** MIKE TYSON’S PUNCH-OUT!! ** a.k.a. ** JUST PLAIN OL’ PUNCH-OUT!! ** a.k.a. ** PUNCH-OUT WITHOUT THAT ROTTEN DIRTBAG CRIMINAL WE HAD NO IDEA WOULD DO SUCH A THING, HONEST!! ** a.k.a. ** POWER PUNCH 1!!** a.k.a. ** THE GAME FOR WHICH EVERYBODY WAS APPARENTLY REQUIRED BY FEDERAL LAW TO USE THE WORD “CARICATURE” WHEN DESCRIBING OR REVIEWING, MUCH LIKE USAGI YOJIMBO DID FOR “ANTHROPOMORPHIC”!! ** Comprehensive FAQ by Darrell Wong (hawaiidkw) ** YO, CJAYC!! THIS IS FOR YOU!! ** Date completed: 12/27/08 E-mail: dkw001@hawaiiantel.net ---------------------------------------------------------------------- == Obligatory introduction == Why do a Mike Tyson’s Punch Out (gratuitous exclamation points) FAQ? Simple. I want one’s that’s complete and correct. And there are none that I know of. The Nintendo Players’ Guide? Not worth the too-thick & glossy paper it was written on. Jeff Rovin? A great, entertaining writer, but just didn’t have the time or space to do a proper FAQ. The YouTube gang? Amazing gamers, but sadly, without the kind of writing skills required here (I mentioned this before, right?). And make no mistake about it, this is not a “dead” game or system by any means. There was a whole, big celebration of the 20th anniversary of the NES (which I actually originally did this FAQ for). Think, now. Nintendo has produced *four* new consoles since then (not even counting all the handhelds). The only place you can still even buy N64 games, much less NES, are *really* dedicated video game stores like Toys ‘n Joys. Why does anyone give a damn about the NES or the whole Punch-Out franchise anymore? Guess what, there were some awesome games here, the kind that aren’t made anymore, and a new generation of players not ready for spine-busting first person shooters or incredibly intricate football plays are having a blast clobbering Glass Joe and flinging Shyguys off of cliffs, just like we did back in the day. They need a writeup that’s completely on the money. Not mostly correct. Not almost comprehensive. Not “good enough for government work”. Every punch, every combo, every situation, every little quirk and sneaky trick to watch out for. They deserve to have one. More to the point, I *want* one. And it took me a while, but after lots of revisions and retries and corrections, I can finally say...wait...lemme see...yes, I have it. Just so you know, an anniversary is over in a day; the writing process takes somewhat longer. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- == The basics == Technically, MTPO is a boxing game, but aside from the ring attire and rules, the fighting herein has only the faintest resemblance to actual boxing. Think of this an action game with only bosses (these actually do exist, e.g. Mega Man Power Battle). All the opponents are different, and you have to learn their styles and techniques to figure out how to beat them. You take the role of Little Mac, a young, puny, feeble, scrawny, weak, pathetic boxer (with no professional experience whatsoever, at that) who somehow thinks he can take on Mike Tyson. You take on one opponent after another who’s at least twice your size, and invariably far stronger and tougher. Sounds bad, huh? Well, not to worry; no matter how big, strong, or tough they are (and they get *very* big, strong, and tough near the end), rest assured that everyone is beatable. You get a password after clearing each “Circuit” so you don’t have to complete the road to the top in one sitting (although this is definitely possible). One other thing...I’m not sure who said it first, but this game’s supposed to be “unfair”. You know, how you’re at a disadvantage and have bad decisions go against you and face techniques that’d be illegal in real life, etc. Which, I suppose, just shows you how far we’ve come. Yes, there was a time when *a somewhat unorthodox setup* was considered to be unfair...which, of course, is LESS THAN NOTHING compared to the steaming mountains of cheapness and injustice and hair-tearing insanity and other assorted BS that’d follow. Try passing license exams or setting time trial records on Gran Turismo 3 or get various extremities handed to you in Bloody Roar 3, and then tell me how “unfair” you think some stupid spinny jab is. - General strategy - Success at Mike Tyson’s Punch-out hinges on one thing: patterns. Recognizing them, triggering them, exploiting them. Once you know what he’s going to do and how to react to it, you have him. So there’s really very little actual strategy in this game...just do what you gotta do, and keep on doing it until you’re done. Simple, right? There are three ways for the fight to end. In order of frequency: TKO - Although it’s kinda weird in retrospect, there was a time when the “three knockdown rule” in video game boxing wasn’t just standard (and far more so than in real life), it usually dictated the entire game. I’d be hard-pressed to name three boxing games in the NES era where the fight *didn’t* completely hinge on who went down the third time. So it is with Punch-Out. Most of your wins, and more than a few of your losses, will end with the ref declaring this familiar three letter acronym. In many cases, this saves you a grueling fight to the finish (which may or may not be a good thing to you, of course). [Just so we’re on the same page and everything...you *are* aware that the whole rationale for stopping the fight after the third knockdown is simply an extension of what a technical knockout is supposed to be? I.e. a stoppage called because one of the fighters is clearly beaten even if he hasn’t gone down for the count yet and they want to spare him needless injury? And that slavishly adhering to this arbitrary number...which, again, is *not* done in the real world...doesn’t make sense in a game where not only there *aren’t* any injuries, but boxers can take far more canvas naps before they’re anywhere near out of it? Remember Dempsey/Firpo? 2 knockdowns, then 7 knockdowns the other way? The lesson it taught it being able to take it as well as dish it out? How lame would that have been if either man was declared the loser after the third down? Think about it.) KO - If you wear down your opponent enough, eventually he’ll stay down for the count. Supposedly it’s more prestigious or superior or whatever, at least going by all debates over KO-ing Mike Tyson. (It’s possible! It’s not possible! I’ve done it! I saw someone do it! Tyson would never allow his videogame persona to be KOed! You can TKO him in the 2nd, but not KO, that’s a fact! It’s possible, you just can’t so it because you suck! Liar! You’re the liar, *liar*!) Not getting knocked down helps, and not taking any damage helps even more. Just remember that a win is a win, and all KOs are counted exactly the same whether or not there’s an additional letter fronting them. Personally, I consider a KO less prestigious because it means that you weren’t fast or precise enough for a proper TKO. Well, anyway, it prevents me from doing stupid thinks like backing off after the second knockdown because I have an irrational grudge against the letter T. The exception is the “KO chance”, which of course I’ll cover in due course. Of course, you can be KO’d as well, and it’s far more likely since you can get up a maximum of 3 times total in the fight, and *2* against some opponents. Decision - A ha. Heh. You’re not serious, are you? Ha ha ha ha. No, you can’t be serious. Hee hee. Hoo hoo ha ha...ha... Well, you and your opponent have three rounds to take care of business, so it won’t come to this very often. If you’re fortunate, you won’t have to face it at all. If you do, chances are extremely likely that you will not be happy with the result. Take the most brazenly unjust boxing decision you’ve seen in your life and make it about twice as bad...that’s what’s gonna happen nearly every time. Thankfully, there are only two fights where there’s a *chance* that you *might* have to sweat the decision, but even