Andy Marsolais

Game: Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!
Music: 8/10
Diffiulty: 7/10
Pre-Internet Rating: 9/10
Post-Internet Rating: 9.5/10
Fun Factor: 9/10 Super Mario 3 Bear Suits
Price: $5

I know you kiddies are all anxiously awaiting my latest NES review so wait no further, this week I played Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! This is a port which had 2 popular arcade releases and even a spin off called Arm Wrestling. This game had 2 releases on NES due to contracts; after the licensing agreement with Mike Tyson expired Nintendo rereleased the exact same game but took Tyson’s name off and replaced him with a fictional character called Mr. Dream. What most people don’t realise is that NES actually has a sequel to this game called Power Punch ll. Right after Punch-Out!! was released, Beam Software began developing an official sequel starring Mike Tyson with manager Don King. The game was originally called Mike Tyson’s Intergalactic Power Punch and was supposed to give you the opportunity to play as Mike Tyson as he fights various aliens from other planets. After Tyson was found guilty of raping Desiree Washington the company changed the characters name to Mark Tyler and modified Don King but decided not to change Tyson’s in game character. Nintendo hated the game and rightly so as the quality is horrible but eventually is was released by American Softworks Corp who called it Power Punch ll even though there was never a Power Punch l.

In Punch-Out!! you play as underdog boxer Little Mac who is trained by Doc Louis as you work your way through the Minor, Major & World Circuits before your final fight with Tyson/Mr. Dream. This game stands the test of time and continues to be one of those games that you can pick up and play over and over again. The first few opponents are relatively simple but it gets harder and you have to concentrate on learning there techniques in order to counter them or else you won’t get very far. You would be hard pressed to find any website that ranked Punch-Out out of of the top ten NES games of all time and it deserves all the respect it gets. I can remember being at a Halloween house party over ten years after this game came out and what did I find? A group of teenagers huddled around a tv playing this game and yelling tips that where flashing through their memory banks from when they we here kids.

The way every character has their own ring music and special actions as they enter or when they KO you is a nice touch and the controls are superb. You have the ability to dodge right/left, throw right/left head or body blows and if you are able to get a star you can throw a super punch to the head by pressing the start button. If you get knocked down 3x in 1 round you will lose by KO and if you go a couple rounds while getting knocked down a couple times in each, eventually you won’t be able to get up and you will be counted out. It goes the same for your opponent but they tend to be able to take more knock downs than you. I gave the game an extra .5 under Post-Internet because it allowed me to learn some of the tips for beating harder opponents but there is also a down side because I am playing it as a ROM on my Xbox which means that I have to take my finger of the D-pad to press the start button and throw an super punch. Of course I could configure the controller but who wants to do that for 1 game? This game is a no brainer for me as an obvious recommendation for anyone so get out there and find a copy. Andy Approved, UP TOP!

Here are some tips to get yourself passed the first few wave of fighters:

Recovery

• Between rounds you should press the select button as much as possible, this will refill your life. You can only do this once per fight.

Von Kaiser

• He will throw a punch right after he shakes his head. Dodge the punch and throw a head shot, throw one more to earn a star.

Piston Honda

• When his eye brows go up and down he will throw a jab, dodge then throw a head shot for a star.

Don Flamenko

• Don’t try to get stars
• When he taunts you, you have to throw a head punch to make him swing at you and drop his guard.

King Hippo

• Throw a head shot when he jumps, then hit the X on his belly with a body shot

Great Tiger

• When his gem flashes he will throw a jab
• When he dips side to side, throw a body shot on the same side for a star
• He will go invisible and do his around the world move, you have to block it until he stops from getting dizzy.

Charles Barkley

• After he spins his gloves he throws a punch
• If he shakes you can expect an uppercut
• His special move is a charge from the top of the ring, when he gets to you throw a body punch to knock him out

Soda Popinski (Vodka Drunkenski in the arcade game)

• When he throws an uppercut, block it. He will freeze and allow you to get a star for hitting him with a body punch

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! was also one of the only games people wanted the Power Glove for (until they actually tried to fight with it)

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