From old school NES Classics to the latest virtual brawlers, we’ll take a look at the TOP 10 Boxing Games of All-Time. Does your favorite boxing game make the list? There’s only one way to find out…
Ring King (NES) 1987
Ring King introduced many firsts for the genre of boxing video games. For starters, it was the first game where you were able to move around the ring – pretty much the largest damn boxing ring ever – along with your opponent. Another was the ability change the attributes (Power, Speed and Stamina only) of your fighter during an exhibition and during your progression in the rankings campaign.
The NES graphics weren’t as polished as the arcade version, but the style was still pretty much the same with everyone sporting a full-on 70s afro hairstyle looking like Salvador Sanchez along with a Ron Jeremy mustache. The punching mechanics were very basic with the jab, hook, uppercut and body jab. But the stronger and faster your boxer was in comparison to your opponent, the game would give you plenty of laughable moments, especially if you were one of those cheaters who used an NES Advantage controller (yeah you know who I’m talking to).
The recovery system was something interesting to behold if you were fast enough to hit the A and B buttons to revive your tired fighter…..or you could just cheat and use a turbo controller…but no one did that right?
Victorious Boxers (Playstation 2) 2000
A game based on the Japanese Anime Series Hajime no Ippo, Victorious Boxers was a story driven boxing video game starring Ippo Makunouchi as he tries to climb the rankings of the Japanese Featherweight Championships.
At the time the visual style of the game was a negative for many in the video game community (I personally did not mind it), but it was the accuracy in the boxing that was the greatest feature for this game. Not only did the game have a full story mode based on the hit anime series, but it also allowed players to step into the shoes of some of Ippo’s stablemates, unlocking certain boxers and showing how certain special punches were created (you had to fight a Bear. Like seriously a bear folks).
Besides a lot of cartoon like characters based on the anime, this game was as close to simulation as you can get. The big reason was the absence of the stamina and power bars that always made an appearance in many boxing games before it. I feel this was a significant move because it forced the user to consider not wasting punches and being cautious of gassing out. You could tell almost immediately when a boxer burned out because his punches were slow and weak and their movement around the ring reflected a fatigued fighter. The punch selection was numerous as well since the sweet science was so respected by the Japanese that the transition from anime to video game was an important part of the game overall.
A lot of the characters mimicked their comic versions (one fighter was slow but hit like a truck, another was fast and wiry and reminded me of Prince Naseem), but it was important to know the style of the fighter you selected how to use them in play. The game controls also gave the player so much more ability to bob and weave along with the ability to throw the punches, which transitioned into such a more fluid and simulated type of boxing gameplay experience. But, not only could you lean back and duck forward, you were able to shuffle to the left or right with quick feet and now able to throw punches at different angles. The analog sticks were coming more into play and giving developers more options regarding the defensive and offensive capabilities of the boxers and game in general. Victorious Boxers was a big part of the development of the core control scheme in boxing games.
Evander Holyfield’s Real Deal Boxing (Sega Genesis) 1992
Once Buster Douglas got knocked out, there was a big push to get a new face of boxing video games and Evander Holyfield’s Real Deal Boxing was by far one of the best boxing games out at the time.
One of the biggest features of the game was the training aspect that was mixed into the game when you were building your boxer up to fight for the Championship. Once you took a fight for the right amount of money you wanted if you won you could use that money to help build up attributes such as Power, Stamina, Speed and Defense.
The player was then able to select from several different choices (Sparring, Jump Rope, Diet, Speed Bag, Treadmill, Weight Lifting, Punching Bag, Head Guard) that would help increase one or sometimes several of the attributes at once. The punching system didn’t look as fluid and sometimes could be gimmicky if the right combos were thrown repeatedly thanks to the ability to duck down to the body area and back up top to throw to the head. Stamina was monitored a lot more as well as not only did you have the energy bar, but your head and body would start to go from color to gray when it was taking too much damage from blows.
Ready to Rumble Boxing (Dreamcast) 1999
This game was fun for a number of reasons. There were the over the top characters that you could actually use compared to wishing you could use from the Punch Out days, from Afro Thunder to the Mia St John look alike.
What Ready to Rumble did best was making sure that the characters would fight and feel like the way they were presented. Afro was flashy and fast and talked a lot of trash while Jet Chin used his martial arts boxing to land a bunch of blows. Ready to Rumble was pure entertainment with minimal realism to show for it and it was all right because it delivered how it was meant to deliver: an arcade boxing experience.
