Mike Tyson's Punch Out (NES) Review

It feels odd revisiting Punch Out in today's hyper politically correct society because Punch Out is possibly the most politically incorrect game ever created, one look at the character roster confirms it. You have the German "Von Kaiser", the Japanese boxer "Piston Honda" and, of course, the Spaniard "Don Flamenco".

And yes, they are all extremely stereotypical. But don't worry, after 5 minutes you won't mind. If anything a wry smile will erupt on your face when Flamenco dances onto the mat to Spanish music. It is politically incorrect but in the right way, never insulting but always cutting. The perfect balance and it leads you in nicely to an extremely well constructed game.

Graphics wise dismiss all thoughts of realistic graphics from your mind. This is big cartooney graphics and bright colours to make your eyes sing with pleasure. The sprites are quite well done actually with a decent amount of detail and clever animation. The referee is also extremely well created. It is Mario though so that's to be expected...
The controls are perfect; left moves you left, right moves you right, down shields your face and a and b throw right and left punches. That is all that you need. Now the point is to either knock out your opponent or win on a point count. To win you will need to hit the character, this is done by watching the routine of how the opponent fights and punch when vulnerable.

This can be done by dodging then punching quickly or by punching before they manage to hit you. The best way of punching before they hit you is by looking for an indicator as to when they will punch. This can be a raise of the eyebrows or a certain stance or something similar. You get a punch before they manage and you might get a star, which lets you get a very strong punch on them. Simple, isn't it!

Well yes and no. Whilst simple to control the game can be freakishly hard even if you know every characters routines and indicators. Occasionally you will be too slow to get punches in and you will fail. No fault of yours but the computer will just be better. Then it's time to dust yourself off and try again. We can guarantee you that your fingers WILL move faster to beat the computer eventually. Practice does pay off in this game, and you will have to spend a lot of time practicing.

It's that balance of being simple yet treating you like an adult that makes it so accessible. With the Revolution and DS Nintendo are going for an inclusive gaming through the means of simplified controllers and you can see why with Punch Out. Within one minute of picking the 2 button bad up you are dodging punches and sending your opponent crashing to the mat whilst you whoop in an embarrassing Fox network esque manner.

Strictly speaking the sound is awful for Punch Out. Compare it to the likes of Metroid and it seems to be in a different league. But upon further inspection Punch Out's music is actually perfect. It is essentially an arcade game and the biggest thing about it is its addictiveness, the music mirrors this perfectly. The main fight theme is one of those tunes that will stick in your head for days and the various character themes are both hideously stereotypical and brilliantly addictive. The sound effects do their job excellently and round off a surprise package in the sound department.

In today's gaming society of yearly ultra realistic sports games and incredibly complex control schemes it is refreshing to see that a simple cartooney sports game can stand the test of time and still look the part 18 years later. True, it can be politically correct and true it can make you cry with frustration as Honda beats you for the eightieth time. But once the tears are dried and your fingers have recovered you will pick up that rectangular pad and enter the ring again as you aim for that final fight with Mr Mike Tyson himself. So get your gloves on, enter the ring and fight for glory.