Nukes and Knives™: Rocky Video Games and Goofs

Lace up those gloves, step inside the ring and prepare to be on the receiving end of a vicious knockout.

Rocky Super Action Boxing (1983)

The first licensed game was released for the ColecoVision and based on Rocky III.

Title screen vs poster

Guess full title didn't fit and gotta love the green gloves.

Clubber looks rather dashing with violet gloves and lilac shorts, don't you think?

Unless stated otherwise, games are now just called Rocky.

Master System (1987)

Two-mega cartridge is memorable for the wrong reasons.

Title screen vs Rocky IV poster

Pretty decent, but the inclusion of arm looks unnatural.

Manual

Apollo: The reigning champion whose experience and strength make him nearly undeatable.
Lang: A worthy contender whose hunger for the title is over-powering until he achieves it.
Drago: A rank amateur from the U.S.S.R. whose spirit to win is unrivaled.

Ignoring pathetic drawings, typo is unbeatable.

Did they have some kind of copyright problem with Creed, Clubber and Ivan?

Who fucking knows?

First fight with Apollo is perfect.

We skip Rocky II and jump to 'Lang'.

Presuming this is the rematch, black shorts and stars and stripes gets the thumbs up.

But shit goes downhill.

When he's knocked down, shorts magically turn blue.

The same thing happens between rounds (dubbed 'intervals'), but something more peculiar is happening in opposite corner.

Even though Mickey died shortly after Rocky's defeat by Clubber, behold his resurrection.

Wait a mo, where's Tony, Apollo and Paulie?

Finally, I must break you.

Same set up, even though it should be just Tony and Paulie.

After beating Drago, we become the world champion.

Rocky is reunited with Adrian outside the Whitehouse.

Okay then.

Having said that, she could be a two dollar whore for all I know.

In 1991, Sega released the very similar Heavyweight Champ, ntbcw 1987 remake of 1976 original of same name (notable for being the first ever fighting game).

Outside of North America, James "Buster" Douglas Knockout Boxing was also named so, but is otherwise unrelated to series.

Game Boy Advance (2002)

Virtucraft Studios handled portable exclusive.

Cover art

For reasons unknown, Tommy "The Machine" Gunn (portrayed by then professional boxer Tommy Morrison) is absent.

North American equivalent literally copied Rocky IV's poster.

Movie mode boasts 15 opponents (the 'majority' of which are taken from source material) and a boss from each film.

Rocky vs Spider Rico
White shorts weren't used until his first fight with Apollo and both pairs of gloves are the wrong colour.

But at least they got Spider's maroon shorts right.

Curiously, screen constantly 'bobs' up and down, suggesting we're at sea.

HA HA HA!

Shit is broken up by a series of digitised stills.

Apollo gives a local underdog fighter a shot at the title on the 1st of January.

Correct.

But almost immediately after:

It's stated that fight will take place on the 4th of July.

WHAT THE FUCK?

"I want you Balboa, I want you!"

He actually says: "I want the Stallion, I want you!"

We jump to rematch with Clubber.

Red gloves are right, but black and gold shorts are from Rocky II and Clubber wore blue shorts in their first fight.

The reality.

Stars and stripes and black with white trim.

Then this happens.

Still isn't from Rocky III.

So what gives?

Rocky IV

Goddammit man.

Rocky vs Tommy

As this is a street fight, why the FUCK are both dressed as boxers?

Upon completing game.

Image occurs before scrap begins and made up quote makes no sense.
Tommy - "Yeah, you fight pretty good (cough!). I guess you really are the champ!"

Gamecube, PS2 and Xbox (2002)

Rage Software's PS2 and Xbox versions are identical to Gamecube (developed by Steel Monkeys).

Movie mode is the same principle as GBA, but hardware allows full character models and CG cut scenes.

Rocky

Spider Rico fight still has the same futuristic shorts problem.

Before Apollo I, we must take care of Dipper Brown and Ernie Roman.

