Mike Tyson’s Punch Out: Everything You Need To Know


 Mike Tyson Punch-Out!! Has been one of Nintendo’s best-known and longest-running franchises. Even today, people look back and think about the games in this saga with remembrance because they are part of many people’s childhood in the world.

Punch-Out!! It is a simple boxing game in which your goal is to beat all the opponents to win the World Video Boxing Association. Each of the opponents has different patterns, weaknesses, strengths, and strategies to beat you. As a player, you must understand and internalize all of these patterns to beat them all and reach the top. This was really a great game, and I will talk more in detail about the start, history, and much more about this game.

Punch-Out!! History

The saga was born in 1983 in the world of arcade games. Nintendo was left with an excess of arcade monitors after the resounding success of the arcade game Donkey Kong.

That was the reason why Genyo Takeda, the general manager of the Nintendo development team, proposed using arcade machines with two screens for their new game. In addition, they decided to fully exploit their potential by using a new technology that would allow them to zoom in and out of items on the screen.

Takeda and Shigeru Miyamoto, along with the rest of the team, decided to use that system for a boxing game, a first in the world of arcade games. That idea came from his new approach to selling in the United States, where boxing was a trendy sport.

As soon as they were clear that an item could be zoomed in and out of the screen, they decided it would be a human character. They thought that one of the screens would simulate a ring and the other would show the progress information of the game (energy of the players, stats, etc.). And with these ideas in mind, they managed to create one of the most popular games of those years.

It soon became such a popular game that Nintendo released a sequel:

Super Punch-Out!! This game came out in 1984 with only a few new characters, but they were more difficult to beat.

Punch-out!! Videogames

 NES Versions

A few years after the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) release, Takeda was the director in charge of releasing a new version of Punch-Out!! For that console. The NES was considerably less powerful than an arcade machine, so that they couldn’t replicate the original game with the same details. For example, the protagonist could not be semi-transparent, and they had to invent a new formula to bring him to life. This is how Little Mac appeared, the new protagonist of the series.

This game came out in 1987 in an exclusive print run of 10,000 units. This version, known as the Gold Version, was first called Punch-Out!!, like the original. Until the president of Nintendo realized the potential that famous boxer Mike Tyson had. Nintendo paid him $ 50,000 for a three-year contract in which he would be the face of the franchise. The game was renamed Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! And the final boxer of the game became a virtual replica of Tyson.

The first exclusive print run was called Punch-Out!!, but the general public version remained with the new name Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!

After the three-year contract ended, Nintendo chose not to renew it. The final boxer was renamed Mr. Dream, although he was essentially a similar character with a new coloring for his skin, and the game was renamed Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream. 

SNES Version

In 1994, the Super Punch-Out!! Came out for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) console. As this console had greater capacity, they managed better to emulate the original version of the arcade game.

In this version, they were able to go back to the origins creating a normal-sized protagonist but with transparencies and tweaking other details of the game that took it away from the popular NES version. However, this time, they didn’t base any characters on real boxers as they did with Mike Tyson.

Wii Versions

After a fifteen-year hiatus, in 2009, Punch-Out!! had his last game in the main series for the Nintendo Wii console.

For this version, they wanted to go back to the so adored NES version. They got back the distinctive short Little Mac, along with his trainer and the unique characters from that installment. They added two new characters: one of them was Donkey Kong, a nod to Shigeru Miyamoto. Additionally, the unique backstory of the NES version was recovered.

This version left behind the retro style and focused on making 3D characters with cartoon style. In addition, they could be controlled with the motion of the Wii controls and the rocking of the body on the Wii Balance Board.

About Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!

Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!

Characters

The characters in this saga are characteristic of being so stereotypical. Throughout the life of this franchise, twenty-nine different rivals have appeared from all over the world. Of those twenty-nine, only eleven opponents appear in Mike Tyson’s version, among which is Tyson himself.

Protagonists

In this game, the main character is a short guy named Little Mac with a characteristic green color. His name is in honor of the hamburger from the McDonald’s restaurant chain.

Little Mac is a scrawny little street fighter whose goal is to win the World Video Boxing Association. One day, he meets Doc Louis by chance, who will become his personal trainer to achieve his goal in life.