Stamina Bars were present along with the health meter, but the main point of the game was to land enough significant blows to spell “RUMBLE” almost like a game of “HORSE”. Once the letters are spelled you then trigger your character’s “special combo” move which would lead to a knockdown most times when played right.
What was overlooked by a lot of people was the analog ability with the controller to sway and move the boxer around for defense and counters. For as much as the game was an arcade fighter, that bit of magic with the ability to move and sway would make a huge impact on later boxing titles that would help push a more simulated style into play.
Greatest Heavyweights: (Sega Genesis) 1993
This game could have been called Evander Holyfield “Real Deal” Boxing 2, but Greatest Heavyweights (even though many of the greatest heavyweights were actually missing in this installment) was still a very good boxing game, especially when it came to the career mode.
The presentation was of a side-view, two-dimensional fighter cut off at the thigh area. Boxers were able to toss punches to the head and body and inflict damage to the face with eye cuts if the facial diagram was in the gray. Uppercuts were present and caused a significant amount of damage if landed right during exchanges.
A big part of the game was the inclusion of past champions in boxing history. Boxers such as Jack Dempsey, Rocky Marciano, Joe Louis, Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali and a few others were part of the game and looked very similar to their real-life counterparts. Their fighting styles were close in presentation as well as Marciano used power shots and Ali was more of a full range boxer when reached.
If you became the Champion, you were able to keep boxing in a series of “Challenge Matches” until you retired or got retired. Like Real Deal the player could progress thru the ranks and earn money which they were able to use to help build up the boxer’s attributes. You were also able to customize your boxer with a variety of different heights, weights and skins types (The Beast anyone?). The 2 v 2 component of the game provided challenges in regard to who could time the combos better as defense was at a minimum in this game.
Knockout Kings (Playstation, N64) 2000
This series brought boxing Legends from all different weight divisions into the game, which in my opinion was a huge victory for casual and hardcore boxing fans alike from all eras.
The list included many boxers from different weight divisions and boxing eras with 48 boxers total including Muhammad Ali, Alexis Arguello, Aaron Pryor, Marvin Hagler, Rocky Marciano, Roberto Duran, Erik Morales, even Floyd Mayweather (Mayweather was in the game and one of his attributes was 100 I believe).
Players were able to compete in a career mode thanks to a more enhanced Create-A-Boxer suite and try to win titles in Light, Middle and Heavyweight divisions. The game’s controls were able to be worked on in a training mode which also gave players the chance to try and learn the controllers and perfect their craft before heading into the ring. The game also introduced — for the first time — the “Slugfest Mode” which was just what it sounded like: No Refs, No Rounds and just pounding each other out until one person dropped. A sim heads nightmare, but right up the alley for most causal fans who just wanted to swing for the fences and see damage.
Fight Night (PS2, Xbox) 2004
With a new name after EA dropped the Knockout Kings title, Fight Night added a new dynamic that would be one of the greatest innovations in boxing controls as well as fighting controls for other genres in the future: the TPC (Total Punch Control) System.
Not only was the TPC a welcomed addition, but now users had the ability to hold the Triggers and activate certain actions regarding defensive moves (Body control and blocking control), which really opened the defensive abilities of many players to create more opportunities on offense.
This control scheme really made the user feel like you were doing something to create opportunity for offense and adjust when your needed to on defense. Unfortunately, the roster was not as robust as Knockout Kings 2000 as there were many repeats in different weight divisions (Roy Jones as Heavyweight and Middle Weight, Evander Holyfield as Middle Weight and Light Heavyweight and a few other repeats).
Fight Night Round 2 (PS2, Xbox, GCN) 2005
With all the momentum from Fight Night 2004, EA needed to try and build up from the foundation they set for themselves. The roster features 36 fighters, including Gatti, Corrales, Duran, and Mosley as well as the 1st appearances of Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao. Floyd Mayweather shows up again in addition to double-duty appearances by Roy Jones and Evander Holyfield in Light HW and HW.
The add-on to the TPC was the addition of the EA Haymaker punch, which was the go to move for a bunch of the headhunters who played the game. The Create-A-Boxer system was robust with options this time around as you were able to change weight classes for your boxer during Career Mode where you could fight as long as you wanted and weren’t forced to retire as in previous installments.
Also, the addition of the EA Sports cut man was a great mini game to have for players to help decrease damage the boxers took in the rounds and keep them in the fight. This was a big addition to the series given the player control as if they are making a difference for their virtual fighters.
