Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!/Gameplay

Player
You play through the game as Little Mac, an up and coming boxer from the Bronx. Your trainer is named Doc Louis. He coaches you between rounds and helps you train between circuits. You must use your strength and reflexes to take on all of the higher ranked opponents in the various boxing circuits of the WVBA.

You begin each match with a full bar of stamina. As you take hits, you lose stamina. When you lose all of your stamina, you will be knocked down. Note that guarding attacks chips away at your stamina, and some of you opponents attacks will knock you down regardless of how much stamina you have remaining. If you are knocked down three times, you will lose due to a Technical Knock Out, or TKO. Even if you do not lose by a TKO, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to survive getting knocked down more than three times in a single match. In order to get back up on your feet, you must rapidly tap the and  buttons to get back up on your feet. If you manage to rise on the count of 9, you are very likely to get back most or all of your stamina.

Little Mac's left and right punches are identical in speed and power. He can defend himself by guarding his head to block an attack, or dodging it entirely. Not all opponent attacks can be blocked, but all can be dodged. You don't need to correctly choose which direction to dodge an attack; a dodge in either direction will work equally well regardless of the direction of an incoming attack. If you press and immediately press  (or press  and immediately press ) you will return to the center more quickly when dodging. This is the quick-dodge, an important technique against Mr. Sandman's uppercuts, since he will hit you hard if you dodge too long. Additionally, if you double tap, you will perform the duck maneuver. Ducking is generally not recommended since dodging is faster and works just as well.

''Note: The game cannot be paused in the middle of a fight. You must wait for the end of the round or match.''

Status Bar
The status bar is shown at the top of the screen throughout the duration of each round. A lot of important and useful information is contained there.