Punch-Out! Cheats

For most attacks that you can duck to avoid, you can use a Star Punch instead to avoid and counterattack. Many normal hooks and jabs can be countered this way. You can also dodge some special attacks with Star Punches, such as:

Bear Hugger's Bear Hug
TD Disco Kid's Disco Flurry
Don Flamenco's Rose Flurry

When you're KO'd and the animation starts, quickly press 1 and 2 repeatedly (Wiimote controls). If done right you'll get another chance.

Defeating Great Tiger is all about reading his uppercuts. He's got left and right uppercuts which are basically mirror versions of each other except that his left uppercut (when he ducks do your right) is significantly faster than the right. You've got to be pretty quick to react to it, but then you've also got to be quick to react to his left straight if you want to earn a star from it. Generally, we suggest waiting to react by holding UP on the controls so that you can instantly jab to the face if Tiger flashes his turban yellow. But also mentally prep yourself to throw a right hook in case he throws his outstandingly fast left uppercut.

There aren't many weak spots in his game, but the one weakness Tiger does have is a serious one. When he performs his teleport division, he opens himself to a one-hit knockdown that's not even particularly difficult to time. Indeed, the easiest way to win against Tiger is to focus on evading his punches and wait for the teleport division dance so you can knock him down three times in a round.

Left Straight

This is Great Tiger's first attack and it's the only punch he throws that's "easy" to defend against. Before throwing the straight jab, Tiger crosses his hands and his turban flashes either yellow or red. Most commonly it flashes yellow, which means you can counter him with a left or right jab to interrupt him and earn a star. If you're slow on the draw, your counter jab will whiff, and if his turban flashes red (instead of yellow) you will always whiff. When you whiff a counter against this punch, Great Tiger disappears and then reappears either to your left or right for an uppercut that matches the uppercuts described below. If you simply block the punch, you can only follow up with a single punch, but if you dodge it you can follow with a full combo.

Left Uppercut

There are two uppercuts to watch for when fighting Great Tiger. When he ducks to your right, Tiger will very quickly pull up with a left uppercut that's difficult to defend. Reacting to this uppercut is difficult if you don't expect it, so we suggest mentally preparing yourself explicitly for this punch. You can either dodge to the right or counter him with a right hook to earn a star. The timing for the counter is simple, but that doesn't mean it's easy. As soon as you see him appear to your right, throw the right hook to tag him.

Right Uppercut

Great Tiger's right uppercut is almost a mirror image of his aforementioned left except that... 

Hailing from the great white north(Canada), Bear Hugger is surprisingly quick for such a large man. Watch for his very quick left hooks. There's not one single dodge that'll evade all of his attacks, though generally you're safe dodging to the left unless you know that his bear hug punch is incoming.

When you dodge one of his two lesser punches, follow up by attacking to the head. If you try to tag Bear in the body after dodging his two regular punches, he'll block the blows. After dodging his bear hug double-arm punch, you can hit him however you choose. Try to keep at least one star punch in reserve to catch Bear any time he taunts you with his hands up. Hit him with a star punch during this taunt and you'll get an instant knockdown.

Left Hook

Bear Hugger's most common punch is a left hook that he wings from the hip. It's very quick, but you can counter it with any punch. Be fast on the draw with your counter to beat Bear to the punch. Land your counter and you'll earn a star (again, from any punch). Since this punch is so easy to counter we suggest always going for the counter instead of dodging it.

Overhead Right

Bear pulls back to your left and throws a massive overhead right that can't be ducked or blocked. You can dodge it either left or right, though, and you can counter it. The timing for the counter isn't too tough, but you do have to delay a bit compared to the counter against his left hook. Alternatively, if you've got a star punch in wait, you can counter with the star punch for an instant knock down. For the proper timing, trigger your star punch just as Bear stops moving backward at the start of the animation.

Bear Hug

You won't see this immediately, but once you've pummeled Bear a bit he'll start throwing out his bear hug punch. He reels back far and says, "Need a hug!?" just before lunging at you with both arms. To avoid the punch, you'll have to duck. You can counter him (with any punch) just before he lunges at you to earn a star, but the timing is pretty ridiculous and generally we suggest simply ducking the punch and then smacking Bear Hugger around a bit while he recovers.

Biggity Wiggity Taunt

Bear starts every fight with this taunt, sticking his thumbs in his ears and making a sound not too unlike, "Biggity wiggity." Wait for Bear to flash yellow and then quickly tag him in the face with a jab (either left or right) to earn a star. You can hit him in the gut, but it won't give you a star. If you already have a... 

Piston Hondo is quick, starting his pattern with fast left jabs that he often throws out in rapid succession. You can earn stars off of countering his jab, which is key for quickly finishing the opponent. Generally when waiting for an action from Hondo, we hold UP on the controls in anticipation of countering his jab. If he pulls to your left, you know to abandon the counter and should focus on just dodging. Dodging left always works.

