Punch-Out!! (NES)

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out a.k.a. Punch-Out! Featuring Mr. Dream!!
File:Punch Out (title).png
Developer(s)	Nintendo R&D3
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Platform(s)	Nintendo Entertainment System, Virtual Console (see article)
Release	1987
Genre(s)	Sports game
Mode(s)	Single player

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (1987) is a cartoonish boxing video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System designed, developed, and published by Nintendo. It is a sequel to the arcade game Punch-Out!!. The game features a boxer named Little Mac working his way up the professional boxing circuits, facing a series of colorful, fictional boxers, leading to a final fight with real-life boxer Mike Tyson.

Development

Genyo Takeda, who produced the arcade versions of Punch-Out!!, directed the NES versions. Because the NES was not as powerful as the arcade hardware, Takeda and his crew realized that it would be too difficult to make the NES port look exactly like the arcade versions. Instead of making the playable boxer wire-framed or transparent to see an opponent, they decided to shrink a new playable boxer, named Little Mac, so that players could see their opponents over Little Mac's head. Other things they added to the NES version that the arcade versions lacked were a plot, a background music track played during fights, and Nintendo's mascot, Mario, as the referee due to the cartridge ROM not being large enough to store the voice samples of the announcer from the arcade versions.

Gameplay

File:Punch Out (NES).png

The first match in Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! against Glass Joe.

The game requires good reflexes in reaction to the computer-controlled boxers' moves, as the more advanced boxers give very little indication of their coming moves. Punch-Out!! incorporates enough variety to be a challenge to even the most experienced of players. Still, many have mastered Punch-Out!! by learning the computer-controlled boxers' consistent patterns.

Little Mac has a limited repertoire compared to many of his opponents. His punches are limited to left and right jabs, left and right body blows, and a powerful uppercut. The uppercut can only be used once the player earns a star, which can often be accomplished by counter-punching the opponent directly before or after certain attacks are launched. On the defensive side, the player can also dodge left or right, duck, and block attacks.

Little Mac also has a heart meter, which decreases by three upon being struck by an opponent and one upon blocking an attack or an opponent blocking the player's attack. When the heart meter decreases to zero, Little Mac temporarily turns pink and appears exhausted, leaving the player unable to attack. After several seconds, the player regains a few hearts and Little Mac reverts to his original palette.

Doc Louis serves as Little Mac's faithful trainer and corner man.

The opponents

The opponents the player has to face in the four boxing circuits are:

Minor Circuit

• Glass Joe (Paris, France) - The easiest boxer in the game. He has lost 99 matches and has only won once. A similar character, Gabby Jay, is in the SNES game Super Punch-Out!!.
• Von Kaiser (Berlin, Germany) - A former boxing instructor in the German military academy.
• Piston Honda (Tokyo, Japan) - Japan's national boxing hero fighting for his village. Somewhat of a camera lover.

Major Circuit

• Don Flamenco (Madrid, Spain) - A vain Spaniard who enters the ring with a rose in his teeth.
• King Hippo (Hippo Island) - The largest of the WVBA contenders, Hippo's only weakness is his enormous, bandaged stomach. Once knocked down, he is never able to get up. He also appears in the Captain N cartoon series.
• Great Tiger (Bombay, India) - A great magician who wears a turban; he has mystical punches.
• Bald Bull (Istanbul, Turkey) - Along with his signature technique, the Bull Charge, one of the series' most popular characters.

World Circuit

• Piston Honda - Former Minor Circuit champion. Trained vigorously since losing his title.
• Soda Popinski (Moscow, USSR) - Champion of USSR. A volatile pink-skinned boxer who constantly drinks soda. This character was the alcohol-drinking Vodka Drunkenski in the arcade game, but Nintendo was also known to censor its games during this time period, hence the replacement of the alcohol with soda.
• Bald Bull - Former Major Circuit champion, sporting a significantly improved constitution.
• Don Flamenco - Champion of Spain. Utilizes a completely different fighting style.
• Mr. Sandman (Philadelphia, PA) - Former World Champion. Excellent all-around boxer.
• Super Macho Man (Los Angeles, CA) - WVBA World Champion. A self-absorbed muscleman.

The Dream Fight

• Mike Tyson / Mr. Dream

Another World Circuit

• King Hippo
• Great Tiger
• Piston Honda
• Soda Popinski
• Bald Bull
• Don Flamenco
• Mr. Sandman
• Super Macho Man
• Mike Tyson / Mr. Dream

Other versions

In 1990, towards the end of the NES's run, the game was re-released as Punch-Out!!, with the Tyson character replaced by Mr. Dream. Mr. Dream fought in the same fashion as Tyson, but had cosmetic changes to his face and skin color. Contrary to popular belief, Tyson was removed not because of his 1991 rape conviction, but because of a contract dispute with Nintendo and his title loss to Buster Douglas.

During the release of Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! in the United States, Nintendo released it in a gold-colored Famicom cartridge simply titled Punch-Out!! in Japan, without Mike Tyson nor Mr. Dream in it, as a prize for the Golf US Course Famicom Tournament. This version's final boxer is Super Macho Man.

This game was inspired by the 1984 arcade game Punch-Out!!, also by Nintendo, as is its sequel Super Punch-Out!!. The arcade version does not use Tyson's image or name, but many of the other characters are taken from one of the two arcade games. Glass Joe, Bald Bull, and Mr. Sandman are from Punch-Out!!, while Great Tiger, Soda Popinski (aka Vodka Drunkenski), and Super Macho Man are from Super Punch-Out!!. Furthermore, Piston Honda is nearly identical to Punch-Out!!'s Piston Hurricane without visual alterations, while Bear Hugger was being replaced by King Hippo, due to Bear Hugger's appearance being too detailed to convert to the NES version.

In Animal Crossing, one of the unlockable NES games is Punch-Out!! (Mr. Dream version). It is one of the rarer NES games available.

One of the microgames in WarioWare: Smooth Moves for the Wii involves the player taking on the role of Mario as the referee and counting down Glass Joe, Von Kaiser, and Bald Bull. In WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! the second boss features boxing matches with various people based on the original Punch-Out!!.

Virtual Console

This game was released on the Virtual Console on March 30, 2007 to the European and Australian regions, April 3, 2007 in Japan, and in North America on April 16, 2007. Only the Punch-Out!! version (with Mr. Dream) is available. Reports have surfaced stating that when the game is played on HDTVs, the Virtual Console version of Punch-Out!! suffers from a lag in controls, which significantly raises the difficulty level compared to the NES version. [1]

Trivia

• Soda Popinski's laugh was later used for Ganon's laugh at the game over screen of the American version of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. A similar laugh was also used in the NES version of Kung-Fu Master.

• Team Awesome, a group of amateur film makers have produced a short film in the style of a movie trailer for the Nintendo Short-cuts film contest. It features actors taking on the roles of various characters from the game. In which the character of little Mac retires after losing and has to fight again to raise money for rent. It can be seen on Youtube by searching for Punch-Out!! Trailer - Nintendo Short Cuts.

External links

• Template:GameFAQs
• Punch-Out!! at MobyGames
• Template:StrategyWiki
• Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! NES FanPage!