Game #146 & 147 Mike Tyson’s Punch & Punch Out
I think many would agree beating Tyson is one of the great retro gaming achievements, its certainly one of the most celebrated. With the fight being an additional extra, I was airing on the side of calling this beaten after winning the World Circuit, but once competitive side set in, I knew I’d not stop till I beat him!
Punch Out is another system classic that surely needs no introduction. Its vintage gaming Boxing crafted with such love and compassion, that it still plays refreshingly well even today. I’m sure many more accurate Boxing sims have followed, but if ever asked what Boxing game I’d like to play, this, and its sequel on Snes, are always first choice.
Despite my history, I’d never beaten the World Circuit. Each fight throughout the game demands a different set of skills to win. Reflexes and timing obviously play a more importent role as the difficulty progresses, but each fight usually involves some unique manipulation of the opponent to either acquire a star or land the most punishing series of punches. Players who really grind this game begin to learn more in depth tricks such as counting punch sequences, successful countering or knowing you can KO an opponent with 1 super punch from a 1 count standup(that ones actually in the manual). While the hardest fights in the World Series: Sandman and Macho Man, both seem near impossible in your first few faceoffs, with practice, the building blocks for success reveal themselves and its only a matter of time before your skills will match.
Then we come to Tyson… While the gist of what I said above is true, in practice this fight is a very different beast. Your reaction time needs to operate in the 0.5 of a second region at all times. He can floor you in one punch, has many varied patterns and lightning fast fists. You better be playing with zero input lag or simply forget it!
Tho I won the fight by decision not a KO, I’m fine with that. Very proud to have beaten such milestone in retro gaming. I’ll try and upload the whole fight next.
I’m attempting to beat every UK NES game for charity. To follow my progress follow me on Instagram @cabiNES_fever
I am like this game never beat Tyson tho
I like these additions. Do you have pictures or videos to include?