Punch-Out!!(arcade) FAQ version 1.5.0
copyright 2004 by Andrew Schultz
[email protected]
Please do not reproduce this FAQ for profit without my prior consent.
However, if you write a polite e-mail to me referring to me(and this FAQ) by
name, then I will probably say OK. But if I ignore you that means no--and I
am bad about answering e-mail. Sorry.
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My home page:
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**** Note: this FAQ only covers the first time through. I'm clueless about
the second. I can't even beat Glass Joe. But I'm sure about the initial
challenges. I'm sort of fishing for advice on later stuff with this guide but
it should still be useful.
================================
OUTLINE
1. INTRODUCTION
2. CONTROLS AND METERS AND GENERAL STRATEGIES
2-1. CONTROLS
2-2. METERS
2-3. GENERAL STRATEGIES
3. POINTS
4. OPPONENTS
4-1. GLASS JOE
4-2. PISTON HURRICANE
4-3. BALD BULL
4-4. KID QUICK
4-5. PIZZA PASTA
4-6. MR. SANDMAN
4-7. THE NEXT GENERATION
4-8. THE FINAL RECURRING NIGHTMARE
5. VERSIONS
6. CREDITS
================================
1. INTRODUCTION
Punch-Out!! decidedly deserves the two exclamation points in its title.
It's a great game for its time and still nice to plow through today. Some of
the hit-and-dodge maneuvers may be too simple, but the different opponents--
all caricatures of stereotypes--and what almost feels like a dance after a
bit make this a pleasant game to play. Yes, even after you've lost, when
opponents come up to the screen and taunt you in heinous magnification, with
the announcer to back you up("Stand up and fight!") I played this game a lot
when I was younger, although I watched first, trying to glimpse and imitate
special strategies. Opponents had seemingly irrefutible attacks, and they
were all so lovably grouchy that I just wanted to meet them, and they could
knock me down a few times before I got the hang of them.
The path to the championship goes through six fighters, each with different
weaknesses and special attacks. Once you defeat them, you go to a blue-gloves
circuit where everyone's incredibly tough and I am clueless. So I am only
covering the first wave. Here are your opponents:
Glass Joe, 112 pounds, Paris, France
Piston Hurricane, 176 pounds, Havana, Cuba
Bald Bull, 298 pounds, Istanbul, Turkey
Kid Quick, 210 pounds, Bronx, New York
Pizza Pasta, 235 pounds, Napoli, Italy
Mr. Sandman, 312 pounds, Philadelpia, PA
They get bigger and faster as they go on, and the basic strategy against
bad guys is to goad them into a punch and then let fly with a few of your
own,
well timed and well placed. I wish there would be a bit more closing off one
strategy once it works too well, but at the same time there's still
opportunity to sneak in a surprise punch here or there, and not throwing any
body blows at all may put you in hot water after two knockdowns. For the most
part, you just have to overemphasize what works, though.
After winning the first six fights you have two championship circuits
that get a bit harder. You can't lead punches. You have to respond, and
quickly. Your opponents' eyes also don't turn yellow so you can't anticipate
things easily that way. You have to watch body language. Sadly some of the
later levels force you to find something quickly and then slow the game down.
You have to wait to get in a punch or take bad chances while both sides are
dancing around. Which dampens the excitement and creates a real possibility
you'll sit around and not do much and lose after three minutes, which is not
so fun. Figuring out what to do is exciting, though, and it's fun to rip
through the first course. The second and third circuits are subtly different.
Note: I'll refer to "right" as a punch throughout the game. Keep in mind
that an opponent's right is on the left of the screen, at your fighter's
left. So his "right" punch and yours are the opposite. It's how it's done in
real boxing I guess.
2. CONTROLS AND METERS AND GENERAL STRATEGIES
2-1. CONTROLS
You have four basic types of punches in Punch-Out!!--the jab, left and
right, and the body blow, left and right. A successful punch will get your KO
meter up. Once the meter reaches left to the KO sign, it will flash, and you
have the option of the hook and the uppercut. There's only one direction to
throw a hook or an uppercut, and these punches have a separate button--it
appears your fighter is right handed, so he comes with a right.
Moving your guard up or down determines if you throw a jab or a body blow.
Moving and throwing a punch together doesn't change things. Sometimes this is
tricky because you need to move your guard just before you punch, which is
possible and works decreasingly well as rounds go on. Sometimes you'll get
jammed a bit, too, trying to punch where you want. The solution is to move
the joystick the other way before moving your fists where you want them. Then
throw the punch.
For MAME controls,
CTRL = left
ALT = right
SPACE = knockout blow = game start/restart
UP/DOWN = guard up/down
LEFT/RIGHT = duck left or right
You can also restart a game once if you get knocked out. In Super Punch-
Out!! your fighter has a few bandages on him but they didn't think of that
cool detail yet here.
