Bald Bull

Bald Bull
Punch-Out!! character
Bald Bull, as depicted in promotional artwork for Punch-Out!! for Wii.
First game	Punch-Out!! (arcade)
Designed by	Shigeru Miyamoto Makoto Wada Eddie Viser
Voiced by	Erse Yagan

Bald Bull (ボールド・ブル, Bōrudo Buru) is a fictional character in the Punch-Out!! video game series created by Nintendo. Depicted as a bald Turkish boxer from Istanbul, he serves as a non-playable opponent who fights Little Mac. Bald Bull has made an appearance in nearly every Punch-Out!! title to date and is voiced by Erse Yagan.

Concept and characteristics

Bald Bull has had several different designers over the years; his original design was created by Shigeru Miyamoto for the arcade game Punch-Out!!, while his later designs were created by Makoto Wada and Eddie Viser.

Appearances

Bald Bull appeared in five different Punch-Out!! titles, first appearing in the original arcade release in 1984 and last appearing in Punch-Out!! for the Wii in 2009.

Reception

Since appearing in Punch-Out!! for the arcades, Bald Bull has received positive reception, and has been cited as a notable character to the Punch-Out!! series.^[1][2][3] He has appeared in promotional items, including a series of figurines and a series of Topps trading cards.^[4][5] A statue of Bald Bull constructed with Lego blocks was offered as a door prize at the Child's Play charity, along with Mega Man and Sonic the Hedgehog statues.^[6] ESPN editor Jon Robinson, in an interview with Senior Product Specialist Nate Williams, commented that he was "always a big Bald Bull fan," asking if he would return in the Wii Punch-Out!!.^[7] GameDaily listed Bald Bull as the fifth best baldy in video games.^[8] In an article on the evolution of the Punch-Out!! series, GameDaily praised the graphics, citing Bald Bull's surprised expression when punched as an example of its "simple yet humorous" graphics.^[9] IGN included him in their list of the top fighters they want to see in the Wii Punch-Out!!, describing him as a "true veteran of the series".^[10] GamePro editors Patrick Shaw and Dave Rudden chose him as one of the four boxers that they most want to return, due to his high number of appearances in the series.^[11] UGO.com editors Russell Frushtick and C. Radtke stated "there have been damn good boxing games from EA recently, but nothing comes close to the thrill of knocking out Bald Bull for the first time."^[12] In a humour article, ESPN created several parodies of Punch-Out!! characters based on real-life "punch-worthy palookas", including one of Bald Bull called "Bald Bullmarket," referencing economic analyst Jim Cramer.^[13] Allgame editor Skyler Miller commented that while humorous in Super Punch-Out!!, Bald Bull is not quite "out there" compared to the boxers in the NES Punch-Out!!.^[14]

Bald Bull is cited as being a difficult boss in Punch-Out!!. Freelance writer Scott Jones commented that playing Punch-Out!! made him nervous, citing how Bald Bull's laugh after Little Mac loses made his hands shake.^[15] GamePro editor Will Herring described Bald Bull as a "monster built of power".^[16] Destructoid editor Matthew Razak commented that the reveal of Bald Bull's weakness could have come sooner, cursing Makoto Wada as well as demanding that he owes him "two new controllers and a ton of band-aids."^[17] Worth Playing editor Brian Dumlow described the second encounter with Bald Bull in the NES Punch-Out!! as being cringe-worthy, due to players getting "hammered".^[18] Game Informer used Bald Bull as an example of a boxer from Punch-Out!! who requires "paced pugilism".^[19] Operation Sports editor Matt Gagnon commented that Bald Bull in Punch-Out!! for the Wii was still a challenging opponent.^[20] Fellow Operation Sports editor Christian McLeod commented that "as intimidating as Bull looks in 480p, he really is no more difficult than his previous incarnations from the NES and SNES versions of the series."^[21] GamesRadar editor Brett Elston suggested that the difficulty of Bald Bull was high enough to make people "swear you’re going to break the controller in half, smash the disc and throw the Wii into the deepest volcano on Earth."^[22] GamePro Germany commented that Bald Bull was a "true heavyweight," and that his Bull Charge is "feared."^[23]

References