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Konami’s Boxing (MSX)

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Company: Konami
Year: 1985
Plataform: MSX Computers
Controller: Keyboard or one-button Joystick.

Foreword

Avoiding punches is as good as blocking them.

Boxing is an excellent sport for creating video-game about it, in good part because it’s really simple to explain: you only have to hit more times type rival either the body or the head trying to send it to the mat before it does the same to you. We have written before about video-games of this sport.

The company software Konami really supported the MSX standard in its time programming a good amount of software for the compatible computers, among them really memorable games. In fact, some of its sport titles are really worthy gems, where this particular game is not probably the shinniest or most popular, but it’s really good.

Game

Custom yourself, because this is really common at first.

The video-game portrays a boxing ring view from the sidelines, including a nice – looking referee, even if it does not do very much. The gameplay is quite simple: the video-gamer can move horizontally the virtual boxer, so trying to get away Mayweather-style (either you, or the rival) is virtually impossible to achieve.

An interesting feature of this video-game is that you can block the punches. You can accomplish that moving your controller up or down. To punch its pressing the controller’s button, and with the joystick you can select the kind of punch you try to land on your rival. IMO the different kind of punches was something new for the time, you can see how you can pull the different kind of punches, along with other boxing moves, in the following table:

MovimientoPunch / Move
Button + UpUppercut
Button + DownBody Punch
Button + LeftDirect
Button + RightBob and weave
ButtonJab

Other feature I consider a novelty at the time was that there are several rivals thru the game, six in total, although only 3 are really distinct, being the other 3 with small variations comparing to the others. Here they are, even if we let the player to find out the order in which they appear in the video-game .

Finally, the video-game had two levels, identified only as A or B, being the first one the easiest and the one we recommend playing first during the initial times you play it.

Epilogue

This video-game is quite easy to play, but no too easy to master. Personally I found a bit difficult to defeat each rival, specially the moais, I think the reason is because the programmers put them stone skin and they like to defend themselves like cats facing their stomachs up. Sometimes defeating you when you thought had a sure victory.

Probably for that simplicity, the game pales a bit alongside other sports titles from Konami for MSX computers. I recommed it for quick matches.

References

Sport Icon designed by Smashicons of FlatIcon licensed by CC 3.0 BY.

Console Icon taken from Retroarch.

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