Retro Review -- Super Punch-Out! - Wiggy's Blog

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Retro Review -- Super Punch-Out! Stuck

Posted on February 11, 2013 at 05:07 PM.

(5)

With all the love the original Punch-Out! gets, I think it's easy to overlook how cool Super Punch-Out! was. Sure, it wasn't the singular title that everyone loved back on the NES, and it didn't have Mike Tyson, but it was still a pretty cool follow-up that added crazier characters, new gameplay wrinkles and a good dose of challenge.

What was it about?

The main structure of the game involves fighting your way through various circuit ladders (minor, major, world, special) in order to take out the game's 16 total fighters. There was also a score attack mode so that you could go back and try and improve your times on individual fights.

Players once again take control of Little Mac, but in this 16-bit game, the perspective is truly behind the back (with a translucent character model allowing you to see incoming attacks). You're able to dodge to each side as well as duck, and you can throw head shots and body shots to the right or left.

The power gauge below your fighter builds up as you land strikes, and once it's full you can hold down the button for a big shot, or you can rapidly tap it to start landing some combos. As long as you don't get hit while in this mode, you can keep throwing power shots, leading to some quick exits for your opponents.

As in the NES Punch-Out!, the characters you face will all have an array of semi-legal and totally illegal attacks to throw at you. Some fighters will fly off the ropes or smack you with props (one character is an old man with a cane), and some of the bigger hitters can even stun one of your arms so that you can't use it for a while.

Why was it good?

This was, and still is, a fun game, plain and simple. The characters are all well-drawn, and they are each so vivid because of the absurd stereotypes they occupy. You've got Bob Charlie, the obvious Bob Marley-esque reggae boxer. He throws all sorts of wacky jive out while fighting you, and he sports an absurd headband and dreadlocks. Then you've got people like Masked Muscle, a luchador wrestler mixed with a boxer. Sure, he'll punch you with boxing gloves, but he's also got green mist to spit in your eyes, and he'll drill you with crazy headbutts.

You've also got returning favorites such as Gabby Jay, a clear analog for Glass Joe, as well as Mr. Sandman, Super Mach Man and Bald Bull. The Bruiser Brothers who sit atop the game's list of characters are also formidable challenges, even though they might not be up to the standards of Mike Tyson on the NES.

Deducing the patterns of these fighters is a lot of fun, and the minor circuit gently shows you some of the basic tricks that later fighters will use. Eventually, you'll be dealing with boxers who hit you with all sorts of one-hit-knockout shots, and many of them can cross you up with attacks from all over the ring.

The matches are a blast to play because they happen so fast, much like the NES predecessor, and because the attacks delivered by Little Mac provide a satisfying impact, especially once you start connecting on multiple power shots and avoiding some of the incoming craziness. Also, since the game has a lot more horsepower going for it than on the NES, each of the matches has a good deal of personality, with crazier animations, sound bytes for the opponents, and a much more ravenous crowd.

Legacy

While Mike Tyson's Punch-Out! or even Punch-Out! on the Wii get all the love in this franchise, Super Punch-Out! was a fairly well-liked game in its time, and I think any fan of the series would still enjoy the goofy characters and challenging gameplay that it has to offer.

Comments

# 1 SHAKYR @ Feb 11

I enjoyed Punch-out for what it was, an arcade game.

# 2 elgreazy1 @ Feb 11

Loved it and I totally destroyed this game in the summer of '94. I was fresh off knee surgery and couldn't do anything for 3 months. By the end of that summer I was TKO'ing the champ & his brother in 30 seconds or less.