those are better ended with a TKO. - On screen - No, this isn’t some cheesy Star Trek reference, no matter how much you think I’m the kind of person to include one. This is simply what you seen on the screen during the fisticuffs. Stamina meters: The left is yours, the right is your opponent’s. Pretty self- explanatory. Note that not all the opponents’ stamina bars drain at the same rate; the World Circuit bruisers can take a lot more punishment than the likes of Von Kaiser. Heart meter: A heart with a number next to it. Getting a punch blocked *or* blocking a punch reduces it by 1; getting (gulp) hit reduces it by 3. Once it reaches 0, Mac enters “useless mode”, indicated by a red tint and hanging arms, and can’t punch at all for several seconds. He’ll recover if he can avoid getting hit (or blocking) long enough, whereupon he’ll have a tiny handful of hearts, hopefully enough to last him to the end of the round. For the most part, once you get good at dodging, hearts won’t be an issue, so you don’t have to pay attention to this too much. Star meter: Same as the heart meter, except with...surprise!...a star. You get one by connecting with a “star punch”, which has a different requirement for each opponent (King Hippo is the only one who never yields stars). They allow you to use Mac’s specialty, the Mac Super Flying Haymaker, and you can store up to 3. Getting nailed costs you a star, getting knocked down costs you all of them, and you also lose them all at the end of the round, so use ‘em or lose ‘em! Score: A completely meaningless number which supposedly measures how badly you’re pummelling your foe. Good for ego pumping and nothing else. I don’t know why they even bothered to put this here. Move along, nothing to see... ...okay, I’ll level with ya. If, by some extremely bizarre quirk of fate, the fight actually goes the freaking distance, your score determines who takes the decision. Unless, of course, unless your opponent happens to be a “hometown boy”, meaning that he will not lose the decision even if he looks like he was run over by a thresher, then thrown onto the street and run over by a steamroller. Don’t be alarmed; in general, the more likely the chance of it coming to a decision, the more reasonable the judges will be. You get 10 points for connecting a normal punch, 100 for getting a star, 500 for connecting a haymaker, and 1000 for a knockdown. Clock: A standard timer that counts upward, ending at 3 minutes, with the round number below it. *Usually* this runs at three times normal speed. (I don’t understand the reason for this at all...anyone care to enlighten me?) It slows down when you’re throwing counter punches, and it stops completely during certain specialties. It always stops for a knockdown. - Controls - For the most part, there’s no difference between Mac’s left and his right. Both are just as fast and do the same damage. I don’t care what anyone says; I’ve spent countless hours on this game and have never noticed even the tiniest speed or power difference anywhere. There are a few instances where you’ll need to use a certain hand, but this has absolutely nothing do to with speed or power. I have them covered in the individual fights. There is NO difference whatsoever between the dodges; both work equally well against anything and everything. B: left body A: right body Up + B: left head Up + A: right head Mac’s basic punches. Well, I should say punches, period, because the only other thing he has is that haymaker. The head shots, BTW, are not “jabs”, “hooks”, “uppercuts”, or any other highfalutin nonsense, they’re just plain ol’ “punches in the face”, as Strong Bad puts it. Well, technically *jumping* punches in the face, but let’s not make this any more confusing than it has to be. In general, head shots do more damage than body blows (which is fortunate, as they’re what you’ll be using the vast majority of the time). Start: Mac Super Flying Haymaker (uses 1 star) The instructions call this an “uppercut”, a term I’d gladly use if it looked anything remotely like an actual uppercut. Anyway, this is, of course, his big gun, which does a big chunk of damage. However, it has a hefty startup time, which means he can be hit out of it, and an alert opponent can also dodge it. Once an opponent dodges it, he’ll *always* dodge it when he’s not throwing a punch (and you’ll very likely get hit if he is). Because of these drawbacks, you always need to pick the right time to unleash this bonecrusher. Left: dodge left Right: dodge right Your primary defense; you’ll be using these against at least 95% of your opponent’s blows. Again, either or both work fine for *all* punches. The lean- in-the-direction-of-the-blow thing was incorporated into a number of NES games, but *not* this one. Back: block You can block straights and hooks (and nothing else). You can hold the block for as long as you want, but you can only block one punch at a time. Furthermore, because Mac’s such a little guy, he takes a little damage from the force of the blow *and* loses a heart. Needless to say, this isn’t too useful, so use it only if the situation calls for it. Back twice rapidly: duck This is just a fancy dodge. The regular dodges work perfectly fine, so this isn’t really useful. A and B when down: get up Self-explanatory, except for one little detail: The *later* you get up, the more stamina you’ll have. Furthermore, if you get up on 9, you regain *all* your stamina! Mario ref counts pretty fast, so don’t go for the perfect recovery unless you really need it. Again, *never* take a knockdown on purpose, if you can even imagine such a ludicrous tactic; this only hastens the dreaded KO defeat. Select (at end-of-round screen ONLY): stamina boost You only have to press the button once. The effectiveness of this diminishes with use, and sometimes it doesn’t work at all, so only use it if you need it. If you dodge a punch just before it’s about to connect, then immediately press up, the dodge will be faster than normal. Furthermore, against certain punches (all noted in the walkthrough), this will allow you to throw superfast counter punches to the head. This only lasts about three seconds, unfortunately. You can speed up a dodge manually by pressing the direction opposite of the dodge. ====================================================================== == Complete walkthrough (yay!) == Terms used in the walkthrough: Counter: Dodge or block the opponent’s punch and hit him (either the head or body, usually the former) to stun him, then follow up with one or more blows in the same area. The most basic, common technique in the game. You must throw all the punches to the same area; if you switch, you’ll be blocked. The exception is Mr. Sandman; I’ll deal with him when the time comes. A blocked punch can only be countered to the head even if it’s one that could normally be countered to the body. Normal punches: Counter punches, thrown after a dodge or block, including the initial stunner. I call them normal because they’re what you’ll be using the vast majority of the time. Although they initially do as much damage as breaker punches, later opponents take less and less damage from them. So you’re going to have to connect with a lot (and you will). Stunner: The first counter punch thrown, the one that stuns him. The damage of this *doesn’t* decrease for later matches, and it’s the key to beating the real toughies. Breaker punches: These are punches you throw when your opponent is “normal”, i.e. not punching or about to punch. So called because you’re trying to “break” your opponent’s guard. They do the most damage of all the punches, but, as you might expect, are the hardest to land. Stopper: A punch you use against an opponent’s specialty, so called because, if successful, it stops it cold. Either level: Either the head or body (but not both). Fast dodge: The sped-up dodge as described above. Speed flurry: Fast counter punches, also as described above. I