The best retro plug and play video game systems

Old school gamers will always appreciate a good plug and play video game system that has all of their favorite classic video games on it. There are many of these types of systems out there, and the best thing about them is that all of the video games are built in. There is no need to buy any game disk or cartridges. All a person has to do is connect the power cord, hook up the audio and video wires and they will have a wide selection of retro video games to play.

I have owned many of these types of video game systems, and a person should never expect to receive one of the best made video game consoles. With that said, a person should not ever hesitate in buying one of these things. If someone does not abuse the system, they will last a very long time. They are usually made of cheap plastic, so if someone abuses it and is rough with  it, chances are that it will not last them very long.

The Power Player video game system is probably the best old school plug and play video game system in the market. The console has various names that it goes by and often changes as the years go by. I remember when it used to be called simply Power Player. It would also have something on the box that said something like 76,000 in one. Supposedly, this was meant to lead someone to believe that there was 76,000 video games on the system. Honestly, there does not even exist that many old school video games. In reality, the Power Player actually will have between 76 and 100 video games on it. When someone turns the system on, they will see a list of games to choose from all the way up to 76,000. The thing is that the original 76 or so games are constantly repeated. Many times, on the repeated listing, a player will be able to start their game on a certain level. For example, Arkanoid may be the 20th game on the list, and when a player chooses it they will begin on level one and play a regular game. Arkanoid may also be listed as the 155th game and have a player begin at level two. It will also be listed as the 280th game and have a player begin the game on level three. This goes on and on all the way up to 76,000!

Some of the games also do not have the original game title on them. This is purposely done by the manufacturers to avoid any legal issues that they may come across. For example, the game Dig-Dig may be titled as Digger-Man and things of that sort. There has been some legal controversy over the years about these type of game systems, but they continue to be a success in the market as old school gamers love them.

As mentioned earlier, back in the old days, the Power Player was simply known as that. Later, it was known as the Power Blaster as this was the imprinting on the box. As of now, many people will find that they will find the Power Kracker. They are all basically the same thing, and the only difference may me a few games on the system. They basically have the same games. Off the top of my head, some of the games on the Power Player are Super Mario Brothers, Contra, Galaga, Dig-Dug, Space Invaders, Defender, Joust and many others. The system comes with two controllers, and while playing some of the games, two players can play at the same time. A gun piece is also included, but it will not work with newer televisions. Most people think that the gun is defected, but it will only work on old tube televisions. Something about the LCD/Plasma screens do not allow the gun to work. This should be no problem for most people though as there are only a few games on the system that would use the gun. If you are an old school gamer who is looking for an inexpensive video game console to play all of the classics, you may want to purchase yourself a Power Player video game system. There are a few other old school plug and play video game systems out there that are good purchases, and I will tell you about those ones later.

Super Mario Brothers

Super Mario Brothers is classic video game that was released in late 1985 as part of the Nintendo Entertainment System console. The game was a sequel to the 1983 arcade game, Mario Brothers. Super Mario Brothers would become one of Nintendo's most successful games of all time. Mario, eventually became the mascot of Nintendo and to this day is one of the most recognizable video game characters.

About Super Mario Brothers

Super Mario Brothers can be played as a one or two player game. Player number one will control Mario and player number two will control Luigi. Unlike the original arcade Mario Brothers game, both players are not able to play at the same time. Instead, they will take turns playing. Player number one will play first with Mario. When a life is lost, player two will then play with Luigi.

The goal of Super Mario Brothers is to save Princess Toadstool. To do so, Mario will have to pass various levels of the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario will move from the left side of the screen to the right side to reach the end of each level. Along the way, he will encounter many enemies and challenges. A player will know that they have reached the end of a level when they reach a flagpole. This flagpole is not on the fourth level of each world but is in the first three levels of each world. A player will lose a life when they get touched, shot, fall into the pit of the game or time runs out on a level.

The main way for Mario to defeat enemies is to jump on them. There will be different consequences to doing this with different types of enemies. For example, when Mario stomps on a Goomba, they will immediately be defeated. A Koopa Troopa on the other hand will retract into its shell. Mario can then use it as weapon to defeat other enemies in his path.

The Story of Super Mario Brothers

Bowser one day decided to take over the Mushroom Kingdom after being filled with jealousy. He casts a spell on the kingdom that turns all inhabitants into various objects like blocks, weeds, etc. The only person with the power to undo the spell is Princess Toadstool. To prevent this from happenind, Bowser kidnaps her. Mario and Luigi then take on the tasks of finding Princess Toadstool so the kingdom can be restored.

Enemies

Goombas

This is the enemy that most people are familiar with when they think about Super Mario Brothers. They are the first ones that a player will see when they begin a game. This species of sentient mushroom walk around clueless and are not much harm unless they are touched. A simple jump on top of them and they will be squashed and defeated.

Koopa Troopa

The Koopa Troopa are turtles that walk around certain areas in the game. There are two different kind of Koopa Troopas. The most common one is the green ones. They are not very smart and if there is a cliff, they will walk right off of it and die. The red ones on the other hand are a bit smarter. They are seen less often but have the brain capacity to stop when they are heading for a cliff and will turn around and walk back the other way. To defeat them, Mario will have to jump on them. Once this is done, they will hide in their shell and just stay there. If Mario jumps on one of them again or kicks it, they will go sliding and if there is a pitfall they will go down it and never be heard from again. If there is an obstacle in their way, they will rebound off of it the other way. If there are obstacles on both of its sides, they will continue to rebound off of the obstacles back and forth nonstop. Other enemies in the shell's path will be killed and defeated. Mario, will also die if the sliding Koopa Troopa hits him.

Koopa Paratroopa

These are the same as the Koopa Troopas except they have wings. The green Koopa Paratroopa will bounce toward Mario. The red Koopa Partroopa move in an up and down motion. By jumping on them, they will lose their wings and turn into normal Koopa Troopa.

