Punch Hero

is a whole lot of game for people who are willing to pony up a few bucks to get ahead. Those of you who want a free game to be free, though, might need a little help.
I’m here for you. We’re going to focus today on a path to success through character development and fighting strategies.

The Basics:

Punch Hero’s tutorial does a pretty good job of explaining things, but it doesn’t cover everything. You have three basic punches: jab, hook, and uppercut. For people versed in Street Fighter games, you already kind of understand how things work.
Jabs are the weakest punch, but they’re also the quickest. There is little to no telegraphing on these punches making them difficult to avoid, however they do not interrupt hooks or uppercuts. Keep in mind, it’s easy to get caught by quicker hook variants (like Straight punches or Body Blows) for critical damage when spamming jabs.
Hooks are stronger than jabs, but weaker than uppercuts. They aren’t particularly quick or slow. Moreover, you can buy skills that will randomly release stronger, faster versions such as a “Straight” punch. Hooks have a short hand-to-face pose that telegraphs the punch. Hooks will interrupt your opponent’s hooks or uppercuts, making them very valuable. Hooks are capable of stunning your opponents for a short amount of time.
Uppercuts are the strongest and slowest punches. Moreover, they can only be evaded, not blocked. These punches are very easy to avoid and have a long counterattack window if you whiff on it. They are, however, very powerful when you land a critical hit and have a higher chance of stunning your opponent. Obviously, connecting an uppercut will supersede any incoming punch your opponent will throw.
Evasion is the key to success. Early on, you can go punch-for-punch with opponents. However, as you progress, your opponents get decidedly stronger, faster, and better equipped. When you evade a punch, the game slows down to allow an opportunity to counterattack. Counter punches deal significantly more damage than regular punches.
You can interrupt your own punches to evade, so you’re not stuck taking a hook to the chin as you wind up an uppercut. Feel free to duck out of the way and try to counterattack for critical damage.
Additionally, you can interrupt your weaving to throw punches. This will help you catch your opponent off guard, as the only way to interrupt your weave is to throw a punch. They’ll take one to the chin rather than risk critical damage most of the time.
Blocking is not truly necessary for success, but we’ll cover it anyhow. To block, put two fingers on screen. So long as one of those fingers remain on screen, you’ll remain in the blocking position. You may block jabs and hooks, but uppercuts will plow through your blocks.
Blocking may be useful for those looking to garner the “Lucky” achievements and “Perfect Win” missions, but those appear to be more effort than they’re worth.

Update: Mega Punch abilities

Gamevil updated Punch Hero to version 1.0.1 on May 31st, 2012. It included a performance update and Zombie Mode. Additionally, you can finally equip any “Rage” specials you may have purchased prior to the update by entering Zombie Mode. You must have GameCenter to participate.

Weave-Cancel and Uppercut Spam

You may have noticed that you can cancel out of a punch by tapping on the weave button. This is used mostly to evade quicker punches when you’re winding up. However, you can also use this to cancel your character’s punch animation after landing a punch.
For instance, a fighter with Jab Speed Level 5 and Uppercut Speed Level 5 would typically be able to uppercut a dazed opponent just two times during an Uppercut Daze compared to the six or seven jabs that fit into the same window. However, weaving directly after connecting and immediately throwing another uppercut afterwards allows up to five uppercuts in that same amount of time.
Moreover, canceling after a “bone crushing” hook or uppercut counterpunch and immediately throwing an uppercut will often beat your opponent’s next punch as they’re stuck in their “hit” animation. Uppercuts thrown this way will even beat the lightning-fast body blows that later opponents all seem to have.
Learning how to weave-cancel is critical to success against opponents like Ghost Pirate and the two beasts in the Pro League.

Fighting Miguel:

The tenth fighter in the game is Miguel.
Miguel is quicker, stronger, and faster than you. His jabs are at least jab speed level 6 AND powerful. His hooks are a little slower, but they’re still too quick to counterattack with hooks meaning you’ll have to whittle him down with jabs or get lucky with random hooks and uppercuts. Miguel almost never throws an uppercut, meaning you’re going to have to stay on your toes the entire time. He even has the random “Body Blow” ability that barely telegraphs, comes out as quick as a jab, and would cost you 500 stars to purchase on top of what appears to be Regen level 5 and massive health.
In short, Miguel is a rat bastard who is likely going to hand you your ass.
In fact, subsequent opponents are easier to beat than Miguel, a fact that Gamevil seems well aware as they reward you with 8 Stars (cash) when you beat Miguel in Arcade Mode, while other opponents net you gold rewards.
Luckily, when you reach Miguel, you also unlock the Amateur League.

