re: Mike Tyson's Punchout: An absolutely incredible game

I never owned it, but borrowed from friends enough to get pretty good at it. I got to where I could go all the way through from the beginning...but damn that was so long ago. I look on eBay every so often for a copy, but they always go for more $ than I care to spend.

Exactly the same, just a palette swap on Tyson

Had it for Nintendo and have it on the WII.

Never could beat Tyson and now I find it hard to get close to Tyson on the WII, must be my slower reflexes.

Hippo

Today, the Nintendo company is widely considered to be more family friendly than the other major video game companies. However, a critical look at the 1987 game "Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!" shows that Nintendo did not always shy away from using racial stereotypes.
The protagonist of "Punch-Out!!" is Little Mac, who himself is not a stereotype. However, most of his opponents clearly are. Let's run down these characters in the order that they appear.

Glass Joe (France):

Little Mac's first opponent embodies the American stereotype of the weak and cowardly Frenchman. Glass Joe's record is a pathetic 1-99, and between rounds he expresses his cowardice with statements like "Watch the jaw! Don't hit my jaw!" Even his name, which sounds like "glass jaw," expresses his ineptitude at fighting.

Von Kaiser (German):

Von Kaiser is a strange stereotype, but a stereotype nonetheless. Nintendo depicts him as a typical World War I soldier set on German dominance of the world. Between rounds, his quips include "Surrender! Or I Will conquer you!" and "I was a boxing teacher . . . at the military academy!" all while wearing World War I era German headgear.

Piston Honda (Japan):

The very name "Piston Honda" perhaps hints at the Japanese dominance of the American market in the 1980s ("Honda" being the auto manufacturer, "Piston" being the engine component). To make it clear that he is Japanese, Nintendo has him spew nonsense like "Sushi, Kamikaze, Fujiyama, Nipponichi."

Don Flamenco (Spain):

Nintendo uses Don Flamenco to embody the "vain Spaniard" stereotype. Flamenco is obsessed with his appearance, boasting "I'm a beautiful fighter. I have such a style!" There are many other reminders that he is Spanish, like the rose in his teeth (a bullfighting reference), and his last name (for the Spanish dance style).

King Hippo (Hippo Island, South Pacific):

This is the only character in the game to be from a fictional country, however, he is still a racial stereotype. His morbid obesity and South Pacific heritage are sure to remind the American gamer of the obesity problem prevalent in Samoa.

Great Tiger (India):

Great Tiger has magical powers that Americans would associate with the stereotypes of Indian mysticism. He wears a Sikh-style turban with a glowing jewel, and uses the before mentioned magical powers to move clockwise around the ring at a superhuman pace.

Bald Bull (Turkey):

Bald Bull is the first opponent in "Punch-Out!!" who doesn't clearly depict a racial stereotype.

Soda Popinski (USSR):

People of a certain age will remember from the "Punch-Out!!" arcade game that Soda Popinski was once called Vodka Drunkenski, playing on the negative image that all Russians (then Soviets) were drunks. He frequently references a drinking addiction between rounds, saying "I can't drive, so I'm gonna walk all over you!" However, he never explicitly mentions alcohol in the NES version. Also, he has a pinkish or reddish tone to his skin, a reminder of when Soviets were derogatorily called "reds" or "pinkos."

Mr. Sandman (Philadelphia, USA)

Mr. Sandman is less of a stereotype than most of the characters, but it could be argued that he resembles the ultra-tough, Philadelphia-style fighter.

Super Macho Man (Hollywood, USA)

For the stereotypical vapid, bodybuilding surfer, just look for Super Macho Man. He is obsessed with muscle, and he flexes his pecks whenever he can. He displays a limited intellect with observations like "My body is just so totally cool!"

Mike Tyson (Catskill, USA)

As a real person, whether he is a stereotype or not is up to individual judgement.

So there you have it! Who would have thought a kid's game from wholesome Nintendo would have so many racial stereotypes?

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does anyone else remember the actual arcade game where you were just a guy made up of like hulk hair and matrix grids?

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I remember beating that game on the first shot with one credit.

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Exactly the same, just a palette swap on Tyson

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So this guy?

I still play the game. Sandman is harder than SMM IMO. Tyson is beatable but you have to be nearly flawless. Didn't beat him till I was older.

Tyson v Mr Dream

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I'm in the "Sandman is tougher" crowd.

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Count me in there too. Isn't he the only fighter you *have* to use a super punch on to knock down? I haven't played it in a while, but I thought I remembered that. I thought you also had to alternate between head shots and body blows on him to do any significant damage.

ETA: I looked it up and I was wrong about having to use a star punch on him. He is one of the few fighters that can dodge star punches, though.