mark all punches counterable with this with “SF”. Haymaker freeze: Condition where if you throw a haymaker when the opponent is stunned, he’ll remain stunned until the haymaker connects. Five opponents have this. Haymaker vulnerability: Condition where a connected haymaker instantly puts the opponent on the canvas (other than getting up on 1). Three opponents have this. Flash knockdown: A one-punch knockdown, either from a stopper or haymaker vulnerability. KO chance: An opportunity to put an opponent down for a 10-count regardless of how much stamina he has remaining. Four opponents have this. Some opponents have combinations of weaknesses, including one with a combination flash knockdown/KO chance... L, R, B: Left, right, both. S: Straight; a punch that comes straight at you. (Again, there’s no difference between the hands, so I don’t use terms like “jab” or “overhand”.) Can be blocked or dodged. H: Hook; any punch that curves horizontally at you. Can be blocked or dodged. U: Uppercut; a punch in an upward arc, usually thrown from a crouch. Cannot be blocked, only dodged. Difficulty rated on a 3-point scale. Times given are assuming that he’s “free” at the time, i.e. not throwing a punch or stunned. If he is, he’ll do what he’s supposed to do once he becomes free. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- +++ MINOR CIRCUIT +++ #2: GLASS JOE “Ow...ow...ow...” Regular punches: LS, RH Specialty: none Starting hearts: 20 Difficulty: 0 KO CHANCE - see below Profile - In the original arcade version, he wasn’t quite as wimpy as his name suggested, but he was still pretty easy. That is, of course, until a player won the championship, upon which all the opponents got *really* tough...with Joe being the first title defense. Strangely enough, the “palooka” of the game often ended up winning the championship! Apparently, the cognitive dissonance was too much for Nintendo to take, as they’ve stripped poor Joe of all but the most minimal fighting abilities for MTPO. As soon as the fight starts, you can nail him with repeated breaker punches. You don’t really have to (due to the upcoming flash knockdown), but this is the only opponent who’s this easy to break. Up to you. At the 42 second mark, he’ll step back and tap his chest, indicating something kinda like a specialty, even though he doesn’t actually have one. The moment he gets in range again, hit him anywhere, and he’ll collapse like a bad souffle. That’s right, the easiest flash knockdown in the game. After you’ve scored the flash knockdown (or if you miss it somehow), he’ll turn to his offense, primarily a sloooow hook. He always flashes before throwing a punch, so it’s easy to see coming. You can stuff the hook with a left to the head, which will also often earn you a star; otherwise, dodge and counter with 6 shots to either level. In my experience, the more damage you do to him before the flash knockdown, the quicker he gives up stars. Head shots are supposedly more effective, but don’t quote me on it. You can also block (doesn’t really matter against him), but remember that you then must counter to the head. If he pulls out his unbelievably powderpuff straight, dodge it or just put up a block, then counter with 6 blows to the head. Surprisingly, he can be a chore to beat for a rookie because he has a lot of stamina and doesn’t open himself up to big damage (he actually took me to the third round a couple times). Fortunately, he invariably gets up on 1 after the flash knockdown. Just counter his hooks or just keep throwing breakers, and he’ll surrender a star, which you can use without fear of retaliation. If he stubbornly refuses to give up a star, counter a punch and try again. Oh...almost forgot. :-D At the start of the round, if you hit him with enough lefts to the head *without* getting blocked too many times, he won’t get up on 1...in fact, he won’t get up at all! That’s the KO chance I mentioned earlier, and believe it or not, Joe’s is the best-hidden one in the entire game. ~~~~~~~~~~ #1: VON KAISER “I vill vipe your veakling vace from the vorld, and vance on...I mean, dance...ah, who am I kidding.” Regular punches: LS, RU Specialty: none Starting hearts: 20 Difficulty: 0 HAYMAKER FREEZE - any stun HAYMAKER VULNERABILITY - stunned Profile - Generic German stern military type. Also generic action game early stage cannon fodder boss. He gives you so many openings that you’ll probably clock him even faster than Joe. He always starts with straights. Dodge them (or block; doesn’t really matter) and counter with 5 normals to the head. Like Joe, he flashes before throwing a punch, so it’s an easy defense. After you’ve knocked him down once, or if the round goes a while without a knockdown, he’ll turn to his crouching uppercut. Either stuff it with a left body shot for a star, or dodge and counter with alternating lefts and rights to either level; he’ll never recover and go down hard. It’s also pretty easy to get breakers against him, many of which net stars. Speaking of which, he has a nasty case of haymaker freeze, and if you throw a haymaker when he’s stunned, it’ll instantly send him to the canvas. In fact, if you want to do away with him even faster, throw body breakers while he’s in his initial straight phase. Time it just right and it’ll connect; land enough and he’ll give up a star, and you know what to do then. Clobber him any way you like; this is an opponent you can have some fun with. ~~~~~~~~~~ CHAMP: PISTON HONDA “Sushi kamikaze senshuraku yuki dojo yakitori hentai baka erubeta...whatever.” Regular punches: LS, RH, RU Specialty: Big Pistons - continuous alternating crosses Starting hearts: 50 Difficulty: 1 HAYMAKER FREEZE – straight Profile - Stereotypical honor-and-duty samurai type. Had a minor role in the Nintendo Power comics (where he spent an amazing amount of time standing and yammering during his fights). You can counter a straight with 2 normals to the head, a hook with 5 normals to either level, and an uppercut with a whopping 11 normals to either level. He exhibits the same telltale flashes as Joe and Kaiser, so they’re easy to avoid. Like most opponents, he takes more damage to the head than the body, so favor the head if you want to make the most out of every counter. Throw a right head breaker just before he unleashes a straight and you’ll connect for a star. The best time to haymaker him, of course, is after countering a straight; otherwise, you can land 2 before he starts dodging. Eventually he’ll back off and shuffle around a few times, indicating that the Big Pistons are coming your way. If your timing is good, you can stop it with a right body shot the moment he gets back in range (listen for the telltale grinding sound and time your stopper carefully) for a flash knockdown. If you can’t hack it, just block the crosses (remember that you have to put up a separate block for each). He’ll stop after you halt five in a row (don’t dodge; the next incoming cross will always nail you) and follow with an uppercut; dodge it and lay on the pain. If you get the first knockdown fast enough, he’ll get up on 1, leaving him wide open for a repeat trip via haymaker express. At any rate, one round is simple, two rounds is definite. Your victory, that is. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- After completing the Minor Circuit and watching a little cutscene of Mac jogging through a park, you get your first password. