NES Player - Punch-Out NES Review

NES
1 Player
Sports

Mike Tyson's Punch Out is just one of those games that are way ahead of their time. Released in the late 80's, it was one of the most graphically impressive titles to ever grace the NES. The cartoony, graphically huge characters required a new memory mapper chip, exclusively for the game just to fit it on the system! All this, combined with funny, smooth animations, and great sounds made this one of the strongest NES games to ever be put on a cart.

The game is based on an arcade game released around 1985. It differs from the arcade game in that it is longer, the control is better and the graphics are very different (if not superior). Gone is the wireframe model of the fighter that graced the coin-op. replaced by a character named Little Mac. Mac is about half the size of pretty much every opponent in the game. The bosses include Glass Joe, the stereotypical punching bag, and ethnic stereotypes including Germans, Japanese, Turks, and lord knows what else. Every fighter has a idiosyncracy that must be exploited to win, for example some taunt or telegraph big punches. It all leads up to the seemingly impossible-to-win dream fight with Iron Mike Tyson. And yes, it is one of the hardest, most impossible feats in NESdom to knock that guy out. I did it once, and haven't been able to repeat the task.

NOTE: After the events that got Tyson kicked out of boxing in late 1990, the game was re-released as Punch Out. Mike Tyson was taken out and replaced with a guy named Mr. Dream. Other than that, the games are exactly the same, although I recommend picking up the original, it's a lot more fun to fight an actual boxer in the game.

......BOTTOM LINE: In terms of replay value, the game exhibits a unique quality. This is one of those games that a player could play over and over and over without getting tired or bored. The action is always fast-paced and exciting. The bright, vibrant colors should appeal to gamers of all ages. The sound, although a little weak, is great for the NES's time. And the game is just so damn fun to play that it's impossible not to give this effort 2 huge thumbs up.

-Lanny Cox