Apart from band aid missing above Rocky's right eye and glass of beer rather than bottle on bar - bravo.

Apollo searches for a potential opponent and remarks:
"Big Chuck Smith. No man I don't feel no heat from that name."

He actually says this of Bobby Judge.

Photographs are taken from Rocky III.

Page isn't shown in film.

Here's the proof.

WHY and WOW, right?

After choosing the Italian Stallion for Bicentennial bout, a vision shows Rocky wearing red shorts/white stripe, as opposed to white shorts/red stripe, mirroring poster above the ring.

Cheeky.

According to DVD commentary provided by director John G. Avildsen, this was actually a mistake made by the props department that they couldn't afford to rectify, so Stallone wrote a brief scene between him and Jergens to cover up the fact.

Ring walks are robe racist.

Who's the asshole with beard?

Apollo doesn't come as George Washington.

Lazy bastards.

But ring itself is spot on.

Rocky II

Mac Lee Green, Buddy Shaw and Billy Snow.

Boss - Apollo II

Again, characters are without robes.

Banner

Did you spot the goof?

Waistband is red, but should be black.

Ring is recycled, so completely wrong.

Yo Adrian, I did it

Championship belt was never found.

Rocky III

Big Yank Ball, Joe Chan and Vito Soto.

Boss - Clubber Lang

Newspapers

Now we're in deep shit.

Evening Post
Apollo only bright spot in struggling offense

The Evening Post-Dispatch
Rookie only bright spot in struggling offense

Clubber Win - Number One Contender
Contest winner to compete yet again

Clubber Lang Win - Number One Contender
Oratorical contest winner to compete again Sunday

Oh, Sunday talks on pensions being mulled is omitted.

Rematch takes place in the wrong ring and Clubber wore blue shorts in the first fight.

The only aspect they got right is Rocky's stars and stripes.

Rocky IV

Big Chuck Smith, Burt Judge¹ and Joe Czak²

Boss - Ivan Drago

¹B. Buchanan and ²Joe Zack in GBA (a mistake in itself).

Czak was first mentioned in original and defeated in Rocky III.

Burt is changed from film's Bobby Judge.

Weird.

Apollo is dressed for the occasion but Drago forgot his clobber.

They didn't have permission to use Boss, so Rocky's top says Creed.

Pure coincidence of course, but in 2015 (or 30 years later), spin-off franchise of same name was born.

Profile states this iteration of Rocky is aged 36.

Let's check history.

Rocky - 30

Rocky II - 31

Rocky III³ - 34 (before and after Clubber defeat) and 35 (sometime before rematch)

³Dialogue, Mickey's death and date of Thunderlips newspaper article places events between 1979-1982.

No shit.

Anyway, contrary to popular belief, Rocky IV occurs five years after III, making him 40.

Rocky V

Kofi Langton⁴, Tim Simms⁵ and Union Cane

Boss - Tommy Gunn

More changes from GBA.

⁴Phil Rodgers and Jeff Langton in film.

⁵Take a look at what they did.

Michael Jackson once said 'it doesn't matter if you're black or white'.

On this occasion, I beg to differ.

Unlike portable cousin, they nailed street fight.

Yep, he's still 36, and why have we reverted back to original's shorts?

Rocky Legends, PS2 and Xbox (2004)

Sequel was brought by Venom Games.

Career mode imagines the four major characters rising to the top, so set before and during the films.

Drago's journey steps away from the canon, as after beating Apollo, he also defeats Rocky and receives a medal for his troubles.

Paulie Klein
We know his surname is Pennino, but in the original script, Adrian's surname was Klein.

Rocky was 30 in the original film, but he didn't wear stars and stripes until Rocky III.

Mickey Goldmill is randomly aged 28.

He knocked Ginny Russell out of the ring on September 14, 1923, the same night that in real life, Luis Firpo did the same to Jack Dempsey.