Painstakingly (not really) researched, written, and therefore copyright (c) 1998
by Chris Kohler (chrisk2018@aol.com), who even did the title artwork, which was
based on a technique used by Tat Nakao, who did the title art (and a LOT more)
for the FFV FAQ, also found at gamefaqs.com.
This FAQ was designed with www.gamefaqs.com in mind as its primary place of
existence. You can pretty much distribute this FAQ as much as you want as long
as it is left just the way you found it.
REVISIONS
1.1 Added some more info to the Don Flamenco, Mr. Sandman, and Piston Honda II
sections.
1.0 The first release.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Things You Should Know
Codes
Discussion
Weird Miscellaneous Crap
Conclusion
INTRODUCTION
Hi. The first version of this FAQ was researched and written in one day, not
counting the countless (ten or so) years that I've been playing my NES version
of Mike Tyson's Punch-Out, and was born because 1) I was bored that day, 2) I
could not find a MTPO FAQ on gamefaqs.com, and 3)I wanted to test my new
miniature tape recorder. So I sat down and played a game of MTPO [the original
NES cart that at I bought when I was 10, on the original NES that I got when I
was 8, but with a Hudson Soft Joycard Sansui SSS that I bought very recently,
not because my original pads were broken (far from it!) but because it kicks
ass]. Much to my surprise, Mr. Sandman kicked my ass, but he let me rematch and
I promptly fought my way to Tyson. Anyway, I recorded my own sarcastic comments
and fight tips while playing, and I am preparing to transcribe them into random
strategies below. But first, the preliminary sections: Things You Should Know
is for the beginner, or the eight year old who just downloaded the ROM, and
explains the limited maneuvers of Little Mac. Codes is an incomplete list of
the telephone-style passwords of MTPO. Discussion is where I ramble on about
each fighter's various strengths and weaknesses. Weird Miscellaneous Crap is
just that. So, read on and enjoy. And hey, if you like this (not really a)
FAQ, e-mail me. A lot of people already have, which was the impetus for this
new version. Have fun!
Things You Should Know
Okay, here's the basics. You are Little Mac, a little tiny boxer who faces off
against huge gigantic monster-sized boxers. Your repertoire of moves is limited
(necessarily so) by the NES' button layout. B throws a left body blow. A
throws a right body blow. Holding Up while pressing either throws a blow to the
head (your main weapon). Hitting Start throws an uppercut, your most powerful
move. However, you have to earn a Star before you can throw one. Pressing Left
dodges to the left, and you can draw your own conclusions as to what pressing
Right does. Pressing Down raises your guard for a second, and pressing Down
twice in rapid succession makes Little Mac duck, which is by all means a useless
move - you can beat the game in short order without ducking once. The object of
the game is to hit the opponent and avoid being hit by him. There are only three
rounds per fight... if there is no winner, you may win by decision depending on
how many points you rack up. Between rounds, press Select to regain energy...
but you can only do it once per fight.
Codes
Some codes are useful, some are not, but they're all real...
Nintendo's Official Level-Skipping Passwords:
Major Circuit 005 737 5423
World Circuit 777 807 3454
Super Macho Man 940 861 8538
Mike Tyson 007 373 5963
Other Level-Skipping Passwords - Win/Loss Record varies
Major Circuit 005 373 5423
World Circuit 032 730 8442
Super Macho Man (23 wins) 267 913 7638
Other Passwords
Nintendo's Old Phone Number 800 422 2602
Weird Passwords
For these passwords, you must enter the first nine digits, then leave the cursor
on zero and hit A, B, and Select at the same time to get them to work.
Another World Circuit 135 792 4680
Credits 106 113 0120
Discussion
The reason Mike Tyson's Punch-Out retains its appeal to us grown-ups who were
weaned on the NES is not because of its fast action, funny characters, or large
sprites (although they helped). It is because the secrets of the character
designs of MTPO were never revealed by Nintendo. All of the strategies herein
were developed by players and spread around by word of mouth. Nintendo
"covered" the game in both their original 1987 Nintendo Player's Guide and their
1992 Top Secret Passwords Players' Guide, however, the 1987 version only
presented basic strategies (if you can call them that) for the first few
fighters, and the 1992 one only a few passwords. Yes, MTPO was released in the
age where Nintendo guarded its secrets heavily, not like today where you can buy
a Player's Guide detailing every last secret of every last game, usually
released by Nintendo themselves. But I digress. These strategies have not been
culled from a book or a call to Nintendo's Customer Service. They have been
formulated from discussion with other players and ten years of practice.
Therefore, if you have played this game before, your strategies will undoubtedly
be vastly different from mine.
