Punch-Out | ||
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Box art for Punch-Out!! | ||
Publisher(s) | Nintendo | |
Platform(s) | Nintendo Entertainment System | |
Release date | Gold Version JP September 18, 1987 Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! | |
Genre(s) | Sports | |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Punch-Out!! is a boxing game released for the NES console. It stars Little Mac and marks the first console-released title in the Punch-Out!! series. It is a follow-up of both Punch-Out!! and Super Punch-Out!!, but features a more developed storyline than said installments.
Storyline[]
The storyline given in the manual states that Little Mac and Doc Louis met by chance one day and Doc began teaching him. Mac then proceeds to enter the World Video Boxing Association (W.V.B.A.). Mac proceeds, under Doc's guidance, to beat each opponent that he faces. Eventually, he becomes the World Champion after defeating Super Macho Man. Afterwards, Mac is invited to challenge Mike Tyson/Mr. Dream in a special Dream Match.
Development[]
Genyo Takeda and his team, who also created the arcade installments of Punch-Out!!, developed the NES game. However, rather being being a faithful port, the NES game was developed as a separate work adapting gameplay and characters from the arcade installments, due to the NES lacking the advanced hardware of arcade games. The unnamed green-haired boxer from the arcade installments was replaced by a new character, Little Mac, who was made small enough to let the player could see the opponent over his head. Little Mac was named so as a play on the hamburger at McDonald's, the Big Mac, and due to his small stature. A Gold Version titled "Punch-Out!!" was released in Japan for the winner of the Golf U.S. Course Famicom Tournament, which was later replaced with Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! after the then-president of Nintendo of America, Minoru Arakawa, saw Mike Tyson in a boxing match, and was fascinated by his power and skill, so he was later implemented into the game as the final boss.
Nintendo chose not to renew Mike Tyson's licensing agreement after its expiration, due to Tyson having lost his champion status to Buster Douglas. When Nintendo re-released the NES cartridge a few years later, they did so under the title Punch-Out!!, without Mike Tyson's name attached. Tyson was replaced in the game itself by a new character named Mr. Dream, who had a different sprite but fought identically to Tyson.
Years later, Nintendo would re-release the Mr. Dream version of Punch-Out!! for their Virtual Console and Nintendo Switch Online services under the new title Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream.
Controls[]
- A Button: Right Body Blow
- B Button: Left Body Blow
- A Button + D-Pad Up: Right Jab
- B Button + D-Pad Up: Left Jab
- D-Pad Right: Dodge Right*
- D-Pad Left : Dodge Left*
- D-Pad Down: Block
- D-Pad Down (x2): Duck
- Start: Uppercut**
*A quick tap of the D-Pad in the opposite direction resets Mac faster after a dodge.
** You can only do an uppercut if you have a star; more information on how to get a star is in the Gameplay section.
Gameplay[]
Little Mac has six basic moves: left and right jabs, left and right body blows, left and right dodges, block, duck, and the uppercut. Uppercuts can only be used once the player has a star, which you gain by hitting the opponent right before or after they attack or other special circumstances.
The health in this game is represented by a meter that lowers each time Mac is hit. Once this meter is drained, Mac is knocked down, and the A and B buttons must be tapped to bring him back up before ten seconds pass. The opponents follow these rules as well. Another key feature of this game is the Heart Meter. The Heart Meter tells how many punches you can use. It goes down when you miss an attack, block an opponent's attack, when you get hit, and whenever an opponent blocks one of your attacks. If it hits zero, Little Mac will turn pink and cannot attack. The only way to fill it up again is by dodging opponent punches. The amount of hearts you have on the meter is different for each match.
There are 23 matches featuring various boxers split into four circuits. Losing a match in the World Circuit causes Mac to start that one over. Losing a match in any of the other circuits makes you start the match before you, and this may happen three times before you get a game over. However, in the Another World Circuit, you have only one chance to beat all the boxers in the circuit. Losing once will result in a game over.
There are three ways to win: TKO (when the opponent is knocked down three times in the same round), knock-out, (when the opponent fails to get up after ten seconds), and technical decision after time runs out, which is decided by how many points the player earned. Note: Some opponents cannot be beaten using the technical decision method.
Opponents[]
Minor Circuit[]
Number of Fighters: 3
- Glass Joe
- Von Kaiser (debut)
- Piston Honda (debut)
Major Circuit[]
Number of Fighters: 4
- Don Flamenco (debut)
- King Hippo (debut)
- Great Tiger
- Bald Bull
World Circuit[]
Number of Fighters: 6
- Piston Honda (rematch)
- Soda Popinski (debut of the name)
- Bald Bull (rematch)
- Don Flamenco (rematch)
- Mr. Sandman
- Super Macho Man
The Dream Fight[]
Tip: When Mike Tyson/Mr. Dream throws a one-hit uppercut, use this opportunity to do a jab.
- Mike Tyson/Mr. Dream (debut)
Another World Circuit[]
Number of Fighters: 9
Note: One chance to win
- King Hippo
- Great Tiger
- Piston Honda
- Soda Popinski
- Bald Bull
- Don Flamenco
- Mr. Sandman
- Super Macho Man
- Mike Tyson/Mr. Dream (Mike Tyson's name is "Mchampionn" and his title is "Another," while Mr. Dream's title is "Another Champion")
Versions[]
Punch-Out!![]
The simply-titled Punch-Out!! was a gold-colored Famicom cartridge with Bald Bull on the cover awarded to the winners of the Gold U.S. Course Famicom Tournament. 10,000 copies were distributed around at around the same time Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! was released in North America, although that version would eventually see Japanese retail. This seems to be an earlier version of the game, as there are a few graphical and audio differences, the text has instances of Engrish, and the final boxer was Super Macho Man.
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!![]
This was the first version released to the general public. After Nintendo of America president Minoru Arakawa saw Mike Tyson in a boxing match, he was impressed by his skill and he was implemented into the game as a special guest.
Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream[]
In 1990, this version was released in America and Europe after Nintendo decided not to renew Mike Tyson's contract as he was no longer the champion. He was replaced with Mr. Dream, a recolor and head swap of the original sprite.
Other releases[]
Punch-Out!! was included as a rare NES game in the GameCube game Animal Crossing, along with many other NES titles.
It was ported to the Wii's Virtual Console along with many other classic games for 800 points. In Japan, it was released on the 3DS 3D classics.
Finally, it was released as part of the Nintendo Switch Online's NES games. These all are ports of the Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream version.
Reception[]
Punch-Out!! has received praise and positive reception over the years. Allgame gave it 4 and a half stars. The Video Game Critic gave it an A+. In August 2008, Nintendo Power listed it as the sixth best video game, and praised it for putting arcade-style fun over realism. A GameSpot poll had it ranked 6th greatest NES game ever. In Nintendo Power's Top 200 Games list, it was named 17th best game on a Nintendo system.
Trivia[]
- Strangely enough, "DADDY COME BACK HOME!" appears on the newspaper, right next to Referee Mario. It is unknown what this means.
- While Mike Tyson appears to be on the cover of the Mike Tyson's Punch-out game, a boxer who instead resembled Mr. Dream appears on the re-release.
- In the game Sai-chan Super Smash 2 featuring Sai-chan Sam and Dragon Jack, as well as on a QPC file, the fighter Dragon Jack has the same nickname that Bald Bull has. (this nickname being "The reckless Bald Bull")
- Great Tiger and Super Macho Man's intros are "Ride of the Valkyries" by Richard Wagner. This is an inconsistency since the song is German (like Von Kaiser) while Great Tiger is Indian and Super Macho Man is American.