But eventually Hondo will start unleashing his nasty Hondo Rush. Defending against it isn't easy, so we suggest catching him with a counter as he steps in. Not only will it save you from the flurry, but it'll also earn you an instant knockdown. Often he'll take the knockdown, get back up and then instant try for another Hondo Rush, which makes it fairly easy to get two knockdowns back to back. And Hondo's even got a second one-punch knockdowntag him with a star punch as he tries to taunt you.

Left Jab

Before throwing this left jab, Piston gives a quick double wink. The punch is very quick but you can catch Piston with a counter punch just after he blinks. Hit him with a left or right jab and you'll get a star out of it. You can also dodge the move in any direction (or block) and follow up with a brief combo.

Right Hook

Piston Hondo pulls away to your left (without ducking down) and swings out with a big right hook. If you're really good, you can counter him with any punch just before he lunges at you but it won't result in any star and generally it's just better (and easier) to dodge the attack and follow with a flurry of your own. Since all of Hondo's attacks can be dodged with a left dodge, stick to that for the easiest evasion. After dodging Hondo's punch, follow with any right puncha left punch will whiff.

Right Uppercut

You won't see this attack for a while, but once Hondo's gotten frustrated with you he'll begin throwing this massive right uppercut. The windup for the uppercut looks very similar to Hondo's right hook, though for the uppercut he crouches down much further. Like the hook, it can be successfully dodged to the left, so stick with the left dodge to open up Piston Hondo and follow up with a combination of your own. You just as Hondo lunges in for the uppercut, you can catch him with a left punch counter, but you don't earn a star so we don't think it's worth the effort.

Hondo Rush

When Piston Hondo moves to the back of the ring and starts hopping left and right, get prepared for his Hondo... 

If you're not sure what to do, King Hippo can be a daunting foe, but if you go in knowing what to expect you won't actually have much trouble. Throwing straight punches will result in Hippo always blocking the attack. Throw too many punches when you're not supposed to and you'll find Mac tiring out quickly. You need a good defense before you'll find a hole in Hippo's defense. Dodge one of his attacks and you can usually follow up with a quick jab to his face to stun the opponent. Whenever you stun Hippo like this, follow immediately with a belly shot and then combo to your heart's desire.

What's interesting about Hippo is that he's essentially impossible to TKO because if you knock him down you'll always get a KO. Hippo never gets up from a knockdown. Block Hippo's jabs so that you can earn a star off of a quick follow-up punch to the gut and then wear down the opponent until he starts getting aggressive and throwing the heavy double punch. Dodge just one heavy double punch and you can follow with a star punch for an instant knockout and an easy win.

Overhand Left/Right

Hippo's got a pair of overhead attacksone left, one rightthat essentially have the exact same properties as far as you're concerned. Neither attack can be blocked, but you can dodge both the left and right attacks with either a left or right dodge, or by ducking under. After dodging, tag Hippo in the face with either jab to stun him and then follow with a hook to the stomach. If you try to hit King Hippo with another jab after first stunning him, he'll block the attack. Alternatively, you can counter Hippo with either jab just as he steps in to punch you. If you tag him in the head before he throws the punch, he'll be left with his pants down, ready for a gut shot.

Left/Right Jab

You'll need to watch for two nearly identical jabs from King Hippo, one from his left hand and one from his right. Both act essentially the same, though you'll need to counter a left or right attack differently. Block a left/right jab and Hippo will drop his hands, leaving himself vulnerable to a quick right/left punch from Mac. Tag him with this punch after blocking Hippo's attack and you'll earn a star. Alternatively, you can dodge Hippo's attack and follow with a head jab to stun him, and then with a body blow to continue the combo.

Heavy Double Punch

When you've brought Hippo down to about 50% health, he'll start unloading this doozie of an attack in which he pulls back and then comes at you... 

Disco Kid's got just two attacks backed up by two different stylish poses. Reacting to his attacks is pretty easy as he gives plenty of warning as to which attack he'll throw. If Disco is waiting with his hands pointing to your right, he'll throw a right straight, and if he's standing with his hands pointing to your left he'll launch a left hook. Pay attention to his shifting body position to anticipate which attack he'll throw.

When Disco does either one of his poses (he starts with his disco pose at the beginning of every round), you can tag him in the face for an easily earned star. The poses also leave Disco vulnerable to instant knockdowns by way of a star attack. Taking advantage of Disco during his poses is key, as you can use the poses to TKO Disco Kid with just six punches. And for a difficult-to-find way to earn a star, dodge an attack and hit him five times in the head. As he recoils after the fifth hit, you can tag him with another right jab that can earn you a star with the right timing.

Right Straight

Disco Kid shifts to your left and then follows with a quick right straight. You can respond to this attack anyway you want to. It's pretty easy to counter with any left punch, which will yield a star. If you attempt to counter with any right punch you'll whiff and take Disco's shot. Because Disco Kid's only other attack can also be dodged with a right dodge, you should use right dodges if you want to dodge either attack, just to remove possible room for error.

