...7...8...9...10...TKO!
THE GOOD
-Great controls
-Great sound effects
-Fun gameplay
-Great boss fights
THE BAD
-Music is boring
-Fatigue feature is annoying
OVERVIEW
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out is one of the best early boxing games for any console. You play as Little Mac, who is a tiny boxer compared to his giant opponents, in his journey to become the best boxer in the world. Doc Louis is Mac's trusted trainer and coach who helps him out along the way. You'll play though the Minor Circuit, Major Circuit, World Circuit and then the final fight with Mike Tyson.
GAMEPLAY
The game play for Punch Out is really fun. You'll fight various boxers from all across the world like Glass Joe, King Hippo, Soda Popinski and Super Macho Man. Each match consists of three rounds at three minutes each. Between each round you sit in your corner with Doc and he'll give you some good advice. The match can end in three different ways which are the Technical Knock Out (TKO), Knock Out (KO), and Decision. The TKO happens when either Little Mac or your opponent is knocked down three times in one round. The KO happens when you or your opponent receives a lot of quick blows, gets knocked down and doesn't get back up before the ten count. If after all three rounds expire without a TKO or KO then it is left up to the judges to decide the winner based on performance.
The controls for the game are quite simple. You can punch with your left or right hand, dodge and block punches. Your health meter is displayed on the top of the screen and when it decreases to nothing you'll be knocked down. The star means you have received a super punch. To use the super punch you just press the start button and Little Mac will charge up a strong right hook. The number of hearts tells you how much fatigue you have left before you become tired. This happens when you take punches, block or have your punches blocked. When this happens, which is very annoying, Little Mac with turn a shade of pink and you won't be able to punch for a short period of time.
Now every circuit consists of a few boxers to square off against. Each of the boxers have unique attacks and gimmicks. At the end of each circuit, you will go up against a champion. Each of the champions require a lot of skill to defeat which gives the game a nice challenge. Once you become the World Champion you get to go head-to-head with Mike Tyson. This is a very difficult fight so beware.
GRAPHICS & SOUND
The graphics for the game are pretty good. Each of the boxers look great and the view of New York City (between Circuits) is good. Overall the visuals enhance the quality of the game.
You wouldn't have a great boxing game if you didn't have good sound effects. From the punches to knock downs the audio is great here. One exception is the music for the game. It gets very repetitive and annoying so you might want to have some background music going while you play.
CONCLUSION
This game is a very fun boxing game that will make you laugh at times and cry at times (when Iron Mike knocks you out) but overall this game provides a good clean fight.