That's right, Super Punch-Out!! The vastly improved sequel to the NES original (we're not counting the Arcade games here). I enjoyed the original Punch-Out!! plenty when I was a kid, but ever since my first encounter with Super Punch-Out!! a few years later I fail to understand why this game is so criminally overlooked, since it improves on the original in almost every way.
+Better Gameplay.
Gone is the useless and irritating hearts system. In its place we get more defensive options (body & face blocks in addition to ducking and dodging), a special meter that rewards being in the zone rather than memorizing random cues (like the star punches in the original), and some of the most satisfying punches & sound effects in any boxing or fighting game I've played.
+Spot-on Controls
They're among the most responsive of any game I've played and are far better than the awkward travel time of Little Mac's 20 foot jumping uppercuts from the first game.
+Time-Attack Gameplay
Instead of getting screwed out of a third knockdown by the end of a Round like in the first game, you get one continuous period of time in which to try to bring down your opponent as quickly and creatively as possible. The addition of Time Attack and score keeping creates a whole secondary game of trying to find the tricks to beating everyone quickly - at the height of my fandom, I could beat nearly every character in the game under a minute (and about a third of them under 20 seconds).
+Beautiful Spritework
Huge, colorful and charming graphics. This is what initially pulled me into the game. The original had some cool character sprite work, but there were tons of little inconsistencies and things that didn't make sense (like why is Bald Bull vomiting when I punch him in the face, and why is Little Mac less than 4 feet tall?)
+Awesome Music
And sound effects in general. But tell me this credit sequence track isn't the perfect finale to a blood pumping boxing game. I watch it all the way through every time.
+Interesting Characters
This seems to be where everyone gives the original NES game the edge, and while I agree that its characters are a bit more memorable overall, if you take off your nostalgia glasses you can see that Super Punch-Out!! has an awesome cast. Not to mention the original has its fair share of clunkers (sorry guys, Piston Honda really isn't any more interesting than, say, Rick Bruiser).
+Better Difficulty Curve
Overall Super Punch-Out!! is a bit too easy, but that's because as you progress through the game, most of the challenge is created through enemies with unique attack patterns rather than boring fighters who just have ludicrously powerful punches (see: Mike Tyson). This cat-and-mouse game of learning the proper patterns of dodges and blocks is way more fun than having your punch be less than 1/30th the power of your opponent's.
The game isn't perfect. Should've been a bit harder, final boss is pretty boring, and I wish they had brought back some different characters from the first game (Mr. Sandman? Blech.). But it has some of the most engaging gameplay of any game I've ever played and remains in my top 5 favorite games of all time...
...which is why I've been so disappointed with Punch-Out!! Wii. I picked it up last week used from Gamestop. Why'd they get rid of all of so many gameplay improvements from the sequel?! The punches no longer feel as impactful as they do in the SNES game, and why the shit do I have to deal with bullshit hearts again?! Not to mention the cast of the game is pretty underwhelming...I could have done with a few more Super Punch-Out!! characters or new boxers instead of it feeling like a remake of the NES game. Who was asking for Von Kaiser anyways? He's a pretty boring character.
At the very least, it made me pick up Super Punch-Out!! again and play through it a couple of times. I think I'm going to return it for another game, though.
