Piston Hondo
| |
| Kamikaze/Honda Turbo | |
| Piston Hondo | |
| Species | Human |
| Affiliation | WVBA |
| Hair color | Black |
| Age | 28 |
| Weight | 174 lbs. |
| Origin | Tokyo, Japan |
| Voiced by | Kenji Takahashi (2009) |
| Debut | Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! |
Piston Hondo (originally known as Piston Honda) is an opponent boxer appearing in several games of the Punch-Out!! series.
Background[edit]
Piston hailed from Japan, where he was seen training for his boxing career in some type of temple. He exhibits a number of Japanese stereotypes, babbling random words in Japanese and threatening to give his opponent a "TKO from Tokyo". He also apparently has a camera crew that follows him around. In his appearances, Hondo is known for his trademark rushing attack that is known as the Banzai Rush Attack in the NES game and Hondo Rush in the Wii game.
The musclebound Japanese fighter first appeared in Punch-Out!! for the NES as the champion of the Minor Circuit and later as the #5 fighter in the World Circuit. However, Little Mac was able to challenge and defeat him both times. In Punch-Out!! for the Wii, he appeared as the ranked #3 challenger in the Major Circuit. He showed courtesy by bowing prior to the match and spoke actual Japanese phrases as opposed to the gibberish in the previous game. After being the first time, he returned as the fifth challenger in Title Defense mode. He was shown to undergo rigorous training in which he caught a sword, ate massive amounts of food, ran alongside a bullet train and drank tea. He returned in a new white wardrobe, but was defeated again.
Other Appearances[edit]
Video Games[edit]
- In the Super Smash Bros. series, he has been represented as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and as a Support Spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (using artwork of him from the Wii game). His Spirit's Support effect raises the strength of punches and elbow strikes for a fighter. In Spirit battles, Piston's Spirit possesses a larger version of Little Mac with stronger smash attacks, and he has to be defeated in a stamina match.
Trivia[edit]
- His name was changed from "Honda" to "Hondo" for the Wii game, most likely to avoid legal issues with the car company Honda.
- He is also known for having a similar name as Piston Hurricane. The two never appear in the same game, but Hondo's Banzai/Hondo Rush is essentially the same as Piston Hurricane's infamous Hurricane Rush attack.
- In the original NES version he speaks primarily English (with his only Japanese phrases being random words), but in the Wii game he speaks fluent Japanese.