Re: Games Beaten 2019
Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2019 5:32 pm
98: Phreds punch out 2 turbo (punch out nes hack)
Generally speaking I am not a fan of sprite swap rom hacks, I like my hacks to present an all new experience as much as possible, and when it comes to punch out hacks it is hard to find anything beyond simple sprite swaps or versions that have you fighting the same character over and over again, for example there is a hack called bald bulls punch out which just has you fighting slightly different variants of bald bull 14 times in a row.
Phreds punch out 2 turbo is a game that is both a sprite swap and an all new experience, I didn't think this was possible given how punch out was made but this game was a very pleasant surprise with lots of new challenges and character movesets.
First off, every character has been replaced with something, I'm not sure if the characters in this game are references that I didn't get are just all new random characters the developer made up, but other than princess zelda, who replaces great tiger, and doc louis, who replaces king hippo, I didn't recognize any of the characters.
The game plays exactly like classic punch out except that you begin every fight with 2 stars, get awarded with 2 stars when you get up from a knock down, and begin each round with 2 stars. There are also lots of different opportunities to earn stars during each fight. Other than that it is identical to the original.
The thing that makes this game worth playing is that most of the fights are fresh and challenging. Its funny, I have been gaming for about 35 years and when people talk about nes hard games I realize I have lost all perspective. Classic hardest of all time games like contra, castlevania 3, and ninja gaiden are easy for me because I have played through them hundreds of times in my life. Mike tysons punch out falls into this category as well, although I sometimes struggle with sandman, the rest of the game is easy for me, including mike tyson. I often wonder how would I fare if I didnt have all these guys patterns ingrained in my head, based on my performace in this rom hack the answer is not very good.
Most of the fights are new and fighters are given new attacks, new patterns, new star opportunituies, and new vunerabilities. Like punch out it starts out super easy, glass joe is replaced with some new nerdy accountant guy who I literally beat in 7 seconds my first time, von kaiser is replaced by a girl named lisa hicks, who I beat in under a minute and didnt seem to offer anything new, but the game really picks up as you get a few opponents in.
There are some low points, bald bull has been replaced with rick bruiser, who has a cool sprite but just does basic attacks the entire fight and is really easy, king hippo is replaced with doc louis who is a bit more aggressive and takes more damage but ultimately is easy, but most of the fights are really interesting and tough. A robot names SW 7 replaces soda popinski and super machoman, he has some really crazy variety to his attacks and I died a lot of times on both of them trying to figure out his new patterns, a masked piston honda named jeko knight who does quick jabs and varying speed uppercuts, his honda rush is also often preceded by blinking eyes instead of a back dash, but when he does back dash the timing is totally different than you are used to. Sandman is replaced by nick bruiser who does not fall victim to the classic sandman trap(you jab, he dodges and follows with a hook) and will try and punish you severely for star punching him, he also follows up his right jab with a quick upppercut. Great Tiger is replaced with Princess Zelda who has different speed uppercuts and does the tiger rush alot, but you often wont have the hearts to capitalize on it making it much more challenging than you would expect. Mike Tyson/Dream is replaced with a blue version of Mr. Dream who presents a serious challenge, just to give you an idea, he starts the round off with a minute and a half of quick jabs that you really have to block and then counter punch, he then finishes the last half of the round with the one hit knock down uppercuts that Tyson is famous for. If at anytime he knocks you down you get up to a quick 4 hit combo that, if dodged successfully, gives you a chance to score an instant knock down with proper timing that I was never able to get.
This hack is a lot of fun, it is challenging and requires you to rethink everything you know about punch out, I don't think there is anything like it out there, but if you love punch out and have played it to death like I have this game is an absolute must play. This is definitely a hack that I will be revisiting during my annual punch out playthroughs.
Generally speaking I am not a fan of sprite swap rom hacks, I like my hacks to present an all new experience as much as possible, and when it comes to punch out hacks it is hard to find anything beyond simple sprite swaps or versions that have you fighting the same character over and over again, for example there is a hack called bald bulls punch out which just has you fighting slightly different variants of bald bull 14 times in a row.
Phreds punch out 2 turbo is a game that is both a sprite swap and an all new experience, I didn't think this was possible given how punch out was made but this game was a very pleasant surprise with lots of new challenges and character movesets.
First off, every character has been replaced with something, I'm not sure if the characters in this game are references that I didn't get are just all new random characters the developer made up, but other than princess zelda, who replaces great tiger, and doc louis, who replaces king hippo, I didn't recognize any of the characters.
The game plays exactly like classic punch out except that you begin every fight with 2 stars, get awarded with 2 stars when you get up from a knock down, and begin each round with 2 stars. There are also lots of different opportunities to earn stars during each fight. Other than that it is identical to the original.
The thing that makes this game worth playing is that most of the fights are fresh and challenging. Its funny, I have been gaming for about 35 years and when people talk about nes hard games I realize I have lost all perspective. Classic hardest of all time games like contra, castlevania 3, and ninja gaiden are easy for me because I have played through them hundreds of times in my life. Mike tysons punch out falls into this category as well, although I sometimes struggle with sandman, the rest of the game is easy for me, including mike tyson. I often wonder how would I fare if I didnt have all these guys patterns ingrained in my head, based on my performace in this rom hack the answer is not very good.
Most of the fights are new and fighters are given new attacks, new patterns, new star opportunituies, and new vunerabilities. Like punch out it starts out super easy, glass joe is replaced with some new nerdy accountant guy who I literally beat in 7 seconds my first time, von kaiser is replaced by a girl named lisa hicks, who I beat in under a minute and didnt seem to offer anything new, but the game really picks up as you get a few opponents in.
There are some low points, bald bull has been replaced with rick bruiser, who has a cool sprite but just does basic attacks the entire fight and is really easy, king hippo is replaced with doc louis who is a bit more aggressive and takes more damage but ultimately is easy, but most of the fights are really interesting and tough. A robot names SW 7 replaces soda popinski and super machoman, he has some really crazy variety to his attacks and I died a lot of times on both of them trying to figure out his new patterns, a masked piston honda named jeko knight who does quick jabs and varying speed uppercuts, his honda rush is also often preceded by blinking eyes instead of a back dash, but when he does back dash the timing is totally different than you are used to. Sandman is replaced by nick bruiser who does not fall victim to the classic sandman trap(you jab, he dodges and follows with a hook) and will try and punish you severely for star punching him, he also follows up his right jab with a quick upppercut. Great Tiger is replaced with Princess Zelda who has different speed uppercuts and does the tiger rush alot, but you often wont have the hearts to capitalize on it making it much more challenging than you would expect. Mike Tyson/Dream is replaced with a blue version of Mr. Dream who presents a serious challenge, just to give you an idea, he starts the round off with a minute and a half of quick jabs that you really have to block and then counter punch, he then finishes the last half of the round with the one hit knock down uppercuts that Tyson is famous for. If at anytime he knocks you down you get up to a quick 4 hit combo that, if dodged successfully, gives you a chance to score an instant knock down with proper timing that I was never able to get.
This hack is a lot of fun, it is challenging and requires you to rethink everything you know about punch out, I don't think there is anything like it out there, but if you love punch out and have played it to death like I have this game is an absolute must play. This is definitely a hack that I will be revisiting during my annual punch out playthroughs.