King Hippo is a character that has appeared in Nintendo's Punch Out series. He has appeared in most punch out games except for one Super Punch out for the SNES. So lets learn more about him.


Unlike other Punch Out characters not much is known about King Hippo's past. His fighting profile states he is from the South Pacific and from the fictional country of Hippo Island. Given that he has a crown and has king in his name. It is implied he is king or chief of his tribe. In one of his introductions it shows him living in a village, eating lots of food and enjoying the high life. Again, this shows that he is king/chief over his village.

His weight is unknown. However, given that Bear Hugger is 440 pounds King Hippo is twice as big has Bear Hugger. Therefore it is likely King Hippo is over 950 pounds. His age is also unknown. This makes Hippo one of the more mysterious characters in the franchise.

Sometimes he grunts and makes Hippo noises. In other games he speaks English very well. It could be him making Hippo sounds is a way for him to intimidate his opponents.

In the recent game he appeared in he is champion of the Minor Circuit. The player has to beat him to become champion and move up into the Major Circuit.

Despite his very large size Hippo is actually a decent fighter. He has a great blocking technique. However, Hippo does have some tricky hooks. He loves to sucker punch his opponents. He also has powerful quick jabs. His main attack is his grab and smash. He usually jabs, grabs the player, and smashes them down.

His weakness is he can leave himself open to attacks. While he can block most punches to his face. His abdomen is his weak spot. This is how he sometimes loses his fights. Doc Lewis tells Little Mach Hippo won't go down with a punch to the face. Hit his belly that is his weak point. Once he is knocked down due to his heavy weight he cannot get back up.

Due to being very large Hippo is not very agile unlike the second heaviest fighter Bear Hugger. As I have stated once Hippo is knocked down the fight is over as he can't get up without assistance. Bear Hugger can get back up when knocked down.

Personality Wise: Hippo seems to enjoy eating and living the high life as seen in one of his intro's. He also believes due to his large size he has an advantage. This is shown as he laughs at Little Mac for challenging him. He also does not seem to fight fair. In the second time you face him he gets a sewer cover and tapes it to his belly. He also likes to likely intimidate his opponents with Hippo Sounds. He also can become enraged pretty quickly. When enraged he will jab more and use his smash and grab attack more. If he knocks out Little Mack. He will pound his chest and laugh at Mac.

Here is his known stats

Record 19 wins and 9 loses
Minor Circuit Champion
Height unknown
Weight Unknown.

As I mentioned he is from Hippo Island in the South Pacific this is a fictional country. However, the makers of this game could have had the country of Nauru. Nauru is famous for having very large people on it. Therefore, that might have been the inspiration for King Hippo.

Anyway, this concludes my biography of King Hippo.

Woah, you're on a roll with these bios! I just read your Super Macho Man piece and was impressed. Didn't realize you'd done one on King Hippo too. I always found King Hippo to be one of the most memorable characters from Punch Out. Probably cause of how distinct he was with his large frame and the whole belly-button thing.

A few quick thoughts on your breakdown:

I had no idea about the connection with the country of Nauru. That's a super interesting tidbit! If that was truly an inspiration for King Hippo's design, it gives a lot more depth to his character background.
His strategy always kinda tripped me up. The focus on his belly made for such an interesting fight dynamic, especially when you're used to trying to land those face shots.
I laughed out loud when you mentioned the sewer cover he taped to his belly. Man, that was such a classic Punch Out moment. Like, really dude? That's your strategy now?
His personality, with the whole "living the high life" thing and the laughing at Mac always cracked me up. I mean, he's essentially the big, arrogant guy who thinks he's invincible... until you nail that sweet spot on his belly.
On a side note: I remember when he'd laugh at Little Mac, and it made me wanna beat him even more! It's funny how video game characters can evoke such emotions, right?

You've done a fab job breaking down these characters, and now I'm eagerly waiting to see who you profile next.Keep these coming, dude! Loving the trip down memory lane.

Zachariah: Hippo is just one of those guys that you enjoy knocking out in the games. Unlike the other characters Hippo cheats and then he is so arrogant he makes you want to knock him out so more. I know when he put on the sewer cover me and my cousins laughed hard at that. Like you we were like this fits well into this type of game.

Punch Out has gave us a lot of characters.

I did not mention this in my bio, but King Hippo made an appearance in a 1980's cartoon. Pretty Much keeping his personality from the game. Except his plans usually backfired

Dude, I've got to say, I'm genuinely loving these character bios you're posting! Your take on King Hippo especially was super insightful. It's always a treat to see the depth and trivia you pull up on these iconic characters. And mentioning his appearance in the 1980's cartoon? Classic! I totally forgot about that till you mentioned it. It's a trip thinking about how these characters were represented in different media.

I feel the same way about King Hippo in the games. His arrogance and that cheeky sewer cover move always got a chuckle out of me. But yeah, made me wanna land that punch even more, haha! Theres just something about his whole vibe that's a perfect mix of annoying and funny, making him such a memorable character.