Punch-Out!! (1987 video game)

Did You Know?

• On The Tonight Show on October 29, 2014, Mike Tyson was challenged by host Jimmy Fallon to play the game on live TV; the virtual Tyson defeated the real Tyson in the first round by TKO.
• In Family Guy's Season 7 episode "Not All Dogs Go to Heaven", Peter asks God for the cheat codes for Mike Tyson's Punch-Out, saying he has been stuck on Bald Bull for 4 years.

Gameplay

The player controls Little Mac, a young boxer climbing the ranks of the World Video Boxing Association. After winning championships across three circuits of colorful opponents, Mac enters a final Dream Fight. In the gold prize version, the final boss is Super Macho Man; in Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, the final boss is real-life champion Mike Tyson. Later releases replaced Tyson with the fictional Mr. Dream. Little Mac's offensive options are limited to left and right jabs, left and right body blows, and a powerful uppercut. The uppercut can only be used after earning a star, typically by counter-punching an opponent during specific attacks. Up to three stars can be held, but they are lost whenever Mac is hit or knocked down. Defensively, Mac can dodge left or right, duck, or block by raising his guard. A heart counter decreases when Mac is hit, blocks a punch, or throws a punch that the opponent avoids or blocks. When the counter reaches zero, Mac turns pink and becomes exhausted, unable to attack but still able to dodge, duck, and block. Hearts can be regained by avoiding the opponent's punches. A knockdown empties the heart counter, but some hearts can be recovered while getting up. A bout ends by knockout if a fighter cannot rise within ten seconds, by technical knockout if a fighter is knocked down three times in one round, or by decision if three full rounds pass without a clear winner. To win by decision, the player must accumulate enough points by landing punches; some bouts cannot be won this way and require a knockout. Mac can only get up three times per bout; a fourth knockdown results in a knockout loss.

Development

Punch-Out!! was developed by Nintendo Research & Development No. 3, with Genyo Takeda, producer of the arcade Punch-Out!! games, serving as director. Because the NES hardware was less powerful than the arcade machines, the arcade graphics could not be recreated. Instead of making the playable boxer wire-framed or transparent to see the opponent, the developers made him smaller and named him Little Mac, a 17-year-old boxer weighing about 107 pounds. Each opponent's behavior follows a set pattern that requires trial and error and memorization to defeat. The opening and closing music is "Look Sharp-Be Sharp" by Mahlon Merrick, originally composed for the radio and television program Gillette Cavalcade of Sports. Most opponents have ring-entrance music, typically a classical or folk theme from the fighter's country of origin: Glass Joe uses "La Marseillaise"; Von Kaiser, Great Tiger, and Super Macho Man use "Ride of the Valkyries"; Piston Honda uses "Sakura"; Don Flamenco uses "March of the Toreadors"; and Soda Popinski uses "The Song of the Volga Boatmen". Bald Bull, Mr. Sandman, and Mike Tyson or Mr. Dream have no entrance music.

Release

Before the public release of Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, Nintendo released a gold-colored Famicom cartridge titled Punch-Out!! in Japan without Mike Tyson, as a prize for a Family Computer Golf: U.S. Course tournament in September 1987. 10,000 units were produced, half given as high score prizes and the rest as lottery prizes. Its final opponent is Super Macho Man. Nintendo of America founder Minoru Arakawa attended a boxing match featuring Mike Tyson and was impressed by his power and skill, inspiring the use of Tyson's likeness. Tyson was rumored to have been paid $50,000 for a three-year period for his likeness, a risk taken before Tyson won the WBC heavyweight championship. Nintendo released the Mike Tyson version in Japan soon after its North American release. After the license expired in 1990, the game was rebranded as simply Punch-Out!! and re-released in the U.S. and Europe in 1990 and 1991, with Tyson replaced by the fictional Mr. Dream. This version was used in all major re-releases, including the Virtual Console, Animal Crossing for GameCube, the NES Classic Edition, and the Nintendo Classics service.

Reception

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! sold over 2 million copies in North America by 1988, one of two NES games to reach that milestone that year alongside The Legend of Zelda. Critics received the game well. In 1989, Computer and Video Games magazine called it "definitely THE best boxing game available on any machine," praising its sprites, control method, and gameplay. ACE magazine in 1989 listed it as the second highest-rated NES game after Super Mario Bros., stating it "bashes the proverbial s@t out of any other home boxing game." A GameSpot reader poll ranked it the 6th greatest NES game. Nintendo Power ranked it 17th in its Top 200 Games list and later 6th best NES game in August 2008, praising its arcade-style fun. Historian Steve L. Kent called it the second major game of 1987. Author Nathan Lockard cited its graphics, violence, controls, and variety as making it a "true classic." In 2005, GameSpot included it on its list of the greatest games of all time. Den of Geek ranked it 7th out of the 15 Best NES Games, and Esquire ranked it fifth. GamesRadar ranked it the 11th best NES game, calling it a "brilliant puzzle game disguised as a sports game." Game Informer ranked it 14th favorite game ever in 2001, noting no boxing game since has been as "beloved." IGN named it the 7th best NES game. Official Nintendo Magazine ranked it 74th in a list of greatest Nintendo games.