The Amateur League

For the basis of this guide, we’re going to get you to the Amateur League. Later updates may take us beyond this point, but this is where you’ll spend most of your time as you grind out wins.
The Amateur League is a great source of gold. You get more than double the payout for Amateur League fights than what you get by playing through Arcade Mode. Placing 1st in the Amateur League awards 2,000 gold. 2nd place awards a still-respectable 1,750 gold. (3rd place also pays out, but I do not know how much having never placed third.) Additionally, there are Missions within the fights, such as getting a “No Jab Win” that award bonus gold.
The downside is that you’ll have to go through 14 fights to get to the end and damage carries over from fight-t0-fight. You can heal 20% of your health between rounds for 50 gold. Unless you really suck at the game, you should be able to gain lots of money through the Amateur League.
You can forfeit up to four fights in Amateur League and still be able to take home prize money. I’d suggest forfeiting any fight against Miguel other than the Finals. Even if you win, you’re not likely going to get enough of a payout to cover the hospital bill. It’s just not worth it.
The first time you win in Amateur League, you also unlock the Amateur League Belt. This accessory adds three points to your mental and health stats. You obviously want to equip it as soon as possible.
I’ve played through Amateur Mode about fifteen times, now. It’s a grind, but it’s a reliable source of gold until you’re strong enough for Pro League.

Skills to buy

Obviously, you’re going to want to increase your jab, hook, and uppercut speed. Your uppercut speed is most important early on, but your hook becomes invaluable later in the game as you try to anticipate and interrupt your opponent’s game.
Otherwise, as soon as you can afford the 6,000 gold required to buy “Straight,” I’d highly suggest it. For whatever reason, it’s difficult to counter a hook even if you throw them quicker than your opponents. So, rather than increase your hook speed (stop around level 5), we’ll look to increase the chances you’ll throw a straight punch rather than a hook. It’s a difference maker that is well worth the significant price to purchase and upgrade it.
Finally, “Regen” won’t help much at level one, but you may as well get it with the stars you earn through achievements. Increasing your “Rage” time doesn’t make a lot of sense when you don’t have any Rage skills, yet. Everything else is simply too expensive if you want to be a free-to-play player.

Equipment to buy

Save up for Red Gloves as early as possible. These gloves add three points to all your punch skills at the price of 10,000 gold. Mathematically, it’s a very sound investment as soon as all your punch skills cost 1,100 per point.
Next up, the ugly white tank top will net you three health points  for 5,000 gold. Save up for it when your health costs around 1,500 gold to advance. The same goes for red trunks whenever you decide to raise your mental stats.
The rest of the gear is just for customization.
The accessories seem like a great idea to individualize your character, but you may only where one at a time. Since this is where the Amateur and Pro Championship Belts are located, you’re not going to use it. They can only be purchased with Stars, anyway.

Achievements to target

There are 71 102 achievements in total. Each achievement comes with a gold or star reward. Honestly, with the exception of the perfect win and “dominate” achievements, these simply unlock as you play the game. Don’t focus on them, but be aware of which ones you are close to unlocking if you’re also just a few hundred gold away from buying a skill point, skill, or equipment.
That said, don’t be afraid to lose while you’re on the road to unlocking the Amateur League. There are achievements that give you gold for losing, which may save you time instead of grinding against opponents you’ve already beaten in Arcade Mode.

Training Center:

If you can get your hook, uppercut, and health to around twenty points, then you’re powerful enough to get to Ghost Pirate. Defeating him, though, may take a little more.
Jabs are less important as you progress, but you may want to have it somewhere around fifteen points by the time you face Yo-Puan and Miguel.
The Mental skill doesn’t seem particularly useful. It keeps you from getting dazed and apparently has an attribute that increases your power when you’re low on health, but you don’t really want to take too many hits in the first place. Having increased power would be great if it wasn’t for the whole low on health part. It didn’t work well in Killer Instinct, and it doesn’t work well here, either. Put some cash into it, but don’t worry about it too much.
Your health and uppercut are the most important stats. Each level gained should go into one of those two attributes, as you can never have enough. Ignore the other three and pay for them with gold, instead.

Your opponents in Arcade Mode:

