History VideoGame / PunchOut

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* ScaryBlackMan: Mr. Sandman, especially in his Wii rendition, which has been compared to ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk. He levels up in scariness in Title Defense mode where he gets pissed off at Little Mac for basking in the glory of his fans and the camera zooms in on Sandman's face. Also occurs in the in between round segments where he says something like "Did you brush your teeth, Little Mac? It's bed time!" and having a close-up of his scary face. Finally, in the cinematic before his Title Defense Fight, he punches down a gym to the ground just because there was a poster of Little Mac on the side wall. He ''punches'' a building once with his bare fists, and it falls ''to the ground''.

* IconicOutfit: Little Mac is well-known for his black and green outfit -- especially the iconic, bright green boxing gloves. In the Wii game, it's the attire he wears in the Minor Circuit at the start of the game.

* IWantMyMommy: Von Kaiser in the Wii game, especially effective if you give him a star punch just as or after he says it ([[spoiler:since it gives you an instant KO]]):
-->"Wo bist denn...MOMMY!"

** In ''Super Punch-Out!!'', Nick Bruiser has a 42-0 record before losing against you. [[HumiliationConga To add insult to injury]], according to Official Nintendo Magazine, he then lost ''again''. To '''''[[WarmUpBoss Glass Joe]]'''''. His twin brother Rick is almost undefeated, having lost to Nick.

** King Hippo, Bear Hugger, and Piston Hondo in his Title Defense mode.

* BarehandedBladeBlock: Piston Hondo in his Title Defense intro cutscene in the Wii version. It's part of his training for his rematch against Little Mac.

* AmbiguouslyGay: Disco Kid in the Wii version. Although he's just projecting up the ambient gay of the 1970s. In Title Defense Mode he jumps into the air and arcs like a rainbow. While letting out a blissful "WHEEEEEEE!" And he's dressed up ''[[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed exactly]]'' [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed like Richard Simmons]]. This is followed by:

* BigFun: Bear Hugger, while easily one of the physically ''widest'' and most rotund boxers to get in Little Mac's way, is also an entertaining, goofy BoisterousBruiser with a big laugh, whose lines are pure comic gold, usually playing into his CanadaEh stereotype for all it's worth. He also seems to be in it for fun rather than harboring any serious thoughts of contending or being outright AxCrazy.

* CanadaEh: Bear Hugger. He's a woodsman from Salmon Arm, British Columbia, who drinks maple syrup, chops down trees, plays hockey, and hugs bears. When not being trained by one. He talks like a stereotypical Canadian in the Wii game, often saying "eh" and calling Little Mac a hoser. [[SelfDeprecation Incidentally, that installment was developed by Canadian developer Next Level Games]], and both the developer and the character are from Salmon Arm.

* FriendToAllLivingThings: Bear Hugger in the Wii Version. His training and drinking partner is a bear, and in Title Defense he has a little squirrel in his hat, that he seems to have developed a rather strong bond with. It actually makes him one of the nicer fighters (he even describes himself as "a hugger, not a fighter, [[CanadaEh eh]]"), personality wise, when he isn't [[OneHitKO one-shotting you]].

** From [[CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys Glass Joe]] to [[GermanicDepressives Von Kaiser]] to [[WildSamoan King Hippo]] to [[CanadaEh Bear Hugger]] to [[TorosYFlamenco Don Flamenco]] to [[MysticalIndia Great Tiger]] to [[{{Oireland}} Aran Ryan]] to [[HuskyRusskie Soda Popinski]], ''Punch-Out'''s boxers span the entire HollywoodAtlas. Outside the US perspective, [[SurferDude Super Macho Man]] is one as well because of his {{Eagleland}} attitude.

** Next Level Games, a Canadian game studio, when put in charge of making a new ''Punch-Out!!'' title for the Wii, went out of their way to pick Bear Hugger as one of the only two returning characters from ''Super Punch-Out!!'' (the other being Aran Ryan), and went even further out of their way to make him more of a walking embodiment of CanadaEh stereotypes.