MINOR CIRCUIT
#2
Glass Joe
Glass Jaw of France
1-99 1 KO
Age: 38
Wt: 110
From: Paris, France
Win By Decision: 5000 points
Glass Joe is a human punching bag. When he raises his guard, hit him in the gut,
when he lowers it, hit him in the face. Repeat until he hits the mat. At some
point, he will jump up to the top of the ring and taunt you. While he is on his
way back down, hit him high to knock him down. After he gets knocked down once,
he'll actually start throwing punches (heaven forbid!) Dodge them and counter-
punch with rapid blows to the head. Glass Joe will go down like a cheap whore
in no time.
There are methods of defeating Glass Joe in seconds, but it's not even worth it
to talk about them because, well, he's so pathetically easy.
#1
Von Kaiser
German Steel Machine
23-13 10 KO
Age: 28
Wt: 144
From: Berlin, Germany
8000 points
Von Kaiser isn't as easy as Glass Joe, but he's not that difficult either. Let
him lead off. He'll bounce his head back and forth, which telegraphs a jab.
Dodge it and hit him in the face. Do this over and over to knock him down.
When he gets up, he'll start ducking and throwing uppercuts. When he ducks,
throw a body blow and get a star. He'll duck again. Dodge the uppercut, hit him
once in the face, and then unleash the uppercut. Von Kaiser will start to cry
just before hitting the mat. He'll get up and throw more uppercuts. Repeat the
process to knock him down again.
Champ
Piston Honda
Kamikaze
26-1 18 KO
Age: 28
Wt: 174
From: Tokyo, Japan
No win by decision
Piston Honda is relatively difficult compared to Von Kaiser. He telegraphs his
short Jabs with a twitch of his eyebrows. Dodge the jab and retaliate with two
hits to the face. Eventually, he'll throw right hooks. Dodge them and hit him
in the face five times afterwards. He'll throw uppercuts: he'll duck and toss
them out. Dodge, then hit him in the face eleven times. Eventually, he'll whip
out his Piston Punch, where he jumps backwards, dances around, and bounces
forward. If you hit him in the face as soon as he gets back in range, he'll
head for the mat. If you miss or don't try, he'll throw four jabs to the face.
Block them.
Defeating Piston Honda is simply a matter of learning when to retaliate to his
punches. Just keep plugging away at him and eventually you'll TKO him. If you
can knock him out of his Piston Punch, you can defeat him late in Round One.
MAJOR CIRCUIT
#3
Don Flamenco
Red Rose of France
22-3 9 KO
Age: 23
Wt: 152
From: Madrid, Spain
10,000 points
Don Flamenco is certainly the most interesting fighter you've faced so far.
With a repertoire even more limited than Glass Joe's, Don's strategy is to block
whatever you throw at him and retaliate with his Flamenco Punch, a highly
telegraphed (and very damaging!) uppercut. He'll raise his arm high into the
air and swing away. If Don can wear all your hearts down, he'll start in with
right hooks which you must dodge until you've recovered.
The best way to beat Don is this. Hit him right at the start of the match.
He'll block it and try a Flamenco Punch. Dodge it and start hitting him in the
face with a left, then a right, then a left, etc. He will sit there like the
retard that he is and get his ass kicked. He'll hit the mat, get up with no
energy, and try an instant Flamenco Punch. Repeat until he's hit the mat for
good (under a minute or so).
NEW INFO (1.1)
Muggsb01@aol.com and michaelb@decipher.com each sent me this information about
Don, which was quite interesting to me since I never knew that you could even
GET a star on Don Flamenco's first incarnation. (A popular rumor when I was in
third grade was that if you got a star on him, you'd knock him out of the
ring...)
Anyway, it is possible to get a star on DF. Once you've knocked him down for
the first time and he gets up, he'll try for the instant Flamenco Punch. Rather
than dodge it, just hit him with a left body blow and you'll get a star. From
here you can do two things. One, you can just keep throwing left body blows
until he goes down for a KO (but only if they're thrown in succession). Or, you
can simply dodge the Flamenco Punch and immediately uppercut without bothering
to stun him. This should also be a KO.
This information proves two things:
1)My hypothesis that there is much info on MTPO that isn't printed anywhere yet.
2)Don Flamenco is a loser.
#2
King Hippo
Great Chief of the South Island
18-9 18 KO
Age: ?? (looks to be about 29)
Weight: ?? (maybe half a ton)
From: Hippo Island, South Pacific
No win by decision
The big man will start throwing left and right crosses at you. Just dodge them
and don't try to hit him. Eventually, he will raise his arm over his head and
open his giant mouth. He telegraphs this punch by vibrating for a while. This
is your cue to punch him in the face. Miraculously, Mac's small fist will not
enter King Hippo's mouth. However, for some odd reason, the King's size 89
boxers will hit the mat. Take advantage of this display of partial nudity and
whack him multiple times on his bandaged navel. Apparently, he recently had his
umbilical cord removed, or he's been injecting food directly into his stomach.
