Great Tiger - Reception

Reception

Since appearing in Punch-Out!! for the NES, Great Tiger has received mostly positive reception. He has been featured in multiple pieces of Punch-Out!!-related merchandise, including a series of Topps trading cards and a series of action figures. Both Official Nintendo Magazine and GameSpot described him as a favourite of the series. Sarcastic Gamer editor called Great Tiger one of his personal favourites of the series, stating that Nintendo had sold him on the Wii Punch-Out!! by adding him. New York Daily News described him as a familiar character in the Punch-Out!! series. IGN described him as a memorable foe, owing to his "teleporting punches." Kotaku editor Michael McWhertor called him quirky as well as mystical. GamePro listed him as one of the characters they want to return in the Wii Punch-Out!!, stating that "may not be the most PC character from the original NES classic, but his crazy techniques will fit in well with the outlandish style Next Level Games has been known to apply." Great Tiger's turban was listed by GamePro as the 10th best headwear in video games, stating that it will "light up like a Christmas tree before he throws a punch."

Operation Sports editor Christian McLeod described him as one of the toughest opponents in the game, noting him as even more difficult than the champion of the World Circuit, Mr. Sandman. IGN editor Jesse Schedeen listed him as one of the top fighters in Punch-Out!!, stating that his powers took a more "supernatural bent." MTV editor Jason Cipriano stated that Great Tiger's Tiger Punch was hard to beat if the player is a "bit rusty." Jasen Bowen of The Daily Sentinel commented that while Glass Joe was easy, Great Tiger "proved to be nearly unbeatable." The Globe and Mail editor Chad Sapieha commented that the roster of fighters in Punch-Out!! "would send chills down the spine of any potential pugilist," describing Great Tiger as a "mystical Indian who can vanish in a puff of smoke, making him nearly impossible to hit." Humour web site The Onion wrote an article about a series of interviews with Mike Tyson and other Punch-Out!! characters. The author suggests that a part of this documentary included a clip of Mike Tyson blocking Great Tiger's "Magic Punch." In a humour article, ESPN created several parodies of Punch-Out!! characters based on real-life "punch-worthy palookas", including one of Great Tiger called "Great Packer", in reference to Brett Favre. MeriStation stated that unlike the previous battle with Bear Hugger, which they state did not require much effort.