Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out – Don Flamenco

It’s funny how memory and nostalgia work, To this day I was sure I remembered playing simultaneous 2 player with my brother but there’s no denying it, this is only turn based 2 player. Its a kind of ironic that these kind of brawlers died out when the VS tournament fighter came onto the scene seeing as one earliest ‘vs’ fighting games was included here as a bonus mode. And boy is it bad!

This is Technos’s take on an RPG using sprites very similar to those from their Double Dragon series. It plays like a more refinded DD, with less moves, however theres an abundance of weapons to keep it interesting. What sets this aside from other brawlers of the time, is the RPG elements. You an upgrade stats for punch, kick, throw, weapon, stamina, strength, agility, Defense, will power and max power. leveling isnt done through EXP like most RPGs, instead you collect money from defeated foes and purchase items from the many marketplaces.

After each race, money is awarded based on your finishing position. You can upgrade your vehicle in the usual fashion, and top up turbo boosts. Fairly soon you’ll find you’ve maxed out the upgrades on your car, from then on the prize money simply becomes a turbo fund. You’ll waste turbos if used when touching cars or other obstacles, you must have clear track. It pays to save them for race winning moments. It’s easy to drain your entire reserves on one race trying, mostly in vain to catch up with Ivan!

Of all the tie-ins from LJN to make it across the pond, I think its strange to see a game based on a cartoon that was never released here, which in turn is based on a public service announcement for wearing a seatbelt, also never shown over here! Yes that’s right, this game has its roots in road safety! While we had Darth Vader as the Green Cross Man, America had the incredible crash dummies, telling folks not to be a Dummy and wear a seatbelt.