Or something. Eventually, his bellybutton will have taken too much punishment
and the King will be dethroned, heading for a night on the canvas.
#1
Great Tiger
Great Magician of India
24-5 3 KO
Age: 29
Wt: 132
From: Bombay, India
10,000 points
Great Tiger will begin by throwing telegraphed jabs. The jewel on his head will
flash briefly - you can try to hit him for a Star, or wait until he throws the
Jab, dodge, and retaliate with a blow to the head. If you feel like using up
hearts, you can block the jabs and retaliate with five blows to the head. You
won't do much damage until Tiger starts throwing uppercuts. At that point,
you'll want to use the strategy you used against Von Kaiser - hit him when he
ducks for a Star, then hit him when he's stunned with the uppercut. At two
minutes and thirty seconds, he'll try his Magic Punch. He'll jump backwards
and start spinning towards you in a circle. He'll spin around and punch you
repeatedly. Learn the rhythm of the hits and block five of them in a row.
He'll get dizzy. Hit him when he's stunned and send him down to the mat.
Champ
Bald Bull
Bald Bucking Bull
34-4 29 KO
Age: 36
Wt: 298
From: Istanbul, Turkey
No win by decision
Bald Bull will begin by throwing jabs. He telegraphs them by rotating his fists
right before he does. Dodge and hit his face. When he's about to throw a right
hook, he'll make a motion as if he's rubbing his ears. Dodge when he throws the
punch and retaliate with five head blows. Eventually, he'll do his Bull Charge.
He hops up to the top of the ring and bounces down at you. Hit him in the
stomach when he bounces into range (a split second after he starts bouncing,
after three jumps) and he'll hit the mat.
NEW INFO (1.1)
Aaron Howell (aaron@kitten.net.au) gave me this info. At the beginning of this
match, start hitting Bald Bull in the head immediately. Every time you get a
star, use it at once. After 4 uppercuts, Bull will hit the mat. He won't be
KO'ed, but you'll have a nice head start.
WORLD CIRCUIT
#5
Piston Honda
Honda Turbo
26-2 18 KO
Age: 28
Wt: 174
From: Tokyo, Japan
3000 points
Honda's jabs have been modified. If you dodge when he wrinkles his brow, he
will throw three jabs, so you'll have to dodge three times. He'll start the
hooks and uppercuts again. Every now and again, he'll duck to start his
uppercut and bounce around a couple of times before delivering. This is your
chance to smack him in the head and earn a star. If you don't really want to
fight him, hit him in the gut as he bounces down and chances are you'll earn a
KO. The Piston Punch has been modified. He no longer dances like a retard
before charging. You can hit him out of it like the first time, but you won't
send him to the mat: you'll simply earn a star and you'll have to block the
four punches afterwards. After he tries the three jabs, he'll usually follow up
with an uppercut. Otherwise, there's really no trick to beating Honda's second
incarnation. Just keep plugging at him.
NEW INFO (1.1)
Muggsb01@aol.com says that if your timing is just right, you CAN knock Honda
down after his charge.
#4
Soda Popinski
Russian Monster
33-2 24 KO
Age: 35
Wt: 237
From: Moscow, USSR
10,000 points
Soda Popinski was altered from the arcade's Vodka Drunkenski. He literally has
no defining punches. All he really does is throw a lot of basic maneuvers, so
strategy is to simply dodge and counterattack. He'll start with a left hook and
left and right uppercuts. Dodge and retaliate to his face. If you pause a split
second before retaliating to his uppercuts, you'll get a star. He'll throw jabs
with no telegraphing and you'll have to absorb them. When you see him dancing
for a second, he'll toss out a series of three jabs. Popinski has few real
moves. His basic maneuvers can really hurt, but they're so telegraphed that
losing to him is difficult. After an uppercut, you can deliver seven hits to
his face. After a left cross, you can get in four punches to the face.
#3
Bald Bull
Crazy Bucking Bull
34-5 29 KO
Age: 36
Wt: 298
From: Istanbul, Turkey
7000 points
The second incarnation of Bald Bull is virtually invincible. You can only send
him to the mat with an uppercut or by defeating his Bull Charge. Bald Bull may
block your counter punches. If he does, dodge immediately (he'll throw a jab)
and punch him in the face one final time. When Bald Bull rubs his ears slowly,
hit him in the face to earn a star. Hit him with the uppercut when his energy
has dropped to send him to the mat. When he tries the Bull Charge, dodge his
first attempt. Then, he'll only go back halfway the second time. RIGHT after
he starts the charge, stick out a body blow and he'll go down. The trick is to
recognize when Bald Bull is telegraphing a punch and when he's feigning a
telegraph.
