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| GENRE |
| Sports |
| DEVELOPER |
| Nintendo |
| PUBLISHER |
| Nintendo |
| NUMBER OF PLAYERS |
| 1 |
| WORTH PLAYING TODAY? |
| yes |
BUY NOW AT
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Punch-Out!
This lesser-known re-release of Mike Tyson’s Punch Out retained 13 of the original fighters with one major difference. Instead of going face-to-face with “Iron” Mike Tyson for the title of World Champion, Little Mac goes toe-to-toe with Mr. Dream; a fighter who looks remarkably like a slightly pale version of the once and never again champion of heavy weight boxing.
visuals
The visuals in this game have aged well despite being simplistic. The game takes place with a stationary camera during the fights that keeps Little Mac at the bottom of the ring and his opponent towering above him. All fourteen fighters are comprised of large well-animated sprites that are based on crude racial stereotypes. The characters are all unique and well designed with their actual stereotype playing an integral part in how they fight. The game is filled out with character portraits between rounds that talk trash based on your round performance and poorly animated bike rides that give the player the a password for earning a champion’s belt.
audio
The sound effects in this game are very strong. Between rounds, characters babble in the Charlie Brown style based on their size and character design. The bell sound is convincing, as is the crowd. The music is thrilling and helps keep you fired up for the fight. It cues into the action and speeds up after a second knock-down. Despite remaining the same for every fight, this is classic NES music at it’s finest and it has remained fresh in my memory for a good fifteen years now.
gameplay
To put it as directly as possible, this game is fun. The gameplay is straightforward and is basically just a challenge or your reflexes and memory. The mechanics are simple to learn: A and B punch left and right body hits-or face hits if Up is pressed at the same time-respectively. Right and Left dodge. Down blocks if pressed once and ducks if pressed twice. While Start unleashes a power blow for every star you have collected by counter-punching your opponent. To defeat your opponents you must memorize their pattern and weaknesses. This might sound simple, but it can be very challenging considering some characters move extremely fast and have a large repertoire of attacks. My personal favorite has always been Mr. Sandman; he is lightning fast, strong, and gives you less than a second between his attack signal and attack.
multiplayer
N/A
overall
This game is a classic and deserves to be played by anyone who considers him or herself a video game fan. Punch-Out! has stood the test of time and is just as fun and challenging as ever.
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