By Paul G.

Nintendo's take on the boxing world is quite interesting. While not the first boxing video game, it's certainly the first one to become a successful hit. It's really no surprise either, as the game boasts incredibly tight controls and memorable characters (sometimes however, they borderline offensive with the game's excessive use of stereotypes. The Italian boxer named Pizza Pasta, the Jamaican boxer named Bob Charlie and others immediately come to mind). While the arcade games were relatively popular, it was the NES outing of the series that brought it to the forefront of gaming, with the sponsorship of professional boxer Mike Tyson. Unlike most boxing games, putting yourself on the offensive is a bad idea. A majority of the time, you'll need to wait until your opponent strikes, dodge, and then knock them while they're stunned. Each character usually has a set pattern that can be learned, but you must be able to react quickly against them to truly win. A few of the more colorful boxers have some truly outlandish attacks, some of which bordered on the supernatural (Indian boxer Great Tiger teleports around the ring) or flat-out illegal (Chinese boxer Dragon Chan can jump kick you), but the game is obviously not meant to be taken seriously. Naturally, you'll need to quick reflexes to succeed, along with some elementary puzzle solving skills. Characters Glass Joe The worst boxer in the game, his track record is actually 1-99 KO. He is your first opponent in the arcade, NES, and Wii games. Pathetic by nature, in the ring he barely even throws a punch. Although he will back away from you to taunt you, he will rarely do anything else. If you can't defeat him, this game is not for you. Von Kaiser This German boxing machine appears in the NES and Wii version. Has an unfortunate habit of shaking his head before he punches, making it laughably easy to avoid every single punch he throws. Piston Honda / Piston Hondo He's Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!'s version of Piston Hurricane. Very patriotic of his country (Japan) as he always proudly proclaims, "I'll give you a KO from Tokyo!" You will face him twice in you journey to become champ, with your second outing being much more difficult. His is renamed Piston Hondo in the Wii version, probably to avoid copyright infringement. Don Flamenco This Spaniard is a flamboyant boxer who believes he is a beautiful fighter. First fight with him is rather pathetic and he's easily read, but your rematch with him is much more intense. Has a thing for hair, especially Referee Mario's. King Hippo The absolute strangest boxer you will go up against, King Hippo's defense is impenetrable until he opens his mouth. Clock him there and a band-aid appears. Punch, rinse, repeat. The only character in which you will never get a TKO from. When he is knocked down the first time, that's it due to his massive weight. Great Tiger This native of India has the ability to teleport in the NES game. He can also create mirror doubles in the Wii version. Effectively blocking his barrage punches during his teleporting will make him dizzy, giving your chance to give a barrage of your own. In the arcade Super Punch-Out!!, he's more of a Piston Hurricane clone. Soda Popinski / Vodka Drunkenski A Russian who loves to box just as much as he loves to drink. While in the arcade games he is Vodka Drunkenski, in the console version his name was changed to Soda Popinski. With the name change, it makes his conversations absolutely insane (he makes references to getting drunk but is supposedly addicted to soda?) Bald Bull The Turkish boxer has been in every Punch-Out!! with the exception of the arcade Super Punch-Out!! A fan favorite, his Bull Charge move is his best move and ironically his major weakness. Punch him right as he's charging at you! Mr. Sandman Mr. Sandman's boxing style is probably the most normal, as he just dishes out punches, albeit incredible strong ones. Named for constantly putting his opponents to rest, Mr. Sandman is ill-tempered and will stop at nothing to win once you start gaining the upper hand in the match. Is from New York City in all of the versions he appears in except in the Wii version, where he is now from Philadelphia. (Probably due to new boxer Disco Kid being from there) Super Macho Man Consistently the world champ in every Punch-Out!! he's been in (except the Wii version), the Los Angeles native boxer is a workout nut job. How so? He pretty much is working out while he's boxing you with his exercise programs! Seems more interested in flexing his muscles then fighting. Also see one of the most disturbing sounds ever produced for flexing. His super spin punch is by far one of the deadliest moves in the game. Mike Tyson The only real life boxer in the entire series, Mike Tyson is the final opponent in your way of winning the title belt in Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! Instead of being ranked with an actual title in the game, he is given the rank "Dynamite Kid". One uppercut connecting means an instant knockdown, no matter what. Mr. Dream Mike Tyson's replacement for the rerelease of Punch-Out!! for the NES. He kinda looks like a dork, really - not exactly the fierce-looking opponent Tyson was. His move set is exactly the same as Mike Tyson's, so defeating him is the same strategy for defeating Iron Mike. Gabby Jay Your first opponent in the Super NES Super Punch-Out!!, he is pretty much exactly like Glass Joe. Heck, they have some of the same stats (Both from