Lakitu

This enemy will be sitting in a smilling cloud on top of the screen. He has a striped tail and sports goggles. He will follow Mario and continually toss Spinies at him.

Spiny

These creatures are thrown to the ground by Lakitu. Once they are on the ground, these creatures walk around just like other enemies. Mario will not be able to jump on them though as they have spikes on their backs.

Hammer Brothers

These enemies will throw hammers at Mario. To get by them, a player will need to either just jump over them and proceed or stomp on them. When Mario gets really close to them, they cannot throw the hammer at him, but they can still touch him, which will make him lose a life.

Buzzy Beetle

These enemies act like the Koopa Troopas. They have dark shells that look dark bluish. When jumped on, they will hide in their shell and can be kicked just like the Koopa Troopas. There shells are so tough that when Mario shoots a fireball at them it will not affect them.

Pirhana Plant

These carnivorous plants come out of some of the pipes during the game. If Mario makes contact with one of them, he will lose his life. A good thing to note is that they will never come out of a pipe if Mario is already standing on it.

Bullet Bills

These are shot from cannons. If Mario is standing on or next to a cannon, they will not come out.

Cheep Cheep

These fish are found in water levels and can only be defeated with fireballs. During regular land levels, they will jump out from the bottom of the screen. Mario must avoid being hit by them.

Bloober

These are squid like enemies that swim toward Mario when he is in a water level. Of all the enemies in Super Mario Brothers, they seem to be the most persistent at chasing. The only way to defeat them is with a fireball.

Poboboo

This is the name of the fire that pops up from the lava when someone is on a castle level.

Firebar

These will be found in some of the castle levels. They are a bunch of fireballs that are put together to for a long bar of fire. They will move either clockwise or counter clockwise. The length of each one will vary.

Coins

Throughout Super Mario Brothers, a player will notice that there are coins scattered all over the place. These coins are good to collect as getting 100 of them will give a player an extra life. The coins are usually seen very easily, but there are some hidden coins. There are bricks that are marked with a question mark on them that Mario can hit from below and collect multiple coins. The question mark does not guarantee that it will be coins. Sometimes it will be another beneficial item. There are also sometimes invisible bricks that can be found. These invisible bricks will also have lots of coins for Mario to collect. On some levels, a player can go into one of the green pipes that they will see. These pipes lead to a sort of special world. Many of these special worlds will not have any enemies in there and will be filled with coins for Mario to collect.

Mushrooms

The bricks with question marks can also give a mushroom. When Mario hits it from below, a mushroom will start moving to the right. If Mario is able to get the mushroom, he will increase in size. Being a big Mario has two advantages. First, if a player gets hurt by an enemy, he will decrease in size back to little Mario instead of losing his life. Second, Mario will be able to break up and destroy the bricks that he hits from below. When Mario is little, he is not able to do this.

Extra Lives

As mentioned above, an extra life is awarded to a player every time they collet 100 coins. Besides that, there are other ways to earn extra lives. There are green and orange mushrooms that Mario can get to earn an extra life. These mushrooms look just like the regular mushrooms that turn little Mario into big Mario except the color is different. Also, when Mario stomps on a turtle, he can kick it and follow it. If it hits eight other turtles, an extra man is rewarded.

Fire Flower

A fire flower is a very valuable tool that Mario can sometimes pick up. When big Mario gets this, he will change colors and be able to shoot his enemies with fireballs. When he is damaged by an enemy, he will shrink down to little Mario and will lose his firepower. If a player is little Mario at the time he gets the fire flower, it will not give him fire power. Instead, it will take on the task of a regular mushroom and turn him into big Mario.

Starman

Starman is a running star that Mario can catch to get a special power that will allow him to become invincible like. When Mario gets this, exciting fast music starts playing, and Mario can run into all of his enemies without being killed. Instead, the enemies will all be defeated as Mario runs into them. This is only temporary until the starman affect wares off. A player will know it has worn out when the exciting music stops playing. The starman can be found when Mario hits a block in concealed areas.

Worlds of Super Mario Brothers

There are eight worlds in the game. Each world has four sub-levels (stages.) The first three levels of each world will end with a flagpole that Mario has to jump on. On the final stage of each world, Mario will be in a castle where he will battle Bowser or a false Bowser. Some levels will take place under water where Mario will have to swim.

World 1-1

In the very first level of the game, a player is forced to learn the fundamentals of the game. This is when a player will learn that a mushroom is a good thing, that you can jump on Goombas and other various aspects of the game. This level is very easy for an experienced player. There are only three pitfalls on the level that a player can fall in. There are three mushroom on the level and besides the Goombas, a player will also see one Koopa Troopa. Mario will have 400 seconds to complete the stage.

Map of world 1-1


World 1-2

This is the first time in the game that a player will play in an underground level. It contains elevator platforms, warp pipes and piranha plants. From this level, a player will find  warp zones that will allow Mario to warp to world two, world three or world four. Almost at the end of the level, there will be raising platforms. From here, a player can jump on the roof and bypass the regular pipe that ends the level. A player will then see three pipes that each lead to the level of their choosing. In this world, a player can also access the minus world. This minus world is known to be one of the greatest glitches in video game history. A bit more about this will be talked about later.

Map of world 1-2

The warp zones found on level 1-2

World 1-3

In this world, Mario will have to maneuver through giant mushrooms. There are some elevator platforms that will have to be used to jump from one mushroom to another. Besides getting through the obstacle of the world, a player will run into two Koopa Troops and two Koopa Paratroopas.