Left Hook

For this attack, Disco ducks down far to your right and usually says, "Here it comes!" You can counter the attack with any right punch to earn a stara left punch will whiff. The timing for the counter is a bit tougher than the timing for Disco Kid's right straight.

Disco Pose

This is the first of Disco Kid's two poses, both of which act basically the same. Disco poses with his two arms out and his teeth sparkle, which is your cue to punch him in the face. Land any jab to Disco Kid's face just after his teeth sparkle to earn a star. Or, if you've already got a star, you can nail Disco with a star punch after his teeth sparkle for an instant knockdown. If you punch Disco Kid before his teeth sparkle, you'll connect the hit but won't get the bonus effect of a star or an instant knockdown.

Taunt

This is the second of Disco Kid's two poses, both of which act basically the same. Disco poses with his hand behind his head and smiles as his teeth sparkle, which is your... 

Von Kaiser isn't much more difficult than Glass Joe as his only two attacks are almost identical to the first opponent's. What does make Kaiser a bit more of a challenge is that he's a lot more aggressive and will throw punches with more frequency. While this can be a bad thing if you don't know what you're doing, a decently skilled player can turn this aggression back on Kaiser and make for quicker wins by you.

Be ready to meet every punch Kaiser throws with a counter to earn a star. Counter his first three punches (usually left straights) to build up three stars, and then dodge his fourth punch (usually another left straight) to make him open. Tag him just once and Kaiser will almost always follow by cowering behind his hands. Just as he reveals his face, time your special attack to nail him for an instant KO that shouldn't take more than a minute and five punches.

Also note that after you dodge one of Kaiser's attacks and tag him with a follow-up punch, you will need to combo with the same type of punch you started with. So if you dodge and then hit Kaiser with a jab, you will only be able to combo with jabsKaiser will guard hooks. But if you follow up with a hook, you'll only be able to combo with hooks, so no mixing up punches when capitalizing on successful dodges.

Left Straight

Kaiser shimmies forward a few short steps before launching a quick straight left. You can deal with the straight with virtually any response. You can counter with a left to simply interrupt Von Kaiser's punch, but it won't do damage. Counter with a right, however, and you'll connect the punch and earn a star.

Right Uppercut

Very similar to Glass Joe's big right uppercut. You can counter Kaiser's uppercut with a left hook or left jab to earn a star, though trying to counter with a right will only get you hit. Dodging will leave Von Kaiser open to any flurry afterward, and usually leads Kaiser to cower.

Cower

Kaiser usually goes into his cower animation after you've dodged one of his attacks and followed up with any attack on his stunned self. Kaiser covers up and cries, "Mommy!" and then slowly pulls down his right glove to reveal part of his face. Hit him with a left or right jab as he flashes yellow to earn a star. Or if you've already got a star, time a star attack just as Kaiser flashes yellow (just after uncovering his face) for an instant knockdown. Hit him with a three star punch for an instant... 
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Being the first opponent in your quest to climb the Minor Circuit ranks, Glass Joe is, predictably, a pushover. He's got only two attacks to watch for, and both of them give you plenty of warning before you need to dodge or counter. You can earn a star by countering almost everything Joe does, letting you quickly rack up damage to win the fight by KO.

Left Jab

This is Joe's most basic attack and it can be dealt with in any waydodge it, block it, duck it, or counter it. Joe first shifts to your right and then comes at you with a straight left jab. Dodge the attack and Joe will be left open to any attack you throw. You can counter him with any attack, though only a counter with a right hook or right jab will yield a star for you.

Right Uppercut

One of Glass Joe's two attacks. He ducks to your left and fairly quickly follows with a big right hook. It can easily be dodged either left or right, leaving Joe vulnerable to any attack combination afterward. You can also counter it with a left hook or left jab to earn a star. If you're new to the game, just concern yourself with dodging the hook, but it's not at all difficult to land the counter. Since Joe's only other attack can also be countered with a left hook or left jab, you can ready yourself to counter any action from Glass Joe with a left.

Delay

Joe takes a big step back and says something like, "Hey, hey! Viva la France!" before stepping back in toward you. This isn't an attack so you don't need to worry about blocking or dodging. But you can use this delay to your advantage. As Glass Joe steps back in toward you, time a punchany punchto connect with him. Glass Joe will instantly go down to the canvas, no matter how much health he has.

Taunt

At the start of every round, and even in the middle of rounds, Glass Joe will put one hand behind his back, stand straight and flash yellow. Immediately after he flashes yellow, connect with any punch to earn a star. The taunt poses no danger to you.

During the break between rounds, press the "-" button on your Wii Remote. This will make Doc Louis (your trainer) eat a chocolate bar. You will regain half of your health back. Take note - you can only do this once.