Super Punch-Out Two-Player Mode discovered 28 years later

It turns out that Super Punch-Out has a Two-Player Mode, something we didn't know until now 28 years divorced from the game's release.

It turns out that Super Punch-Out has a Two-Player Mode, something we didn’t know until now 28 years divorced from the game’s release. 28 years after its launch, Unlisted Cheats found a way for two players to play in what we all thought was a strictly single-player game.

1994 SNES game Super Punch-Out, the sequel to the 1987 game Punch-Out, is actually playable with two players, instead of just one, contrary to what we all originally thought.

Unlisted Cheats “casually found some new cheats” while messing around with the game, the page tweeted, leading to the discovery of two secret codes that pulls up two never-before-seen game modes in the SNES game. “While doing some request work, casually found some new cheats in Super Punch-out for SNES,” says Unlisted Cheats. “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.”

Secret Opponent Selection Screen

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

At the title screen, Unlisted Cheats reveals, using JOYPAD 2 holding Y+R, then pressing A or START on JOYPAD 1 will bring you to a free single match where you can select any opponent – including ones from the special circuit – in a one-on-one match against Little Mac.

In this free match mode, at the character info screen before the match, holding B+Y using JOYPAD 2 will make the CPU opponent controllable using JOYPAD 2, essentially making the game a two-player game. Playing the game this way is, of course, asymmetric, and the game returns to its normal mode afterward. Still, it’s a fun new find that is definitely surprising to many old-time fans.

Now, all that’s left is finding out how to play with two players in PUNCH-OUT. Would it take another 28 years for that? Hopefully not, so the developers better clear things up and let us know if this is something we even should be searching for.