Map of world 1-3


World 1-4

This is the first castle world that Mario will have to get through. The level starts off with Mario going down a stair type area. Mario will then have to jump over a gap to avoid the lava below. Two more gaps are then encountered with a firebar in the way. Once past that, a player will have to get past six other firebars in the level until they reach the fake Bowser. The fake Bowser will shoot fireballs at Mario. To pass him, a player will have to run under him when he jumps or jump over him. When a player touches the ax, the bridge that the fake Bowser is on will collapse and he will be defeated. A mushroom retainer is then saved, and a player will see the message "Thank you Mario, but our princess is in another castle." Another way Mario can defeat the fake Bowser is by using fireballs if he is big Mario.

Map of world 1-4


World 2-1

Like Word 1-1, world 2-1 is in a grass type area, but this world will be slightly more difficult. The level begins with three brick blocks with one of them containing a mushroom. There is also a hidden block on the level that has a 1-Up free man mushroom. On the level, a player will also find some brick blocks with one of them unleashing a beanstalk that Mario can climb to coin heaven. It is optional if a player wants to go up it or not, but with all of the coins to gain,, a player usually will. Near the end of the level, there is a trampoline that a player must jump on to get onto the ten-tile tower that will allow Mario to get to the flagpole, thus ending the level.

Map of world 2-1

Mario in Coin Heaven level in World 2-1

World 2-2

This is the first time that a player will have to have Mario (or Luigi) swim in an underwater world. There are only to types of enemies on this level, the Bloopers and the Cheep-Cheeps. The only way to kill the enemies is with fireballs. If a player is small Mario, the only way to get through the level safely will be to swim around and avoid all enemies. Even though the level is underwater, there are still three gaps that a player must not fall in or else they will lose a life. There is a pipe at the end of the level that takes Mario back to a ground level. Once through this pipe and on ground level, there is a flagpole that a player will have to jump on to officially end the level. On a side note, if a player loses a life by a Blooper, they will no longer be on the level anymore when a player continues play with the next man.

Map of word 2-2

Mario swimming in World 2-2

World 2-3

Even though the sea cannot be seen, this world is a seaside themed level. Mario (or Luigi) will have to make their way across a bunch of bridges. Some of the bridges will be broken and others will be unbroken. While trying to get through the obstacle, a player will be bothered by Cheep-Cheeps that will fly up into the air from the bottom of the screen. If they hit Mario, a player will lose a life.

Map of world 2-3


World 2-4

This is the second castle level a player will have to get through. There are many gaps that are filled with lava below. There are also many Firebars and Podoboos on the level. This is the first time in the game that a player will encounter Podoboos in the game. These fireballs will jump up from the lava making the obstacle to get through he level difficult for a player. A player will then have to pass a fake Bowser as they did in world 1-4.

Map of world 2-4


World 3-1

World 3 is the first world in the game that takes place in a night time setting. Many of the already familiar enemies are encountered on this level, but a new enemy is introduced, the Hammer Bros. They will throw hammers at a player very quickly. There is a beanstalk on this level that a player can go up.

Map of world 3-1


World 3-2

This ground level is filled with white clouds in the darkness. The level is pretty straight (meaning that it is flat.) There will be lots of enemies on this level such as Goombas, Koopa Troopas, Koopa Paratroops and Piranha plants. Concentrating on getting past these enemies and a player will be fine.

Map of world 3-2


World 3-3

In this level,  Mario (or Luigi) will be trying to get through the obstacle at a great height. Enemies found on this level will be Goombas, Koopas and Paratroopas. There are not as many enemies as the previous level, but there are large gaps during the course in the level that a player must be careful of. There will be moving platforms and suspended platforms that will test a player's jumping skills.

Map of world 3-3



Platforms from level 3-3

World 3-4

This is the third castle level of the game. Firebars and Podoboos will be found on this level. Many of the Firebars will be turning from the ground and others will be turning from the roof. This will make the level  bit more challenging to a player. Once someone has gotten through all of this, they will have to defeat another false Bowser.

Map of world 3-4


World 4-1

The sunlight is back out on this flat level and the first thing a player will see is a green pipe. Right after this pipe, a player will notice that on top of the screen is a Lakitu tossing down Spinies. If a Spinie hits Mario (or Luigi), a player will lose a life. When a player avoids them when they are tossed, the Spinies will start walking around on the ground.  Mario cannot jump on them to defeat them due to their sharp backs. They can be shot with a fireball if a player is equipped with it. The Lakitu is basically the main enemy of this level and can be defeated to avoid more Spinies. There are a few places on the level were a player an get high enough so they can jump on the Lakitu or shoot him with a fireball. If someone does this, a second Lakitu will appear later in the level.

Map of world 4-1


World 4-2

This is the second of two underground level in the game ( the other being level 1-2. ) This level will be much more difficult than the previous as there are many more enemies. Lots of Goombas, Koopa Troopas and Piranha plants will be encountered. Buzzle Beetles will also be seen for the first time in the game. There will also be long and very high pipes on the level to increase the difficult of the level. The level ends when a player enters the final pipe and then goes to a flagpole. The level also has warp zones that a player can use to go to world five, world six, world seven or world eight. The warp pipe to level five can be accessed by riding the last elevator platform as high as possible and jumping onto the roof. Once on the roof, a player will continue walking to the right and then see a pipe below that will warp them to level five. The level six, seven and eight warp zone pipes can be found by finding a beanstalk that is located right after the first elevator platform of the level. There are invisible blocks there that a player must hit in order to get high enough to hit a certain brick that will ignite the beanstalk to come out and grow. Once done, a player can climb the beanstalk and will be taken to a place with lots of coins sitting on colorful mushrooms. As a player makes their way, they will then see three warp pipes with each one going to a certain world.

Map of world 4-2


World 4-3

This level is set at extreme heights like world 3-3. There will be lots of elevator platforms as well as some falling ones. Enemies on this level will be Koopa Troopas and Koopa Paratroopas. The entire level takes place on top of giant colorful spotted mushrooms.

