Platform	NES
	Genre	Sports
	Publisher	Nintendo
	Points	500
	Rating	9 / 10

Review

Punch Out! was developed by Nintendo and was released on the NES in 1984. In this boxing basher, you take the role of a youthful green-haired boxer who must rise up the ranks by defeating six other opponents, each setting their own deftly standards. So does this game step into the ring successfully? To answer that truthfully, yes.

After passing through the simplistic main menu, you are automatically placed in a obscure-colored ring with an opponent and a Mario-incarnated referee. Your goals is to flank the opponent’s techniques, and take him down for the count. This isn’t as simple as it seems, even if Punch Out! is over 15 years old. During matches, you’ll have to dodge incoming jabs and hook shots, while observing and flanking his fighting pattern. You cannot punch freely, because the game sets a certain stamina bar, which you’ll waste if you continue to throw blockable hits. The system is quite intuitive for a game of it’s state, but it does show it’s age.

The fighting sequences do seem as if they progress fairly abstrucely, but the player will notice that the fights are scripted. There are certain moments where you are disabled from hitting the guy, seemingly like epic failure. After 12 seconds of waiting, you’ll throw your blows, then repeat the process again. Nevertheless, the game is very fun.

If you are a clueless nut like me, you’ll find this game very difficult. But it is very rewarding to step into the bucolic-colored ring, and beat the crap out of someone till the bell rings. You may notice that this has Fight Night written all over it. While the games have significant differences, Punch Out! inspired some great fighting games that followed it. Go and buy it.

Overall Score: 9 out of 10