While not quite as well-known or beloved as its NES iteration, Super Punch Out is praised for being a colorful and detailed game that offers quite a challenge. It was originally released on the SNES in 1994, with the player taking on the World Video Boxing Association, or the WVBA for short, as they aim for the championship title. Much like Punch-Out on the NES, players take on a number of cartoony national stereotyped boxers from across the world as Little Mac.
Super Punch Out was added to the SNES NSO service, alongside a host of other SNES games. A special Championship Edition was added earlier this year, where every single circuit and opponent would be available for players to punch through at the start. Very recently, a cheat code in Super Punch Out was discovered that unlocks a hidden multiplayer mode that went undiscovered for almost three decades.
This was discovered by Twitter user Unlisted Cheats, who specializes in finding cheat codes for a number of games. In Super Punch-Out's case, they were able to find a series of secret cheat codes that utilize the game's two-button combinations. They note that two of these codes are well-known, where they unlock Japanese name input and a sound test respectively. Two more codes were revealed in their post, however, where holding the Y and R buttons and then pressing the A or start button will take players to a new menu. This allows players to select any character in the game and fight them in a free 1-on-1 match. The list of opponents even include those that can be found in the Special Circuit.
They note this mode is how the multiplayer mode can be accessed, which is where a player requires a second controller. The inputs themselves won't work unless the player is using the second controller as well. Once a player has selected their opponent, they must then hold the B and Y buttons at the character information screen, then press A or Start on the first player's controller. After that is done, the CPU opponent in Super Punch-Out can now be controlled by the second player.
Once players discovered this tweet, many went to try it out for themselves, with many confirming that these codes even works with the Nintendo Switch Online version. Fans noted that the second player had access to the same moves as the AI-controlled opponents, such as being able to recover their health as Gabby Jay. Some are theorizing this mode was likely for debugging purposes, or the developers were working on a multiplayer mode before dropping it but was left in the final release.
Super Punch Out!! is available through Nintendo Switch Online.