Map of world 4-3


World 4-4

This fourth castle level will have Firebars, Podoboos and the other basics that past castle worlds have had. There are Piranha plants in it too. There are also parts of the level that become like a maze. If a player goes the wrong way, they will be stuck by hitting a wall and will have to backtrack. A player must go through certain sections in the correct order in order to reach the end of the level to face another false Bowser.

Map of world 4-4


World 5-1

In this world, Piranha plants are found in every single pipe. Goombas, Koopas, Koopa Paratroopas are also on this level. A new enemy, the Bullet Bill is seen for the first time. Most of the level is flat, except for a few high obstacles a player must jump over.

Map of world 5-1


World 5-2

Very similar to the previous level, except it has lots of high blocks that a player must jump over. All the regular enemies will be found on this level including Buzzy Beetles. This is the first time that a player will encounter these guys in an above ground level instead of an underground level.

Map of world 5-2


World 5-3

This is another level that is of great heights. It is very similar to world 1-3 except that the moving platforms are of much smaller size. This makes the jumping safely much more difficult. There are also Bullet Bills flying across the screen during the level. The source of the Bullet Bills is not found anywhere on the level.

Map of world 5-3


World 5-4

This castle level is very similar to world 2-4. The Firebars in this level are much longer though. There are also many more Podoboos. A player will have to defeat yet another false Bowser.

Map of world 5-4

World 6-1

Once again, night time has come, and the entire level six takes place in the dark. Enemies found on this level will be the Lakitu, Spinies and Piranha Plants. The Lakitu is the main nemesis on this level, and if a player can get avoid him and his Spinies, they should have no problem passing the level.

Map of world 6-1


World 6-2

There are no new type of enemies on this level. All enemies encountered will have previously been encountered by a player. There are lots of pipes on this level with Piranha Plants, and there is a secret underwater area that a player can gain access to through a warp pipe. Reaching the flagpole will end the level.

Map of world 6-2


World 6-3

This is another level that is set at great heights.  The only enemies that a player will encounter on this level are Bullet Bills. Beside dodging these, the main thing to do is to try not to fall as there are many elevator and falling platforms that a player must jump on and off of.

Map of world 6-3


World 6-4

Another castle level here but with more Firebars and Podoboos. It is very similar to past castle levels. Defeating the fake Bowser will let a player proceed on to the next world.

Map of world 6-4


World 7-1

Things start to get much more difficult here as a player is nearing the end of the game. There will be Koopa Troopas, Buzzy Beetles, Bullet Bills, Piranha Plants and Hammer Bros. There are more Bill Blasters on this level than any level a player has played previously in the game. The level ends when a player makes it to the flagpole.

Map of world 7-1


World 7-2

This level is set under water and is the last under water level of the game. It is very similar to level 2-2 but has much more Bloopers in it. There are also Cheep-Cheeps on the level. Piranha Plants will appear once a player exit the pipe. Shooting enemies with fireballs is the only way to defeat the Bloopers and Cheep-Cheeps. If a player does not have the fire flower power, the best thing for them to do is to try and avoid all enemies.

Map of world 7-2

World 7-3

This world is similar to level 2-3 as it is set at seaside. Once again, a player will have to try and dodge all of the Cheep-Cheeps that will be flying up from the ground. Besides that, this time a player will also have to deal with Koopa Troopas that are encountered. Even though similar to 2-3, it is much more challenging.

Map of world 7-3


World 7-4

This level is similar to the castle level of world 4-4 because a maze must be solved before encountering the fake Bowser. This is actually the last fake Bowser that a player must defeat until battling the real Bowser. Besides on Firebar and a few Podoboos, the only thing a player has to worry about I figuring out the maze before running out of time. To pass the first maze, the player has to take the bottom path, middle path, then top path. The second maze requires the player to take the top path, middle path, then top path.

Map of world 7-4


World 8-1

This is the beginning of the final world of the game. This level is a flat land level, but it has many large gaps in it that have a mere single brick to land on. A secret to many of these one brick wide platform is to run fast through them. It may seem as if Mario (or Luigi) will fall, but they will safely get past it. For obstacles that  player must jump, this will require a player to have good jumping and timing skills. The Buzzy Beetle, Koopas and Goombas will make the level more challenging. This level is really long compared to others, and a player will have a less amount of time to complete it. The level will end when a player has reached the flagpole.

Map of world 8-1


World 8-2

A staircase is the first thing a player will encounter in this level. Koopa Paratroops will then be encountered and a Lakitu. Lots of gaps, pipes and Bullet Bills will need to be gone through for a player to reach the end of the level.

Map of world 8-2


World 8-3

There are a wide variety of enemies that a player will face on this level. There are more Hammer Bros on this level than any other of the game. Making things more difficult for a player will be the separation of the two hammer bros. A player will know that they have reached the end of the level when they see a broken up staircase that eventually leads to the flagpole.

Map of world 8-3


World 8-4

When a player has reached this point of the game, they have reached the final and most difficult level of the game. There are many puzzles to be solved in order to get to the next section of the level. Remember, the time clock is always ticking and if not figured out in time, a player will lose a man. Almost every enemy in the game is encounter on this level. During the path to reach Bowser, Mario (or Luigi) will have to go though an under water area. To get through the maze, a player only needs to remember to go through every pipe that is directly after a lava pit. Once a player reaches Bowser, they will have to defeat him as they have done to all the fake Bowsers in the game. Once Bowser is defeated, the princess thanks Mario (or Luigi), tells him that his quest is over and that she presents him a new quest.  A player will start the game over from level 1-1 but there will be Buzzy Beetles in place of Goombas to make the game much more difficult.

Map of world 8-4

Warp Pipes

As previously mentioned, there are warp pipes that can be found on level 1-2 and level 4-2. To reach world 8, a player can actually only play only four  levels. If someone's goal is to pass the game, this is certainly the thing to do. It must be noted though that world 8 I very difficult and having as many men as possible is always best. For this reason, many players like to lay straight through the game to gain as many men as possible for when they reach world 8.