Final Opponent

In the popular version of the NES, Mike Tyson was the final rival of the game. This was practically invincible because it required great skill to beat. The character was capable of knocking you out with just one hit.

Mr. Dream is the version of Tyson that appeared in the games sold after the contract ended. Although he has a different name and appearance, his abilities and the way of fighting him remain the same.

Minor Circuit: Easy Difficulty

The first and easiest opponent is Glass Joe, the French opponent. He’s easy to beat because you can see the attacks coming, and he has a very poor defense.

Von Kaiser is the second opponent. He has German origin and is a boxing teacher at the military academy. Still, it’s easy to beat him by alternating punches to his sides.

Piston Honda is the last of the easy-level rivals. This character is from Japan and is an altruistic character who boxes to raise money to fund hospitals and schools.

Major Circuit: Normal Difficulty

Don Flamenco is the representative character of Spain and the first in the normal difficulty level. This character is characterized by being the character who can be knocked out faster.

King Hippo is a new character from the NES version. He is a difficult character to defeat, but once he is on the ground, he cannot get up again due to his weight.

Great Tiger is a character from India whose superpower is teleportation. But that is, in turn, its weakness. Because after executing it, he gets dizzy, and it’s time to beat him.

The last opponent of the Major Circuit is Bald Bull, a repeater from the arcade version. His special move is to charge an attack with a few steps back and run at high speed towards the player. 

World Circuit: Hard Difficulty

On the greatest difficulty, Piston Honda, Bald Bull, and Don Flamenco return. In addition to the three of them, you will also fight with three new opponents before facing the final fight.

Soda Popinski (whose original name in the arcade game was Vodka Durnkenski, but they changed it to make the game more family-friendly) is the Russian character. This character has simple mechanics, but his blows are harder, and his defenses are better.

Mr. Sandman was the WVBA World Champion in the arcade version. His strategy is similar to Bald Bull, in addition to having a consecutive three uppercuts.

Super Macho Man is the last opponent before facing Tyson/Mr. Dreamer. In its original version, which is in the second arcade game, it was the WVBA World Champion. His offense is similar to Soda Popinski’s but also has a special spinning attack.

Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! Codes

When one plays this franchise, it is common to skip all the levels to directly access the levels whose challenges are greater or offer more fun for each one. That is why there are certain codes for the game Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! That can be entered to access certain levels or get extra benefits (such as more life, knockouts, recovering energy, etc.).

On the internet, there are lists with dozens of different codes, but some of the most used are:

  • Direct fight with Mike Tyson / Mr. Dream: 007 373 5963
  • Direct fight with Super Macho Man: 239 010 7738
  • Direct access to the difficult level (World Circuit): 777 807 3454
  • Direct access to the middle level (Major Circuit): 005 737 5423
  • Direct access to Another World Circuit: 135 792 4680 (and then press A, B, and Select simultaneously).

Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! Rom

These games are relatively accessible these days. The arcade version for emulators can be a bit more difficult to find because the NES and SNES versions are the ones that usually appear.

Even so, if you want to play Punch-Out!! Legally, you can do it from your Nintendo Switch console. In it, playing is free as long as you pay for the Nintendo Online Pass. There are both versions, the NES and the SNES, available. The version of NES is only available without Mike Tyson. That is to say, and the final opponent is Mr. Dream.

Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! Speedrun

According to the official website of world Speedruns, the record is held today by Summoning salt. They are a North American player who managed to win it with 14 minutes and 55 seconds on February 16, 2020.

The second and third positions are held by zallard1 with 15 minutes and 16 seconds and map with 15 minutes and 24 seconds, respectively.

Punch-Out!! It is a classic among the classics. Not only did it take the arcade world by storm, but it also had a great acceptance with its first appearance in the world of video consoles. And their secrets? The great collaboration between Takeda and Miyamoto. His union of great ideas turned one more game into the childhood game par excellence of thousands of kids in the eighties and nineties.

80sbaby

I am a blogger that was born in the 1980's. So I decided to write about the 1980's because I feel that was one of the best decades ever.

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