Paris, France; Weight: 110 lbs. And both have a record of 1-99 KO). It just so happens that his only win was against Glass Joe. That's not really an accomplishment. Bear Hugger Weighing in at 440 lbs., this Canadian has one huge advantage: you can't deliver a body blow. He'll just stick his giant tongue at you and taunt the living crap out of you. Grew up beating up animals in the forest. Bear Hugger clearly isn't a part of the PETA. He originates from Super Punch Out in the arcades and later shows up in the SNES and Wii games. Piston Hurricane Hailing from Havana, Cuba, Piston believes himself to be the greatest at boxing. Notorious for his fancy footwork and his barrage of alternating high and low punches that you have to block, he's kind of actually a blow hard. Originally appearing in the arcade Punch-Out!!, he's the only character to receive a complete make over in the Super NES Super Punch-Out!! Bob Charlie Crowned the Jive King of Kingston, Jamaica, Bob Charlie is really agile and nimble around the boxing ring. He'll shuck ‘n' jive to dodge your attacks and comes in with relatively weak punches. Bob Charlie has a tendency to go to the back of the ring to taunt you and then either come after you with an uppercut or taunt you some more with a confused look. Dragon Chan Inspired by Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, Dragon Chan comes into the boxing world being an ex-kick boxer himself and he's not afraid to use his kicks to his advantage, especially when jumping off from the ropes. He even has a healing ability. Once you get to know his style, you'll realize that he is all offense with quite possibly the weakest defense of any of your opponents (save for Glass Joe/Gabby Jay). Masked Muscle The Mexican wrestler is the crown prince of the cheap shot for a reason. Not only will he head butt you from time to time, but at times he will spit in your eyes disorienting you and making you unable to attack.. Aran Ryan An irate Irishman, the untraditionally spelled Aran Ryan could be considered a stronger Piston Hurricane clone. His alternating high and low punches are much more intense. Notable for being one out of two Punch-Out!! boxers who will actually clinch to gain health back. He's also the only new character from Super Punch-Out!! to show up in the Wii version. Heike Kagero This Japanese kabuki student quite literally will dance around you in the ring. He will move with an ultra-fast dance that moves him left and right. Once stopping the dance, he usually throws just as quick punches. At times, he will attack with his long silver hair. Mad Clown A pallette swap of Bear Hugger, the Italian clown doesn't mess around. Undamaged by body blows, you have to constantly attack his face. Another dirty fighter, he will actually backflip to juggle balls only to hurl them towards you and then slamming your head afterwards. Once his coach yells "Show time!", Mad Clown becomes even more aggressive and pulls out all the stops. Narcis Prince The large V on the Prince's sweater stands for "Victory". So if you couldn't guess right away from his name alone, the sweater should tell you that he's a real cocky bastard. The Londoner hates having his face touched, so you should take advantage of that. When you pop him in the mug, he goes absolutely ballistic Hoy Quarlow The most unorthodox boxer in the game, Hoy Quarlow is an incredible quick and agile man for being a 100 pound seventy-eight year old. The Chinese martial artist will attack you with backhands, kicks, and the occasional beating with his cane. Did I say occasional, because he attacks with that stick pretty much the entire time. Rick Bruiser One of the Bruiser brothers, Rick has won every single boxing match he's been in with the exception for one. His Earthquaker move will shake the entire ring and leave you frozen in place, only to uppercut you with an instant knockdown. Nick Bruiser The absolute champion in Super NES Super Punch-Out!!, he's never lost a match. The ground shakes when he walks. Has the annoying ability to be able to throw a punch and deal damage even if you're blocking the attacks. Your best bet is to be offensive against him the entire time. Pizza Pasta The unfortunately named Italian doesn't have a lot going for him. He reacts quickly to your attacks and has a rather good defense, but otherwise is pretty plan. One of the only two boxers in the Punch-Out!! series who will clench. Kid Quick The New York boxer is quite easily the dullest character design. He basically has no big moves that separate him from anyone else and his tactics include just being able to react quickly to your punches. It's pretty clear why he didn't appear in any other Punch-Out!! game after his first and only appearance. Disco Kid The 70's infused discotheque lover from Brooklyn is sort of a new boxer for the Wii version - he might actually just be a revamped version of Kid Quick. He uses his dancing skills to trick you from when he is going to attack. He is the only non-Japanese created Punch-Out!! character, as he was created from Canadian development team Next Level Games. The whole Punch Out series is the brainchild of Genyo Takeda, who worked on all four games. Oddly enough, he was also known for the Startropics games. Most of these titles were made for the American audience, as Punch Out!! fared much better overseas than in Japan. He was also a technical guru, and help in the creation of many NES mapper chips, as well as the battery backup function used in games like The Legend of Zelda.