Super Mario Brothers Strategies

Super Mario brothers is a classic video game that we all had to learn the tricks to by constantly playing it. Many times, we would discover new things on accident. Learning to control Mario (or Luigi) is very important and is something that can only be done by spending enough time playing. Super Mario Brothers is a retro game that will require practice. Most of the things that you need to know will be found on this page.

My personal experience playing Super Mario Brothers

Super Mario Brothers was out when I was gaining interest in other things in life besides video games. With that said, I was still playing video game though when I could and when I did, it was mostly Super Mario Brothers. In my hay day, I could get through this whole game with no problem. Just a couple of weeks ago, I played and have not lost a step. I past the whole game on my first try.

Interesting facts about Super Mario Brothers

There has always been a rumor that Mario could jump over the flag that is at the end of each level. Even though everyone said it was possible, I and everyone else could not testify that they ever did it or saw anyone else do it. The video game website Gametrailers confirmed that it is possible. Doing a little research about this, I found this video that someone may be interested in looking at. It shows someone actually doing it. So, yes, it is possible after all for Mario to jump over the flag.

The minus world is a glitch in Super Mario Brothers that is one of the most famous glitches in video game history. It can be accessed from level 1-2.  By standing on the pipe that lead to the flagpole at the end of the world, a player can position Mario (or Luigi) to go through the glitch. They will have to duck while jumping to the right. For someone who has never done it, it will take many tries. Mario will then go through the pipe and through the bricks and be at the point where someone has access to the pipes that normally lead to levels two, three and four. Instead, going through the pipe will take Mario to an under water world. This world is actually level 36 but will be displayed as world -1. Once a player reaches this level, there is no way out and they will lose all their men. The reason for this is that once they go through the pipe at the end of the world, they will be taken back to the beginning of the level. Time will run out and they will lose. If everything is done properly, Mario will see the three pipes in front of him from the warp zone . If he enters the pipe to the far left or far right, he will find himself in the Minus World. If he goes in the pipe in the middle, it will bring him to World 5-1. If the player makes the brick wall on the far right visible, however, the glitch will end.

 

 

 

Play Super Mario Brothers Right Now

There is a good online flash version of Super Mario Brothers that you can play right now on your computer. I played the first couple of levels and everything seems great. The game is pretty easy to control with your keyboard ( Of course a joystick is always better.) If you want to relive your Super Mario Brothers memories, this is a great place to start.

Play Super Mario Brothers Now!

Mike Tyson's Punch Out

In 1987, NES released Mike Tyson's Punch Out. The boxing game derived from the original classic arcade game that was simply titled, Punch Out. In Mike Tyson's Punch Out, a player took on the role of Little Mac, a 17 year old who is 4 feet and eight inches tall and weighs 107 pounds. His trainer is Doc Louis. Doc gives Little Mac pointers in between rounds and hints on how to beat the opponent. The referee of the matches is Nintendo's icon Mario.

Little Mac will have to go through many fights to reach the dream fight against Mike Tyson. Little Mac can throw a right hook body blow, left hook body blow, right jab to the face or left jab to the face. There is also an uppercut punch that a player can use when he earns a star. This star punch can be very important to beat opponents and is Little Mac's secret weapon. This uppercut punch will cause sever damage to an opponents energy level. As far as defense in concerned, a player can dodge left, dodge right, block and duck.

The Development of Mike Tyson's Punch Out

Many people do not realize that Nintendo sort of lucked out. Why? Because when they offered Mike Tyson a three year payment offer for using his name in the game, he was not even the WBC Heavyweight Champion at the time. This is not to say that the game would not have succeeded, but when Mike Tyson became the heavyweight champion of the world on November 22, 1986, it certainly helped the marketing campaign of the game.

The NES game, Mike Tyson's Punch Out, was directed by Genyo Takeda, the same person who produced the original arcade Punch Out game. Due to the limitation in the hardware that the NES console had, he quickly realized that there were certain things that this NES game could not have that the arcade version of Punch Out had. There would be no wired-framed and transparent boxer for a player to control. Instead, the crew just shrunk the boxer that a player would control. Some notable things that  Mike Tyson's Punch Out had that the arcade game Punch Out did not have includes music that is played during the fights and animated scenes. Mike Tyson's Punch Out also added new characters in the game that a player would have to face.

About Little Mac

Little Mac is a young and small boxer with a lot of heart. He is only four feet, eight inches tall and is a light 107 pounds. He hails from the Bronx, NY. His first Nintendo appearance was in Mike Tyson's Punch Out and he has been in every single Punch Out game thereafter. The only Punch Out game he was not in was the original arcade Punch Out game. Throughout Mike Tyson's Punch Out, Little Mac will face opponents who are more than twice his size. Thanks to his star uppercut punch, Little Mac is dedicated to getting to the dream fight against Mike Tyson and beating him.

During the game, Little Mac will have a stamina meter on top of the screen. Every time he gets hit by an opponent, it will go gradually go down. Opponents also have a stamina meter and the same rules apply. When Little Mac or his opponents stamina meter goes all the way down, they will be knocked down. For a player to get Little Mac up, they must hit the controllers repeatedly. If they get knocked down too many times, Little Mac will try to get up but will not be able to.

Stars

During a fight, a player can earn Little Mac up to three stars at one time. Only when Little Mac has a star is he able to throw his monster uppercut punch. This punch will take down a large portion of opponents stamina energy. For every opponent, there are different ways to get a star during the fight. It will take a certain type of hit in a certain situation to get it. If a player has any amount of stars and does not use them before getting hit, they will lose the stars but are still able to get more.

Hearts

There will be hearts on the top of the screen. Whenever Little Mac blocks an opponents punch, he will lose a heart. The amount of hearts a player starts off with will depend on the opponent they are fighting. When all the hears are lost, Little Mac will be considered very tired and will not be able to throw a punch until he recuperates. During this time, the opponent will attack with punches, and a player will need to dodge the punches until they recuperate and can start fighting back again.

