Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!/Gameplay

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! works on a dodge-counterpunch system, which is to say, you dodge your opponent's punch, and then quickly counterpunch to stun them. Once stunned, you can get in several free punches before they come to their senses.

Controls
Left punches are quicker than right punches and do a little less damage.

Right punches are slower than left punches but do a little more damage.

The game cannot be paused; you must wait for the end of the round or match.

Ducking is a useless move since dodging is faster and works just as well.

Not all opponent attacks can be blocked, but all can be dodged.

If you press and immediately press  (or press  and immediately press ) you will return to the center more quickly. This is the quick-dodge, an important technique against Mr. Sandman's uppercuts, since he will hit you hard if you dodge too long.

Rounds
Each fight is divided into three rounds of three game minutes each. (A second in the game is slightly quicker than in real life. From here on the terms "second" and "minute" will denote game time and not real-life time.) At the end of round 1 and round 2, your number of hearts is reset to the number you started the fight with, and your number of stars is reset to zero. If you knock down your opponent three times in a round, you get an automatic technical knockout (TKO), which means you win and get another KO added to your KO record. (Your opponents can also TKO you.) If round 3 ends before one of you is knocked out, you might be able to win by decision.

To win by decision, you need to have a certain number of points. The number of points depends on the opponent and is listed in this walkthrough. Circuit champions can never be beaten by decision, and neither can Mr. Sandman or King Hippo. Winning by decision does not add to your KO record, but it makes no real difference.

Hearts and stars
At the top of the screen you can see the number of stars and hearts you have. At the start of each round you will have a certain number of hearts, depending on your opponent. (You will usually have more hearts against opponents who require you to block a lot.) You will use up one heart whenever you block an attack or when your opponent dodges or blocks your attack. You will also lose three hearts if you are hit. If you run out of hearts, you will turn pink and you cannot punch, block, or quick-dodge. You will regain some hearts after dodging a few of your enemy's attacks. Be warned that opponents will alter their behavior when you're out of hearts, but they'll resume their normal pattern once you're back to normal. If you get knocked down, then your hearts are reset to 9.

The number of stars you have indicates how many uppercuts you can throw. If you are hit, the number of stars you have is reduced by one, and you will lose all your stars if you're knocked down. You gain stars by hitting your opponent at the right time, which you will learn about below.

Countering an attack
Most of the time you will not be the aggressor. Instead, you will wait for your opponent to make a move and exploit it.

There are three ways to counter an attack:
 * 1) Blocking and countering
 * 2) Dodging and countering
 * 3) Interrupting it

Blocking causes you to take a small amount of damage and also uses up a heart. Dodging costs nothing but if your timing is off you will get hit by the full force of the attack. In either case you will usually get to hit your opponent multiple times in the face (they will usually block their body when stunned). You can keep hitting him until you hear and see a punch that looks particularly forceful: this signifies that your chain of hits is over and your opponent has recovered.

Interrupting an attack will usually, but not always, get you a star (but it won't if you knock down your opponent). It depends on the attack and the timing. Generally, you want to hit your opponent while they are preparing their attack, not the moment they actually begin their move. This can be a risky move, and will often backfire on inexperienced players except in the case of very slow moves (like Great Tiger's uppercuts). Although stars are valuable, you don't need to master this technique to be good at the game.

A few of your opponents have special moves which can be interrupted. These will be detailed in the description of your opponent. Interrupting your opponent's special move will usually knock down your opponent, so it is a valuable technique to learn.

Characters

 * Little Mac - This is the player.
 * Doc Louis- Little Mac's trainer.
 * Mario - Referee
 * Glass Joe
 * Von Kaiser
 * Piston Honda
 * Don Flamenco
 * King Hippo
 * Great Tiger
 * Bald Bull
 * Soda Popinski
 * Mr. Sandman
 * Super Macho Man
 * Mike Tyson