* StealthInsult: The game jabs at Japan this way with Piston Hondo. He's shown to be the most stereotypical Japanese super-warrior imaginable, training by catching swords and ''outrunning bullet trains'', yet he's merely the lowest ranked boxer of the second circuit who can't defeat the lumberjack who trains by [[CanadaEh chopping down trees and guzzling maple syrup]]. Doubly funny if you're aware that the development studio, Next Level Games, is based in Canada.

* MercyMode: In the Wii release, lose 100 times during Career mode and you will be given damage-reducing headgear ... much like they did to Glass Joe after he took his 100th loss against you.

''Punch-Out!!'' debuted in 1983 as a dual-screen arcade game produced by Nintendo. It was a boxing game where the player fought for a world title against a series of quirky opponents, typically consisting of various [[ForeignWrestlingHeel comically exaggerated national stereotypes]], such as Glass Joe, Bald Bull, Pizza Pasta and Mr. Sandman. It was followed by a sequel, ''Super Punch-Out!!'', released in 1985, which added more stereotypes like Bear Hugger, Dragon Chan, Vodka Drunkenski,[[note]]Renamed Soda Popinski in home console versions[[/note]] Great Tiger and Super Macho Man. A spinoff game titled ''VideoGame/ArmWrestling'' ([[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin an arm wrestling game]]) was also released in 1985. A modified version endorsed by the British heavyweight boxer Frank Bruno was also released in 1985 on various eight bit computers of the era.

The series made its home console debut on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987. Originally released in Japan as a gold cartridge given away exclusively to Second Place Winners of the ''Famicom Golf: U.S. Course'' Tournament, this new version of ''Punch-Out!!'' featured most of the classic boxers. As well as newcomers such as Von Kaiser, Don Flamenco, Piston Honda and King Hippo. Mario in a cameo as the Referee and two new protagonists in Little Mac and his trainer Doc Louis. The final opponent was Super Macho Man.

* SelfPlagiarism: Between the SNES and Wii games, Nintendo made a similar boxing game called ''VideoGame/{{Teleroboxer}}'' for the UsefulNotes/VirtualBoy.

* ThirteenIsUnlucky: Mr. Sandman who personifies the connotation of the number as the 13th opponent in the game (as he manages to beat twelve boxers across the circuits of the WVBA and becomes World Champion). He's the most feared boxer due to his ease to defeat his opponents and a flawless victory record, as even former champion Doc Louis pulls an OhCrap during his grand entrance preceding the boxing fight. And when Little Mac confronts him at the end of Contender Mode, he only has 13 hearts of stamina (one of the lowest numbers when facing any boxer in the game), and this is repeated in their rematch in Title Defense. However, this also goes the other way: Little Mac defeats 12 boxers to reach Mr. Sandman (who is then his 13th opponent), and ''wins'' to become the champion. The trope is further surrounded with the following details: Sandman's Contender introduction cutscene is 13 images long, each one showing Sandman KO'ing an opponent (the other boxers only have four-image-long cutscenes), he has to be hit 13 times (in case Star Punches aren't used) after the Berserker Rage is over to be definitely defeated, and his personal stats (age, fight record, height) provide nods to number thirteen as well. Oddly, during his World title hold, he has the highest rank in the World Circuit, while Aran Ryan (who embodies the LuckySeven trope) is the ''lowest'' in the same circuit.

* BringIt: The entirety of Don Flamenco's boxing strategy is to goad you into making the first move, then countering it. That is, unless you've hit his BerserkButton. His Wii lines accentuate this. "Venga, venga!"

** In the Wii game, after you knock Title Defense Mr. Sandman down twice, he goes into his Berserker Rage. This is a series of fourteen uppercuts, none of which can be countered and the last of which is a OneHitKill. If you're still standing after dodging the last uppercut, Mr. Sandman will become exhausted, unable to throw a single punch or even block. Now he's ready for a beatdown; land a Star Punch before he recovers, and it's an instant KO.

* FinishingMove: The Wii game uses Little Mac's Star Punch as one during the Title Defense battle against Mr. Sandman. After you survive his Berserker Rage (which he'll only do when he's already on the brink of defeat), he'll be so tired that you can start punching him to receive free stars, and then finish him off with one big powerful uppercut.