Mike Tyson's Punch Out characters and Strategies to beat them

 

Glass Joe

Glass Joe resides from Paris, France, and is a player's first opponent in the game.  He is 38 years old and weighs in at 110 pounds. He is considered by many to be the scrub of the game. He has a professional career record of 1-99. It is ironic that the one victory was a KO. Glass Joe is 38 years old and seems to be ready for retirement. With all of that said, Glass Joe is certainly a classic character due to the fact that he appears as the first opponent in both the arcade version of Punch Out and Mike Tyson's Punch Out. Glass Joe is very simple to beat. Jab him in the face if he is blocking body blows. Give him body blows when he is blocking jabs to the face. There will come a time during the fight that he will back up and give a "c'mon" type gesture. Some call this the Vive Le France taunt. When he does this, it is a good opportunity to knock him out. As he comes forward, a player will want to time a jab to his face and Glass Joe will go down. Sometimes, after being knocked down once, Glass Joe will block a bit better. To get him to open up, you can let him throw a punch, dodge left or right and then counter with six straight jabs to his face.

Von Kaiser

Von Kaiser is the next boxer that little Mac will have to face. He is heavier than Glass Joe, who stands at just above the 100 pound mark. At the age of 42, he is much older though. Von Kaiser is a former boxing teacher at the Germany military academy. He is also easy to beat. When the fight starts, he will come out throwing  a left punch, a player will need to dodge it and counter with continuous jabs to his face. A player should know the sign before he throws a punch. When he wiggles his head from side to side, he is about to throw a punch. During the fight, he will also throw some uppercuts. You can dodge these uppercuts and give him jabs to the face, or give him a body blow. A body Blow in this situation can earn a player a star.

Piston Honda

Next up is the WVBA Minor Circuit champion title match against Piston Honda. Piston Honda is a much tougher opponent than Glass Joe and Von Kaiser. He is from Tokyo, Japan, is 28 years old and weighs in at 174 pounds. He has an impressive 26-1 record and has knocked out 18 of his opponents. Piston Honda may be difficult for a beginner to defeat, but with some practice, he will become very easy. When fighting him, the first thing someone will notice is the difficulty in landing a punch on him. Piston Honda will block almost everything that Little Mac throws at him. If a player is able to get a hit in, they can earn a star. The best thing to do is to save energy and just wait for him to throw a punch. His punch is very fast and a player will need to know when he is going to punch so that they can dodge it. How do you know when Piston Honda is going to punch? Pay attention to his eyebrows. Before he punches, he will twitch his eyebrows. When he throws a jab, it will open him up and allow a player to sneak in two jabs to his face. Do this for a while until he changes his strategy for the fight. He will then start throwing hooks. Dodge these hooks and counter him with five or six jabs to his face. Sometime during the fight, he will crouch down and give explosive uppercuts. If a player is able to dodge these uppercuts, Piston Honda himself will be shocked, and it will give a player an opportunity to hit him multiple times in the face. Piston Honda has a signature move that he will use. He will step back, dance around the ring and then come straight for Little Mac. He will go crazy throwing fast jabs at you. For every jab that he hits you with, he will add another jab punch. If a player is getting continuously hit, Piston Honda will jab Little Mac until he goes down. It is very difficult to dodge all of these jabs. Some players will block all the jabs by pressing down each time he punches. This needs to be timed perfectly because if not timed correctly and a jab hits Little Mac, chances are that Little Mac will feel the affects of more jabs until the timing of blocking is done again. If a player wants to get some punches in there between the blocks, they can hit Piston Honda in the face four time, block again, hit him in the face four times, block again and continue this pattern. The best thing to do when Piston Honda does his signature move is to cut him off before he can throw his continuous jabs. After stepping back and dancing, when he comes forward, give him a body blow and he will go down. You have to time it perfectly. Even though Piston Honda is much more challenging than the first two opponents, he is quite easy to beat.

To celebrate his new Minor Circuit Championship, Mac will take an afternoon jog through New York City with Doc leading the way on his bike. The jog will end at the Statue of Liberty, and a player is given a password that they can use anytime to continue the game at their current position . They will no longer have to fight in this division anymore and can continue with Don Flamenco.

Don Flamenco

A player's next title run will begin with Don Flamenco. The Spaniard from Madrid has a 22-3 record with 9 KO's. He can be challenging for someone who does not know the secret to beating him, but once this secret is known, he is just as easy to beat as Glass Joe. When the match begins, he will have a flower in his mouth. Some have said that the flower is to bribe the referee, Mario. There is no telling where that saying came from, but you judge for yourself. As the match begins, he has a strategy of not throwing any punches at you. He will just stand their on defense waiting for you to throw a punch so he can block it and throw one of his big uppercuts. What a player wants to do is dodge that uppercut and hit him in his face. This is where the secret to beating Don Flamenco comes in. When you hit him in his face, you do not want to stop. You will want to hit him in the face with the right hand, then the left hand, the right hand, left hand, right hand, left hand and continue to do so until he goes down. As long as you do this, he will not gain his composure back. If you mess up and throw a right after a right or mess up the sequence in any way, he will gain his composure back. After knocking him down, he will get back up. When he does, he will immediately throw a huge uppercut. Dodge it, and then do the sequence again.

King Hippo

King Hippo is unlike any other fighter than a player has faced up to this point. He resides from Hippo Island (wherever that is) and his age and weight are unknown. He is the largest fighter (weight wise) and can be a nightmare to pass for someone who does not know the secret to beating him. Without knowing the secret to beating King Hippo, a player will never be able to beat him. He is a great blocker, and Little Mac will never be able to land any punches on him. He will throw a jab that a player must dodge. His other punch is a high, sort of over the head type punch. There will come a time during the match that he will throw one of these high punches while opening up his mouth and making a strange sort of barking type sound. As he is beginning to do this, Little Mac will need to pop him in his face. This is the only time a player can get a hit on King Hippo. Once that punch is connected, King Hippo's pants will fall down and a bandage on his belly will be seen. Little Mac will then have to give continuous body blows to King Hippo. He will gain his composure back but lots of his energy will have gone down. A player will need to do this three or four times to knock King Hippo down. All it takes is one knock down and he will not be able to get up due to his very large size.

