One thing that surprised me from reading most of the major game blogs was that everyone loved Punch Out!!! and talked about its positives and negatives, but no one ever mentioned something that has appeared over all the games.
That is, the insults from your opponents.
I remember having started with Super Punch Out!!! when I was a kid, and loved it. I couldn’t fully understand how to win (Since as a kid, I only knew the method of ‘punch as many times as you can’ and ‘wait, I can block?’ techniques) but I really enjoyed beating the snot out of as many boxers as I could muster. It felt great. It felt better when I was able to progress after finally figuring out how to dodge Dragon Chan with his instant KO kick, that cheating bas…er, nevermind.
However, at those points where I couldn’t win, I couldn’t figure out the pattern, or I simply got my ass kicked, I was greeted by the one uniting factor that each boxer flaunted when I lost.
They made a winning, show-offy pose and threw an insult at not the character in the game, but directly at you, the player.
I can’t recall how pissed I was when I first found myself unable to win after successive attempts at Dragon Chan and subsequent boxers, just sitting there, watching that jerk do the same martial arts animations, and then look at you while imitating a chicken. This is the stuff that breaks a person and have a controller-breaking fit.
Ironically, it provided the motivation for me to continue on and keep trying till I made each and every one of them eat the floor mat. For every insult from my opponent, I would make them eat two punches. With every victorious pose they threw at me, I swore I would make them taste the floor and stay there.
Can I say I’ve succeeded at it? I don’t remember. My memory is foggy and I can’t recall if I beat them by myself or with help, but I made sure every boxer conquered was beat up as much as my abilities allowed.
Over a decade has passed since I played Super Punch Out!!!, and even with the difficulties experienced playing the game, I still remember it fondly. But every time I hear or read about Punch Out, I’m reminded about that jerk’s chicken impersonation every time…