Mike Tysons Punch Out (the first ever version of Punch Out) is my favorite game from the original Nintendo(NES) out of all the games I've played. I know I spent a good amount of my time playing this NES game when compared to all the others. I not only played it to win but it was simply addicting to play. I will also add that a new Punch-Out game just came out for the Wii with at least some(or more) of the characters on it from the original version.
Nah, you don't play as Tyson in the game. Instead you play as Little Mac, a scrawny teenager trying to make his way up the boxing ranks who encounters cartoony and comical boxing characters on his quest to be the best. Finally if you make it past all the other boxers you face Mike Tyson. No, not the washed up Mike Tyson from the year 2000 to the present. You face the Mike Tyson from the 1980s who is anything but washed up.
Basics of the Game
The game is simple and not as complex when compared to todays boxing games like Fight-Night Round 4. If anything when it comes to winning at this game its dodge and hit, dodge and hit...
Its not just that though as there is special tricks and adjustments when it comes to beating boxers along the way. Also Super Punches which you accumulate when you get stars that appear above your opponents head when you hit opponents at the right time is a big part of beating the boxers in the game. Lastly, the matches don't last long as theres only up to 3 rounds per match.
Using the controls in the game it self(like many NES games) is simple and easy to pick up especially when compared to modern day console games. I must mention that the Nintendos Controller is the most comfortable gaming controller I've ever used even to this day. Newer console makers could learn from this as they should quit making game controllers fancy looking and just make them more comfortable to use. Nintendo had it right the first time.
This is the first guy you will play in the game and his name is much like how easy he is to beat. He doesn't even put up an effort to win the match. He can block off punches somewhat well but the problem is he hardly throws any punches of his own. His special boxing move is nothing to be bothered about. His Special Move is stepping away from you and than steps in and all you got to do is throw an head punch and he falls. Oh and his record is 1-99. He asks if he can take a nap in between rounds as well as saying hes retiring after his match. This is one of many funny quotes from the boxers in the game that I enjoy reading in between boxing rounds.
This is one of the quickest guys to beat in the game if you know how. The way to do it is captureing many stars from this guy to use as Super-Punches. This is one of the boxers in the game who you can capture alot of stars from. To beat him fast load up the maximum of 3 stars you can store. After that dodge one of his punches and hit him with a head punch one time instead of hitting him multiple times. He will stand there dazed briefly afterwards. Now hit him with a Super-Punch and it will knock him down. Repeat this 2 more times and you have won via TKO. This guys gimmick is the worst of all the boxers in the game as hes neither comical or interesting.
This boxer takes more time to defeat as he is really good at blocking punches. His special move is the karate chops that can be avoided if you hit him with the head punch at the exact moment he starts to strike which knocks him down. The main way to damage E Honda other than knocking him down right before he starts the Karate Chops is to do Super Punches. By not doing these 2 methods to beat E. Honda prolongs the match and will probably result in a decision which is after the 3rd round is over. You don't want any match to go to a decison by referee Mario as you usually lose. This is also one of the boxers you face in a rematch later on in the game. Opponents are more difficult to beat in rematches.
If you know how to beat him its the quickest match of the whole game. Hippos punches are more like slaps coming down toward Little Mac rather than punches. The funny thing about fighting King Hippo is if you get a open hit on him his pants will drop for a split second. The punching strategy is a little bit different when compared to the other boxers in the game.
Heres how you do it:
Right when King Hippo gets ready to throw down a slap at Little Mac throw an head punch and his pants will drop for a split-second. Right after the head punch than just press the punch button without the upper-directional pad button which is basicly punchs to the torso. This results in hitting him mutltiple times while his pants drop each time you hit him, lol.
Keep repeating this each time he gets ready to throw a slap at you until he falls. After I've knocked him down he has never gotten up before the 10 count out of the of the all the times I've beat King Hippo. The bigger they are the harder they fall applies to King Hippo for sure.To me King Hippo is the most interesting character of the game.
This guys funny as he dances in the ring with a rose in his mouth before the match. Don isn't that willing to throw punches unless you hit him first than he immediately responds. Afterwards you dodge his punches and starting hitting him left, right, left, right and so on until he goes down. Its the one punching sequence in the game where you can keep hitting him without stopping until he goes down. Than its like he gets up and stops daydreaming and goes for a fast punch. You basicly dodge his punch again and than punch some more than he will go down a second time. After playing against him so much I know he never gets up for a second time after beating him exactly like this. You win the match by KO if you follow these directions. The funny thing about Don Flamenco is he seems to be more concerned about his hair than winning the boxing match, lol. This is also one of my favorite opponents in the game. You also face him in a rematch.
This is guy who tries and uses his magical move to win the match. Great Tigers Magic Boxing Move he uses is difficult for me to counter although I know how to do it. Its just the timing that makes it hard as well as some luck. The Magic boxing move he does allows him to rotate up and down in a circle fashion almost as he looks like a hologram from a sports card. Its kinda difficult to explain clearly unless you see it for your self in the game. You have to distinguish him from his circular holigrams and block his move. What I do to beat him instead is try and defeat him before he performs his magic move. Its pretty easy to do just that. If everything goes efficiently I can beat him in the first round by getting stars from him and taking him out with Super Punches before he peforms his special towards the end of the first round. If you do survive his Magic Move by blocking his punches he will stand their like hes going into a seizure and all you do is hit him with a head punch and he falls.
