Power Punch II - Nintendo NES

I can see why Power Punch II never became popular. It's pretty average, but not necessarily bad. However it's surprising just little is known about the game. Originally this was supposed to be a sequel to Mike Tyson's Punch Out, but Nintendo suddenly stopped production of the game and quietly backed away to allow another company to take over. Big mistake! Perhaps this was due to Tyson's legal issues at the time (resulting in famously turning Mike Tyson into Mr. Dream in Punch Out) or perhaps during the development stage Nintendo realized how mediocre this game was becoming and wanted to get out while they still could! This game probably would have tarnished their otherwise good name at least a little bit.Right away you can tell Power Punch II is going for a boxing game that takes place in... the universe. Yup, Power Punch II goes for a really bizarre intergalactic approach. This means the actual boxers you face are mostly alien creatures. This in itself is already a step in a different (worse) direction for those of us seeking a Punch Out-like game/characters, but Power Punch II has a bunch of other problems besides just the outerspace theme.First of all it's not fun. What made Punch Out so much fun was being able to dodge the boxers moves and respond accordingly, while gradually boosting the challenge the more you defeat boxers and climb the ranks. The boxers also had tons of personality like Piston Honda, King Hippo, Mr. Sandman, etc. They really felt unique. The boxers in Power Punch II are certainly different, but they're all too weird to make an impression. This game is a victim of an experiment gone wrong.I think I speak for most when I say we wanted outrageous whacky characters that were at least from planet Earth, each with their own personality. While the boxers here are different from the other, they lack the charm and distinction you're looking for if Punch Out is on your mind (and it *should* be on your mind considering this is supposed to be a sequel to a legendary game). Too many alien creatures end up feeling the same basically.There's other problems. The training sessions before certain fights is horribly confusing. Your character Mark Tyler, who I'm guessing was originally supposed to be Mike Tyson, has to throw numerous punches into the trainers gloves. This whole aspect is entirely pointless. Supposedly there's a secret to smacking the trainers gloves whenever they glow and you have to press buttons at just the right time which gives Mark extra stamina, power and speed for his upcoming fights. I wouldn't have known anything about this if I hadn't read about it online. I'd rather see Little Mac riding down the street on his bike though. At least Little Mac gives gamers suspense until the next series of matches arrives.The boxer animations. They're *really* stiff. The game feels like it's just poorly designed. You'll often get punched and hit the ground without having enough time to prepare for it, and this results in a lot of frustration. Boxers tend to be cheap in this regard. In Punch Out, even Mike Tyson himself would indicate when he's ready to attack through patterns and enough time to react. You're pretty much guessing what the boxers are going to do in Power Punch II.It's also annoying how every boxer gets up at the 9 count. Seriously? The game has power punches in exchange for power stars, but it's not executed as interestingly or as impactfully as the stars from Punch Out. The game is just a lot slower than Punch Out overall not just in animation, but also expect matches to last three times longer, especially if you make it to the final round.The boxers, if I haven't mentioned them yet are 9763 Borg, Derec Nodden (who looks like he's from the backwoods), Alpha Bonehead (one of the more impressive looking fighters), Helmut Skull (sort of weaker than he appears, but designed nicely), Lex Lumpblocker, Grathnox 4, Erec Nodden (Derek's similar younger brother who fights exactly the same), Pugly Positronic (a cool boss and name), Super Borg DLX, Grathnox 4B, Hammerhand (most exaggerated one in the game), Lex Lumpblocker again and the challenging Fly-Mo.Overall, well if you're looking for the next Punch Out sadly you won't get it with Power Punch II, but you will get a decent, abeit slow alternative.Edit- I did NOT know the reason Tyson was removed from Punch Out is because his contract expired and he lost an important fight against James Buster Douglas, so Nintendo didn't feel like renegotiating his contract. I thought for sure Tyson was removed because of... that other reason. Huh interesting!

Let's take a look at a little trivia, first. Okay? Power Punch II was originally supposed to be a Punch Out sequel, but since Mike Tyson went through...problems, Nintendo scrapped the idea of him being in the sequel. Then, due to the low-quality of the game compared to Punch Out, Nintendo didn't feel like making the game. However, a third-party company went ahead and published the game. The remains of the evidence are the Nintendo trademark of the game and the "II". There is no Power Punch 1. However, a game called Power Punch was released for the Wii, but that's just a coincidence.There are some workout stages in the game, but I find them to be pretty pointless. They don't seem to be identical to the actual boxing matches. You might as well skip the workouts.The fighting is addicting, but it just gets repetitive. You can just bash the alien creature a bunch of times without him attacking back. However, you only take down so little of his HP. He was about twice the amount of HP than you. When he gets to hit you, you better block or fight back. That being said, I don't know if this game is either easy or hard. It's hard to tell.While the graphics are pretty good for its time, I don't think it matches up to what Punch Out had to offer. The music, I can say the same, only except that the music is as repetitive as the gameplay.Overall, it's no wonder it couldn't be qualified as a sequel to an existing game. However, it still leaves evidence.