Jerry Momoda Q&A!

You guys had questions...here are the answers! I asked former Nintendo employee Jerry Momoda your questions. Here is what he had to say. Several questions he didn't know the answer to, so I left those out of here.

Anything they had to leave out of the game due to limitations?

Genyo Takeda was very organized. They were big on design - they knew exactly what they had to work with. Knew what they could get out of the hardware. Games usually did not deviate from the original design document. Held to schedules. Rarely delayed the game. 

Did your work on Punch-Out!! have any influence on your later work with the Tekken series? 

No. It gave me an interest in fighting games, but that's about it.

Did Nintendo get any input from boxers and trainers for the game? 

This would have been done in Japan, so I'm not sure. Nintendo did bring in heavyweight champion Larry Holmes to the ASI Trade Show to help promote the game. He signed autographs, took pictures, and tried the game himself. Really wonderful guy.

How did they come up with the names of the boxers in the game?

The names were chosen to describe the fighters, as well as their country of origin. For example, Glass Joe was named because he had a "glass jaw." Bald Bull was named for his rush attack, like a bull.

Was the game's speech a modified version of someone's real voice, or was it synthesized? 

Don James was the voice of the announcer. He still works at Nintendo today!

How would you define Punch-Out’s genre? Some people consider it a puzzle game.

 You could call any early video game a puzzle game. It was a matter of learning a pattern to be successful. I can understand that argument. But back then, it was classified as a fighting game. The genre has changed so much now that Punch-Out!! Doesn’t fit into that category.