King Hippo

Last updated

King Hippo
Punch-Out!! character
King Hippo.png
King Hippo in Punch-Out!! (Wii)
First game Punch-Out!! (1987)
Created by Genyo Takeda
Designed byMakoto Wada
Voiced by Garry Chalk ( Captain N )
Scott McFadyen (Wii)

King Hippo [a] is a fictional boxer from Nintendo's Punch-Out!! series. He first appeared on the Nintendo Entertainment System game Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! , as the second competitor in the Major Circuit. Subsequent reviews have characterized him as one of the most iconic characters from the game, because he was a complicated boss to defeat. In Punch-Out!! (Wii) , he returns, having a second fight where he uses a manhole to protect his weak point.

Contents

King Hippo is featured prominently on the NBC Saturday morning cartoon, Captain N: The Game Master , where he was portrayed by Garry Chalk. His obese figure and his face both resemble those of a hippopotamus. His depiction has been viewed as a racial stereotype of Pacific Islanders, specifically Polynesian people, with some stereotypes he was said to exemplify including laziness and gluttony. His design was also criticized as looking subhuman.

Concept and creation

King Hippo was originally created by Punch-Out!! character designer Makoto Wada and engineer Genyo Takeda. Takeda gave King Hippo his name with the American market in mind. [1] He is typically depicted wearing a crown, with a face and girth resembling a hippopotamus', hailing from Hippo Island. [2] [3] [4] His fighting style consists of jabs where he blocks his mouth, and strikes where he reveals his mouth. If punched in the face, he drops his shorts, revealing his weak spot on his belly. Once he goes down, he stays down until the referee counts to 10. [4] The Wii sequel features a second mode where King Hippo has duct-taped a manhole cover over his stomach to protect himself; the player must knock it loose in order to attack that weak point. [2]

When developing the roster for the Wii sequel, the developers wanted to use King Hippo and others from the NES game was due to developer Next Level Games wanting to primarily focus on this roster. [5] They also both wanted to ensure that they had a diversity of nationalities. [6] The staff was expected by producer Kensuke Tanabe to make the cast, King Hippo included, appeal to both new and old gamers alike, designing him in such a way as to make him resemble how King Hippo looked and played in the NES game. [5] They still wanted to ensure they could "make fun" of the characters' ethnicities and traits, but also cast the characters with people matching the characters' ethnicities that they drew upon, casting Scott McFadyen. [7] [6]

Appearances

King Hippo first appeared in the 1987 NES video game Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! as one of its opponents, before returning in the 2009 Wii video game Punch-Out , where his design and fighting style intentionally resemble the NES incarnation. [8] [9] [5] Some advertisements for the Wii game feature the protagonist Little Mac training to reclaim the World Circuit Title from King Hippo. [10] A scrapped commercial for Punch-Out!! on Wii depicted King Hippo showing off his home in an "MTV Cribs-like tour" in a place called Strong Island. [11] Promotional merchandise was created for the Wii Punch-Out!!, which included replicas of King Hippo's crown and boxing shorts, as well as a King Hippo desktop punching bag. [9] King Hippo has appeared multiple times in the Super Smash Bros. series, including as a collectible trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate . [12]

King Hippo has a major role in the animated series Captain N: The Game Master as one of Mother Brain's henchmen. He has blue skin and is often paired in with the Kid Icarus villain Eggplant Wizard. [13] In this role, he was portrayed by Garry Chalk, who identified it as one of his favorite voice acting experiences. [14]

King Hippo makes a cameo appearance in the Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness comic book, as part of a guest comic written and illustrated by Girly creator Jackie Lesnick. [15]

Reception

Since appearing in the NES video game Punch-Out!! , King Hippo has received generally positive reception. GameDaily regarded him as one of the best Nintendo characters, noting that he stood out more than the other characters in the game, a sentiment shared by GamesRadar writer Chris Antista and Wired staff. [16] [17] [18] He was also regarded as one of the best video game villains by IGN . [19] His role in Captain N was also recognized as one of the reasons for his popularity by IGN writer Lucas M. Thomas. [20] [17] His appearance was praised, including by Destructoid 's Colette Bennett, who called him distinct and well-designed. [21] Kotaku writer Kevin Wong, regarding him as one of his favorite boxers in the series, praised his design as "completely unique" and a "stroke of brilliance" by Nintendo. [22] Game Informer staff felt that the secret to defeating King Hippo was likely more well-known than the 30-life code in the video game Contra . [23] Colette Bennett echoed this sentiment, feeling that it was a weak point that anyone could identify. [21] 1UP.com editor Bob Mackey called the fight with him an "iconic moment in gaming" and one that was the "talk of the schoolyards during the 80's". [24] Kevin Wong noted that the tension of having to counterattack King Hippo was an aspect of what made him one of the best opponents in the series. [22]