Great Tiger

Hailing from Bombay, India, is the Great Tiger. He is 24-5, with three knockouts, is 29 years old and 132 pounds. Great Tiger can be a bit difficult to beat at the beginning for a player, but after a little practice, he is very simple. When the match starts, he will come out swinging with a punch. Little Mac will have to dodge and counter a punch to his face. The key to knowing when Great Tiger is going to punch is to look at the little circle that is in the middle of his turbine. It will light up right before he is about to punch. Another method a player can use is to just punch (he will block it), dodge his punch, throw a punch (connect) over and over. As the fight progresses, he will start using his uppercut. Dodge it and hit him in his face four to six times. If you want to get stars, just body blow him right before he is going to do an uppercut. Great Tiger has a special move that he will use on Little Mac that can be intimidating. He will back up in the ring and start spinning around the ring like a mad man. This is his Indian magic thing that will make him seem to disappear. Each time he goes in his fast circle motion, he will hit Little Mac. To avoid being hit, a player will have to block each punch by timing the block perfectly. After five times around, and Little Mac blocking all five magic punches, he will be dizzy and stunned. He'll just be standing right there right in front of Little Mac helpless. At this point, a player just needs to give him a good hit to his face, and he will go down.

Bald Bull

Like Glass Joe, Bald Bull is a classic character as he appeared both on this NES version of Mike Tyson's Punch out and the original arcade Punch Out. He is 36 years old, 298 pounds and looks mean and strong. He is the WVBA Major Circuit champion and has a 34-4 record with 29 knockouts. At this point of the game is where most would say that it becomes a bit more challenging. As the match starts, Bald Bull will come out with a jab, dodge it and hit him in his face. His right hook follow next, again, dodge it and hit him in his face. Next will come his big uppercut, once again, dodge it and hit him in his face. Many players have trouble with Bald Bull because of his timing and have difficulty dodging his punches. A player will have to get used of Bald Bull's pattern and timing as they practice. He has a special move that is called the Bull Charge. You'll know he is doing this when he back up to the back of the ring, takes three hops at Little Mac and delivers a killer uppercut. You can move out of the way and dodge it, but he will just back up again to the back of the ring and take three hops toward you again and throw his killer uppercut. If a player decides to continually dodge it, Bald Bull will continue to do the Bull Charge until Little Mac challenges it or the round ends. A player will need to challenge it to beat Bald Bull. This will take a perfectly timed punch to his stomach when he comes in with his Bull Charge. That one hit to his stomach will knock him down. Mastering this move is the key to beating Bald Bull.

Little Mac will then celebrate his new WVBA championship and take a jog in New York City. This time, his jog will be in the evening with Doc leading the way again until they reach the Statue of Liberty. A new passcode is given so a player can continue at this spot to fight Piston Honda whenever they play again.

Piston Honda

Piston Honda is back once again and wants to pay back Little Mac and get revenge for their last meeting.  He didn't forget that Little Mac took his WVBA Minor Circuit Championship. He has been training more as can be noticed during the match. The same strategy as the first fight will apply when fighting Piston Honda again. The only difference is that he will be much tougher than the last time.

Soda Popinski

Soda Popinski is 35 years old, 237 pounds and has a 33-4 record with 24 knockouts. He hails from Moscow, USSR. The first thing a player will notice is how big this guy is. They will also notice that he is kind of reddish looking. His hits will take a lot of energy from Little Mac, and it may be difficult to try to go head to head against him. At first, he will throw hooks that Little Mac can dodge and counter punch. He will then throw fast and vicious uppercuts that Little Mac must dodge or else suffer great energy loss. If a player is not real fast, these can be extremely difficult to dodge. There is a secret to make beating Soda Popinski easy. When he is about to throw a monster uppercut, a player will want to hold down the block button. This will stall him for a second and will give Little Mac an easier time dodging the monster uppercut. Little Mac can then counter with multiple shots to his face. If a player wants to get stars, they can hit him in his stomach when he is stalled.

Bald Bull

Bald Bull is back for a second fight and is even more tougher and meaner than last time. The only way to knock him down in this fight is to use a star uppercut when his energy is low or to hit him in the stomach during a bull charge. If a player tries to knock him down by making his energy go down, it will not work. When it goes down to nothing, it will just go back up. Again, a player will just have to adjust themselves to the timing of his punches. He is one of the best at this game at throwing a player's timing off. A good thing to remember is that when Little Mac and Bald Bull first come face to face during the beginning of the fight, the beginning of a round or after someone gets knocked down, a quick hit to Bald Bull's face will give Little Mac a star. It is vital to dodge Bald Bull's punches so that the star is not lost so Little Mac's uppercut can be used to knock Bald Bull down when his energy is low.

Don Flamenco

One again, another fighter is back for a rematch. Don Flamenco has worked his way up the ranks and has a new set of skills. The left, right combination will not work this time against him. Don Flamenco has learned from his past mistakes and even has a new jab that he want to show Little Mac. He will immediately start throwing this new jab of his at the beginning of the fight. Dodge it and counter with hits to his face. After three of those, he will throw a right swing that a player will want to dodge and counter. He will go back to the jabs three more times, throw a right swing and continue this pattern for a while until the 1:30 mark in the match. If he hits Little Mac, it will take a lot of energy away. After all of this, he will go back to his old ways and just stand there and wait for a punch to be thrown so he can counter with his big uppercut. It is alright to play his game as long as long as his uppercut is dodged. To beat him quicker in the match, a player can punch him in the stomach when he is about to jab. This works when he is doing his three jab and right swing sequence.