Sometimes your boxer won't do what you want him to. You'll try to get him
to avoid his opponent's punch and he won't do it in time. It's not your
reflexes. Your opponents are faster than your guy on later levels. So even
when you telegraph a move or do it in advance your guy won't get it in time.
Also note that sometimes you stun your opponent and he's just sitting there.
Well, it can happen to you too. Basically it seems that anything you can do
to your opponents, they can do back, although they have a few extra special
moves for you to avoid. Fortunately, they have ruts and patterns you can
always crack as well.
On the other hand you can anticipate what to do next. Throw a punch before
you're set, or duck before a punch is finished. Your fighter will do that. It
can mean the difference between a successful punch and a blocked one. But be
sure you know how your opponent reacts or you will be a sitting duck for him.
Note that on MAME the graphics often don't seem to be refreshed if you use
save states(and you probably will the first time through unless you use the
awesomely funny cheats.) That is because the game only refreshes the sprites
it knows has changed. So if you skip from a fight with Bald Bull to Glass
Joe, Bald Bull will still be in the upper left because there's been no
instruction to change the fight. The graphics stay the same. Also the timer
and score may seem out of date. You may have the wrong number of minutes
because the game hasn't changed that yet. This is a big deal if going from
:59 to 1:06. Basically what I've done is to make save states 1-6 at the
beginning of the first circuit and a-i at the advanced circuit(9 fights
there) and then I can play whomever I want at whatever difficulty.
2-2. METERS
Hooks and uppercuts may be the most powerful of shots, but they have
drawbacks. First, if you land a hook or uppercut, it seems to reduce your
ability for an early knockout. The computer seems to keep an internal meter
of this. If you have a way to win with continual jabs, do so. It means a
higher bonus, and also you'll have one less chance to deal with an opponent
you must successfully duck/block before you can safely punch him again.
You gain one arrow on the KO box for ducking a punch, two for an initial
punch connected, and five for a punch in a combo that connects. It doesn't
all come out at once so it's possible you may have to wait a half-second to
throw that uppercut you wanted to. 25 arrows equal a full meter, i.e. KO
potential. I believe the game keeps track of arrows past the KO in case you
get a lot of punches blocked, but when you're hit you always lose KO
capability.
So you can get a few arrows on the knockout meter if you avoid a body blow.
Also if a punch of yours is blocked, you lose knockout meter points, and
whenever you're hit, you lose KO status instantly. This isn't always
terrible. For Pizza Pasta and Mr. Sandman, you can only hit them with a
knockout punch once, and Kid Quick and Bald Bull will usually hit you right
back once you miss them. Glass Joe and Piston Hurricane just duck. Until the
second round, when only Glass Joe ducks. When the KO lights up again, you can
and should get another free shot in. There's also a knockout meter you aren't
shown--one that states if you'll KO your opponent. It seems to go down if you
use a hook or uppercut unless your opponent is totally dazed when you hit
him. KO shots are more useful than jabs at the end of the combination but may
cause an opponent to wake up a bit.
After each subsequent knockdown the person who gets up has successively
less maximum health. He can add to this by punching his opponent, which gives
him some wind back. How much health you have when you get up depends on how
many jabs you got hit with. But it also depends on the fight #--the later,
the less favorable for you.
Your opponents seem to have a knockout meter as well, with the difference
being the computer sometimes gives them a boost after they've been knocked
down. If this happens--you're getting slugged when stuff that worked very
well before doesn't now--keep your fists up and duck when your opponent
crouches for a body blow. Eventually you'll be able to get back down to
business.
You don't recharge health with time, but your opponents do. Also, your KO
meter empties if you are knocked out. When a contestant gets up from a
knockdown he regains 1/2 of his energy, then 1/4 the next time.
If you must watch the clock, remember that it takes fewer hits between
successive knockdowns, so knocking your opponent down for the first time at
1:30 is no cause for panic.
The crowd noise also acts as an impromptu meter. The more combinations you
get, the louder it is. Even if no punches have connected for a while, if
someone's almost had it, there'll be a clear murmur.
2-3. GENERAL STRATEGIES
Opponents usually wind up for body blows and sort of make a dinking
movement for jabs. So you usually want to have your guard up, to defend
against the quickest hits, and duck against the slower ones. You can also
throw a punch when you come out of a ducking move, and in fact you need to do
so. And if it ever seems like your opponent is too fast for you, stop
sparring and try to duck him. The computer is doing this on purpose. Your
opponent is in knockout mode. He seems to have an internal meter of his own
in fact and sometimes you just need to duck when he starts whaling away. But
the computer cheats for him internally.
