Retro Profile: Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! (NES)
Sunday, September 9th, 2007 at 4:00pm by Jamie
If there was a game that really helped to define the fun that could be had on an NES, it would have to be Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out. This is a game that really made our summer afternoons go by in a flash. There was nothing better than the thrill of beating down opponents who were twice your size, and having Super Mario (the referee) declare you as the winner. You play the roll of 17-year-old Little Mac. He’s a 107 pound kid from The Bronx who wants to be the next World Video Boxing Association’s (W.V.B.A.) champion. But to do that, Mac is going to have face-off with heavyweights twice his size. All the classic characters are here—Piston Honda, Bald Bull, King Hippo, Super Macho Man, and a good number of colorful characters in between them.
The controls are not hard to pick up on, and everything feels very right about this game. Mac only has a few offensive and defensive moves to keep him in the ring, and that may not sound very appealing at first, but it’s really better that way because it keeps the game simple to just pick up and play…at least for the first 2 matches. The difficulty in Punch-Out had a very steady progression. It didn’t stay too easy for too long, and at the same time, it doesn’t get nearly impossible after a few short rounds. But here’s the best part—the strategies are actually useful, which goes to show how well Nintendo crafted this game.
Looking at the personality of the characters, it’s very clear that Nintendo didn’t take themselves too seriously when they developed the game. 
Everybody has a lot of personality and charm in their own special way. It’s really fun to read what they say in between rounds. My personal favorite is when Soda Popinski says, “I can’t drive, so I’m going to walk all over you!” And the music was very fitting for this game too. It made you feel like you could beat these fools in no time, if you kept at it. It was also cool (for its time) to hear the music that plays when Doc (your trainer) and Mac are exercising through New York. It’s pretty unforgettable stuff.
Play or Stay? Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out is a game that comes highly recommended by me. This game is still pretty easy to find at your local used game store, or online, and it should be pretty cheap too. If you don’t care about having the original title, then you can always buy the plain old Punch-Out or just download it from the Virtual Console on the Wii. You’ll get the same enjoyment from it—I promise.
September 9th, 2007 at 5:18 pm
An awesome time indeed. I can’t believe in all these years I never realized that the referee was Mario. Thanks for the tip!
Is it that this will not appear on the Wii VC because of legal reason?
Lastly, everyone take a look at this Punch Out inspired music video…
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vRcsDYVnsFw
September 9th, 2007 at 6:07 pm
@ Brian: In fact it’s been available on Virtual Console for a long time now.
http://www.vc-reviews.com/review/451/punch-out.php
September 9th, 2007 at 6:11 pm
Please ignore my last comment. I do know there was two versions of this game, one starring Mike Tyson and the other one Mr. Dream. And yes, I think they put the Mr. Dream-version on VC due to legal reasons.
Sorry, my bad.
September 9th, 2007 at 6:23 pm
Yeah, it sucks for us, huh?
September 9th, 2007 at 6:39 pm
I hate these profiles. Stop writing like a Funcoland salesperson.
September 9th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
Hey guys, thanks for the comments!
Actually, this game started out in the arcades and was only called “Punch-Out!!”. It was boxing from a first person point of view. As it so happened when Nintendo decided to bring the game to the NES, Mike Tyson was at the top of his career then. So they decided to feature him in the home console version and titled it “Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out”.
After Tyson lost his heavyweight title (and probably also due to the trouble he got himself into) they stopped releasing the game under his name and changed it back to “Punch-Out”. And of course, they also had to get rid of Tyson’s in-game character, so they replaced him with Mr. Dream.
September 9th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
@ johnnymilkshark: Thanks for at least reading my post. If you have any suggestions as to how to you think a retro review should be written, by all means let me know…or e-mail all of us at tips@infendo.com.
While I’m sure my writing style will no doubt displease certain readers out there, that is a problem only they can fix.
Game on folks!
September 9th, 2007 at 9:09 pm
i loved the writeup and style jamie. i dont know how praising a game worthy of such praise can be considered only advertisement?
isnt that any appreciation article then? and yes, whether you suggest to buy it or not, thats implied in an appreciation article. otherwise how can they enjoy the game besides illegal rom play.
i had good memories of this game myself.
nintendo should make another quality boxing game of that type. not as complex as modern boxing games, but not as simple as wii sports boxing. full on single and multplay, good writing/story, etc… they so rarely do wrong i cant help but smile thinking how good a game in any genre is when they try at it.
September 9th, 2007 at 9:10 pm
one of the most consistant hi quality companies out there. they will never go away.
September 9th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
Can anyone post a vid on YouTube to show how to beat King Hippo. It’s been over 15 years since I played the game. =D
September 9th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
Jamie your writing has no personality, and to write for a site Scott and Blake run (who are quite the characters themselves) I think it’s fair to expect a less sterile writing style from the staff. Most of the folks who read your profiles have played the games at least once before, there’s very little need to go into depth. Why not just write about why you like the game, or maybe crack a little joke here or there?
I have this same complaint about Kyle (who’s thankfully MIA) on the podcast. I think when you guys start out here you try a bit too hard and don’t just have fun.
September 9th, 2007 at 11:38 pm
Actually Johnny, I did mention what things I liked about the game– it’s all over the review. After all, if I had no persnal opinion\likes\dislikes about the games I write about, then you all would be looking at a blank page each Sunday entitled “Retro Profile”, and nothing more. Anyway, that’s stating the obvious.
I go into a little “depth” in my reviews because there are some gamers out there who like a little attention to detail in the stuff they read, whether they’ve played the game before or not. Trust me– a few paragraphs of coverage won’t kill the reader…I promise.
I too enjoy reading reviews or other articles with a bit of humor in it, but I tend to stay from “cracking a joke here or there” because I’m simply not a joke-cracker. It helps me to stay just a little more objective when writing this stuff. And to be quite frank, I’m just not all that funny. *GASP!* There, Johnny…my secret is out for all to read. But don’t worry, you might see a few witty comments or puns in my future Retro Profiles now and then.
Anyway, I don’t mean to sound like I’m trying to shoot your opinion down, but I really think you’re being just a little too critical of something that you didn’t create yourself. That’s all.
September 10th, 2007 at 1:20 am
I just find you to be contributing to a fun blog in a boring way. I hope you stop soon. Take care.
September 10th, 2007 at 1:21 am
I assume this game did bad on Japan since Nintendo has barely touched the franchise in 20 years, and this is one of the first games next to Mario & Donkey Kong! Excellent game, beating this game makes a hardcore, you can’t call yourself a pro-gamer if you can’t beat Mike Tyson…
September 10th, 2007 at 1:28 am
Punch out is an awsome game ….wonder if P.O.W. SNK. from the NES will ever make it to the V.C and when.
September 10th, 2007 at 3:39 am
The only person contributing to the blog in a boring way right now is johnnymilkshark.
I’ve never played it, and I’ve always passed straight over it in the VC, but now I’ll give it a thought next time I’m in the mood to spend some points. I got badly burned by buying that dumb NES ice hockey game, so these little reviews are quite handy in trying to work out what to buy.
September 10th, 2007 at 5:08 am
punch out is one the best nes games ever made for sure. dont hesitate to spend a few points on it.