Defender 2 (NES) and Punch-Out!

[Graham Mitchell]

Shame on me for never noticing this throughout the years, but take a look at this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCfNkVkCn9M

Defender 2's music is all ripped from punch out. There must be some explanation for this, most likely that whoever did the Punch-Out! music also worked on this game, but you'd think there'd be some copyright issues with that. I know HAL labratory is basically a 2nd party Nintendo developer at this point, but were they even in the NES days?

In any case, it sure is an odd finding...

[treismac]

Hmmmm... interesting. I might have to pick up Defender II just for the sake of this noteworthy musical oddity.

By the way, drop one of the Es in the word "Defender" in your thread's title.

[Graham Mitchell]

Oops...sorry. I'll try and fix that.

[The Adventurer]

They actually mashed the opening Punch-Out!! riff, with a Star Wars riff.

[ApolloBoy]

IIRC, Defender II was actually programmed by Nintendo around 1983 when Atari was in negotiations to have the Famicom released in the US under the Atari brand, as were Joust and Millipede. I don't remember exactly where I read this, but it would somewhat explain why some of the music from Defender II was reused in Punch-Out.

[M.Buster2184]

They actually mashed the opening Punch-Out!! riff, with a Star Wars riff.

Good ear. I will second that.

[XYXZYZ]

Wow, even the sound effects are from Punch Out.

[Graham Mitchell]

IIRC, Defender II was actually programmed by Nintendo around 1983 when Atari was in negotiations to have the Famicom released in the US under the Atari brand, as were Joust and Millipede. I don't remember exactly where I read this, but it would somewhat explain why some of the music from Defender II was reused in Punch-Out.

That would make so much sense. Just look at the title screens, and how the have the "Game A" and "Game B" selections just like Pinball, Donkey Kong, etc.

Too bad they weren't released 1st party. A black box cover-art for Joust or Millipede would have been really cool.

[treismac]

Hey, I "found" this on Youtube about the subject.


http://youtu.be/aI3TusPzxuk

[CRV]

That would make so much sense. Just look at the title screens, and how the have the "Game A" and "Game B" selections just like Pinball, Donkey Kong, etc.

I don't know. There is this string in Defender II:
"DEBUGED BY TOSHIO SENGOKU ( Intelligent Systems ) 1987/07/31 15:00"

[Graham Mitchell]

I don't know. There is this string in Defender II:
"DEBUGED BY TOSHIO SENGOKU ( Intelligent Systems ) 1987/07/31 15:00"

Methinks you're on to something...

[Emperor Megas]

I thought that there would be a video with the Punch Out Music, too, to compare. I've never really played Punch Out. I have no idea what the music is like. I never played Defender 2 either on the NES.

[treismac]

I thought that there would be a video with the Punch Out Music, too, to compare. I've never really played Punch Out. I have no idea what the music is like. I never played Defender 2 either on the NES
.

This video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=aI3TusPzxuk) does just that.

You really, really should play Punch-Out, Emperor Megas. It still holds up today as an amazing game, chocked full of personality.

[Emperor Megas]

This video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=aI3TusPzxuk) does just that.

You really, really should play Punch-Out, Emperor Megas. It still holds up today as an amazing game, chocked full of personality.Ha, I guess I posted too soon and missed that video.

I've seen people play Punch Out before (I think most of my friends had it growing up), I just never did myself because I wasn't really into any type of sports game, even though it's really just a goofy cartoony sort of boxing game. I will add it to my collection though if I see it in the wild for cheap.

[InsaneDavid]

...and of course you all know where the Punch-Out!! theme was lifted from right?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6cyy_rziuk

A tune quite synonymous with boxing in its day.

[treismac]

I've seen people play Punch Out before (I think most of my friends had it growing up), I just never did myself because I wasn't really into any type of sports game, even though it's really just a goofy cartoony sort of boxing game. I will add it to my collection though if I see it in the wild for cheap.

You're bang on to separate Punch-Out from the sports genre. While it certainly has "goofy" and "cartoony" elements, the game is nothing short of stupendous in its beautifully simplistic yet rich execution and in the indelible mark it leaves on those who play and fall in love with it and its characters and their corresponding patterns. There are few games that feel as rewarding, either. When you finally figure out and then take down a boxer whose been beating the tar out of you, it feels amazing. Then after you can beat the game it becomes a matter of mastering the different opponents through experiment, research, and practice, practice, practice.

Buy Mike Tyson's Punch-Out! You'll thank me for laying it on so thick later. ;)

[treismac]

...and of course you all know where the Punch-Out!! theme was lifted from right?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6cyy_rziuk

A tune quite synonymous with boxing in its day.

No!! I didn't!! Wow. Thanks for the enlightenment, David!

[Superman]

I don't know if I had noticed the Defender II sounds, but I've played a lot more Punch Out, than I have Defender II. If I didn't recognize it, I probably also got fooled by the change in keys. I'm easily fooled I guess! lol





I've seen people play Punch Out before (I think most of my friends had it growing up), I just never did myself because I wasn't really into any type of sports game, even though it's really just a goofy cartoony sort of boxing game. I will add it to my collection though if I see it in the wild for cheap.

I know where you're coming from and I know that we have similar tastes in games, so I believe this is something you would like. When I was younger I didn't play sports games, including Tecmo Bowl (because they were, generally, too complicated for me).

But for Punch Out, I spent many a day on it. Like treismac said, when you first start to go through it you're just trying to figure out the opponents. The next times through you're trying to find weak spots, in order to be more effective and better yourself.

Then, like a riding a bicycle, it is something you never really forget how to do. You can play it again in a couple of months (or maybe years) and try to do a speed run through the game, take on Iron Mike (or Mr. Dream) or simply beat up on Glass Joe for laughs, etc. It really has a lot of replay value.

[treismac]

Little anecdote of questionable entertainment value regardink Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!:

After experiencing Mike Tyson's Punch-Out! at a friend's house for the first time, I told my dad about how great it was and how it was on the Nintendo, which I didn't have at the time. My dad, figuring a boxing game is a boxing game, went out and bought me Fight Night (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTa_cNfxGAI) for my Commodore 64 instead. While not a horrible game at the time, it is a far cry from Punch-Out! and it more than anything else solidified my resolve to make damn sure that I got a fucking Nintendo for that Christmas.

[Graham Mitchell]

...and of course you all know where the Punch-Out!! theme was lifted from right?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6cyy_rziuk

A tune quite synonymous with boxing in its day.

Haha! I did not know that!! That's hilarious. I wonder how they got away with that? It's note-for-note identical.

[sloan]

My guess is with so many games being pumped out during the NES era, there are more cases of music/sound effect plagiarism that have not been documented. If someone wanted to actually spend the time comparing game soundtracks..

[InsaneDavid]

Haha! I did not know that!! That's hilarious. I wonder how they got away with that? It's note-for-note identical.

Well it explains why the Wii release of Punch-Out!!, which is chock full of classic Punch-Out!! music and audio cues, is missing the title theme that has been in place since the original arcade game.

[Doommaster1994]

Yukio Kaneoka did the music and sound for both games.