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- +++ MAJOR CIRCUIT +++ #3: DON FLAMENCO “Look at me! Look at me! I’m dancing!” Regular punches: RH; gains LS in World Circuit Specialty: Flamenco Slash (SF) - A big looping swipe Starting hearts: 10 Difficulty: 0 HAYMAKER VULNERABILITY - anytime KO CHANCE - You just have to be fast. Profile - Before Dan Hibiki, there was Don Flamenco, the original ineffectual taunting idiot. Okay, so “Glap glap-glap!” wasn’t exactly Snaps material, but it was something. He’s also a joke character pioneer in that he’s ridiculously easy to beat. Ironically, he fills Glass Joe’s “Top Ranked” role in the World Circuit, undergoing the single biggest improvement over all the repeat adversaries. This guy makes Glass Joe look like Lennox Lewis. He doesn’t do anything until you throw a punch (it doesn’t matter whether or not he’s glapping), whereupon he blocks and counters with his Flamenco Slash. When he does, fast dodge and go machinegun on his smirking face. As with Von Kaiser’s uppercut, use alternate lefts and rights and he’ll never recover. When he gets up, he’ll immediately go to the Flamenco Slash. If you were quick enough, he’ll only have a little stamina left. Stop them with 4 lefts to the body (which get you stars) or just counter the first one, and he’ll go down for the second and last time. Otherwise, throw a stopper, dodge, then haymaker him to the canvas; repeat once for a ridiculously simple TKO. Or you can just dodge and alternate punch- counter him down, then do that again. Or do one and one. As with Kaiser, it’s all a matter of how quickly you want to get this over with. Have fun. :-) Addendum: Yes, he does have a right hook, which he uses if you run out of hearts. If this happens (it *might* the first or second time you take him on), dodge the hooks, then smack him with 2 normals to either level when you can move your arms again. Then put him out of his misery already. ~~~~~~~~~~ #2: KING HIPPO “I have a weakness...but I’m not telling you what it is! AHHHH HA HA HA HA HAAA! You’re doomed! Doomed...what?? You know? Waauugh! Pleeease don’t hurt me! (sob) (snivel) (whimper)” Regular punches: BS Specialty: Coconut Cracker - A hard downward swipe Starting hearts: 9 Difficulty: 1 KO CHANCE - One knockdown is all it takes! Profile - The archtypical “cheap” fighter. Unbelievably frustrating...until you know how to beat him, after which he’s unbelievably easy. He was a regular villain in the short-lived Captain N: The Game Master cartoon. He’ll block each and every punch you throw at him...except one. The stopper. Dodge his normal straights and wait for a Coconut Cracker; you’ll know one’s coming when he hops around a bit, then raises a fist and opens his mouth. When he does, punch him once in the face. This drops his guard (among other things :-O), allowing you to fire 8 normals into his belly. You have plenty of time before he throws the Coconut Cracker, so don’t worry if your reactions are somewhat less than lightning-fast. A total of four barrages and he’s down...and out; he never gets up from a knockdown. Next! ~~~~~~~~~~ #1 GREAT TIGER “I am a tiger, and I will rend you with...no, the straight’s too predictable. With...no, the uppercuts are worse. With...oh, who am I kidding, even my specialty is useless. Er...please stand still and let me rend you?” Profile - In the arcade Super Punch-Out, he played like a juiced-up Piston Hurricane and was the second hardest opponent. Like Glass Joe, took a pretty big hit in MTPO. His specialty perfectly illustrates the unhinged, “caricatured” style of the game. Regular punches: LS, BU Specialty: Tiger Illusion - see below Starting hearts: 77 Difficulty: 1 HAYMAKER FREEZE: any stun Easy. There are three stages to this fight, the straight stage, the uppercut stage, and the specialty stage, in order. When the jewel in his turban flashes (and he stops moving), a straight is coming; block it and counter with 5 head shots. (From here on out, always counter to the head unless I say otherwise.) You can also dodge, but you’ll only be able to get one smack in response. If you throw a breaker to the head before the flash, he’ll block and immediately counter with a straight; do this if you want to wear him down even faster. You have a ton of hearts for this fight, so don’t sweat the loss. At the 1:00 mark, he’ll switch to uppercuts. You can dodge and counter with 4 normals, or you can use directional body shots to get stars. He’s subject to haymaker freeze, so it’s easy to nail him. You’ll get the first knockdown and at least one other in this stage; if you’re aggressive with haymakers, you’ll bury him before he even has a chance to use his specialty. If you’re feeling merciful, or just want to see the flashy specialty, he’ll pull it out at 2:30, announced by his backing off and vanishing with some sound effects. The Tiger Illusion is a bunch of straight lefts in quick succession. Don’t be dazzled by the purely theatrical spinning; just block (which is actually the only thing you *can* do). Once you’ve blocked 5 in a row, he’ll be so dizzy/exhausted/embarrassed/astonished that one punch to the head will drop him. That’s #3 and a TKO for you. ~~~~~~~~~~ CHAMP: BALD BULL “I’m gonna charge at you! And them I’m gonna charge you for...I mean, I will make a charge for your...charge...crap, how does this go again?” Regular punches: LS, RH, RU Specialty: Bull Charge - see below Starting hearts: 15 Difficulty: 2 Profile - A prolific fighter, one of just three to appear in an arcade game, this one, and Super Punch-Out for the SNES, the others being Mr. Sandman and Super Macho Man. He also was in Arm Wrestling (as “Mask X”). He’s most famous for introducing the one-hit knockdown, which eventually became commonplace. Finally, someone who’s not a complete pushover! It’s *occasionally* possible to break him, but for all practical purposes, you should consider this an all- normal fight. All his punches are telegraphed. Spinning fists indicates a straight, counterable with 1 normal (or stop it with a head breaker, which amounts to the same). Arms moving up and down means a hook; 3 normals. And a crouch, of course, indicates an uppercut. Fast dodge and you can deliver 7 shots; 6 otherwise. He always starts the round with straights, and his usual pattern after that is 2 hooks, a delay, 1 more hook, then 2 uppercuts. After that, however, you just have to be on your toes. At the 2:00 mark, he’ll turn to his big gun, the Kangaroo...er, Bull Charge. He backs up all the way to the ropes, takes three fast jumps at you, than fires an uppercut which’ll send you to the canvas regardless of how much stamina you have. The stopper for this is a body blow just before he throws the uppercut; fittingly enough, this gives you a flash knockdown. You must stop this; if you dodge, he’ll back up for another attempt before you can counter, and he’ll keep trying over and over until you or he is down (and don’t even pretend that you can win a decision.) With practice, the timing isn’t all that tough. He normally attempts the Bull Charge again at 1:30 of the 2nd round and 1:10 of the third. That’s all there is to it, keep pounding away until he hits the deck for the third time. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Two Circuits down, one to go! Judging by the time of day, it looks like Mac’s workouts are getting pretty intense. Copy down your new password, natch. