This Super Punch-Out Secret Stayed Hidden For 28 Years

Fighting games were all the rage during the golden age of arcade games. Players would face off against a series of NPC opponents in one-on-one matches, testing how far they could advance before needing to load up another quarter.

One of the most popular games of the genre was "Punch-Out!!" where players took control of the character Little Mac and needed to alternate between dodging, blocking, and punching to achieve victory. The success of "Punch-Out!!" prompted multiple sequels, cemented Little Mac as one of gaming's most iconic characters, and earned the protagonist a spot on the "Super Smash Bros." roster.

Over the years, many have argued that the best "Punch-Out!!" sequel is "Super Punch-Out!!" for the SNES, and like many retro titles, "Super Punch-Out!!" featured cheat codes gamers will never forget, which allowed players to access special perks. For example, players could press X+A while the "New Game" title was selected to enter their name in Japanese or input a separate series of commands to initiate a sound test (via gamefaqs).

But one savvy gamer recently found new cheat codes for "Super Punch-Out!!" twenty-eight years after its release. One of these codes even unlocks a brand-new mode that lets players compete against each other.

On August 8, Twitter user Unlisted Cheats announced that they had discovered a new cheat in "Super Punch-Out!!." Unlisted Cheats is a programmer that has made a name for themselves by finding previous unknown cheat codes and secrets in classic game titles such as "Tetris Plus."

In a follow-up Tweet, Unlisted Cheats wrote that gamers could fight any character, even Special Circuit characters, for free in a single match format. To do this, players must hold down Y+R, then press A or Start at the title screen. The catch is users must press this combination of buttons on Joypad 2 while A or Start must be pressed on Joypad 1.

But the craziest part about all of this is Unlisted Cheats wrote that if the player holds B+Y and then presses A or Start, the CPU can be controlled by player 2. This effectively makes "Super Punch-Out!!" a multiplayer fighter. IGN's editor, Kat Bailey, pointed out on Twitter that this trick even works on the Nintendo Switch port, where players can use special moves as the previously uncontrollable characters.

This isn't the first time a "Punch-Out!!" hidden detail was found years later, as an interesting "Mike Tyson Punch-Out!!" Easter egg was found 29 years after its release. So, who knows what other secrets the "Punch-Out!!" series holds? There are undoubtedly a few gamers out there that wish they knew how to play "Super Punch-Out!!" multiplayer all those years ago.