Mr. Sandman

In the arcade version of Punch Out, Mr. Sandman was the main man that a player wanted to get to. He was the champion that they wanted to beat. Although, there are two fighters in this game that are better than him, Mr. Sandman is still as tough as ever and will give any player a challenge. He is 31 years old, 284 pounds, has a 27-2 record with 21 knockouts and is from Philadelphia, PA. He will be a real battle for any player. His jabs are really tough and Little Mac will have to dodge them just right. After a dodge, Little Mac can counter with a hit to his face. Mr. Sandman will start the match with about 11 jabs that are to be countered. Once this is done, Little Mac will need to throw a punch at him that he will block and counter with a side swing punch. Dodge it, hit him in the face and follow with three body blows. This pattern should be followed throughout the fight in order to beat him. That is, if a player can dodge his super attack. Mr. Sandman has a super attack that he will use to take Little Mac down. If a player gets caught up in this super attack, they will definitely get knocked out. He will throw very fast lightning quick upper cuts from both sides continuously. They are so fast that you can barely see his arms. With practice, a player will be able to learn how to dodge them. When three of them are dodged, hit him in the face and then continually strike at his stomach for a long time. Little Mac will get many shots in by the time he recovers. If a player tries to hit Mr. Sandman in the face after dodging the super attack uppercuts, they will only get two shots to his face. This is why it is important to hit him in the face once and then get a long streak of hits in his stomach with body blows.

Super Macho Man

Super Macho Man is 27 years old, 242 pounds, is from Hollywood, CA., is the World Circuit Champion and has a perfect 35-0 record. If a player has reached this point, Super Macho Man is the only boxer standing in the way of the dream match against Mike Tyson. It will take lots of practice to beat him. He is difficult to beat, but by studying him and continually practicing, a player will be able to beat him. He starts out the match with a right swing. A player must beware of the super fast uppercuts he also throws. Once you get his rhythm down, you will have a chance at beating him. His signature move is called the Super Spin and it comes in two different versions. A player will know that he is about to do it when he sort of just stands there for a second. Then Little Mac better watch out. A player will have to learn to dodge it and counter punch if they are going to beat him. A hit from these Super Spin punches will take lots of Little Mac's energy away. His main Super Spin will go on around ten times. A player will have to learn how to dodge these punches 10 times in a row or else they will get knocked out. It takes real practice to bet Super Macho Man. Nobody is going to beat him their first time playing him. It will take many tries to beat him, and even that may not be enough.
 
Mike Tyson

This is the dream match in the game. Mike Tyson is a perfect 99-0 and hales from Catskills, NY. When a player goes up against Tyson for the very first time, they are guaranteed to get knocked out real fast. Mike Tyson likes to take out his opponents quicky and will want to do that against Little Mac. For the first 1:30 of the match, he will throw uppercuts. It is vital that a player dodge these uppercuts because all it takes is one hit for Little Mac to go down. Even if Little Mac attempts to block it, the punch is so powerful that he will still get knocked down. When a player first gets through the first 1:30 of the match, they will be proud of themselves, but Mike Tyson will still be a handful. For the rest of the first round, he will throw hook swing punches. A player must also get used of dodging these. When the second round begins, Mike Tyson will throw eight real quick jabs. Little mac can block them, give him a body blow and earn a star. He'll continue with more hooks and big uppercuts. Thankfully, his uppercuts will not knock Little Mac down with one punch like at the beginning of the match. Dodging his punches now will allow Little Mac to counter with a couple of punches to Tyson's face. With about 1:30 left in the second round, his eyes will tart blinking. This is a sign that he I going to go crazy with punches sort of like Piston Honda did. Little Mac can block, counter with four hits, block, counter with four hits and so on until Tyson stops. When round three begins, his uppercuts and jabs are not as predictable anymore. Just dodge and counter and Little Mac will be victorious over Mike Tyson. It is much easier said than done, but with enough practice, Mike Tyson can be beat.

Mike Tyson's Punch out Codes / Passwords

When a player wins a certain match of the game, they are given a special password so that they can continue from there the next time they play. Here is a list of some of those codes.

Major Circuit - Begins with Don Flamenco - 005 737 5423
World Circuit - Begins with the second Piston Honda - 777 807 3454
Super Macho Man 940 861 8538 or 267 913 7638
Mike Tyson - 007 373 5963
NES Old Phone Number - 800 422 2602 (You'll hear a busy signal)

My personal experience playing Mike Tyson's Punch Out

Back in the 80s, I could get through all of these fights with no problem. The game was not a challenge to me anymore. Mike Tyson was no problem at all. I just right now played a game after probably ten years and got up to Super Macho Man, who whipped my butt. Dodging his Super Spin did not seem as challenging as it used to be. I then used the Mike Tyson code and Tyson beat me up good. When I have a couple of hours, I will play these two guys and remind them who I am :) Seriously though, Mike Tyson's Punch Out was always one of my favorite NES games, and I spent countless hours playing it. I have many memories of playing this game with friends as a kid and trying to figure out how to pass the next fighter that we got up to. Mike Tyson's Punch Out will be an old school video game classic forever.

Play Mike Tyson's Punch Out right now!

I played this flash version of the game online and it is fun for someone to play. It will bring back memories for someone who has not played it in a long time. When I played it though, part of the graphics were messed up, and I could not see the top of the screen. I have this game on my 1500 old school video game CD though (as I do most of them) and played it there where everything looks good. I'm also able to hook up my controller to my PC when I use my CD, so that helps. I had no desire to use the arrow keys for this game. If you want to have some good old school video game fun with Mike Tyson's Punch Out, the link below will take you there.

Play Mike Tyson's Punch Out now!