A long time ago, Nintendo decided to develop a video-game for the popular boxing sport. These days there are plenty of fancy boxing video-games, such as EA’s Fight Night, but Punch-Out was the king back in the sixteen bit era.
Perhaps named to keep it on brand with the hardware it was on, the SNES, Super Punch-Out was the fourth entry in the series and a first on the SNES. As with the other titles, Super Punch-Out follows the charismatic lead character, Little Mac, as he attempts to win the World Video Boxing Association championship. Anyone familiar with the Rocky films should find some similarities between them and this title. Well, there are no feel good training montages in Super Punch-Out, even though it would feel appropriate given the little guy’s inspiring tale of winning against all odds.
Given the aim of the title is to win the championship, it’s not surprising that the main mode in the title consists of getting through different circuits. Even though the initial fights are not that challenging, it would have been beneficial if at the very least some basic instructions were given on how to fight. Instead, it is up to players to get acquainted with the controls by trying out different buttons and seeing what works best in terms of fighting techniques. Or perhaps just check what each button does in the settings menu found in the main menu. Fortunately, the initial fights are not that challenging and makes it easier to get to grips with how the controls work.
Each fight takes place in third person mode with the character being semi-transparent. This helps since it means the character won’t get in the way of seeing what the opponent is doing. The character stays in the middle of the ring and it is possible to move right or left or to move back to dodge an attack. Moving forward will make it possible to defend from attacks with the appropriate timing. As with real boxing matches, the idea here is to try and avoid enemy attacks in order to then launch a counterattack. Continue to ensure Little Mac doesn’t get hit and the bar at the bottom of the screen will fill up. Once the bar is full, it means that the character can land destructive knockout blows that cause more damage and can even render the opponent unconscious. The controls work really well and make it a lot easier to get to grips with dodging attacks and planning a counterattack in advance.
Given the title’s cartoon nature it means that it’s also necessary to take into account what the opponent looks like. Each of the opponents has unique qualities that make it difficult to use of the same fighting strategies. For example, one of the boxers is so obese that most attacks will just tickle him. The idea is to try and come up with different strategies that are effective against the unique abilities that each of the boxers possesses. The goal is to find a weakness and try really hard to exploit it during the fight.
In a way, including such quirky opponents is one of the most appealing reasons for continuing to play. Despite the solid fighting mechanics, it soon becomes apparent that Super Punch-Out could have done with some more content. For some reason, the title doesn’t even come with a training mode to try and improve the character’s fighting abilities. There is a Time Attack mode that becomes available after defeating all boxers within one of the circuits. Defeating more boxers means getting more opponents to take out as quickly as possible in the Time Attack mode.
Super Punch-Out is easily one of the better SNES ports to come out on the Nintendo 3DS hardware. Nintendo’s obsession with continuing to only include the option to display the game with black side bars work well here. This is because the game doesn’t ask the player to move around too much. Having the game screen centered in the middle of the screen makes it easier to focus on the fight.
The performance of the port is also excellent and there isn’t a single moment where it seems to struggle to work on the hardware that it’s on. Given the title’s cartoon nature, it also means that it still looks just as colourful as it did back on the SNES. The game’s energetic soundtrack also makes it more enjoyable to play through each of the matches.
As a port it does an excellent job of bringing this classic to the Nintendo 3DS hardware. Whilst there isn’t much in terms of modes and content, it is appealing to try and defeat all the opponents and continue to improve with each match. Super Punch-Out is still a decent title that will entertain for a couple of hours, but it’s clear that it’s those played it on the SNES who will enjoy it the most.
