Retronauts Rumbles with the History of Punch-Out!!
This week on USgamer's classic gaming podcast, we dig into the surprisingly deep history of Nintendo's gloriously cartoony take on pugilism.
This article first appeared on USgamer, a partner publication of VG247. Some content, such as this article, has been migrated to VG247 for posterity after USgamer's closure - but it has not been edited or further vetted by the VG247 team.
The 1987 classic Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! did much to prove the NES was serious business. While Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda served as absolutely fundamental experiences on Nintendo's little grey box, this absurd version of boxing did much to turn heads with its huge, expressive characters and ties to one of the most popular and successful athletes of the era.
That said, the 8-bit console Punch-Out!! definitely remains the overwhelming favorite for its place as part of the NES' legacy. But it's also important to remember Punch-Out!! is more than just a single game that happened to feature "Iron" Mike for three of the series' 32 years. On this episode of Retronauts, we definitely dig into the great NES version of Nintendo's boxing series, but we also explore its fascinating roots as a means of giving gamers the flashy graphics of a Laserdisc game without using the expensive, fragile machinery behind things like Dragon's Lair. And we also look into the underappreciated SNES sequel, which borrows heavily from the arcade games for an absolutely gorgeous and extremely technical cartoon boxing experience. Whatever your experience with Punch-Out!!, you're bound to learn something new about the series that taught us all to join the Nintendo Fun Club today, Mac!
Joining us on this one are Laser Time's own Chris Antista and Dave Rudden, and our cover art comes courtesy of Nick Daniel. As always, you can keep up with the latest Retronauts news via our Twitter and Facebook accounts, and check out some of our video content over on our YouTube page. And, in case you forgot, Retronauts is fully funded by our Patreon campaign, so if you can afford to donate even a dollar a month, please consider it! Every little bit really helps our cause.
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