Gotta work the crowd
You’d think there would be nothing left to wring out of a game like Punch-Out. The NES classic, released back in 1987, has been picked apart and broken down to the point where speedrunners compete to complete the game blindfolded. But, never say never.
Reddit user midwesternhousewives has found a new visual cue to help with the second Piston Honda and Bald Bull fights (for all the people clamoring for pro-tips on Punch-Out these days). If you look very carefully at the first row crowd during the fight, you’ll notice a bearded man on the left hand side of the screen. Normally, this guy is motionless as a rock, but during Piston Honda’s and Bald Bull’s special attacks that leave them vulnerable to a one-hit knock-out, the bearded guy ducks at precisely the moment you need to strike to lay the bruisers out. Knowing that could have saved me a lot of trial and error trying to figure it out on my own as a kid.
This secret was found following a Cracked front-paged article where a developer spilled the beans on a similar trick for defeating the first Bald Bull fight involving a camera flash. Was Punch-Out supposed to be a pixel hunting game based on finding subtle clues and we all didn’t notice?
Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! still has secrets to share, 29 years later [Polygon]