This is the boxer where his barber didn't know when to quit, lol. This guy is huge when compared to Little Mac. You have trouble believing you can actually beat the guy when you first see him in the game. Mac looks like a toddler and Bald Bull looks like a freaky goon. The funny thing is when I would dodge and hit Bald Bull his head kinda looked like a Bobble-Head Doll moving around. Honestly in a wierd way Bald Bulls Bobbled Head look makes him one of the most addicting boxers to hit in the game and plus the fact Mac looks like a toddler beating up a what looks like a typical WWE wrestler from the 80s. This also happens to be one of the boxers where you can draw alot of stars from. His special move is like a Bull Charge that he keeps trying to do until you knock him down, or the bell rings. All you do is hit him in the belly when he comes charging down and he goes down. You also face Bald Bull in a rematch later in the game.
This is the guy whos obsessed with soda pops as well as having a cocky laugh. For someone who likes soda so much he looks to be in really good shape in the game. I can't really recall this guy having much of a special move I had to overcome if any. The main thing with this guy is he can take alot of punches that do little damage to him when compared to the other boxers. The match is more likely to go to a decison by the ref where like always you usually lose. I try and speed up the way I dodge and hit so I can beat him quicker to avoid going to a decision. I mainly just dodged his punches and hit with a left, right, left... that allowed me to get extra hits in. This guy is easy to beat as long as I focus more to speed the match up and don't get hit.
This is the boxer you face that talks about knocking you out to dreamland and uses references which refer to sleep. He might as well say he wants to give you a concussion. Just think of the song Mr.Sandman which describes this guy. No not the Metallica song, I'm talking about the older Sandman song such as the one that might be heard on an oldies radio station, lol. Mr.Sandmans bodyframe is similar to the boxer Bald Bull and his weakpoint is the same which is the stomach area. They both have much in common with one another except when it comes to their special moves. Mr.Sandmans
special is a sequence of upper-cuts. He will breifly stop punching before his special move. Its easy to overcome his special move as you just dodge them 3 time, than do a head punch, and finally keep hitting him in the stomach and he should fall. Just be sure to dodge his special upper-cut move or he can do them longer the more he hits you with them.
Super Macho Man:
I look at this guys picture before facing him and he looks funny looking because his name doesn't correspond with the picture I see. Hes gray headed and his face looks shriveled up. His head is pointed to the side like Beavis from the cartoon Beavis(his head was always to the side, lol) and Butt-Head and his nose looks like Beavis'es. Overall he has a face that looks similar to Beavis. Super Machoman also looks somewhat like a neighbor that lives near me who aged very fast over a span of 15 years minus the Beavis look. Overall his picture is the funniest looking in the game when looking at him before the match begins. A look at him standing in the ring goes more well with his name as he flexes his and shakes his Pectoral Muscles before the match. Also when looking at him in the ring I think "What happened to his gray hair as its black now, lol?" How can his age transform backwards so fast? He must have dyed his hair right before the match began, lol. He can take much more punches without losing damage when compared to the other boxers you face and you can take alot less of his. His special move is among the coolest looking in the game. His special move allows him to spin in circles while trying to hit Little Mac. I basicly got to keep dodging his special move and make sure its over before responding back with punches. Like Mr.Sandman and others in the game the more Super Macho Man connects with his special the longer it will last.
Finally the main guy, the Big Cheese, the Head Honcho, the Champ. You better not even let up one bit when facing Iron Mike and stay focused or else losing quickly is easy. His punches are quicker and are also much more powerful. To simply put it, if he punches you even once than you will go down. Like always you will have 3 chances to get up each round. He comes out punching so get ready to dodge and hit quickly or he could punch you again if you dodge and hit too slowly. If you do survive his punches he will briefly go to his silly Karate Chops (Since when has Mike Tyson ever done Karate Chops in a boxing match?) in round 1 which don't knock you down with 1 punch. This is the time where getting knocked down isn't really a problem. Just dodge his silly chops and hit fast enough to avoid him blocking as you don't get as many chances to hit him in between dodging. Before he switches back to his punches he will briefly pause and just stand there like hes THE BADDEST MAN ON THE PLANET and block your punches like there nothing. His eyes will then start to twinkle and thats when you hit him with a head punch to get a rare star from Iron Mike. It can get somewhat tricky in round 2 and 3 as he will start doing Karate Chops and Punches not separatly but close together so its really best to stay focused the whole time to be sure and not get hit at all. If I don't get knocked down at all during the beginning of the match than my confidence increases as the match continues and its much easier to beat Iron Mike. This is and was the MIke Tyson from the 1980s.
If your around my age and looking for some nostalgia in gaming and have a Nintendo(NES) that works than I recommend this game. Also if your younger and want to buy a Nintendo than I recommend Mike Tysons Punchout. This game can still be fun even for a younger gamer who didn't grow up playing during the NES console days. Its also interesting just to see how far video games have progressed. Alot of people my age like these classic Nintendo games because of the nostalgia feeling. The Nintendo was the first console I ever bought and is among the most memorable.