymaker, which can KO as early as 65% but at the risk of losing a stock.
Due to the move's wide hitbox and decent amount of lingering frames, Jolt Haymaker is one of Little Mac's few useful edgeguarding tools (apart from his down smash). It can be used to stage spike by punching an opponent against the edge should they lose their edge invincibility, and its power makes this deadly on stages with slanted ledges such as Battlefield.
This move is Little Mac's only reliable horizontal recovery move, as Slip Counter only gives distance if it counters an attack, while a fully-charged Straight Lunge takes too long to charge. However, it is notably poor at doing so compared to other recovery moves, as it grants purely horizontal momentum, loses its intangibility in the air and travels half the distance (which was decreased further in Update 1.0.4). Additionally, it travels even less distance if Mac's fist is swung early, and does not automatically ledge snap until the move's animation is complete. This makes it very possible for Mac to get KOed at a distance where other fighters would be able to recover from, and he is also vulnerable to being knocked off or meteor smashed even if he manages to get to a ledge, a weakness shared with his other recovery move Rising Uppercut.
Another weakness of Jolt Haymaker is its inability to stop at the edge, similar to Fox Illusion in Melee. On the ground, Little Mac keeps all his forward momentum even if he swings his fist during the first few frames. This makes it extremely risky to use on small platforms or near edges, as players can easily underestimate the distance Little Mac jumps, easily sending him flying offstage. In SSB4, this results in a self-destruct, since the move renders him helpless, but in Ultimate, this was changed such that Mac no longer enters freefall after the move and can potentially recover with Rising Uppercut, significantly improving its utility and allowing it to be used as a reliable edgeguarding tool. A way to circumvent the former occurrence is to do a quick short-hop if attempting this near edges, making combos such as a down tilt to aerial Jolt Haymaker much safer.
In Ultimate, Little Mac does not regain his aerial Jolt Haymaker if he is hit out of it, similarly to how Pit in Super Smash Bros. Brawl loses Wings of Icarus if he is hit out of it.
Like most of Little Mac's special moves, Jolt Haymaker has a unique 8-bit sound if he is using a Wireframe alternate costume.
Customization
Special Move customization was added in Super Smash Bros. 4. These are the variations:
| 1. Jolt Haymaker | 2. Grounding Blow | 3. Guard Breaker |
|---|---|---|
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| "Leap forward, dodging low attacks, and deliver a punch. Press again to punch early." | "Jump high into the air to whack opponents downward and bury them." | "A slower but more powerful Jolt Haymaker that can't be blocked by shields." |
- Jolt Haymaker: Default.
- Grounding Blow: Little Mac leaps high into the air, then shoots downward for the punch. Buries grounded foes, and can meteor smash airborne ones if sweetspotted. Thanks to its high vertical reach, it can be an effective anti-air move and a general followup option against foes launched above the range of Little Mac's other ground attacks. It is worse for recovery, however, thanks to its lower horizontal distance and the fact that it makes Little Mac fall quickly. Additionally it gives no invincibility frames, though the jump itself helps for avoiding low attacks. The punch can be thrown very slightly later after the standard version's earliest hitbox.
- Guard Breaker: Has reduced distance, increased start-up, and lower movement speed, but also has super armor throughout the jump, deals 4% more damage (albeit with compensated knockback), and is unblockable (except against Witch Time). While Guard Breaker's punch can still be thrown early, the difference is very minute, preventing the player from attacking before traveling the jump's full distance. Additionally, this move has an unusual property where it gives no horizontal distance if used immediately out of knockback. In other words, if Little Mac gets knocked off the stage and then tries to use this move to recover while he is still moving backwards, he will not move forward at all and will most likely fall to his death.
Origin
The Jolt Haymaker has no direct origin in Little Mac's abilities in the Punch-Out!! games. However, one of the series' recurring opponents, Von Kaiser, uses a similar jumping overhead punch in his Title Defense match in Punch-Out!! on Wii, which would knock out Little Mac in one hit if not dodged. Nick Bruiser, the final boss of Super Punch-Out!! on SNES, also uses a similar jumping overhead punch. The move's name may be based on its ability to "jolt" Little Mac forward with high speed while attacking.
Gallery
Jolt Haymaker in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
Jolt Haymaker in Ultimate.
Little Mac attacking Kirby with Jolt Haymaker.
Jolt Haymaker as shown by a Skill Preview in Ultimate.
Trivia
- Due to the move generating a push effect on frame one, standing directly beside a stationary Barrel or Rolling Crate and performing Jolt Haymaker through it will cause the object to roll forwards, resulting in it crashing into Little Mac.
