Super Punch-Out!!'s Secret Two-Player Mode Discovered After 28 Years

It turns out Super Punch-Out!! was a competitive multiplayer game all along — it just took fans 28 years to figure it out.

Earlier today, the Twitter account Unlisted Cheats revealed two new previously undiscovered cheats for Super Punch-Out!!, the sequel to Punch-Out!! released in 1994.

The first cheat offers access to a free single match with any fighter in the game. It can be accessed by holding Y+R on a controller plugged into the player two slot, then pressing start on the player one controller.

The second cheat, remarkably, makes it possible to actually play as one of the 16 characters in Super Punch-Out!!, and even perform their special moves. Want to use Bald Bull’s charge attack? Just press Down + B and away you’ll go (just pray you don’t get punched at the wrong time).

At the title, hold Y+R, then press A or START. Following screen will appear instead or regular menus. Here you can select any character to fight a free single match. See, even fighters from SPECIAL CIRCUIT are available here. -> pic.twitter.com/Hh7AtPdTcK

— Unlisted Cheats (@new_cheats_news) August 8, 2022

To access the two-player mode, you’ll need to enter the free match mode screen; select a fighter, and when it goes to the character info screen, holding B+Y on the player two controller while pressing start on player one. You should be able to control the second fighter from that point onward.

Both cheats have been confirmed to work on the Nintendo Switch Online version of Super Punch-Out by IGN. You can see the full list of confirmed cheat codes on our SNES Cheat Code Guide.

It’s unclear why this secret mode has been hidden away all this time, though it’s likely there for testing purposes. Whatever the reason, it adds a whole new dimension to this 16-bit classic, allowing players to unleash the full might of Bear Hugger and Gabby Jay.

This isn’t the first time a Punch-Out!! game has had multiplayer, granted. The Wii’s Punch-Out!! also had multiplayer, though you fought a clone of Little Mac instead of one of the actual boxers. Super Punch-Out!!, by contrast, now allows you to play as a crazed circus clown.

You can read our review of Super Punch-Out!! as well as where it lands on our list of the Top 125 Nintendo Games of All Time. And if you want additional news from the world of Nintendo, check out the Nintendo Voice Chat podcast, where we recently reviewed Xenoblade Chronicles 3.

The Top 25 Switch Games

The Top 25 Nintendo Switch Games
Five years later and the Nintendo Switch continues to hold its own against the Xbox and PlayStation. If the little hybrid handheld has proven anything, it’s that a console is truly defined by what you can play on it. From Nintendo exclusives like Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey to Nindies like Chicory and Slay the Spire, choosing only 25 of the best Nintendo Switch games has proven to be difficult.

The list was assembled by the entire IGN content team and represents — after plenty of internal debate — what we think are the best games to enjoy on the Switch right now, whether you’re picking one up for the first time or have been a platform enthusiast since day one.” src=”https://assets-prd.ignimgs.com/2022/01/31/thumbnail-nintendobest-1643663727060.jpg?width=888&crop=16%3A9&quality=20&dpr=0.05″ class=”jsx-2920405963 progressive-image image jsx-294430442 rounded expand loading”>

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.