King Hippo had been criticized for being a racial stereotype. The Retronauts podcast discussed how he was a stereotype of Pacific islanders, pointing to King Hippo being fat and lavish as examples of these stereotypes. [25] Brian Shirk, writing in Bit Mob, criticized King Hippo's design as offensive, suggesting that his "subhuman caricature" design was likely based on the savage portrayal of Polynesians in media. [26]

Notes

  1. ↑ Japanese: キング・ヒッポー, Hepburn: Kingu Hippō

Related Research Articles

<i>Duck Hunt</i> 1984 video game

Duck Hunt is a 1984 light gun shooter video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The game was first released in April 1984 in Japan for the Family Computer (Famicom) console and in North America as an arcade game for the Nintendo VS. System. It became a launch game for the NES in North America in October 1985, and was re-released in Europe two years later.

<i>Kid Icarus</i> 1986 video game

Kid Icarus is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan and the Nintendo Entertainment System in Europe and North America. It was released in Japan in December 1986, in Europe in February 1987, and in North America in July.

<i>Mario Bros.</i> 1983 video game

Mario Bros. is a 1983 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for arcades. It was designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Gunpei Yokoi, Nintendo's chief engineer. Italian twin brother plumbers Mario and Luigi exterminate creatures, like turtles (Shellcreepers) and crabs emerging from the sewers by knocking them upside-down and kicking them away. The Famicom/Nintendo Entertainment System version is the first game to be developed by Intelligent Systems. It is part of the Mario franchise, but originally began as a spin-off from the Donkey Kong series.

<i>EarthBound</i> 1994 video game

EarthBound, released in Japan as Mother 2: Gīgu no Gyakushū, is a 1994 role-playing video game developed by Ape Inc. and HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as the second entry in the Mother series. The game focuses on Ness and his party of Paula, Jeff and Poo, as they travel the world to collect melodies from eight Sanctuaries in order to defeat the universal cosmic destroyer Giygas.

Metroid is an action-adventure game franchise created by Nintendo. The player controls the bounty hunter Samus Aran, who protects the galaxy from Space Pirates and other malevolent forces and their attempts to harness the power of the parasitic Metroid creatures.

Star Fox is an arcade style rail shooter, space flight simulator, and third person action-adventure video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto, developed and published by Nintendo. The games follow the Star Fox combat team of anthropomorphic animals, led by chief protagonist Fox McCloud. Gameplay involves many adventures around the Lylat planetary system in the futuristic Arwing fighter aircraft, in other vehicles, and on foot. The original Star Fox (1993) is a forward-scrolling 3D rail shooter, but later games add more directional freedom.

<i>River City Ransom</i> 1989 video game

River City Ransom, known as Street Gangs in PAL regions, is an open world beat 'em up video game originally for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is an English localization of Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari for the Famicom. The game was developed by Technōs Japan and released in Japan on April 25, 1989.

<i>Kirby Super Star</i> 1996 video game

Kirby Super Star, released as Kirby's Fun Pak in PAL regions, is a 1996 anthology action-platform game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is part of the Kirby series of video games by HAL Laboratory. The game was advertised as a compilation featuring eight games: seven short subsections with the same basic gameplay, and two minigames.

Super Smash Bros. is a crossover platform fighting game series published by Nintendo. The series was created by Masahiro Sakurai, who has directed every game in the series. The series is known for its unique gameplay objective which differs from that of traditional fighters, in that the aim is to increase damage counters and knock opponents off the stage instead of depleting life bars.