Punch Out!! Punch Out!! Punch Out!! Punch Out!! Super Punch Out!! Super Punch Out!! Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! Super Punch Out!! (SNES) Super Punch Out!! (SNES) Punch Out!! (Wii) Punch Out!! (Wii)

Punch Out!! - Arcade (1984)

Punch Out!!

Punch Out!!

Punch Out!!

The very first outing of Punch-Out!! had players assume the role of a nameless green haired boxer. Perhaps foreshadowing the two-screen portably DS system, Nintendo used two screens stacked on top of each other - one for gameplay and the other for keeping tracks of stats. Matches lasted for three minutes, with the timer counting down from the sound of the first bell. Your character is portrayed in a green mesh, which is the closest the hardware could get to transparency. There's also quite a lot of voiceovers, with the announcer calling our your opponent's name and detailing every single attack you land. ("Body blow! Body blow! etc.) A game also makes use of some unique sound effects, especially the distinct sound when you send someone flying to the mat - this has practically become a trademark of the series. The game gives you an array of punches to throw, depending on your character's position (up or down) and which button you press (left button or right button). Besides your regular attacks, as you punch your opponents your KO meter will build (it's kind of like a super meter for a 2D fighting game). If your attacks are blocked, the meter will drop. When it reaches maximum, you can throw what is called a KO punch (either a Right Hook or an Uppercut). If one of these connects, they can be devastating to the competition. However, you shouldn't throw too many, because eventually the computer AI will pick up on this, and dodge them with ease. One thing that is a bit unnoticeable at first is when you are hit by your opponent, you can not throw a punch for about one or two seconds. This makes the game incredible tough, seeing how when you get hit, you're trying to punch back only to be hit once again. There are six boxers total to compete against which are in this order: Glass Joe, Piston Hurricane, Bald Bull, Kid Quick, Pizza Pasta, and Mr. Sandman. Each boxer has a different tactic to be brought down, and it's not always noticeable at first on how to knock them out. You can always tell when they'll be attacking, as their eyes always turn yellow. Once you finish defeating everyone and gaining the title, you then have to defend it and go through each person again and this time they really mean business. Particularly annoying in this game is that when you are KO'd by your opponent, you only have one more chance to try and defeat them if you put in another quarter. If you lose again, you will be forced to start back to the beginning. Nintendo would later bring out a Micro Vs. Series of their popular Game & Watch games called Boxing over to North America in 1984. When it came time to rerelease it in 1988, Nintendo opted to renaming it Punch-Out!! for the unit, due to the popularity of the NES game. Players play on a side view of the action, directing high or low punches at each other. It has nothing to do with the arcade game, or any other game of the series for that matter as it's only similarity is that they're both about boxing. Nintendo would put this game in their Game & Watch Gallery 4 for the GBA and keep it's former name for all releases.

Punch Out!! Punch Out!!

Super Punch Out!! - Arcade (1984)

Super Punch Out!!

Super Punch Out!!

Super Punch Out!!

Not so much of a sequel as it is an upgrade (and barely an upgrade if that), not much has changed since the first installment - which isn't surprising as this came out the exact same year as the first Punch-Out!!. Matches are still three minutes and has the same control scheme. The changes are all pretty minor. The upper screen has a different set-up, where it gives the top three scores and KO times right on top, instead of just the first top score. Also the timer has been changed, where in the last game it counted down how many seconds you have left to defeat your opponent, where in this game it shows how long you've been fighting. There are all new characters to do battle with, such as fan favorites Bear Hugger and Dragon Chan. This version is definitely harder, as it unleashes all of it's fury in the first round (Bear Hugger is a much more formidable foe than Glass Joe ever could be). The boxers this time are Bear Hugger, Dragon Chan, Vodka Drunkenski, Great Tiger, and Super Macho Man - and once again, when you win the title you have to defend it and fight each character again. Other than that, it is pretty much exactly the same. If you really want to nit pick about changes, the only other change is that your character's portrait has him donning a new haircut, which makes your character resemble Principal Skinner from The Simpsons.

Super Punch Out!!