* WorfHadTheFlu: Played with in the Wii game with Von-Kaiser. Prior to his first match he's [=KO'd=] by what appears to be a ''kindergarten student'' and mocked by all the kid's friends, making him suffer from a nasty inadequacy complex when facing you for the first time, resulting in weakened attacks and a tendency to cower with fear and beg for his mother. Unlike the other characters who [[TookALevelInBadass Take a Level in Badass]], change tactics, or ''cheat'' to up their game for the Title Defense match, Von Kaiser merely gets so angry that you have the championship belt that he gets over his complex and shows up at full strength to challenge you. [[spoiler:It's played with because, while he's about as difficult as the Major Circuit opponents from before, the "full strength" Von Kaiser is still laughably easy to beat if you can counter his new, dangerous special attack.]]
* WorthyOpponent: Rick Bruiser says he's okay with having lost to you; his brother Nick, however…

A second console installment was released for the UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem in 1994 titled ''Super Punch-Out!!'' (unrelated to the earlier arcade game, but closer to it gameplay-wise), which brought back several characters from the first NES game (as well as the arcade installments), while introducing new ones, including new champions: the Bruiser Brothers, Rick and Nick.

* EvilCostumeSwitch: The Wii version takes it furthern in Title Defense Mode. It takes ''every single opponent in the entire game'', gives them all a badass makeover, and makes them all [[NintendoHard much harder than they are normally]]. Some of the makeovers have practical purposes, namely, Glass Joe's headgear and King Hippo's manhole cover, but for the most part, they just make them look different and distinguishable from their weak counterparts, plus DarkerAndEdgier.

* LastStand: In the Wii game, there's a mode called Mac's Last Stand, where you have to fight random Title Defense opponents. If you lose three times, that's it. The game ends. Mac retires and the Career mode is locked. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin It really is Mac's Last Stand]]. Fortunately, a locked Career Mode simply means the "story mode" of that profile is over. You're still able to fight anyone anytime in Exhibition Mode (and Last Stand only unlocks after you've beaten all of the regular fighters in both their modes, so you have the run of them). The main goals of the Last Stand are to unlock [[NintendoHard Champion's Mode]] (where every hit on you is a OneHitKO) and fight the GuestFighter, which in turn adds him to the Exhibition roster.

* OneHitPointWonder: In case you thought the Title Defense mode in the Wii version wasn't NintendoHard enough, a special mode, called Champion's Mode, makes every one of your opponent's attacks knock you down in one hit - even ''[[WarmUpBoss Glass Joe]]'' can send you to the mat with a single punch. The only exception to this is Title Defense Aran Ryan's [[DesperationAttack rope-glove attack]] when you knock him down.

* AstonishinglyAppropriateInterruption: This is how the "Release the bogus!" meme was born in the Wii game. In Title Defense, Super Macho Man says "Release the beast!" when using one of his new moves, and "Bogus!" if you counter or dodge his attack, so interrupting his special move with a counter at the right time results in "Release the- Bogus!"
* AthleticallyChallenged: In each game, Glass Joe will be your first opponent. A French boxer who has the worst offense and defense of any boxer and has a total record of 1-99 (it's stated that his sole win was from an "accident"). It's said that he has a medical condition that makes him easily knocked out. And as such, for the most part, he's a pushover in the games he appears in.

* WorfHadTheFlu: Played with in the Wii game with Von-Kaiser. Prior to his first match he's [=KO'd=] by what appears to be a ''kindergarten student'' and mocked by all the kid's friends, making him suffer from a nasty inadequacy complex when facing you for the first time, resulting in weakened attacks and a tendency to cower with fear and beg for his mother. Unlike the other characters who [[TookALevelInBadass Take a Level in Badass]], change tactics, or ''cheat'' to up their game for the Title Defense match, Von Kaiser merely gets so angry that you have the championship belt that he gets over his complex and shows up at full strength to challenge you. [[spoiler:It's played with because, while he's about as difficult as the Major Circuit opponents from before, the "full strength" Von Kaiser is still laughably easy to beat.]]