Watch out also for the yellows of your opponents' eyes. That means they are
about to throw a punch. Depending on if they crouch, you can tell what sort
of blow it will be. Leaning back--body blow. Duck. Staying there--jab.
Ducking indiscriminately leaves you open, so you need to avoid doing so until
your opponent's eyes light up.
Random punching works OK in the first two rounds, but of course doing the
same thing indiscriminately won't work when your opponent starts to block.
Generally you want to provoke your opponent into an attack you know you can
avoid.
While you may feel clever being able to smack your opponent around with
many different punches, you might just want to hone in on his weakness
mercilessly instead.
You can leave yourself open with a punch, and so does your opponent. In
fact, you should block after throwing a punch if you don't want to throw
another.. To avoid a combination, never punch without a purpose, and to get
one of your own, learn how the opponent can be made to throw an obvious and
avoidable punch.
If a KO punch doesn't work(i.e. Glass Joe begins to duck,) give up and get
back to jabbing.
There are generally four count lengths before opponents get up: 3, 5, 7 and
10. How long the count is shows roughly how close you were to an absolute
knockout.
Also, note the announcer saying "Come on! Come on!" means your opponent is
about to bust out his signature move.
And the spoiler...when in doubt, lead with the right, duck if he responds,
and throw a bunch of left jabs before you're fully back to where you were.
--------Just for fun--------
To watch an opponent go flying, note if he is in the left or right
corner(rope on left or right side comes at you) and hit him with that hand.
He'll go flying into the opposite corner of the hand you hit him with. It
doesn't really matter where you drop him but some guys can really hit the
floor with flair.
3. POINTS
500 points for any punch that knocks an enemy down, otherwise:
40 points for the first punch
80/200 for the next ones in combo[2x as much damage]
300 points for a hook
500 points for uppercut
[hook is better than an uppercut. It seems to do 2-2.5 as much damage as a
combo punch and uppercut does 1.5-2. The main difference seems to be that the
uppercut is tougher to execute. Don't worry about more points.]
135 points per second are taken off your bonus. You start with 30000. So 5700
is your minimum, barring a knockdown or two which would bring you down to
3270 minimum(18 seconds on the canvas.) You lose bonus when you're knocked
down but not when your opponent is down, and you don't lose time when
someone's on the canvas.
Unless you can land a punch every second you probably want a knockdown as
quickly as possible to maximize points.
The default high score list reads as follows:
1. NOA 88700
2. QCB 87700
3. DIC 86700
4. BBS 85700
5. DBY 84700
6. MCE 83700
7. QBQ 82700
8. BBC 81700
9. DTB 80700
10. BIC 79700
11. SBM 78700 31. PIZ 58700
12. CQU 77700 32. GIH 57700
13. MBE 76700 33. HHG 56700
14. ABB 75700 34. HPG 55700
15. CBC 74700 35. QIH 54700
16. LCS 73700 36. IFX 53700
17. BQX 72700 37. MMQ 52700
18. KEA 71700 38. BZN 51700
19. AAD 70700 39. ASJ 50700
20. OFA 69700 40. XMW 49700
21. AAA 68700 41. NCL 48000
22. DBO 67700 42. QCB 47800
23. VDB 66700 43. DIC 47600
24. PGI 65700 44. BBS 47400
25. NNL 64700 45. DBV 47200
26. OQF 63700 46. MCE 47000
27. BVC 62700 47. QBQ 46800
28. RAA 61700 48. BBC 46600
29. EQA 60700 49. DTB 46400
30. OGV 59700 50. BIC 46200
Basically you need to get to Bald Bull--and quickly--to get in the top 50
with the scorelist un-reset. I calculate about 25000 per level for a good
player in the first circuit, topping at 28000. 15000 is good on the next
circuit with tops of 20000 maybe. So four wins should vault you to the head
of the class--assuming anyone who can beat Kid Quick can win the easy rounds
very early too. And they knock down Piston Hurricane ASAP.
If you place with your first game and go for a rematch, your first-game
score is deleted. The initials for your score are of course what you picked
at the start of your game.
4. OPPONENTS
4-1. GLASS JOE
Glass Joe is truly the easiest of the opponents. You can come out swinging
and mix up punches a bit and eventually he'll go down, i.e. when he blocks
down, go up, and vice versa. But his fighting strategy is so simplistic that
you should be able to nail him without getting hit AND on the first
knockdown. He generally keeps his hands up and then punches up with a right
jab or two, which he follows with a heinously telegraphed left body blow. You
can hit him with a few jabs after that, but when he dances around and starts
moving his hands you can take a few shots too. A few small flurries should
knock him down. You don't even need the KO punches, although you can get four
or five in without penalty. Using too many before the final blow or two may
force you to knock him down more than once. Lots of times he'll just sit
there looking stunned as you ring him up. And that's when you can jab.