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- +++ WORLD CIRCUIT +++ #5: TRUE PISTON HONDA Starting hearts: 20 Difficulty: 2 KO CHANCE - stopper Not much deadlier than before, but he recovers a lot faster and gives you fewer openings, so it’ll take some time to put him away. He throws straights in threes this time. Although he doesn’t flash anymore, he still does a telltale eyebrow twitch, so it’s still an easy read. Dodge the first two, then either dodge or block the third. If you block, you can counter with 2, 3 if your counter is perfectly timed. (This is the first opponent where you really have to be on the button to get maximum normals, although thankfully it’s not a big deal with him.) You can now only get 4 normals to either level against his uppercuts (5 with perfect timing); he almost always throws 2 or 3 at a time. Occasionally you’ll see him crouch and shift around; he throws an uppercut after the fifth shift. He only resorts to his hook if you run out of hearts; if you recover, you can counter with 2 hits to either level. As for the Big Pistons, he’ll go to it at the 1:00 and 2:00 mark of each round. He can cancel a straight trio into this. The difference is that he no longer does a lot of shuffling, and he gets back in position a lot faster. He’ll stop after throwing a total of 4 crosses (you don’t have to block 4 in a row, although you still should, of course). As before, he follows up with an uppercut (and a second uppercut immediately afterward). As before, you can stop the Big Pistons with a well-timed right body shot...and believe it or not, this time the result is a KO! So basically, this fight is all a matter of whether or not you’re going to go for the KO. If you do, don’t bother countering the straights; just dodge and save your energy. Because he uses his specialty so often, you have ample chances to put him away. If not, you have to capitalize on every chance and keep chipping him down, bit by bit. Fortunately, his stamina isn’t much better than before; as long as you stick to the head, you should be done with him near the end of the 2nd, and it’s definitely not likely to go the distance. If perchance it does, the judges...gasp! shock! disbelief! Kid Icarus code!...are actually on your side this time. He must’ve ticked them off with his smack talk. (Seriously, “I’ll give you a TKO from Tokyo”? Weak, dude. Weak.) Anyway, it’ll take a paltry 3,000 points to best him. ~~~~~~~~~~ #4: SODA POPINSKI “Soda Popinski? *Soda Popinski*?? It’s VODKA DRUNKENSKI, you morons! Sheesh. Damn stupid Nintendo puritanical reactionary censorship...” Regular punches: RS, LH, BU (SF) Specialty: Drunk Jabber - three right straights Starting hearts: 8 Difficulty: 3 HAYMAKER VULNERABILITY - see below Profile - His original name, of course, was a really bad pun alluding to his drinking habit. Which he still has, BTW. That is clearly *not* a soda bottle he’s got planted in his mouth, whatever it says on it, so I dunno who the hell Nintendo thought they were fooling. Don’t even get me started on the end-of- round zingers. Since he mixes up his punches a lot, I’ll deal with them separately. Left hook: Dodge, counter with 6 if you’re quick, 4 otherwise. It *is* possible to hit him in the head just before he throws it for a star, but haymakers aren’t effective against him (low damage, easy to knock you out of them, dodges quickly); you’re better off just countering it. Right straight: You’ll most likely never see this coming, and even if you do avoid it, you probably won’t be able to deliver anything in response. He only rarely throws this, and it isn’t too powerful, so don’t worry too much. If you do avoid it, you can counter with 3. Drunk Jabber: He does his specialty whenever you run out of hearts, always preceded by a hook. (On rare occasions, he’ll turn to this completely out of the blue, so stay sharp.) He’ll announce it by shuffling his feet a lot and making a sound vaguely like an 8-bit AK-47. Dodge them all and counter with 3. They’re pretty slow, so make sure you don’t jump the gun with your dodges. Now, the uppercuts. You have two options. The normal option - Fast dodge, speed flurry (6 if you’re not fast enough). He takes only a little damage from normal punches, so this isn’t quite as devastating as you might expect, but get enough of them and you will wear him down. The way cool option - Put up a block. He’ll *pause*, allowing you to throw a directional body blow for a star! (No idea how or why this works; the important thing is that it does.) Remember how I said haymakers weren’t effective? This is the exception; if you land one after connecting with that body blow (you have a few seconds), it’s a flash knockdown! The best way to make sure it connects (especially after he starts dodging) is to dodge an uppercut, speed flurry two or three hits, then unload. Although he doesn’t have haymaker freeze, he should remain still long enough to take his medicine. Popinski is the first real stumbling block because he doesn’t get predictable, he hits hard, and his uppercuts come out really fast. That, along with how easy it is to run out of hearts, makes it easy to get clobbered in a hurry. If you can avoid taking a pounding and get flash knockdowns, you can actually finish him in the first round. Otherwise, it’s a simple enough matter to dispatch him in two. Something you should definitely try at least once is knocking him down with a body blow. Highly gratifying, not to mention funny as hell. ~~~~~~~~~~ #3: EVIL HYPER BALD BULL Starting hearts: 15 Difficulty: 3 HAYMAKER FREEZE: any stun Exactly the same as before...except for a few little details. First off, the only ways to knock him down are by stopping his Bull Charge or landing a haymaker. He always gets up on 9, so you have a lot of stamina to work off. And he’s faster. Okay, to start off, counter his straights, hooks, and uppercuts like you did before. Once in a while he’ll move his hands up and down (slower than the hook telegraph); when he does, throw a breaker anywhere and you’ll get a star. Do not throw *any* breakers at any other time. As before, he starts with straights before moving on to hooks. However, he has the nasty habit of switching *back* to straights, especially after you get a star. There’s a delay before he does this, so you have some warning. If you’re concerned about protecting your star, just put up a block and evade two more straights, and he’ll obligingly go back to hooks. Also be advised that uppercuts can come at *any* time, and he’ll throw as many as 4 in a row. Anyway, stay sharp. He now has haymaker freeze, so once you have a star, you just need to pick the right time to send him to the canvas. As for the Bull Charge, it’s still not counterable, and worse, he now throws the uppercut so fast that you can’t stop it. Here’s the trick, though: If you dodge *once*, he’ll back up a shorter distance for the retry, but this time you CAN stop him. So do just that. (If you dodge this one for whatever reason, he’ll back up the customary distance for #3, which will be unstoppable, but the fourth attempt will be stoppable. Just remember “short backup stoppable” and you’ll be fine). If the fight goes a long time, he’ll dispense with the short backups, but the even numbered charges are still vulnerable. Stay calm and make the most of every opportunity, and he’s history in two. ~~~~~~~~~~ #2: ULTIMATE CRAZY WICKED GRAND AWESOME DON FLAMENCO Starting hearts: 15 Difficulty: ? This can be either a tedious but sure victory or a maddening mountain of frustration, and it depends *entirely* on whether or not you fight it right. The problem is not only that his stamina is incredibly high, but yours is really low. You can romp all over him for two rounds only to get decked three times in quick succession in the third. Do not allow yourself to get hit! It’s preferable to block eight punches than to get hit by even one. Almost as important is surviving fatigue (that “useless mode” I mentioned earlier) without getting hit, which you will have to do several times. Fortunately, as before, he’ll do nothing but throw predictable right hooks. Dodge the *moment* you run out of hearts, then dodge a second hook; that should be enough for you to recover and respond with two shots to either level. Otherwise, keep dodging until you’re okay. There are three distinct stages to this fight. For the first, he throws straight lefts and right hooks. Against the former, dodge or block and counter with 4 hits; against the latter, either block and counter with 4 or dodge and counter with 2 to either level. Because he’s so fast and gives you very subtle reads, you might actually prefer blocking. Again, the important thing is not getting hit; if you have to swallow a little pride, do it. At the 1:30 mark, the second stage begins. He’ll halt his attack and, you guessed it, “Glap glap-glap!” Treat this the same way as the last time. The difference is that you must throw head breakers...and he won’t always respond with the Flamenco Slash. In fact, he may block 