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"First Released: Arcade (1984), NES (1987) Now Available On: Virtual Console, eShop Mike Tyson and Nintendo might seem like the unlikeliest of team-ups, but their union in the late 1980s produced one of the greatest games in the NES library. The former heavyweight champ lent his name and likeness to the Big N&amp;#039;s home console port of its popular arcade boxing game Punch-Out!! , helping it become a worldwide bestseller. Punch-Out!! debuted on arcades in 1984. It was the most sophisticated boxing simulation on the market at the time, with cameo appearances from popular Nintendo characters helping it gain a dedicated following. A NES port was a no-brainer, but some concessions had to be made due to hardware limitations.  The arcade original&amp;#039;s playable character was rendered in wireframe so not to block the user&amp;#039;s view of their opponent. The NES was unable to emulate this, a new protagonist named Little Mac was introduced to sidestep the problem. Little Mac was considerably shorter than his opponents, who towered over him in full view. The digitised speech from the coin-op edition was also dropped, but plenty was gained. Nintendo mascot Mario made a fan-pleasing cameo as the game&amp;#039;s referee, while a rough plot and animated cutscenes gave Mike Tyson&amp;#039;s Punch-Out!! heart and charisma. It was the memorable fighters that essentially made the game, and their dialogue between rounds that fleshed them out.  Who can forget old Glass Joe, who you could floor with a few well-timed punches? Or the bloated King Hippo, a character that went on to appear in the Captain N: The Game Master television show? Then there were the likes of Super Macho Man and Don Flamenco, memorable for how tough they were.  Mike Tyson&amp;#039;s Punch-Out!! featured relatively simple two-button gameplay, but the level of strategic depth was staggering. The A and B buttons controlled your left and right hooks, but it wasn&amp;#039;t about hammering away at them until the final bell rings.  Timing was the key to a successful knock out. Striking your opponent on the counterattack did the maximum damage to their health bar, and the most effective way to do this was to hold back with a few well-timed blocks. A heart meter kept track of Little Mac&amp;#039;s stamina, and when it was depleted he could no longer deliver blows. Players could recharge the gauge through skilful evasive manoeuvres. The object was to climb the rankings of each weight band until Little Mac was given his shot at the heavyweight title. Once he had claimed the prize, a Dream Match against Tyson took place. This really separated the men from the boys since Iron Mike could take you out with a single strike.  Tyson became involved in the project after Nintendo of America founder Minoru Arakawa attended one of his fights and was impressed by the boxer&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;power and skill&amp;quot;. The pair etched a deal to use his name and likeness in the NES edition of Punch-Out!! with Tyson allegedly making $50,000 out of the agreement. After his contract with the studio expired, Nintendo replaced him with a fictitious fighter named Mr Dream in a reissued edition of the game simply titled Punch Out!!. Mike Tyson&amp;#039;s Punch Out!! was a huge success in its day, moving more than 2 million copies and receiving rave reviews in the press. A sequel titled Super Punch-Out was released for the SNES in 1994 to a similar reception, and the series exploded into the current generation with Punch-Out!! for Wii in 2008. The Tyson-free NES edition recently touched down on the 3DS via eShop, priced at \u00A34.50. In its heyday, Mike Tyson&amp;#039;s Punch-Out!! was a prime example of Nintendo at its best, boasting memorable characters and sublime gameplay. It still plays well today, but some of the stereotypes it peddled haven&amp;#039;t aged particularly well in today&amp;#039;s more culturally sensitive times.  Do you have any fond memories of Mike Tyson&amp;#039;s Punch-Out!!? Write a comment below!      "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/gaming/retro-corner/news/a368969/retro-corner-mike-tysons-punch-out/>