Punch-Out!!/Gameplay

Control

 * / - dodge left/right
 * - raise your guard
 * - lower your guard
 * Left punch/right punch - throw a left or right punch
 * Knockout punch - throw an uppercut or right hook
 * Duck - duck under an opponent's attack (Super Punch-Out!! only)

If you throw a punch while your guard is high, it will be a jab to the face. If you throw a punch while your guard is low, it will be a body blow. (In this guide, a jab will always refer to a punch aimed at the face. If it instructs you to throw a jab, don't throw a body blow!) If you throw a knockout punch while your guard is high, it will be a right hook, and if you throw it while your guard is low, it will be an uppercut. Both attacks are aimed at the face. The right hook is a bit faster and generally the better punch, though it nets you fewer points.

If you have played the NES or SNES versions, in those games your guard always defaults to low and you must hold up to keep it high. In this game, your guard always stays where you last left it: if you move the joystick up, then back to the center, you will still be guarding high until you pull the joystick down.

The left jab is your fastest and weakest punch, followed in strength (and slowness) by the right jab, left body blow, and right body blow. The speed tends to be more important than the power, so the left jab will usually be your main punch, and you will not use right punches too often.

You can only execute a knockout punch when your knockout meter is full. Even if the tone rings and you hear "Knock him out!", you cannot execute the punch until the meter is actually full (it lags behind a bit). You fill up your knockout meter by beating up your opponent. You may lose a point when your punch is blocked or dodged, and you will lose a significant amount if you get hit or grabbed.

Your opponent's moves
Your opponents' jab and body blow are of course like your own. Your opponents don't use body blows very often, usually preferring a hook. When your opponent throws in a punch from the side and his arm is bent, that's a hook. Your opponents can also uppercut. There are two kinds of uppercuts. The more common uppercut involves the opponent ducking briefly before throwing the uppercut. They will usually overextend and you can hit them easily. The other kind is what we call Sandman-style, because it's first used by Mr. Sandman (in Super Punch-Out!! it's first used by Great Tiger). This uppercut is thrown while standing and is usually not overextended so much if at all.

Later on you may encounter the right cross. In this game, the first opponent to use the right cross is Glass Joe after defeating Mr. Sandman. This is a straight punch to the face that your opponent uses after dodging your left jab. You cannot dodge the right cross, so your only defense is to not provoke it in the first place.

Miscellaneous
Unlike the console versions of the game, you do not need to mash buttons to get up after being knocked down. Your character will automatically get up regardless of button-mashing, unless of course he has already been knocked out.

A boxer will never get up after being knocked down a third time.

You only get one round of three game minutes (time goes faster in the game than in real life). If time runs out, you lose automatically.

You can tell a boxer is about to throw a punch because their eyes will turn yellow. This is called a "telegraph", since it tells you what's coming, and most of your opponents will have other telegraphs such as raising their fists a certain way before punching.

You will usually get a "free" KO punch whenever your meter fills up. By "free", we mean your opponent will ignore it and probably get hit by it (unless they were already going to do a move that happens to dodge it). You can sometimes get more than one free KO punch but you are probably pushing it by going for more than one. After the earliest fights, your opponent will usually dodge and hit you while you throw your punch, but when your meter fills back up you will get a free one again. Be sure to use it!

Being knocked down or knocking down your opponent will not give you another free KO punch.