I played the original Punch-Out!! on the NES until my fingers bled. This was mostly because I sucked at it, but I was determined to beat it. I did, once, during a weekend night of glory that I have attempted to recreate, but never have. Maybe it would have been a little easier if Makato Wada, a member of the development team who ported the original arcade version of Punch-Out!! to consoles, hadn’t been holding onto timing secrets for the past 22 years like a jerk.
In the most recent Iwata Asks interview Wada discusses the original game and, since he has the chance, reveals the secret. “This is a great opportunity, so I have something I’d like to say. In Punch-Out!!, the game gives you a lot of hints about effective timing of punches. There is a big boxer called Bald Bull in the NES version as well and a light flashes to the right in the audience when he charges. If you punch when it flashes you will land a body blow” he said, going on to claim that this was the first chance he had to tell his secret. Not only this but he goes on to say that there are “lots of hidden elements in the NES version.”
22 years!? I’m pretty sure he had a chance to say something before this and help us all out of a lot of broken controllers and blisters on our thumbs. Curse you Makato Wada! You owe me two controllers and a whole ton of Band-Aids. Anyone figure this one out on their own?
