Mike Tyson's Punch-Out

Review by Loc

There's a ten-digit code so ingrained in my memory that I can recite it on cue. That was the code to skip all other fighters and battle Mike Tyson immediately. That code ruined my 1987 Christmas vacation. But even without that code, I would have spends countless hours fighting the likes of Piston Honda, King Hippo, Super Macho Man, and Mr. Sandman. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out was an instant NES classic that remains a favorite to this day.

The gameplay was simple enough. You were Little Mac, a mysteriously small boxer who fought against fighters at least twice his size. Your repertoire was simple: right and left hooks, right and left body shots, plus one super uppercut. The hooks were displayed as jumping punches smashing the jaws of your opponents. The body shots landed squarely in their abs. And the super uppercut, only available after earning "stars" by counterpunching, was delivered via crouched-springing right cross. It was sweet.

The fighters: all major caricatures. From the turban-sporting-teleporting Great Tiger to the beefed-pec-dancing Super Macho Man to the matador-turned-romeo Don Flamingo, the boxers looked more appropiate for the wrestling ring than the boxing ring. But each had his own special deliveries, each had his own style, and beating the game depending on you decoding their tricks.

Each match was a maximum of three 3-minute rounds. If either you or your opponent was knocked down 3 times, an automatic lose via TKO resulted. Between rounds your trainer would rub your shoulder. Once a match you were allowed to press the Select button to get an extra vigorous rubbing, leading to increased power recovery. Back in the day, it looked funny, nowadays, it looks like he was rubbing some Clear or Cream on you, if you catch my drift, Barry Bonds.

Overall, this was a fun game. It took a little work to figure out each boxer. Before figuring out the weaknesses, you had to have quick reflexes to dodge the onslaught of punches. Each fighter increased in difficulty, culminating in the intense trifecta of Mr. Sandman, Super Macho Man, and of course Mike Tyson. Tyson was so ruthless, he would knock you down in a single punch. Remember, this was back when Tyson was known as Iron Mike, the kid who won the title in 93 seconds, the youngest champ in the world. Granted, things haven't looked as good for him since then, but in his young prime, Tyson was a ferocious monster, someone who might really eat your kids. Out of a typical 10 count, Mike Tyson's Punch-Out scores the KO with a hearty standing 8 count! Oh, and what was that code all about? In the early days of NES, you didn't save games, you got codes after reaching certain levels. For this game, there was the legendary code that could get you straight to Tyson. And here it is: 007-373-5963. I swear, it's like a reflex, I spit that number out like it's a piece of Evander Holyfield's ear.