Punch-Out!! is a boxing video game series developed by Genyo Takeda and published by Nintendo. In the game, players control Little Mac, a boxer who tries to win the World Video Boxing Association (W.V.B.A.) championship.
The first Punch-Out!! arcade game was released in 1984. A sequel, called Super Punch-Out!!, followed soon after. The series first appeared on a home console in 1987 with Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). In 1994, Super Punch-Out!! was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). This version was not a direct copy of the arcade game but had gameplay closer to the original.
After a long period without new games, the series returned in 2009 with Punch-Out!!, released for the Wii. A prequel titled Doc Louis's Punch-Out!! was also made, available only through Club Nintendo. The series has been praised by critics and sold well, with the NES version selling three million copies.
Other games in the series include Punch-Out!! / Boxing for the Game & Watch in 1984 and Arm Wrestling in 1985.
Gameplay
In the game, players control Little Mac, a 17-year-old boxer from The Bronx. The goal is to move up in the ranks of the World Video Boxing Association (W.V.B.A.) by fighting boxers from around the world. Players progress through the Minor Circuit, then the Major Circuit, and finally the World Circuit. Along the way, they face opponents such as Glass Joe, King Hippo, Piston Hondo, Don Flamenco, Bald Bull, Mr. Sandman, or in the original NES version, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson.
Gameplay involves using Little Mac’s left and right fists to perform actions like hooks, jabs, or dodges. Players can also block to avoid attacks, which reduces damage. Some games in the series include a powerful uppercut move that can be used only after earning it through well-timed punches or quick combinations during matches.
To defeat opponents, players must learn their fighting styles, avoid their attacks, and counter with their own. Opponents often signal their next move with a visual or sound cue, but these cues become harder to notice as the game progresses. If a player successfully dodges an attack, the opponent becomes vulnerable, allowing the player to strike back. Little Mac can block punches by raising his gloves, but blocking or taking too many hits causes him to get tired.
List of games
Punch-Out!! was first released on February 17, 1984, in Japan. The idea began when Nintendo had many extra video monitors after the success of Donkey Kong (1981). Genyo Takeda from Nintendo R&D3 suggested making a boxing game that used two monitors per cabinet.
The game was re-released by Hamster in 2018 as part of their Arcade Archives series for the Nintendo Switch.
Super Punch-Out!! was first released in September 1984 in Japan. Its gameplay is similar to the original, but it added a new defensive move called ducking and introduced several new enemy characters.
The game was re-released by Hamster in 2020 as part of their Arcade Archives series for the Nintendo Switch.
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! was first released in September 1987 in Japan for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was given as a prize to winners of the Family Computer Golf: U.S. Course tournament. The game was first sold in North America the next month. It introduced the main character, Little Mac (who had no name in earlier games), and his trainer, Doc Louis.
In 1990, the game was re-released as simply Punch-Out!!, with Mike Tyson replaced by a fictional boxer named Mr. Dream. This change happened because Nintendo’s license to use Tyson’s name and image expired, mainly after Tyson lost the heavyweight title to Buster Douglas on February 11, 1990. The 1990 version was later re-released on Virtual Console for the Wii, Wii U, and Nintendo 3DS, as well as Nintendo Classics for the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. Tyson is now a playable character in Electronic Arts’ Fight Night and UFC games.
Super Punch-Out!! was first released on October 24, 1994, in North America for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Although it shares the same name as the 1984 arcade game, it is not a direct copy. It includes features not found in the earlier NES version, such as a power meter.
The game was later re-released on Virtual Console for the Wii, Wii U, and New Nintendo 3DS, as well as Nintendo Classics for the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2.
Punch-Out!! was first released on May 18, 2009, in North America for the Wii. This version is a new start for the series and was developed by an outside studio, Next Level Games.
The game was re-released on Virtual Console for the Wii U in 2015.
Boxing, known as Punch-Out!! in North America, was first released in July 1984 in Japan. It was the first game in the Micro Vs. Game & Watch line.
Arm Wrestling was first released in 1985 in North America. It was developed by Nintendo R&D3, the same team that created the Punch-Out!! arcade games.
Doc Louis's Punch-Out!! was first released on October 27, 2009, in North America for WiiWare as a Platinum reward for Club Nintendo members. The game is a prequel to Punch-Out!! (Wii) and shows Little Mac training with his trainer, Doc Louis.
The game was briefly available again to Club Nintendo members in 2015 before the service ended.
Super Punch-Out!! (SNES) is included in the GameCube version of EA Sports’ Fight Night Round 2. Little Mac, based on his SNES appearance, can be unlocked as a playable character in the main game.
Little Mac made a cameo in skip Ltd.’s Captain Rainbow, where the main character helps Little Mac train to regain his championship title.
Little Mac first appeared as an assist trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He later became a playable character in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, and in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Appearances in other media
King Hippo was the main villain in the DIC Entertainment animated series Captain N: The Game Master.
The game Punch-Out!! was mentioned several times in the TV show Family Guy. In the episode "Tales of a Former Sport Glory," during Peter's boxing match, the show used sound effects from the arcade version of Punch-Out!! because they did not have enough money to use music from the movie. In the episode "A Fistful of Meg," Meg and Quagmire copy the famous bicycle scene from Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!. In the episode "Not All Dogs Go to Heaven," Peter asks God for cheat codes to Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! during a prayer, saying he had trouble beating the character Bald Bull for many years.
The movie The Super Mario Bros. Movie, made by Nintendo and based on the Mario video game series, includes a pizzeria in Brooklyn, New York. The pizzeria is named after the Punch-Out!! series and is an important place in the movie. Pictures of characters from the Punch-Out!! games are also shown inside the pizzeria.