For all intensive purposes, both NES versions of Punch-Out are identical. Players will assume the role of a small, but tough boxer named "Little Mac". Little Mac will have to fight his way through some colorful, and memorable opponents. To fight, players will use the A and B buttons that act as their right and left hands to throw punches. Using the D pad will cause Little Mac to dodge, left or right, and block. With each win, Little Mac gets closer to a title bout. Lose a fight, and Little Mac is knocked to a previous match up, or rank. The goal is to continue winning titles, and advancing your rank until you face either Mike Tyson, or Mr. Dream. Sounds simple enough, right?

     Well, luckily it is and isn't. Punch-Out has a great mix of challenge, being that each boxer Little Mac will come up against has their own special hits and weaknesses. Figuring out their patterns could cause an instant knock down, counter-punch, or simply give you a heads up on when to duck. Getting this right will earn you a star, which is used to activate Little Mac's powerful Uppercut. Some of Little Mac's adversaries are easier to defeat than others, while some are down right hard to beat. For example, the boxer Glass Joe is a particularly easy fight. His weak spot is his glass jaw, so popping him one in the face is a good way to bring him down. A much harder opponent is say the end game boss, being Mike Tyson or Mr. Dream. Good luck against those guys, taking them down isn't a cake walk. To make things worse, its game over if they knock you out. Their mighty furry has caused many years of vintage frustration in my gaming youth, yet I always came back for more.

     Graphically, Punch-Out is one of the best looking games available on the NES console. The key to Punch-Out's graphics, is in character animation and design. As I mentioned earlier, characters are colorful and memorable, and for good reason. A character's animation, or character design all give the player a clue of what their opponent's weakness will be. There are also some animated cut scenes in Punch-Out, like Little Mac running past the Statue of Liberty in his pink jump suit. Mix in a pretty solid sound track, and we have the NES equivalent to a Rocky movie.

     Punch-Out is one of those games that refuses to be knocked out. It has stood the test of time, and has seen numerous re-releases, and has even made the jump onto the Nintendo Wii. It is one of the truly iconic games, on a truly iconic system. I mean seriously, where else can you see super Mario referee a title bout!?

Written by RB

Over and Out.

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