20 Iconic Gaming Moments You Must See Before You Die

16. Beating The Odds - Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!

Nintendo R&D3
Nintendo R&D3

Here's a fun little video game; one that recalls the - thankfully extinct - days where developers mistook unfair difficulty for genuine challenge. See that little pipsqueak cowering beneath the lumbering mass of muscle that is the digital Mike Tyson? That's Little Mac, and he's the punching bag you're supposed to beat the game with.

Just getting to the final round against Mr. Tyson is hard enough, but the final bout with the man himself is a lesson in futility if you haven't spent a series of sleepless nights memorising his attack patterns.

One well-placed left hook from Tyson will deplete your health bar faster than Sonic can race through Green Hill Zone and, while unfair, must be experienced first-hand just so you can get a snapshot of what passed as fair gameplay back in the day.

You better get back to your training.

Contributor
Contributor

Joe is a freelance games journalist who, while not spending every waking minute selling himself to websites around the world, spends his free time writing. Most of it makes no sense, but when it does, he treats each article as if it were his Magnum Opus - with varying results.