Super Punch-Out!! has a hidden two-player mode that was just discovered nearly three decades after the game’s original 1994 release (via Kotaku). If you want to mess around with it but don’t have an SNES hooked up, you can actually give the secret mode a shot on the version of the game currently available to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers.
The new two-player mode — and a fight select screen — were revealed by the Twitter account Unlisted Cheats in a thread on Monday. To activate them, you’ll need to have two controllers hooked up to your console of choice. (On Switch, I got them to work with a Pro Controller as player one and two Joy-Cons acting as one controller as player two.)
First, on the title screen, hold down Y and R with the player two controller, and on the player one controller, press A or start. (On the Switch’s Pro Controller, I got this to work by pressing the plus button.) This opens up the fight select screen, which lets you jump to a bout of your choosing.
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
Next, you can activate the two-player mode. Highlight the fighter you or a friend might want to play as and then hold down B and Y at the same time on the player two controller, followed by A or Start on the player one controller. (I again used the plus button on my Pro Controller.) At the pre-fight screen, keep holding down B and Y on the player two controller and have player one press start to get through it.
The fight will start up, and the player two controller should be able to control the fighter you selected previously. According to IGN senior editor Kat Bailey, the player two character can do special moves, too, so if you’re taking on a friend, you might want to stay on your toes.
Sorry! Completely forgot to mention! All combinations must be held on JOYPAD2! Then A or START on JOYPAD1!
— Unlisted Cheats (@new_cheats_news) August 8, 2022
I’ll admit that I’ve never played Super Punch-Out!! outside of testing it for this article, but the fact that this is an option at all is a delightful hidden gem. It’s also a fun reminder of some of the secrets that used to be accessible in games with the right combination of arcane button presses. After using this hidden mode and seeing the new secrets menu in Vampire Survivors, I’m hoping classic-style cheats make a comeback.