Punch-Out!!
System: NES
Release Date: August 1990
Developer: Nintendo Research & Development 3
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Fighting
What do you do when you haven’t developed a game in awhile and need to put something out there? Why, you release Punch-Out!! This is the exact same game we played before, but with Mike Tyson reskinned as Mr. Dream.
Many people have erroneously pointed to Mike Tyson’s legal troubles causing Nintendo to remove him from a very popular game, but Iron Mike wasn’t put on trial until early 1992. It was a simple license expiry that knocked Kid Dynamite out.
I fought to see how far I could go without getting knocked down and surprise, I made it to Soda Popinski before getting knocked down and beaten. I skipped ahead to Mr. Dream to see if I could take him down, but I just can’t do it unless it’s real hardware.
Graphics: 3.0
Still looks good.
Sound: 3.0
Still sounds good.
Gameplay: 3.5
Still plays great.
Difficulty: 3.5
Still hard until you learn the patterns.
Fun Factor: 3.5
Still fun.
Overall Rating: 3.3
Punch-Out!! earns a B+. How did this game do worse than the original? It’s the same game! Well, because it’s three years later and the game hasn’t been improved in any way.