If there is one things all humans have been doing since the beginning of time, its punching each other in the head. If you have a sibling, you start at a very young age. There is something just oh so satisfying about balling up a fist and jamming it into the bread basket of a peer. But society frowns upon unprompted fisticuffs. Luckily for the human race, boxing video games have been around since videos games have been around in the mainstream. From Boxing on Intellevision to Fight Night, Boxing has been a mainstay of the hobby. These are the top 5 of all time.
5. Ready 2 Rumble
What do you get when you combine the ridiculous personalities of a cartoon and mash it with the arcade action of your favorite fighting games? You get the over-the-top boxing game Ready 2 Rumble. Created by Midway, Ready 2 Rumble oozed personality and was one of those games everybody seemed to own. It was released on PlayStation and Nintendo 64, but the game really shined on the short lived Sega Dreamcast. It made boxing accessible, mostly due to the fact that it leaned more on pure fighting mechanics than boxing mechanics. You beat the hell out of your opponent, dodging their flailing swings as you build on your RUMBLE meter. Once that bad boy is filled, you unleash a powerful flurry of blows that lights the screen, and your opponents skull. The game is pure fun.
4. Evander Holyfield’s Real Deal Boxing
There really is nothing can explain what this game was like to a small brain that was used to 8-bit sprites. Seeing this game in action, you can tell it was made with the love and attention to detail only fans of the genre could achieve. This was the first time a boxing game felt like a boxing match on TV. Hard hitting and strategic, Evender Holyfield’s Real Deal Boxing was aptly named. This would be the start of some really amazing Genesis boxing titles to come.
3. Muhammad Ali Heavyweight Boxing
Coming out the same year on the same system as Evender Holyfield’s Real Deal Boxing, was Muhammad Ali Heavyweight Boxing. These two games had similar boxing mechanics, but the way Ali’s game used 2d sprites in a faux 3d plane was way ahead of its time. Even true 3d boxing games that followed struggled to do what this game did in the 32 bit era. Perhaps more impressive than the 3d ring is the incredible animation done to the 2d sprites to make them appear 3d. Looking at this game in action, you can see how our minds were blown back in 1992.
2. Fight Night: Round 3
This game was THE game that you used to show off the power of the PS3/Xbox 360 back in 2006. The game was released on PS2 earlier in the year but it was the PS3 version that made jaws DROP out of your faces. The pure boxing mechanics married with broadcast accurate presentation made this one a must own. I think I watched 1 Pay-per-view boxing match in my life, but this game was a staple in my collection for years. In other words, you didn’t even need to like boxing to love this game.
1. Mike Tyson’s Punch Out!!
In all honesty, boxing video games probably wouldn’t be what they were in their heyday without Mike Tyson’s Punch Out!! paving the way. Playing the proverbial underdog in Little Mac, you punch, block, and dodge the attacks of incredibly well designed out “boss” characters. Are they mostly made of racial stereotypes? Yes…but don’t let that detract from the pure fun this game can be. This gem also has a ridiculously competitive speed running community, if simply playing the game for fun isn’t enough for you. If you owned a NES you probably owned this game with it. If you went to a buddy’s house who had an NES, he probably had this game. And if he had just “Punch Out!!”…walk away…you don’t need that kind of monster in your life.
What say you? Do you think there are better boxing games out there in the world? Sound off in the comments!
