''Power Punch II'' is a

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

developed by

Beam Software Krome Studios Melbourne, originally Beam Software, was an Australian video game development studio founded in 1980 by Alfred Milgrom and Naomi Besen and based in Melbourne, Australia. Initially formed to produce books and software to be publis ...

for the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

(NES) and originally released in North America in June 1992. The game puts the player in the role of Mark Tyler, an undefeated

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

champion on Earth who is invited by an outer space boxing federation to fight the toughest challengers in the universe. Gameplay consists of the player battling each computer-controlled opponent in up to three one-minute rounds and a scoring system based on the player's performance. Training sessions between opponents allow the player to improve stats prior to an upcoming bout. ''Power Punch II'' was initially developed as a sequel to

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

's popular 1987 NES boxing title '' Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!'' and was set to feature that game's final opponent, the likeness of real life champion

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1985 and 2024. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "the Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson i ...

, as the

player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional Character (arts), character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters tha ...

. However, Tyson's concurrent legal troubles allegedly resulted in Nintendo disowning the production of the game and forced Beam Software to modify the game by removing all references to the boxer before its eventual release by publisher American Softworks. The rights to the game were later acquired by

Piko Interactive Piko Interactive LLC is an American video game publisher based in San Antonio, Texas. Founded in early 2013 by Eli Galindo, the company focuses on physical re-releases of games from older video game consoles and digitally released ports to newer ...

who published the game on

Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

via

Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

. Critical reception for ''Power Punch II'' has been negative to average with complaints mostly directed at its graphics, gameplay, and play control. Beam Software would use ''Power Punch IIs

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...

again with ''

George Foreman's KO Boxing ''George Foreman's KO Boxing'' is a sports video game produced by Acclaim Entertainment, Acclaim, featuring boxer George Foreman, released in 1992. Three years later, Acclaim released another game with Foreman: ''Foreman For Real''. Gameplay In ...

'' on multiple systems the same year.

Plot

Mark "Tough Guy" Tyler is the undefeated heavyweight champion of the world, with an Olympic gold medal and a 33-0 (30 KO) record to his claim. After knocking out another opponent with ease, Tyler and his manager taunt the world by saying that nobody can stop him. However, the broadcast is picked up far from Earth in the outer reaches of the universe by an alien boxing promoter for the Intergalactic Boxing Federation (IGBF). The promoter decides to accept Tyler's challenge that he can beat "anybody". Thus Tyler is brought into the throes of the universe to compete against the best fighters in the universe and defend his earthly title.

Gameplay

The game includes a scoring system based on punch percentages as well as knockdowns. Rounds are only one minute long.

Development and release

''Power Punch II'' was developed by

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

-based

. The game was allegedly intended as a sequel to

's 1987

NES The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

release '' Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!'', which featured the likeness of former heavyweight boxing champion

as its final boss. Similar to ''Punch-Out!!'', Beam Software's project, originally titled ''Mike Tyson's Intergalactic Power Punch'', was to star the eponymous boxer, this time as the player-controlled protagonist. This version of the game was showcased at the Winter 1991

Consumer Electronics Show CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...

. However, possibly due to Tyson's rape conviction that same year, the developer modified the game by removing all references to Tyson including changing the player character's name to Mark Tyler. It was picked up and released in North America by publisher American Softworks as ''Power Punch II'' despite the game not being an actual sequel. There has been conflicting information and confusion regarding Nintendo's involvement in the game. While most sources state that it was originally a co-production between Beam Software and Nintendo only for the latter to distance themselves from the project due to Tyson's legal issues, others such as ''

Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017 and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. Histor ...

'' dispute this, opining that it made little sense for Nintendo to maintain the licence when they re-released ''Punch-Out!!'' without Tyson's likeness in 1990 when their deal with the boxer expired. They did note the mention of Nintendo supposedly owning the trademark to ''Power Punch II'' in the game's legal screen, though programmer and character designer Andrew Bailey does not recall having been contracted by Nintendo to develop a ''Punch Out!!'' sequel. He stated, "I don’t remember it being commissioned by Nintendo. We were working for

LJN LJN Toys Ltd. was an American toy company and video game publisher founded by Jack Friedman in 1967. MCA Inc. acquired the company in 1985, and sold to Acclaim Entertainment in 1990. The toy division of the company was closed by Acclaim and a m ...

(from memory) a small US publisher. Of course, Nintendo needed to approve every game, and they would have probably not liked ike Tyson’sinvolvement once the issues came out." In 2009, a playable prototype

ROM Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * ...

of ''Mike Tyson's Intergalactic Power Punch'' was released online by a collector after funds were raised from users of a popular Nintendo forum.

eventually acquired the rights to ''Power Punch II'' and in 2019 released the game digitally on

for PCs that use

. Piko Interactive also included the game on a

multicart In video game parlance, a multicart is a cartridge that contains more than one game. Typically, the separate games are available individually for purchase (such as '' Sega Smash Pack'') or were previously available individually (such as '' Final ...

released for the handheld

Evercade The Evercade is a handheld game console developed and manufactured by British company Blaze Entertainment. It focuses on retrogaming with ROM cartridges that each contain a number of emulated games. The Evercade was released on 22 May 2020, and ...

console the following year.

Reception

''Power Punch II'' received middling reviews from gaming magazines at the time of its original 1992 release. ''

GamePro ''GamePro'' was an American multiplatform video game magazine media company that published online and print content covering the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software. The magazine featured content on various video ...

'' remarked that it had "slightly better than average 8-bit graphics and challenge" yet that the player's limited moveset lacked realism and that the game became repetitive once each opponent's weakness was found. George Sinfield of ''

Nintendo Power ''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Ninte ...

'' saw the visuals as mediocre and that the control was not very responsive, particularly in training mode. His co-writer Rob Noel criticized the gameplay as inconsistent and unfair as he was unable to defeat even the first opponent by knockout or decision. Noel stated, "I'd like to see made easier for players who are just starting out. It'd be nice to have one easy victory before the bigger challenges." Retrospective reviews in the decades after have been much more negative. ''Video Game Bible'' author Andy Slaven described the game as having "inexcusably bad graphics and horrible control" while ''

Retro Gamer ''Retro Gamer'' is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering Retrogaming, retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Launched in January 2004 as a quarterly publication, ''Retro Gamer'' ...

'' simply described the game as "a terrible stab at doing ''Punch-Out!!'' in outer space." Charles P. Gill of ''

Hardcore Gaming 101 ''Hardcore Gaming 101'' is an online video game magazine founded by Kurt Kalata in 2004. Kalata established the site after graduating college, when he noticed the overabundance of game strategy guides, and felt that someone should create more boo ...

'' criticized the graphics as being better suited for a 1986 release rather than one from 1992 and stated that the gameplay "walks a line between boring and massively frustrating".

References

External links

''Power Punch II''
at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controlle ...