Gameplay
A screenshot depicting Punch-Out!!’s gameplay. In it, Little Mac has punched at the right time to defend himself against Bald Bull’s “Bull Charge”, instantly knocking him down.Punch-Out!! features a boxer known as 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, the then-World a
Little Mac has a limited repertoire compared to most 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 is typically accomplished by counter-punching the opponent directly before or after certain attacks are launched. The player can acquire up to three stars. To perform the powerful uppercut the player needs to press the start button once a star is earned. For defensive techniques, Mac can 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/dodging 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, but still able to defend. At this point, Mac can regain some hearts (and his normal color palette) only by avoiding the opponent’s punches.
A bout can end by knockout (KO), if a fighter is unable to get up within ten seconds after being knocked down; by technical knockout (TKO), if a fighter is knocked down three times in one round; or by decision, if the bout lasts three full rounds without a clear winner. In order to win by decision, the player must accumulate a high enough point total by punching the opponent and/or knocking him down. However, some bouts cannot be won in this manner and will automatically result in a loss for the player if the opponent is not knocked out.
When Little Mac loses his first bout to a ranked opponent, he will have a chance to fight a rematch. However if he loses a Title Bout, he will fall one or more places in the rankings. Losing a rematch causes him to fall one place (unless he is already at the bottom of his circuit), forcing him to fight his way back up. A third loss (not necessarily a consecutive one) ends the game. The exception is the final fight against Mike Tyson/Mr. Dream; a loss to them automatically results in a game over.
CharactersSee also: List of Punch-Out!! characters
Many of the character sprites in Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! are each used twice, just changing the head image, colors, and the unique special moves performed.
Other versions Gold VersionBefore the release of Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! in North America, Nintendo released the game in a gold-colored Famicom cartridge simply titled Punch-Out!! in Japan, without Mike Tyson in it, as a prize for the Golf U.S. Course Famicom Tournament.[4] This version’s final boxer was Super Macho Man, who was also the final boxer in the Super Punch-Out!! arcade game. When Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! sold well in North America, Nintendo later released the Mike Tyson version in Japan.[5]
Punch-Out!!After Nintendo’s license to use Mike Tyson as a special Punch-Out!! character expired, Nintendo replaced Tyson with a fictional character called Mr. Dream and re-released the game in North America as simply Punch-Out!! in August 1990 in limited quantities.[6] This version was released on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console in Japan on February 1, 2012, in Europe on March 1, 2012 and in North America on March 8, 2012.
Other releasesAlong with several NES titles by Nintendo, Punch-Out!! was later ported to several other platforms in Nintendo media. In Animal Crossing for the Nintendo GameCube, it was one of the rarer unlockable NES games one could acquire within the game. It was also released through the Wii’s Virtual Console service on March 30, 2007 to the European and Australian regions, April 3, 2007 in Japan, and in North America on April 16, 2007. During that release, reports have surfaced stating that when the game is played in progressive scan, the Virtual Console version of Punch-Out!! suffers from a lag in controls, which significantly raises the difficulty level compared to other versions of it.[7] The Japanese Famicom version was released for the 3DS Virtual Console on February 1, 2012, making the first Famicom game that was not part of the Ambassador program. Nintendo later re-released the Game & Watch game, Boxing, retitled as Punch-Out!! to promote Punch-Out!!’s release.
Reception[hide] Reception
Review scores
Publication Score
Allgame [8]
The Video Game Critic A+ [9]
Gamespot 8.0/10[10]
source