Let's All Play: Rebirth #1 - Punch-Out!!

We've had a few Let's All Play installments previously before the idea fizzled out, but with the New Year comes a rebirth of the idea. So, the premise - every few weeks (not going to give an exact timeframe - until the chat about the game winds down is a good rule of thumb) we'll pick a retro game available on Virtual Console on both Wii U and 3DS and play through it together. It's a chance to revisit an old favourite or discover a retro classic. You can suggest our next game in the suggestions thread!



We kick off our rebirth with an uppercut with Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! Punch-Out!! was the launching point for Little Mac, who you would have last seen brawling in Smash 4. Punch-Out!! featured Mike Tyson as the final boss in the US version, but he's since been scrubbe  This is a brick-hard arcadey boxing blast and if you've not experienced it before... do try to forgive the slightly offensive caricatures.



Fun facts!

1) This isn't actually the first Punch-Out!! game - the series started in the arcades with two installments there.

2) Little Mac's diminutive stature is actually due to tech reasons - the developer team couldn't recreate the wireframe model of your protagonist in the arcade versions, so they merely shortened the player sprite so you could still see your opponent.

3) Mario's inclusion as the ref in this was actually snuck in by a low-ranking dev at Nintendo, and it passed the bosses by and made its way into the final version.

So, GNamer, are you ready? Fight! And chat about Punch-Out!! too, I suppose.

I'll double post and get the ball rolling.

Downloaded this on 3DS and blasted through the first two cups. The game's partly a puzzle game and once you figure out the trick it's easy - King Hippo is the... ahem, king of this rule. But then, as always, I get to the second fight against Piston Honda and he just mauls me. That tricky side-to-side fake out uppercut he does hits me without fail, and I can't work out the trick to avoiding his rapid fire combo. Any tips, Punch-Out masters?

Piston Honda? Glass Joe just beat me...

...oh. Oh. Oh dear Zero.

To be fair, if you've never played Punch Out before, it can take some time to get used to its mechanics. It's an odd game as it presents itself as an arcade fighter but it's more of a puzzle game in nature.

My progress - diddly squat. I might look up a video to help me get past Piston Honda Mk. II. The bugger is kicking my arse.

Let me preface this by saying I am now the Minor League Champ.

My experience with Punch-Out!!s of any description is limited; all its bits in NES Remix 2, of course, but I also played a bit of Super Punch-Out!! on a plane.

DIGRESSION ALERT: Could be a great little film, that.

As for hints and tips, / :homer: . I beat Piston Honda The First by going at him: he blocked my flurries of punches, tried to get a quick one in against me, which I dodged and countered. He didn't seem to do his super move as often when I hounded him.

I fired up the Wii U for the first time in awhile and then it did a update, once all that was done.

I played some Punch-Out, which looks good for a game of it's age. As you may have may guessed, I didn't get far at all, just to the second fighter who beat me quite easily.

I've got no fond memories of the game and it's fine but it's not game I'd would really recommend to anyone though.

Von Kaiser? Just watch for him flashing red then dodge left or right and counterattack - not a tricky dude!

What I like about the first few fights in Punch-Out is that it teaches you everything you need to know about the game. Glass Joe teaches you about high and low attacks as he switches his guard regularly but you can wail away on him constantly if you keep up with his defense. Von Kaiser teaches you about counterattacking and dodging. Piston Honda tests your knowledge of the mechanics from the first two fights whilst also teaching you that your foes often have some crazy special attack to look out for. It's a clever opening, for sure.

Progress wise - I beat Piston Honda II! But now Soda Popinski (lol) is mauling me. And chortling while he does it.

My progress report? I lined up a title fight against Bald Bull an hour ago. I am save state scumming my way through the fights, though.

Also, finally figured out when you can do your special uppercut today! I should put it in the Accidental Hard Mode thread...

Bald Bull is so much fun - have you worked out his trick yet?

I saved it when I got to him, so I have yet to go toe-to-toe with the little twerp. When I do, though, I'm going down!

I hope you work out his trick - it's the most satisfying in the game to figure out, I think.

So, I had a pretty lengthy session last night. This is a fun little game! It takes the concept of learning a boss' attack patterns and makes a whole game of it. The sprites had loads of character for an 8-bit game, with colour and variety. Some of them are really funny when you've got them on the ropes.

There were a few fights, particularly Tiger, where the special attack just felt unavoidable. I often won just by save-scumming until I got lucky, which feels quite cheap. But I enjoyed the game, and the music was rad.

I felt Tiger had a pattern - by the end of his fight I was dodging his flurry move well enough. Piston Honda II's version, though - fluked it a couple of times but most often I'd take a couple of hits.

Made it to Soda P and took a smidge of health off him and calling it a day.

I must be missing a trick because the only time I've been able to counter Von Kaiser is when he does his uppercut which isn't often enough to actually do enough damage, I'll have to take a look in to high and low attacks. I played the Wii version of this and don't remember being anywhere near as lost as this.

I think Soda Popinski will be my jumping off point for this too - I can't beat the blighter.

Absolutely in agreement with Drunka - it's amazing how much raw character they squeezed into those 8-bit sprites.