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Super Punch-Out!! hidden 2-player mode discovered

It took almost three decades to discover, but now you can fight your pals in Super Punch-Out!!, though, it might not be a fair match.

Sam Chandler

August 8, 2022 6:45 PM

Northernlion | Nintendo

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Some of gaming’s best secrets lie hidden in the past. It’s not every day that a discovery about a game from the ‘90s comes to light, but here we have a revelation about Super Punch-Out!! for the SNES. As it turns out, the game includes a 2-player mode hidden behind specific button inputs using two controllers.

Discovered by Twitter user Unlisted Cheats and reported on by Sam Machkovech of Ars Technica, Super Punch-Out!! has a 2-player mode that lets a second user play as the boss. Accessing the mode is as simple as plugging in a second controller and pressing a couple of buttons.

While doing some request work, casually found some new cheats in Super Punch-out for SNES. All secret codes in this game uses two-button combinations. Two of them are known: Sound test and Japanese name input. But there are two more. -> pic.twitter.com/ak9xh3fZsc

— Unlisted Cheats (@new_cheats_news) August 8, 2022

In order to play Super Punch-Out!! with two players, grab a second controller and plug it into your SNES or connect it to your Nintendo Switch. On the second controller, hold R and Y at the main menu and press A or Start on the first controller. A new menu will appear, letting players choose to fight one of sixteen bosses.

In this boss-select screen, hold B and Y on the second controller while pressing A or Start on the first controller. When the match starts, you can release the buttons. If done correctly, the second controller should now control the movement of the boss. Machkovech notes that the face buttons and D-pad are responsible for the basic and advanced attacks.

Though more likely to be a means for developers to test AI-controlled boxers, this does the trick at a sort of 2-player mode. What’s more, if users don’t do the second part of the setup, they will simply face the boss they select, allowing players to practice against a boss without needing to run through the entire game.

Twitter user Unlisted Cheats has a wealth of information documented on their Twitter account covering all sorts of old school games. It’s worth taking a scroll through and seeing what other discoveries have been uncovered. It’s wild to think that there are cheat codes hidden in games we’ve all played for years that have yet to be unearthed.

Sam Chandler

Head of Guides

Hailing from the land down under, Sam Chandler brings a bit of the southern hemisphere flair to his work. After bouncing round a few universities, securing a bachelor degree, and entering the video game industry, he's found his new family here at Shacknews as Head of Guides. There's nothing he loves more than crafting a guide that will help someone. If you need help with a guide, or notice something not quite right, you can message him on X: @SamuelChandler