Super Punch Out! is part boxing game, part puzzle game and all fun. SPO is a boxing game by Nintendo where you have to fight various colorful characters. Each boxer has their own look (mostly) and own style of boxing. It’s up to the player to figure out each boxers tells and then find the right counter attack.

In the original Punch Out! when you did something special you got a star that could be spent on a powerful one off attack. In SPO you build up a special meter and when it’s full it allows you to do two additional attacks. One is a powerful punch that causes quite a bit of damage; the other is a more rapid fire series of punches. Both have their benefits and with some experimentation yield amazing results.

Other differences between the original and SPO are abounding as well. The fight perspective has been changed to a more over the shoulder view from the originals unique viewpoint and Mario as the referee is surprisingly absent. Most of the boxers are new with a few returning boxers like Bald Bull and Mr. Sandman. The new boxers though do things that skirt the rules of boxing. The original did the same but not to this degree as some kick you and others may use their hair as a whip.

SPO! Is a game I used to have dead to rights, playing it now required me to relearn the entire game but it was rarely frustrating. It gives a great deal of satisfaction to finally figure out the tricks needed to win. If you’re looking for a boxing sim then this isn’t for you but if you’re looking for a great time and arcady gameplay then you came to the right place. It holds up amazingly well with an 8.5/10

I’m not a huge fan of racing games so I’m probably not going to talk much about them in the future but the SNES Classic does provide two racers in F-Zero and Super Mario Kart. While both are racers they each bring something vastly different to the track. F-Zero was my last true racing game I enjoyed fully, I played others after like PSone launch title Ridge Racer (admit it, you read that in the way the title screen did it…) but ultimately I “drifted” away from the genre.

F-Zero is all about bare knuckle speed, not much more to say about it. The graphics haven’t aged well as it’s mostly a blocky mess but you won’t have time to notice as the game flies by you so quickly. Super Mario Kart is more subdued in the speed department but offers different gameplay with power ups and weapons (of sorts) that hinder your opponents. I think the graphics are kind of bad here too though I think that’s the SNES’s resolution mixed with mode 7 is largely to blame in both cases. At least F-Zero has awesome music tracks!

In the end, I can’t fully recommend either title as both don’t really hold up past a few play sessions. As I said I’m not into this kind of genre so a final score would be difficult to put out. Both games have their merits but both ran out of gas quickly with me.