5 or 6 in a row before unleashing it. Keep pounding away and keep your eyes open! He *can* recover from alternating punches this time, so it’s important to get those speed flurries. Dodge the hooks when you run out of hearts as I explained earlier. You should get one knockdown in the first round. If you have the chance to knock him down a second time, *don’t*. Run him down, then just wait until the round ends. The third stage starts at about 2:10 of the second round; this is simply the first two stages put together. If you’re fast enough and Flamenco is obliging with Flamenco Slashes, you’ll have him put away before it gets to this point. Otherwise, you can counter until he gives out, or you can take the initiative with lefts to the head. Time it right and you catch him in the middle of a punch and get a star (no “right time” to haymaker him; just look for an opening). If you can get a Flamenco Slash out of him, so much the better. If he knocks you down, he’ll go right to the Flamenco Slash when you get back up. Now’s the chance to throw lefts to the body and do some real damage, as well as pick up a couple of stars. Eventually he’ll block; put those stars to good use before resuming your regular attack. If you’re aggressive, handle fatigue properly, *and* leave him with just a little stamina at the end of the first, you can end his hopes near the end of the second round. If it goes to the third, that’s all right as long as you stay calm and don’t get too aggressive with your breakers. If you really want to play it conservatively, go the distance. You only need 5000 points to win the decision, which isn’t hard at all. Once you get some experience, he’s actually a little easier than Popinski. Just remember, don’t get hit. I mentioned that already, right? ~~~~~~~~~~ #1: MR. SANDMAN “Good night. Sleep tight. Your fighting bites! Heh heh heh...” Profile - The champ in the first arcade game, he’s the only fighter who’s even tougher in MTPO (although he lost a lot in the SNES game). He’s the archtypical fighting game final boss...big, mean, and ferocious. Regular punches: BS, BH, very rare RU Specialty: Sand Blaster - three *very* fast standing uppercuts Starting hearts: 40 Difficulty: 2nd hardest opponent in the game With a well-stocked arsenal of punches, blazing speed, tons of stamina, and a very difficult, Mr. Sandman represents a serious challenge for even the experienced Punch-Out veteran. I actually rate him ahead of the World Circuit champ, and chances are you will too. The problem is that while he has only four types of offense, he can switch between them at will, including the specialty, and there’s NO telling when he’ll make a switch. Your only hope is to keep your eyes wide open and be ready for anything, anytime. All right? Okay. Here’s what to expect. Offensive 1 - straights. He always starts the fight with this. As with Bald Bull, each is preceded by rolling fists. The problem is that they come out really, really fast...you literally have no more than a split second. Do your best to dodge these and counter. Try not to resort to blocks; you can’t afford to spare stamina here. (If you do block, you can counter *only* the lefts.) These don’t do much damage, so don’t worry if you eat a couple. Forget breakers; this does nothing but waste hearts. Offensive 2 - hooks. Also like Bald Bull, these are preceded by waving arms. When you dodge one, throw *one* punch to the head (he covers it after the first hit), followed by 3 body shots. If you throw another head punch, he’ll block and nail you with a counter of his own! The interesting thing about this phase is that if you throw a head breaker, he’ll *slip* instead of block and immediately counter with a hook. If you’re fast, you can actually do quite a bit of damage like this. The slip *does* cost you a heart, but since you start with 40, you can spare a few. Offensive 3 - Sand Blaster. The really, *really* hard part. You’ll know it’s coming when he does nothing for several seconds (he’ll also block head breakers instead of slipping). He then stops all movement before throwing three hard uppercuts in succession. You must evade *all three* to counter it; if you don’t, he’ll simply slip your punch (although you can dodge the hook and counter per usual). Now pay attention...you’re about to learn one of the game’s dirty secrets. If you dodge before the freeze, he’s nailing you with at least one uppercut, possibly two. If you fast dodge either the first or second, the next one will tag you every time. If you, heaven forbit, duck, you’re getting nailed. The solution is two little words: DODGE LEFT. The instant he freezes, dodge left (this should be a fast dodge), then dodge left two more times. Keep a smooth rhythm and none of the uppercuts will hit you. Then tag his head per usual. If you did this right, you’ll be able to rack up a whopping 15 hits to the body. I know, it’s something that would never normally occur to you (much like feint-blocking Popinski’s uppercuts), but it works. If for some reason you didn’t fast dodge the first, you’ll have to settle for 10 body blows, but that’s still better than getting nailed. Offensive 4 - blood in the water. I.e., when you run out of hearts. Not only will he throw a barrage of hooks, he’ll introduce his blazingly fast normal right uppercut. If you somehow manage to counter this, you can get a fair amount of body blows (don’t remember, it’s been too long, I think it was 6) before he recovers. No shortcuts here; the only way you’re going to win is to stay on your feet and keep wearing him down until he goes down for the third time. You *must* get at least one clean counter against the Sand Blaster, and don’t be surprised if it takes three. It took me like five tries, but eventually I prevailed. If I can do it, so can you. ~~~~~~~~~~ CHAMP: SUPER MACHO MAN “A totally awesome macho man, or a cool, swaggering superman? Whatever...you’re toast!” Regular punches: RH, BU Specialty: Super Spin Punch (SF, two types) - see below Starting hearts: 15 Difficulty: 3rd hardest opponent in the game Profile - Of all the Punch-Out pugilists, he’s undergone the biggest changes, from a bug-eyed psychopath in the original Super Punch-Out, to a Mafiaesque muscle man in this game, and finally a flexing beach bum for the SNES (his most accurate persona, IMO, and what I think they were going for in the first place). Oh yeah, did you notice that his hair keeps changing color? He was featured in one of the Nintendo Power comics. The clock runs slower than usual for this fight, which is good, because it’ll take a while to run down his truly amazing stamina. It’s all normals, all the time, which you should be used to by now. Okay, counters. 4 or the hook, 6 for the uppercut. He does exactly the same motions as Popinski. When he pauses for a long time, watch for a rapid vibration; this indicates his fast single Super Spin Punch. Dodge and punish him with a speed flurry. Keep normalling his noggin until he’s down. When he gets up, listen for the now-familiar grinding sound and a brief flash; this indicates his slower but deadlier Super Spin Punch, which he does multiple times, and which puts you down if any punch connects. Dodge as many times as you have to. It can be as many as 10 (or more!), so don’t get sloppy. The instant he stops, unload on him. If, and only if, you dodge exactly the right number of times (which is nearly impossible), you can actually do an extended speed flurry. You’ll know you’ve pulled it off if you start off with what looks like a normal counter. Keep slugging and you’ll eventually speed up; you’ll rack up a ton of damage when it’s all over. The big danger here is running out of hearts. Not only will this cause him to throw a flurry of uppercuts, but he’ll frequently do a rapid 4 shifts (same as True Piston Honda, only *much* faster), after which he immediately throws an uppercut. Time your dodge for *before* the 4th shift or you’re getting nailed. Also, if the round has passed a certain point, the clock STOPS while this is happening, so the bell is no salvation. If you’re good enough to beat Mr. Sandman, this fight is actually pretty managable. Because you get so much time, it’s definitely possible to beat him in the first round. