Punch-Out!! (NES)

Punch-Out
Developer	R&D 3
Publisher	Nintendo
System	NES, Virtual Console, 3DS Virtual Console, Wii U Virtual Console
Release Date	NES US October 1987 (Mike Tyson) JP November 21, 1987 EU December 15, 1987 US August 1990 (Mr. Dream) Wii Virtual Console EU/AU March 30, 2007 JP April 3, 2007 US April 16, 2007 3DS Virtual Console JP February 1, 2012 EU March 1, 2012 US March 8, 2012 Wii U Virtual Console US/EU March 20, 2013 JP June 5, 2013
Rating	E

Punch-Out!! (originally released as Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!) is a NES counterpart to the arcade game of the same name. In Japan, it was initially given out as a prize for winning Famicom Golf tournaments.

Story

The player takes the role of Little Mac, a beginning boxer. As the player continues, they work their was through the ranks and fight tougher enemies.

Gameplay

The game controls Little Mac and, in boxing matches, alternates between dodging punches and punching them. Little Mac can punch low or uppercut. Each fighter has their own style and weaknesses to exploit. With every blocked or missed punch, Little Mac will lose a heart in his heart counter, and when he runs out of hearts he is temporarily unable to attack until his hearts refill. Each match can consist of up to three rounds, although a fighter is TKOed if knocked out a certain amount of times in a round.

While the arcade game had only six fighters, the NES game has eleven fighters including some that appear twice.

Versions

Punch-Out!! was originally published as Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! with Mike Tyson as the final boss. However, Nintendo chose not to renew their contract with Mike Tyson when he lost the Heavy Weight Championship to Buster Douglas. In 1990, they republished the game under the simpler name Punch-Out!!

The biggest change is the final boss is now Mr. Dream instead of Mike Tyson. The cartridge cover is slightly altered, the color of the text on the title screen is slightly different, and Super Macho Man and Bald Bull's fighting styles were slightly changed.

Legacy

Within the WarioWare series, there have been several microgames based o the game. Punch-Out!! would later be one of the games featured in NES Remix 2 and Ultimate NES Remix; the series involves subjecting the players to unique challenges utilizing parts of classic Nintendo games and sometimes mixing elements from the different games.

Sequels

One year after Punch-Out!! was released, Nintendo released Super Punch-Out!! to arcades. A different Super Punch-Out!! was released to home consoles in 1994. A new Punch-Out!! has been announced for the Wii, which appears to be a more direct sequel due to featuring Little Mac and other boxers from the NES game.

The NES game Power Punch II, developed by Beam Software, was originally intended as a sequel to Punch-Out!! in which the player would control Mike Tyson instead against alien invaders. However, during Mike Tyson's rape convictions in 1991, the game was altered to replace Mike Tyson with a new character named Mark Tyler. Nintendo eventually dropped the contract for the game, which lead to it being published by a different company and dubbed Power Punch instead of Punch-Out!!

Ports and Remakes

• Punch-Out!! is available as a NES game in Animal Crossing.
• In 2007, the Mr. Dream version of Punch-Out!! was released on the Wii's Virtual Console.
• The same version was released in 2012 for the 3DS Virtual Console and in 2013 for the Wii U Virtual Console.

See Also

• Characters in Punch-Out!!