Fight Night Round 3 (PS2, Xbox) 2006
This was the game that all boxing fans (hardcore sim and causal fans) were waiting for because it was a move into the Next Gen arena of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 area. The roster was set at 27 with the inclusion of 3 hidden fighters (Rey Mo LHW, Goliath and Big E (huge facepalm EA) that also had the double duty appearances of some fighters in different divisions. The soundtrack was arguably one of the best the series ever put out in my opinion. Online mode was a huge deal with the start of the next gen systems as many of the top players went online to compete against each other.
The Career mode was a nice step in the realms of authenticity as players started off boxing in the amateur circuit wearing headgears to avoid damage. Once they competed that circuit they moved on to the professional ranks. As they climbed the ladder, they were involved in rivalry fights . The game also included Classic mode thanks to ESPN broadcast time and the first-person view mode, a nod to a boxing gaming classic 4D Boxing.
The CAB system, in my opinion, was the best regarding the use of the analog sticks to manipulate the facial features of the boxer you were trying to create. Also, being able to add the type of punching and blocking style to your CAB was huge in trying to make boxers who were not in the final build of the game. TPC was still present as well as the addition or upgrades to three types of power punches for fighters: haymaker, the flash KO and the Stun punch. Most of these punches required “the good ole cranky” of the analog stick as the Stun punch was the only one that would put the person hit into the first-person perspective.
Fight Night Champion (PS3, Xbox 360) 2011
The very last boxing game from EA Sports before they packed up shop and moved over to UFC. For starters, Fight Night Champion looked amazing. Visuals are one of the major things that brings the people to want to play a video game, but those that look deep realize that gameplay was a deciding factor for many of us who were into boxing video simulation. TPC was gone and the introduction of the Full-Spectrum Punch Control was in full effect. The player was now able to only flick the right analog stick in a direction that produced a certain punch. There was also the addition of the power modifier button which allowed players to throw certain punches with extra power but kept players from trying to block and counter with it.
Blocking and leaning were still spot on and like the installments of old, giving the user the feeling of actually sticking and moving or creating angles to counter effectively. Online was giving a major overhaul as well with the additions of Online World Championship and gyms. But the biggest effort EA wanted to put out there was the Hollywood style presentation of the story mode entitled “Champion Mode”. This is where the player stepped into the shoes of Andre Bishop, a promising Amateur World Champion at Middleweight who is setup by a corrupt promoter and sent to prison and gets out to try and make a run at the Heavyweight Title. The story mode was fun for a few playthroughs, but faded fast after all the “conditions and plot twist” were played through.
The Create-A-Boxer system was advancement as users were able to make boxers with uploaded pictures to help other users online have the Floyd Mayweather or GGG they wanted to fight with. The roster was around 50 total fighters with some boxers being added in by DLC
Fighting in the Amateur World Championships after you went through the grind of building up your boxer from beginner to Open Class Boxer, and signing a deal with a promoter and moving along the ranks would have been such a welcomed and embraced addition by a lot of fans. The game is still played by a lot of users online to this day as they wait for EA to announce the return of a storied franchise. I would hope that day would come soon, but hope is a dangerous thing!
Mike Tyson’s Punch Out NES 1987
One of the greatest boxing video games to ever come out and to this day is still talked about by many boxing fans and casual fans alike.
With iconic characters and an underdog storyline, Mike Tyson’s Punch Out was a video game that, even though would not be considered a “simulation boxing game” by any means, still brought together people who weren’t even close to being boxing fans to the TV stand to try out and eventually take a shot at one of the most feared punchers on the planet in Tyson.
Punch Out was more of a patterned based fighting game where the user had to rely on cues and hints to beat the characters in the game. From King Hippo getting punched in the mouth to trigger his pants falling to Don Flamingo baiting you into punching him in the mouth and countering you with the nasty uppercut, the game was never short of entertainment for all who played it. Even though it lacked 3-minute rounds and, at times, believability (I mean, come on, I love Little Mac and that pink jumpsuit getting road work in behind Doc, but no way a tiny dude like that is beating a beefcake like Super Macho Man in real life with that Tornado Spin Punch let alone Mike Tyson), but what it lacked in realism it made up for with countless hours of fun for millions of people to enjoy.
That’s it for today’s list. Did you favorite boxing game make the list? Let us know in the comments below
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