Mr. Sandman is a very fast and powerful opponent, though he can oddly be defeated with
relatively simple tactics. While reacting to his individual attacks is pretty tough due to
their speed and variety, the same reaction works against most punches. Every punch he
throws can be dodged by slipping to the left or right, it's just the timing that's
tricky.
But trying to read his attacks and dodge them accordingly isn't the easiest way to beat
him. We found that constantly throwing straight jabs with long delays between them is
enough to consistently catch Mr. Sandman as he winds up for a punch. Only two of his
punches won't be interrupted by this incessant barrage of jabshis two haymakersand only
one of them (the right haymaker) will punish you for the lazy tactics. Generally, this
tactic of constant pitter-patter punches will earn you a lot of stars off of countering
Sandman's overhead left and "Boo!" taunt, letting you frequently unload star punches to
quickly wear him down.
Overhead Left
Mr. Sandman starts the fight with this punch, a very quick overhand left. It's very
difficult to react to this punch because it's so fast, but you can dodge it either left or
right. You can also counter it at any point during the windup animation by throwing a head
punchif you interrupt him early, you'll simply interrupt the punch, and if you interrupt
Sandman as he swings down you'll earn a star.
Overhead Right
Almost a mirror image of Sandman's overhand left except that his overhand right is a lot
slower to come out. If you dodge it too early, Mac will swing back into place just as the
punch unloads. Like the overhand left, you can counter jab Sandman at any time during his
animation to interrupt him. Wait a second and counter Sandman as he swings down and you'll
earn a star.
Right Haymaker
In between the overhead attacks Sandman uses at the beginning of the fight, he will very
quickly weave to your left and come at you with a straight right haymaker punch. You can
counter him with a left jab as he comes at you with the punch to earn a star, but during
his rolling weave animation he isn't touchable. If you try to counter him early you'll
just whiff and take his punch in the face. Alternatively, you can dodge the punch (either
left or right) to leave Sandman open. Delay a half second before swinging with a punch of
your own to earn a star. If you don't delay enough, you won't earn a star.
Dreamland Express
Occasionally Sandman will take a step back and drop his hands. If you try to swing at him,
he'll just dodge your punches before stepping in and unload a series of three uppercuts.
You can dodge all three uppercuts by slipping either left or right. If you manage to dodge
all of them, tag Mr. Sandman with a left body shot as he holds the final pose of the third
uppercut to earn a star.
Left Haymaker
After you've knocked down Mr. Sandman, he'll start throwing this punch into the mix.
Fortunately, it's very easy to deal with. Sandman ducks to your right and waits a second
before coming at you with a big left straight. Even if you react too early, you can
usually recover quickly enough to input a second reaction. You can counter Sandman with a
right jab to earn a star, or you can dodge the punch to leave Sandman open for a counter
attack. If you wait a half second before following your dodge with a left hook you'll earn
a star.
Boo! Taunt
Frequently, Sandman will drop his hands and say "Boo!" while sticking his chin out very
quickly as a bit of a fake. If you can jab him in the head as he does this you'll earn a
star, but reacting to it is pretty tough because it's so fast. Also watch for Sandman to
sometimes use this "Boo!" feint after he backs away and readies for the Dreamland Express
combo.