Punch Out!'s combination of accessibility and challenging gameplay make it essential to any NES collection
You follow Little Mac in a behind-the-shoulder view of the ring. Light bulbs flash and the crowd cheers as Little Mac approaches each of his opponents, who effectively tower over the little protagonist. Little Mac, however, is a quick little guy with a variety of moves in his repertoire, despite the relatively limited NES controller.
Little Mac can dodge, block, and perform body and uppercut punches to his opponent. Left and right punches are thrown with the B and A buttons respectively, while a "Super Punch" can be thrown with the start button once a star is earned. To earn stars Little Mac needs to land a series of punches successfully.
In addition to the normal health meter, he also has a heart meter. The heart meter decreases whenever Little Mac is struck by an opponent or blocks. When it reaches zero, he turns pink and is unable to attack until he successfully dodges an opponent's attack. Dodging is accomplished by pushing the D-pad twice left, right, or downward, thereby dodging in the respective direction.
Punch-Out! is a game of hand-eye coordination where timing and pattern analysis are critical. Some boxers such as King Hippo have a trick to knocking them down, where a single punch or series of punches allow Little Mac to own the match. Other boxers appear to be more random, particularly in the final "World Circuit," greatly increasing the difficulty.
Punch-Out! uses a password system allowing the player to skip ahead to the last circuit in which Little Mac fought. The player needs to box from the bottom of the circuit up, but at least they need not start in the Minor Circuit.
The opponents are colorful and unique, if stereotyped. Racial profiles aside, characters such as Don Flamenco from Spain spout quips such as, "People like my hair. Don't mess my hair!" that keeps the game light. Mario referees the match, and trainer Doc Louis gives Little Mac a workout jogging along what appears to be Liberty State Park between circuits.
If it sounds like Punch-Out! is more complicated than it first appears, it is. Punch-Out! goes beyond a simple one-two punch system and challenges Little Mac to use his resources effectively. Save that star and use it after an opponent is stunned or take a chance and maybe knock them out in one blow?
Gamers will find themselves returning to Punch-Out! again and again for its progressive challenge, endearing characters, and entertaining gameplay.