For years, Nintendo‘s Punch-Out!! series has become a huge hit over the years. The original NES game is still an unbeatable favorite, whether you’re playing the Mike Tyson edition or the updated version; Super Punch-Out!! is a lot of fun on the SNES; and the Wii version is a modern classic, as you even get to fight Donkey Kong at one point.
But then there’s the arcade game that started it all, a dual-monitor sensation that gave the series its start to begin with. It’s startling that the game has never received a home release – but that may change as soon as this week.
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Hamster will be releasing the game as part of its Arcade Archives series for Nintendo Switch, slated to arrive this Friday, March 30. Now, at the moment, this appears to be for the Japanese market only. However, a lot of the company’s games have made their way to the U.S. one way or another, so we’ll see Punch-Out!! eventually, if not this week.
Keep in mind that Hamster previously released Vs. Super Mario Bros. for the system without missing a beat, so that could be the same case here.
In the game, you play a green-haired up-and-coming boxer (Little Mac, or a big fan of the Hulk) as he takes on a series of contenders, including Glass Joe, Bald Bull and others, trying to become the best in the world.
The original arcade game had a dual-monitor system when it came to tracking your energy and watching the on-screen boxing action, and Hamster has found an interesting way to make this work at home, as the monitors can either sit side-by-side in a horizontal layout, or you can turn it vertically and play it arcade style, if you feel so compelled. That may make the action a little bit harder to see, but it’ll still be loyal to its original arcade code.
The pricing on Punch-Out!! hasn’t been provided yet, but considering that most of Hamster’s Arcade Archives releases go for $7.99, that should be the case here. We’ll see what it’s finalized at when it becomes available. Fingers crossed it’s this week, because we really need to get out Punch-Out!! on with the Nintendo Switch. “C’mon, c’mon!”