* LateToThePunchline: If Little Mac were taller, he would be called [[JustForPun Big Mac.]] This may be why Aran Ryan asks Little Mac if he has cheeseburgers in his gloves when he knocks him down.

** By contrast, Mr. Sandman, the FinalBoss of the original arcade game and the Wii version, is one of the few boxers not to resort to any dirty tricks, which serves to make him all the more badass as he doesn't ''need'' such bastardry to be a world champion. Strictly speaking, raising his own hand when he wins and taunting Mac between rounds are both minor rule infractions, but none of his in-match moves are illegal.
* AscendedMeme: In the Wii game, Doc Louis may joke about stealing Mac's bike in the chatter between rounds, based on the meme of him doing that in the NES game.

** In addition, the series allows the boxers to get away with things that would result in penalties or worse in real boxing. These range from the mundane (illegal blows such as backhands and headbutts, touching the ropes, general poor sportsmanship) to the unusual (Disco Kid's earphones, Don Flamenco's perfume, Bald Bull using hot towels instead of cold ones, assuming they're not cold and he's just ''that'' hot from his burning rage) to the outright criminal (Aran Ryan's horseshoe-loaded gloves and improvised flail weapon, Soda Popinski's lab-made soda that allows him to ''pull trucks with his teeth'', Hoy Quarlow bringing his staff to the ring and using it as a cudgel, etc). In the Wii game, three fighters - Aran Ryan, Bald Bull and Super Macho Man - go so far as to ''attack the referee'' during intermissions or victory cutscenes, which would be a lifetime ban even if it wasn't during a match. Notably, Mr. Sandman, the FinalBoss of the original arcade game and the Wii version, is one of the few boxers not to resort to any dirty tricks, which serves to make him all the more badass as he doesn't ''need'' such bastardry to be a world champion.

King Hippo, meanwhile, appeared as one of the major lackeys to [[VideoGame/{{Metroid}} Mother Brain]] in ''WesternAnimation/CaptainNTheGameMaster'', though no other characters from ''Punch-Out!!'' ever appeared in the show for some reason[[note]]unless one counts Glass Joe's [[TheCameo cameo]] in "Videolympics"[[/note]].

** "Ride of the Valkyries" is used as the themes to Von Kaiser and a couple other boxers.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

** The NES ''Punch-Out!!''[[note]both the Tyson version and the Mr. Dream version[[/note]] has the same fighting music for all boxers you challenge, but each one has a unique intro jingle.
** The SNES ''Super Punch-Out!!'' has a different theme for each of the four circuits. Each boxer has a unique theme on the pre-fight stats screen.
** The Wii ''Punch-Out!!'' has a theme for each circuit plus a unique theme for the final opponent in each circuit (King Hippo, Don Flamenco, and Mr. Sandman). Every boxer has unique jingles for the cutscenes (the match win/loss themes in particular being the same melody each time, but in different styles befitting of each boxer's cultural stereotype). Each boxer except Mr. Sandman has an additional unique battle theme that's only used for Exhibition mode (like with the match win/loss themes, it is the series' main theme in different styles).

* BattleThemeMusic: As the series evolved, so did its relationship with this trope. None of the arcade games (''Punch-Out!!'', ''Super Punch-Out!!'', ''Arm Wrestling'') featured any music, the NES game (''Punch-Out'', both the Tyson version and the Mr. Dream version) has the same fighting music for all boxers you challenge (what does change is their intro fanfare), the SNES game (''Super Punch-Out!!'') has a theme for each of the four circuits, and the Wii game (''Punch-Out!!'') adds a battle theme for the Minor Circuit title bout (against King Hippo, used again in his rematch in Title Defense), another for the Major Circuit one (against Don Flamenco, used again in his rematch in Title Defense), and then ''one for every boxer'' when you face them in Exhibition mode (all of them are based on the series' main theme, albeit remixed to fit the cultural stereotypes of the boxers). In the ''Doc Louis'' game, only one theme is used, since your only opponent is Doc himself.