Jones: The first opponent, your Glass Joe, throws lots of easily avoided hooks. You’ll likely need to beat him a few times to buy some punch points, but you’ll forget all about him since he doesn’t show up in Amateur League.
Ttoo: More of the same, though his uppercut is more dangerous than his hook. Ttoo has no abilities. It’s easy enough to jab him until it’s lights out. Ttoo also does not appear in Amateur League and is quickly forgotten.
Pierre: Pierre is another below-average fighte. He’s not particularly strong and should go down easily. Pierre throws a mix of all punches, but still features no abilities.
Acosta: Acosta isn’t particularly strong, but he is the first fighter you face with an ability. Acosta has a strong hook and can throw “Straight” punches at random. This can catch you off guard.
Brooklyn: Mostly a joke, Brooklyn put all his points into Uppercut. He leaves himself open a lot, making him surprisingly easy so long as you don’t get caught sleeping. Brooklyn has regen, but it won’t do him a lot of good. Those of you looking to unlock the Perfect Win achievements, here’s your huckleberry.
Raen: Raen is a well-rounded fighter. He throws lots of hooks and uppercuts, plus he has the ability to throw “Straight” punches. Raen is still put down easily enough so long as you don’t leave yourself open by spamming jabs.
Luis: Getting past Luis can be a hassle. Luis has medium health regeneration, a high hook rating, and can throw straight punches. If you whiff on a hook, be prepared to bob and weave. Luis throws many uppercuts, though, and can be dazed with ease.
Po-Yuan: Po-Yuan is a jerk. The AI is set to evade and counter, something that you haven’t seen up to this point. Additionally, Po-Yuan is able to throw random straight punches. Also, when enraged, Po-Yuan can throw a dangerous headbutt. Luckily, the game telegraphs the crap out of this special attack. I’ve never been hit by it, so I have no idea what happens. Po-Yuan can be beaten if lulled into taking hooks or uppercuts.
Haye: Haye has  a high hook skill and the ability to throw speedy body blows. He is surprisingly strong and can be difficult to beat if the randomizer is on his side. Seriously, body blows are way overpowered.
Beating Haye unlocks the Amateur League tournament.
Miguel: Miguel has a very quick, very strong jab. His hooks and uppercuts aren’t as powerful, but he’s too quick to effectively counterattack. Additionally, Miguel has a high regen ability and can throw body blows.
The basis for winning against Miguel is to counterattack with a less powerful punch. If Miguel throws an uppercut, you throw a hook. If Miguel throws a hook, you counter with a jab. Don’t try to get into a jabbing contest with him. He’s simply too fast and powerful.
A second strategy for beating Miguel is to try to lull him into walking into punches by weaving and then immediately throwing a hook or uppercut. This strategy does involve more luck than skill, but you know how the saying goes.

Even if you just BARELY beat Miguel, go ahead and fight Nakamura. He's a chump.

Nakamura: Nakamura’s stats are higher, but he is a walk in the park compared to Miguel. He is slow enough that you can counterattack relatively easily. Nakamura has your standard package of body blow and regen along with some pretty high health.
Pheonix: This appears to be modeled after Paul Pheonix from the Tekken games. Pheonix has a very high hook rating and can throw body blows. However, he does not have regen. If your Uppercut speed is 4 or higher, he should be pretty easy to beat.
Junggu: Junggu is your stick and move character. Junggu can be difficult to beat due to his high jab speed, power, and evasion. Junggu also has a high hook rating, but they’re pretty slow overall. Weave and cancel into an uppercut to try to catch him as he finishes.
Mike: Mike isn’t too difficult, but you’re going to need to deal a lot of damage to get him down. Mike regenerates a lot of health. Additionally, Mike is able to throw straight punches and body blows. His high punch power and regenerating health means you may as well not even jab. Mike is aggressive, though, so you may be able to get him to walk into uppercuts for critical damage.
Beating Mike unlocks the Pro League tournament.
Tiger: Tiger is obviously modeled after Sagat from Street Fighter. His outfit is called the Muay Thai costume in the store. Tiger has a high uppercut rating, throws uppercuts often, and even has the “Tiger Uppercut” ability that activates at random. Evade his uppercuts, send some back at him, and you’ll whittle him down in very little time. He’s kind of a pushover.
Alabama: Alabama has huge stats and can throw body blows and rolling body blows. However, Alabama isn’t particularly difficult. He’s a middle-of-the-road fighter. If you’re good at evading hits, you shouldn’t have too much difficulty taking him out.
Jack: Jack doesn’t have the Regen ability, but he DOES have Super Armor for about 15 seconds of invincibility. In addition to high stats, Jack has the Rolling Body Blow uppercut. If you can beat Jack before he pops his Super Armor, you’ll be fine. If not, be prepared to block and evade as he’ll plow right through your punches unscathed.
Ghost Pirate: Ghost Pirate is tough. Very tough. Not only does he have ridiculously high stats, but he can throw a myriad of overpowered special punches at a high rate that makes him seem downright unfair. He seldom throws a regular hook, instead using body blow and straight punches with regularity. Additionally, Ghost Pirate has the Drunk Punch special and a stupid high regeneration rate.
In other words, Ghost Pirate is just like Miguel. An overpowered jerk that will force you to grind before you can become powerful enough to beat him. Good luck.

The Pro League:

Oh, man… the Pro League is brutal.
I managed to win it my first time through with some dumb luck when Junggu ended up in the finals, but there are two fighters that are more powerful than Ghost Pirate in Brian and Yoritomo. I’d suggest playing Pro League until you win it once to unlock the Pro League Championship Belt that adds five to your health and mental stats. After that, the Amateur League is the path of least resistance until you have, say, 30 health and uppercut points.
Remember, you can forfeit three matches and take home a prize purse. If you don’t feel like getting your ass handed to you, you may want to skip fighting Yoritomo and Brian. However, be aware of the standings. If easier opponents are heading to the finals halfway through the tournament, you may want to forfeit to that particular opponent in hopes of facing them in the final round.
Good luck.



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