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A newspaper article chronicles Mac’s improbable rise to the top. You get a password here, but this gives you a rank of #1 in the World Circuit, which means you have to beat Super Macho Man again. You can beat him over and over to rack up wins. Make sure you stop at 97, however, since the win column rolls over at 100, erasing all your hard-won progress. Okay, all the circuits are done with...you know what that means... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DREAM FIGHT!! THE BATTLE FOR THE WVBA HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE WORLD!! SMALL, SCRAPPY PHENOM AGAINST THE UNDEFEATED KING OF BOXING!! BATTLE OF THE CENTURY!! NO, THE DOUBLE CENTURY!! I CAN’T USE ENOUGH EXCLAMATION POINTS!! THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE KILLING MACHINE: MIKE TYSON “I’m Mike Tyson. I’m going to destroy you. Any questions?” Profile - Well, if you don’t know who he is, you must’ve been stranded on a desert island for the past 20 years or so. He’s a shell of a fighter today, but for one brief, incredible, magical time, he was an invincible destroyer who dispatched everyone he faced with frightening ease. There were boxers who were genuinely terrified of even stepping in the ring with him. Now you have the chance to face him at the peak of his championship form, and rest assured that every second will be a battle. Regular punches: BU Specialties: Dynamite Uppercut, Eye Closer, Blink Bash, Lightning Strike - see below Starting hearts: 15 Difficulty: Hardest opponent in the game :-) HAYMAKER FREEZE - Eye Closer The fight’s broken up into a number of phases, each of which has a different pattern. I’ll describe them as best as I can. NOTE: This is the simplest and most reliable way to beat him. There’s another FAQ on this site that tells you how to beat him in the first round and how to get a 10-count, if you’re interested. Oh, heck, go ahead and read it no matter what; it’s an excellent work. Round 1, first half: You start off facing a flurry of his infamous Dynamite Uppercuts, all of which send you down in one hit. Watch *very* carefully for a telltale speed-up which signals one of these. Dodge and respond with 2 normals. The stunner should always be *opposite* the arm that he threw the uppercut with (i.e. the one on the same side of the screen). In other words, if he threw a right, stun him with a left, and if he threw a left, stun him with a right. Otherwise it will do *no* damage! NEVER NEVER EVER dodge when he’s not throwing a Dynamite Uppercut; he’ll throw one the instant you return and send you flying! (It’s happened to me countless times.) Stay sharp! Believe it or not, if you put up a block, the Dynamite Uppercut will only do 90% damage. Obviously, this is an only-good-once deal. Round 1, second half: He switches to Eye Closers, outside-to-in crosses each preceded by a wink. There’s a *very* small window to counter these. Manual fast dodges will help you a lot here; otherwise, you’ll just have to dodge the instant you see the wink. If you’re quick enough, you can counter with 2 normals. You’ll get one knockdown in the first, possibly a second if you’re on the money. He takes very little damage from Eye Closer counters, so you want to make the most of every Dynamite Uppercut. Round 2, first 30 seconds: He opens with a series of Lightning Strikes, which are straight lefts that come out INSTANTLY and cannot be stopped or countered in any way. Fortunately, the timing for these is fairly predictable (he’ll do a slight delay on a couple; adjust your dodge timing accordingly), so you might...again, *might*...be able to dodge them all. Otherwise, put up a block until you run out of hearts, then dodge whatever offensive he follows up with. This is actually how I got through this part when I was much younger, and even now I find that I usually take less damage with this method than trying to dodge all the Lightning Strikes. At any rate, forget about any kind of offense here and just get through in good shape. Round 2, remainder: Mostly Eye Closers, with a few regular uppercuts thrown in for variety, the latter of which he usually throw in pairs. As with the Dynamite Uppercuts, always stun him with the opposite hand. You can get 6 punishing normals against the uppercuts. At some point, he’ll blink rapidly several times, indicating the Blink Bash, a continuous series of crosses. When he does, throw a head breaker for a star and get ready to block; he’ll stop only after you block 4 in a row. As with the Big Pistons, don’t dodge or you’re eating a fist on the way back. He always follows up with either an Eye Closer or uppercut; defend accordingly. Amazingly enough, he has haymaker freeze after an Eye Closer, and this is pretty much the only opportunity to use that star, so use it! Round 3: The remainder is just a grueling fight to the finish. He’ll largely abandon the Eye Closer in favor of a barrage of uppercuts, pausing only to fit in another Blink Bash, possibly two. He’s also fond of tossing a pair of Lightning Strikes after a delay. Put your guard up, but keep your eyes open for an uppercut as well! He invariably follows the Lightning Strikes with an Eye Closer or uppercut, and you know what to do then. With champion-level reflexes, it’s actually possible to stop him in the second round. Most likely it’ll go to the third, where, if you’ve worked him enough, you can take advantage of all the uppercuts to put him down three times. Failing both, it’s going to a decision. Thankfully, the judging is much fairer here than in any of Tyson’s real-life title defenses; you only need 5,000 points to claim victory. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- == Ending == Mike’s grinning mug on the screen. “Well done, Mac! I’m really impressed! I’ve never seen such finger speed before.” Eh, something like that. Wink. Pics of the rest of your vanquished foes, in order. Picture of Mac in his “champion pose” with your ultimate record below it. The end. Okay, so it’s not Final Fantasy. It’s a freaking 8-bit boxing game, what did you expect? :-) ====================================================================== Appendix A: Trivia A few years after this game’s original release in 1987, Nintendo released a “generic” version, titled simply “Punch-Out!!”, with Mr. Dream as the champion of champions instead of Tyson. Apparently, the game’s original production run had sold out, and Nintendo didn’t feel like paying Tyson a second time (especially after losing to Buster Douglas). Dream fights exactly the same as Tyson. You may have noticed something highly unusual about Soda Popinski...he’s the only one who fights left handed! You can tell because his lead hand is the right and he throws jabs with it. (Okay, so this game doesn’t have jabs per se, but that’s clearly what that straight is supposed to be.) Distinctly left handed video game boxers are a rarity; nearly everyone is either right handed or some generic ambidextrous/switch hand style. (King Hippo is a perfect example of the latter.) Ready 2 Rumble Boxing doesn’t have a single southpaw, and the lead hand for most 2D games changes depending on which side of the screen the pugilists are on. Strangely enough, Vodka Drunkenski in the arcade Super Punch- Out was a righty. The total record for all the opponents is 243-138, with 162 wins by knockout. In real life, there are countless “bums” in the sport whose main job is to lose so that there can be fighters with great-looking records, of which Glass Joe clearly is one. Even with him, though, 105 losses are completely unaccounted for. Where did they come from? Did Nintendo decide that one complete pushover was enough? Or perhaps there were some truly atrocious pugilists in the WVBA’s halcyon days who either were banned or retired when the shame became too much to bear? Then again, there’s the fact that aside from Honda, Bull, and Flamenco’s World Circuit second attempts, no record besides Mac’s is *ever* updated. Pretty shady stuff here, even for an alphabet soup organization. (In all honesty, though, I actually find it vastly more suspicious that 81 wins, *one third* of the total, were by decision. How the hell did this happen? Did rounds use to be 10 seconds long or something?) The Nintendo Fun Club Doc Louis refers to was an actual fan club for NES gamers. Its main feature was a free monthly newsletter with tips, tricks, reviews, and other standard content. It lasted only a little over a year. Wikipedia has a brief article about this short-lived promotion. