Tag Archives: Game Localization

From Vodka Drunkenski to Soda Popinski: The Curious Case of Punch-Out’s Russian Boxer

Angry character drinking from a green bottle.

When Nintendo’s Punch-Out!! arcade game first emerged in 1984, it introduced a roster of wild, tongue-in-cheek characters. Among them was a hulking Russian fighter whose rough appearance and drinking gag made him especially memorable. In the arcade version of Super Punch-Out!!, he was known as Vodka Drunkenski, and yes — he drank a bottle of vodka between rounds. But when Punch-Out!! was brought to the NES, Nintendo of America made …

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