Punch Out has a lot of characters in the gaming series. Some have only appeared once while others are regular. Piston Hondo is a regular character in Punch Out. He has appeared in a lot of games. Just who is Piston Hondo? We are going to learn more about him today in my Piston Hondo Biography.

Piston Hondo was originally named Piston Honda. He appeared as Honda in the very first punch out game. However, Nintendo did not want any problems with Japanese company Honda. Nintendo thought having a car part as a name and a car company would cause problems, despite Honda being a common name. Nintendo just changed his last name to Hondo. His original name is still referenced as Mac's coach still says its time for Hondo to have an oil change. He also says time to tune up this boxer. These references automobiles which is a tribute to his original name being Piston Honda.

Piston Hondo is from Tokyo Japan. He originally was a martial artists participating in several martial arts competitions. He also turned to boxing. He ended up being very good at boxing rising up in the ranks.

He takes training very seriously. In one scene it shows him meditating in a Japanese Temple. Given that he is in a temple it is likely he practices the Shinto Religion. A Religion that is popular in Japan and is similar to Buddhism. It also shows how he eats a health diet mostly sushi and veggies. Moreover, he runs and trains hard in his gym. He believes to be the best you have to train harder. It should be noted he is a former Minor Circuit Champion before moving on to higher circuits.

Hondo typically wears typical boxing shorts. He usually has a headband on his head. Sometimes the headband has the Japanese Flag on it other times it has writing. According to Nintendo the writing stands for Number 1 in Japan or Japan's Champion.

Hondo is known to be very fast. He has very fast jabs and can throw a very quick uppercut. His most dangerous attack is the Piston Rush. He will rush toward the opponent in a fast motion. He will then throw quick hooks, jabs and an uppercut. If the player does not dodge they will be knocked down or knocked out. He also will sometimes act like he is going to throw the uppercut only to throw a powerful punch.

His Weakness is he can be vulnerable to uppercuts to the face. Sometimes he will telegraph what he is going to do. If he moves his eyebrow and winks he is fixing to do one of his powerful attacks.

Personality wise: Hondo is actually polite. He bows before a fight. In Martial Arts bowing is a sign of respect and good sportsmanship. According to translating videos Hondo says in Japanese "This noble one is called Piston Hondo". During intermissions he says more interesting things. He does not really taunt Mac (who the player controls). Instead it comes across that Hondo is trying to teach Mac something or encourage him. Some of the things he says according to translators "If the mind and heart are at peace then the fire inside will stay cool". He also says "if you let your enemy cut you, you will eventually break his bones".

On the other hand, he is proud to represent his home country and is proud when he wins. When He wins he bows to show respect. Then he will flex his muscles then throw several jabs. Other times he will stand in a typical Martial Arts victory stance. It is shown he takes his role as Japanese Champion seriously. Again according to translators he states "Hello to Tokyo. Where is my cameras after my victory".

Hondo only has 1 loss to his record. He lost to Mr. Sandman. It is kind of odd with only 1 loss that he is on the Major Circuit and is the lowest rank. Normally, he would be ranked higher. There are several theories why he is not ranked higher than he is. The most likely and common theory is Hondo was Minor Circuit Champion, which he was in the earlier games. But he just recently got promoted to the Major Circuit. Thus he had to give up the Minor Champion Belt which was won by King Hippo. This actually makes sense and would explain why he is ranked lower despite 1 loss. As he just got promoted and is having to start at the bottom of the next circuit up which is Major. Another Theory is he lost to Sandman and was demoted to the lower circuit. This really would not make sense a loss would not really demote a fighter. Given that he was minor champion before, I find the theory he was just recently promoted to be the most likely.

Another thing that is interesting about Hondo. Is he has a name similar to Piston Hurricane. Piston Hurricane was from Cuba and also appeared in the early Punch Out games. Piston's Hurricane main attack is the Hurricane Rush which is similar to the Hondo Rush. Nintendo has confirmed several times that the characters are indeed different.

Here are his stats from Punch out.

From: Tokyo Japan
Age: 28

Wins: 26 Wins 18 of those have been knockouts
Loses: 1 loss to Mr. Sandman

He is a longtime former Minor Circuit Champion

He is referenced in other games: When translated it says "This Polite Boxer has honor and is from Japan. His Hondo Rush is a solid attack can you dodge his speed and attacks.

Hondo is one of the few Punch Out Characters that take training seriously. The others being: Don Flamingo, Bear Hugger, Soda, Bald Bull, and Mr. Sandman. This is implied that Hondo is a serious contender in Punchout and not a comical character. He is also one of the few boxers to actually show good sportsmanship. This concluces my Bio of Piston Hondo.