Punch-Out!!

Punch-Out!! (パンチアウト!!) is a boxing video game series created by Nintendo's general manager Genyo Takeda, and his partner Makoto Wada. It was originally created because Nintendo had too many TV screens lying around in their warehouse, due to buying an abundance of them after the success of Donkey Kong (1981 video game). Genyo Takeda was consulted as to what to make, and he suggested a boxing game. Thus Punch-Out!! was born.

The first game was Punch-Out!! made in 1983 and released in Japan as an arcade unit. The game was then released in the US in February 1984, which was followed by a sequel, titled Super Punch-Out!! (1984). The series was released on home consoles soon after, starting with Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! on the NES in 1987 (with a re-release of the game in 1990, which removed Mike Tyson, due to the license for his likeness expiring. His loss of the heavyweight title to Buster Douglas made Nintendo choose to not renew the contract, and Tyson was instead replaced by the fictional Mr. Dream for the final opponent, who was just a palette swap) and Super Punch-Out!! on the Super NES in 1994, which went back to the style of the arcade games.

A reboot of the series entitled Punch-Out!! was released in May 2009 on the Wii, along with a Club Nintendo exclusive WiiWare prequel Doc Louis's Punch-Out!! in October 2009. Both games were made by Canadian studio Next Level Games.

The series also had a spin-off called Arm Wrestling from 1985, which was released only in North American arcades, and was Nintendo's last arcade game they independently developed and released.

Gameplay
Playing as Little Mac, a 17-year old boxer from the Bronx, the player must climb the ranks of the World Video Boxing Association (WVBA for short), and fight their way against other boxers from around the world, going from the Minor Circuit then the Major Circuit and then the World Circuit, while fighting challengers including Glass Joe, King Hippo, Piston Hondo, Don Flamenco, Bald Bull, Mr. Sandman, or in the original NES version, the former heavyweight boxing champion himself, Mike Tyson. Gameplay differs slightly between each game, but generally, Mac can attack using his left and right fists, performing either a hook, a dodge, or an uppercut. He can also dodge and block to avoid the opponent's attacks, the block dealing less damage. Many games in the series give the player a powerful uppercut ability; its use is limited, must be earned during matches, and is earned from well-timed punches or rapid combos, depending on the game.

The key to defeating each opponent is to learn their fighting patterns, avoid their attacks and respond with a counterattack. Opponents will always give a visual or audible cue to signal their next attack, though as the game progresses, the time given to the player to successfully react significantly decreases. If the player successfully dodges an attack, the opponent will be left vulnerable for a while, allowing the player to strike back. Little Mac can block some of his opponent's punches by holding up his gloves, but he will eventually tire out if he blocks too much.

Appearances in other media
The series has made multiple appearances in other games as well. The Super NES version of Super Punch-Out!! was included in the GameCube version of Electronic Arts game Fight Night Round 2. The protagonist of the Super NES version of Super Punch-Out!! appears as a secret boxer in full 3D with the name "MAC" on his boxers and was referred to as "Little Mac" as part of the Nintendo-exclusives deal between Nintendo and EA in allowing several Nintendo characters to star in EA sports games. Due to the third-party nature of his role in the game, it is considered by several fans of the series, to be uncannon. Little Mac further made a cameo appearance in skip Ltd.'s Wii video game Captain Rainbow, where the title character has to help train Little Mac to get in shape to regain his championship title. Little Mac also appears as an assist trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl before becoming a playable character in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Punch-Out!! would get referenced in Family Guy on multiple occasions. In "Tales of a Former Sport Glory", during Peter's boxing fight for the title they use the sound effects from the Arcade ("Nintendo") Punch-Out!!, since they were "out of budget to take it (music) from the movie." In "A Fistful of Meg", when Meg goes to Quagmire to help get training, they re-enact the famous bicycle scene from Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!. And in "Not All Dogs go to Heaven", when Meg gets the family together to say grace and let's Peter lead, Peter prays to God for the cheat codes to Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, stating that he was stuck on Bald Bull for years.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie, co-produced by Nintendo and based on the company's Mario franchise, features a pizzeria in Brooklyn, New York City named after the Punch-Out!! series as a prominent location. Photos of characters from the games can also be seen inside the pizzeria.