#2
Don Flamenco
Flamenco's Counterattack
22-4 9 KO
Age: 23
Wt: 152
From: Madrid, Spain
5000 points
Flamenco, like his previous incarnation, will taunt you, but he won't always
throw a Flamenco Punch afterwards. If he blocks and leans to the right, he's
going to keep blocking. If he blocks and stays straight, he's going to throw a
Flamenco Punch. Dodge and hit him. He won't go down as fast as his
doppelganger, but you can really beat on him. An important thing to remember
about this version is to wait for him to take the lead. He adds a left cross to
his repertoire, which, in addition to his right hook, can be devastating. So
remember to wait and see what he's going to do rather than assuming he's going
to taunt you. Eventually, you will run out of hearts and he'll begin to throw
repeated right hooks. Dodge and wait until you've recovered, then start hitting
him again. Flamenco's timing can throw you off, so be on guard.
#1
Mr. Sandman
Black Heavy Tank
27-2 21 KO
Age: 31
Wt: 284
From: Philadelphia, PA
No win by decision
Sandman will toss you some jabs to start. Hit him in the face once to
retaliate. He'll then start with some Bald Bull - type hooks from the left and
the right. At this point, whenever you counter punch him, you'll have to hit
him in the head once and then in the stomach each time after that. If you
accidentally hit him in the head while he's guarding it, he'll toss out a jab
similar to Bald Bull's retaliatory one. Dodge it and hit him in the face once
more. He'll toss a few more uppercuts before turning to his super punch - a
succession of three uppercuts similar to the ones he throws before the fight
begins. He telegraphs them by dancing for a few seconds and finally glowing
right before he tosses the punches. Dodge the three of them in rhythm and
retaliate, but don't forget that he'll still block his face after the first hit.
Sandman has no other moves - just anticipate, dodge, counterattack and you'll be
fine.
NEW INFO (1.1)
Here's a strategy for the expert MTPO player, or so says
michaelb@decipher.com...
"To wear him down (and to impress friends), you can start a pattern after the
initial jabs and before his Sandman Punch. If you throw a jab at his face,
he'll dodge it and swing at you. Dodge the swing, hit him in the face, then hit
him three times in the stomach. Swing at his face again and repeat. You can
continue this over and over until you either run out of hearts or he gets ready
to do his Sandman Punch. The "impress your friends" part is that you don't have
to look at the screen when doing this. Turn around and pound on one of the
hardest guys without even looking at him."
I love this stuff!
Champ
Super Macho Man
Hollywood Muscle Man
35-0 29 KO
Age: 27
Wt: 242
From: Hollywood, California
No win by decision
Super Macho Man is much easier than Mr. Sandman. He'll start out with Soda
Popinski-esque hooks and uppercuts, which are fairly easy to dodge and counter.
Macho Man's specialty punches are his Super Spin Punches, of which there are two
kinds. Both are originally telegraphed by a short burst of inactivity by Macho.
If he pulls back and vibrates, his Spin Punch will only be once and you can hit
him afterwards. If he steps back and grunts, he'll punch anywhere from one to
ten times and you'll have to dodge anywhere from one to ten times. After the
last, hit him in the face for a while. After he is knocked down, he'll get up
and throw a multiple Spin Punch. All his punches are highly telegraphed, so you
shouldn't have to worry much about him - just keep plugging away.
The Dream Fight
Mike Tyson
Kid Dynamite
99-0 99 KO
From: Catskills, NY
5,000 points
Beating Mike relies on not getting knocked down in the first 1:30 of the first
round, when he throws his one-hit-knockdown Dynamite Punches. You can dodge
these and counter with two blows to the face. They are telegraphed with a short
blue flash. Afterwards, Mike will begin to throw left and right hooks which are
more easily dodged. He winks before throwing them. At the beginning of the
second and thrid rounds, he will toss some non-telegraphed jabs, so be ready and
keep your guard up. He'll throw Dynamite Punches again, but they're much weaker
this time. The only other move Mike might try is to sit and blink for a while.
This is a good time to punch him in the face and earn a Star, but be ready to
dodge the oncoming barrage of jabs. Otherwise, Mike Tyson can be beaten, but it
takes skill, reflexes, and luck.
Weird Miscellaneous Crap
If you try to play MTPO with the Power Glove the way the guy in the commercial
did, you will get your ass kicked so hard it won't even be funny.
Wouldn't it have been funny if Glass Joe had come back in the World Circuit?
If any fighter gets up on the count of 1, one uppercut will send them back.
A lot of the later fighters will start to dodge your uppercuts after a few hits,
so learn to save them.
Don't try to cheat the Select button energy fill-up. If you energy bar is
already full, it'll go DOWN.
The newspaper you get after beating Super Macho Man...
KO News
April 1, 1987
New Champ!
The WVBA World Circuit
Last night, we found a small but great champ. His name is Little Mac. Puch
Start for the Dream Fight.