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Appendix B: Passcodes, baby! There are a lot more, of course, but these are the big ones: Go straight to Dream Fight (with 0-2 record) 007 373 5963 97-0, 97 KO against Super Macho Man 961 263 7938 Busy signal 800 422 2602 (old Nintendo of America phone number) This one works only for the cartridge versions of the game, not Playchoice-10. At the final digit, hit A, B, and Select at the same time. Another World Circuit (King Hippo, Great Tiger, and entire World Circuit + Dream Fight in order) 135 792 4680 This one works ONLY for the Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! cart. Enter the same command as for Another World Circuit. Credits 106 113 0120 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Appendix C: The dirty stuff (and one more) All right, champ, here, for posterity, is every dirty, filthy, rotten, disgusting secret in the game. Ready? Haymaker freeze: Von Kaiser, Piston Honda #1, Great Tiger, Bald Bull #2, Mike Tyson. Haymaker vulnerability: Von Kaiser, Don Flamenco #1, Soda Popinski. KO chance: Glass Joe, Don Flamenco #1, King Hippo, Piston Honda #2. Unlimited alternating counter: Von Kaiser’s uppercut, Don Flamenco #1’s Flamenco Slash. Get up on 1: Glass Joe, Von Kaiser (sheesh, sucks to be him or what?), Piston Honda, *possibly* Mr. Sandman, Mike Tyson, and others I won’t pretend to have the foggiest clue of how to get. Must block: Big Pistons, Tiger Illusion, Blink Bash. Can win a decision against: In order of likelihood, Mike Tyson (5,000), Piston Honda #2 (3,000), Don Flamenco #2 (5,000), Bald Bull #2 (7,000), Glass Joe (5,000). Everyone else either cannot be decisioned at all or will be out long before you have the necessary points. King Hippo cannot be hit by anything except the stopper and follow-up. Even if you, er, obtain a star by some means that would not normally be possible, the haymaker does nothing. Soda Popinski freezes if you block when he crouches for an uppercut; this is the only time you can body-blow him (which gets you a star). If you haymaker him fast enough afterward, it’ll be a flash knockdown. Bald Bull #2 can only be knocked down by a haymaker or stopper. The best way to handle the Sand Blaster is to dodge left three times, throw a left head stunner, than throw lefts to the body; you stand the best chance of avoiding all three uppercuts and can get 15 body blows. When you dodge a Dynamite Uppercut, stun him with the opposite hand of the one he used, otherwise the stunner will do no damage. Although the Blink Bash cannot be stopped, if you throw a head breaker while he’s blinking, you’ll get a star. Oh, if you press select at the screen *before* the start of the fight, sometimes this causes you to lose some stamina. Useful if you’re already a pro at this game and want a little signature and...uh, that’s about it. Finally, the “one more” I mentioned, one so dirty (and so difficult) that I didn’t even mention it in the FAQ proper...the powerful finishing normal. Here’s how it works. When you counter, you get a certain number of punches followed by a finishing normal that has a different effect (head snapped back, belly caved in, etc.). Normally, this does the same damage as the other normals. If you delay it *just right*, however...i.e. juuuuust before the stun ends on its own...it will actually connect a hair after the stun ends. Which, in effect, makes it a *breaker*, which does far more damage! Normally, Bald Bull #2, Don Flamenco #2, Mr. Sandman, and Mike Tyson cannot be beaten before the middle to late round 2. With this delay-breaker trick, ALL can be beaten in the first round, even...yes...Tyson. And for the rest, this can allow you to produce some truly incredible KO times, including beating Don Flamenco in *15 seconds*! So there you have it. The ultimate MTPO dirty trick. May it serve you well. And once you get it down, you can move on to the tricks and tips for Ninja Gaiden Black, Halo, Guilty Gear Isuka, Madden 2008, and all kinds of other games I’m not going to be doing FAQs for. :-D ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Appendix D: Benchmarks ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Appendix E: YouTube videos Without which I would never have discovered just how many awesome secrets were in this game. Seriously. All YouTube videos are subject to being pulled for any violation, so catch ‘em while you can. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZChSzoYy8D8 Beating Tyson in the first round. Note that I don’t say “TKO”ing Tyson in the first round, because there’s obviously no way to KO or decision him in the first round, which a few moments of thought should make clear. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2J4CJncwYU&feature=related The same against Mr. Dream. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCTs6ztU1o0&feature=related 1st round no-haymaker win over Soda Popinski. Your counters have to be perfect, and you cannot be hit by anything, including his straight. I actually came very close to success a few times but could never quite pull it off. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kx3tRs8IGno&feature=related Taking full advantage of Don Flamenco’s weaknesses to flatten him in 15 seconds. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0co9Yll10Lk&NR=1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5uYQPWA9Zs Incredible demonstration of superfast KO times for all the opponents. Leagues beyond anything I’m capable of and/or putting in a FAQ. Amazing stuff. ====================================================================== == Acknowledgments == Nintendo, for making such a fantastic, enduring system, and some great games to go with it. As much as I’ve harped on the questionable directions this company has taken, I can’t deny the fact that they had some absolutely killer games. The NES era was a time when Nintendo was king, and there’s never been anything like it before or since. Thanks for the memories, guys. CJayC, for having the patience to deal with endless updates and revisions. Trust me, buddy, this isn’t the worst of it by a long shot...but I suppose you already know that. :-D YouTube and all its wild, weird, wacky, wonderful members, for showing me all kinds of incredible things, video game related and otherwise, that before were just whispers in the dark. There’s a world of difference between hearing about a Soda Popinski uppercut freeze and actually being able to experience it with my own eyes and ears. (Oh, and that Bo Jackson three-lengths-of-the-field run...pure awesomeness.) Mike Tyson, for having the balls to do something like this. I’ll never forget the awe-inspiring presence you had and how you defined boxing greatness for a generation, even as I watch you stumble blindly through life, continually make an embarrassment of yourself, and make everyone around you wish you’d just go away. And finally, emulators, ensuring that the greats...and not-so-greats...will never die. FAQ copyright (C) 2008 by Darrell Wong (HawaiiDKW) All rights reserved.