<i>Super Punch-Out!!</i> 1994 video game

Super Punch-Out!! is a boxing video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It was released on October 24, 1994 in North America and again in the same region in 1996. It was released in the United Kingdom on February 10, 1995 for the same console and in Japan in 1998 for the Super Famicom through the Nintendo Power flash RAM cartridge series. The game is also included in the GameCube version of Fight Night Round 2 as an extra game due to the inclusion of Little Mac in the game. The game was released for the Wii's Virtual Console in Europe on March 20, 2009, in North America on March 30, 2009, and in Japan on July 7, 2009. The game was also released on the New Nintendo 3DS eShop on May 5, 2016. Nintendo re-released Super Punch-Out!! in the United States in September 2017 as part of the company's Super NES Classic Edition. It is the fourth game in the Punch-Out!! series, taking place after the Punch-Out!! game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glass Joe</span> Fictional character in Punch-Out!!

Glass Joe is a fictional French boxer from Nintendo's Punch-Out!! video game series. He first appeared in the arcade game Punch-Out!! in 1984 and three years later in the NES game of the same name. His most recent appearance was in the Wii installment of Punch-Out!!. He was originally designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and was revised by Makoto Wada for the NES game. He is voiced by Christian Bernard in the Wii game.

<i>Kid Icarus</i> (series) Video game series

Kid Icarus is a series of fantasy video games by Nintendo. The games are set in a Greco-Roman fantasy world called "Angel Land", which is a fictional setting that is loosely based on Greek mythology. The gameplay consists of a mixture of action, adventure and platform elements. The Kid Icarus franchise is known as a cult classic and a sibling series to the Metroid franchise.

Donkey Kong is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto for Nintendo. It follows the adventures of Donkey Kong, a large, powerful gorilla, and other members of the Kong family of apes. Donkey Kong games include the original arcade game trilogy by Nintendo R&D1; the Donkey Kong Country series by Rare and Retro Studios; and the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series by Nintendo Software Technology. Various studios have developed spin-offs in genres such as edutainment, puzzle, racing, and rhythm. The franchise also incorporates animation, printed media, theme parks, and merchandise.

<i>The Mysterious Murasame Castle</i> 1986 video game

The Mysterious Murasame Castle is a 1986 action-adventure game developed by Nintendo and Human Entertainment and published by Nintendo. It was originally only released for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan as the second original game for the platform. The Mysterious Murasame Castle was later released worldwide on the Virtual Console in 2014 and for the Nintendo Switch Online service in 2023.

<i>Super Smash Bros. Brawl</i> 2008 video game

Super Smash Bros. Brawl is a 2008 crossover fighting game developed by Sora Ltd. and Game Arts and published by Nintendo for the Wii. The third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series, it was announced at a pre-E3 2005 press conference by Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. Masahiro Sakurai, director of the previous two games in the series, assumed the role of director at Iwata's request. Game development began in October 2005 with a creative team that included members from several Nintendo and third-party development teams. After delays due to development problems, the game was released worldwide in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Mac</span> Main character of the Punch-Out video game series

Little Mac is a fictional boxer and the protagonist in Nintendo's Punch-Out!! series of video games. He first appeared as a nameless boxer in the Arcade game Punch-Out!!, then was given a name and redesigned in the NES game of the same name. He is the smallest and youngest of all the boxers in the games, being only 17 years old across all Punch-Out!! games. His signature attack is the "STAR Punch". His design was changed again for the SNES Super Punch-Out!!, but reverted to his NES appearance in the Wii title, wich was then used in the Super Smash Bros. series. In the NES and Wii games, Little Mac is accompanied by Doc Louis, his trainer.

<i>Punch-Out!!</i> Video game series

Punch-Out!! is a boxing video game series created by Genyo Takeda and Makoto Wada, and published by Nintendo. The player controls a boxer named Little Mac, who aims to become the World Video Boxing Association (W.V.B.A.) champion.

Punch-Out!! is a series of boxing video games created by Genyo Takeda and Makoto Wada, and published by Nintendo. The main protagonist and player character of the series is Little Mac, a short boxer from the Bronx who climbs the ranks of the fictional World Video Boxing Association (WVBA) by challenging various opponents. These opponents come from different countries and feature various ethnic stereotypes associated with their place of origin.

<i>Punch-Out!!</i> (Wii) 2009 video game

Punch-Out!! is a 2009 boxing video game developed by Next Level Games and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It is the fifth and most recent mainline game in the Punch-Out!! series, following the SNES version of Super Punch-Out!!, and is a reboot of the series.

