There are certain video games that stand the test of time. Punch-Out!! (formerly known as Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!) for the NES is one of those games. Try as they might…no boxing game since has come close to making the impact this game did.
But why is that? The graphics and hardware have become exponentially better since Punch-Out!! was released in 1987. Over the years there have been many excellent boxing ‘simulators’. Fight Night and Knockout Kings are both excellent boxing game franchises. Well…we believe there are three things that make Punch-Out!! the undisputed champ of the boxing game genre.
The Fighters
Ah yes…the fighters. The fighters in Punch-Out!! had style and flair. They had crazy intro sequences, looked ridiculous and had some of the most unconventional boxing moves ever. The fighters were larger than life (and definitely a lot larger than Little Mac) with tons of personality. They were so outlandish…it was like they were pulled right out of the Looney Tunes playbook. But that was part of the appeal of the game. The fighters were fun and never took themselves too seriously. They brought significant value to the overall game experience.
Pattern Recognition
Many have said that Punch-Out!! is a puzzle game disguised as a sports game. We tend to agree. Beating each fighter required the player to learn their ‘patterns’. The player had to know when to strike and what kind of punch to throw. Everyone remembers Bald Bull. If you want to knock him down…wait until he backs up and charges at you. Hit him with a well-timed body shot and he folds like a cheap lawn chair. Each fighter had ‘tells’ like this. You learn how to beat each fighter by studying them (and often getting beat by them). That sure sounds a lot like boxing. Crazy right? Puzzle game, sports game…whatever. We call that thoughtful game design.
Difficulty Progression
The difficulty progression in Punch-Out!! is extremely well done. Each fighter is more difficult than the previous one. Figuring out how to beat each fighter takes time. But once you got them pegged…it is easier to knock them out fast. And good thing too. Because if you die three times you have to start over from scratch. Before you know it you are facing Iron Mike (and you will lose at first). But unlike many other games…the difficulty never feels forced. Players are willing to go through all the fighters again to get to the next fight. The game just has that level of balance and replayability that most do not.
The reality is no game will ever come close to being what Punch-Out!! was back in the day. The game has a certain charm and simplicity that cannot be replicated. The fighters were unique, the pattern recognition gameplay was fun and the difficulty progression was solid. These three things separate this boxing game from all the other contenders. We will even go a little bit further and say this is the greatest sports (uh…puzzle) game of all-time. But maybe we are just punch-drunk with nostalgia…
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