<i>Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS</i> and <i>Wii U</i> Pair of 2014 video games

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, both commonly referred to together as Super Smash Bros. 4 or Smash 4, are 2014 crossover platform fighter video games developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U video game consoles. It is the fourth installment in the Super Smash Bros. series, succeeding Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The Nintendo 3DS version was released in Japan on September 13, 2014, and in North America, Europe, and Australia the following month. The Wii U version was released in North America, Europe, and Australia in November 2014 and in Japan the following month.

References

  1. ↑ Iwata, Satoru. "Iwata Asks: Punch Out". Nintendo . Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  2. 1 2 "King Hippo". January 22, 2015. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  3. ↑ David Craddock (April 17, 2007). "Punch Out! Featuring Mr. Dream Wii Virtual Console Review". Shacknews . Archived from the original on June 22, 2007.
  4. 1 2 Huston, Gabrielle (August 24, 2022). "Nintendo's Punch-Out!!: 15 Tricks To Make Your Way To Mike Tyson". The Gamer. Archived from the original on June 26, 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 Totilo, Stephen (July 27, 2009). "Punch-Out Devs Talk Graphics, Difficulty, Nixed Princess Peach Idea". Kotaku . Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  6. 1 2 "Mario Strikers Interview w/ Director Mike Inglehart! (OG Strikers & Charged, Punch-Out Wii, Waluigi)". GameXplain. 2023. Archived from the original on January 19, 2024. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  7. ↑ "King Hippo". Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  8. ↑ P. Gill, Charles (December 10, 2013). "Punch-Out!! (Assorted)". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on January 10, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  9. 1 2 Colette Bennett (March 31, 2009). "Take to the ring in the Punch-Out!! King Hippo Contender kit". Destructoid . Archived from the original on January 17, 2010. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
  10. ↑ McKinley Noble (May 15, 2009). "New Punch-Out!! documentary is a knock-out". GamePro . Archived from the original on May 15, 2009. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  11. ↑ kombo (May 4, 2012). "Unreleased Punch-Out!! Clips Feature King Hippo, Piston Hondo, and Great Tiger". GameZone. Archived from the original on May 26, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  12. ↑ Hernández, David (December 21, 2018). "Todos los espíritus en Super Smash Bros Ultimate". Hobby Consolas. Archived from the original on January 26, 2024. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  13. ↑ Scullion, Chris (September 21, 2019). "Feature: 10 Strangest Moments In Captain N: The Game Master". NintendoLife. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Optimus Primal voice actor Garry Chalk had the Best Time on Captain N The Game Master as King Hippo". TFcon. 2020. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  15. ↑ Schedeen, Jesse; George, Rich (August 11, 2010). "Scott Pilgrim's Finest Gaming Moments of All Time". IGN . Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  16. ↑ "Now You're Playing with Power: Top 25 Nintendo Characters of all Time". GameDaily. p. 16. Archived from the original on January 3, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  17. 1 2 Chris Antista (February 22, 2008). "Gaming's greatest Fatties". GamesRadar . Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
  18. ↑ "Losing the Upper Hand in Punch-Out!!". Wired . July 23, 2009. Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  19. ↑ "King Hippo is number 64". IGN. Archived from the original on July 17, 2010. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
  20. ↑ Lucas M. Thomas (January 18, 2008). "Smash It Up! - Delayed Again?!". IGN. Archived from the original on December 12, 2010. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
  21. 1 2 Bennett, Colette (May 5, 2007). "What makes a boss unforgettable?". Destructoid . Archived from the original on September 18, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
  22. 1 2 Wong, Kevin (April 10, 2019). "Every Punch-Out!! Opponent, Ranked". Kotaku . Archived from the original on April 25, 2019. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  23. ↑ "Punch-Out!! Boxer Breakdown," Game Informer 188 (December 2008): 74.
  24. ↑ Mackey, Bob (2009). "Top 5 Worst Dressed Videogame Characters". 1UP.com . Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
  25. ↑ "Retronauts". Retronauts. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  26. ↑ Shirk, Brian (September 28, 2009). "Racial Stereotypes in Video Games: How Do We Change Them?". Bit Mob. Archived from the original on November 25, 2010. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.