Glass Joe's "move" consists of running at you and not doing much. You can't
knock him down, but he's not going to hurt you either. You can go for a body
blow after his first hop forward when he does this. But in general it's best
to keep your guard up because he will either let his down or try for a low
punch. Either one lets you smash him with a right jab.
Glass Joe runs at you at 2:15, if he's actually able to last that long. I
find that if you just let him try to punch you twice, and you're able to
duck, then you can hit him with a left-bunch of rights-KO to finish the combo
and take about 30 seconds to do him in(my best--2:32.) Beginning players may
want to try other ways to get behind his defense just to get an idea of how
Punch-Out works. Eventually Glass Joe just doesn't keep his guard up. The
trickiest thing he does is to telegraph a right body blow without a few
starting jabs.
4-2. PISTON HURRICANE
Piston Hurricane is a good deal tougher. After playing this game many times
I in fact find him the one most likely to defeat me if I'm not paying
attention. He has a wicked rapid-punch sequence which is hard to defend. The
higher note means a punch up, the lower note means a punch down, and I've
seen people struggle to move up and down based on the notes and succeed.
Usually it alternates but sometimes you get two of one, two of the other,
etc. Vigorous bread and butter strategies should be enough to beat him(punch
low until he blocks, then go upstairs, then down) but since there's an easy
way to deflect his flurry of punches, why not?
Piston Hurricane runs at you at 2:30, 2:00, 1:30 and 1:00. His punching
combos get progressively weaker and shorter although he always pauses for the
haymaker at the end. Fortunately the way to get to him is to punch after he
lands from the first jump. That will knock him down. If you mistime things
you may still be able to get a few body blows in and even stop him if you
alternate and throw the next before the last is finished. But if this fails
you'll need to learn to duck. If you can't master the up/down, then you can
just duck right after blocking a punch(your body won't turn white) and keep
ducking 'til he's done. This allows you to block every other punch and duck
the rest. But no matter how often he hits you, don't breathe too deeply when
he pauses. He's about to throw a haymaker with his right hand. So duck one
last time. You should have a chance to smack him back a few times in the face
after this. But with experience you should learn when he's about to jump at
you. He jumps back quickly but when you hear the announcer say "Come on! Come
on!" watch for the first hop and slug him in the gut before he gets close.
If Piston Hurricane goes with a body blow at any other time, duck and
respond with body blows of your own. This is important because a left or
right jab will over-reach him. It may take one time or two to move your fists
down but he will try several of these over-reaches across and your second or
third should connect.
As for the normal course of fighting I like to come out with my guard up
and quickly switch to body blows. Alternate left/right/left/right and then
pull up to attack his head, then pull quickly down when he blocks. It's
possible to sit around and let him punch you, as he'll start with the left
and then throw an awkward right. Duck this and then hit him with body blows--
a left or right jab will overreach him. Basically if you time his approach
right and spread out the up/down punches, you should be ok. A blocked up/down
punch often lets you in for a body blow.
I've also found throwing a body blow as Piston Hurricane gets up is
effective too. But sometimes I don't need to. I'm able to knock him down in
thirty seconds just nailing him with body blows and switching to jabs when he
blocks--for one punch. The knockout punches don't really come in handy here
if you're going for speed, but if the fight drags on, use them when
necessary. Eventually you should be able to gauge his jumps and not worry
about keeping an eye on the clock.
Still, his defense is pretty lousy and often he'll leave himself open to a
jab when he crouches to throw a big punch. There are lots of ways to beat
him, and once you get control of the flurry of punches he is much less of a
threat.
4-3. BALD BULL
Bald Bull gives you a big chance to go up early on him. His defensive
stance is dubious, a caricature of the general dancing around you see in
boxing. He'll bob his head and move his hands up and down, and when he does
this you can jab him either way. You might not be able to get several shots
in at once, but if you wait a half-pace between them it can be very
effective.
Of course when he gets that stunned look you can just flat out clobber him.
He also telegraphs his body blows, and avoiding them and jabbing is very
effective. You can usually get 2-3 jabs in afterwards.
But the best way to knock Bald Bull down is when he jumps at you, at 2:40
and 2:15 left. After he lands the second time, fire a left or right jab--body
blows don't seem to work. There's a nice window of time here. Err on the side
AFTER he lands, if you must. He'll go spinning and then crash to the canvas.
You only get two shots at this, and if you're timid, you can duck his big
punch and get in one jab, but that'll be it.
Once Bald Bull has been knocked down twice, you can lead with the right,
duck his wind-up body blows, and nail him with a bunch of jabs. He may get on
a roll where you throw a jab and he lambastes you. In that case have your
guard up and wait for him to jab. Then you can fight back: right, duck, more
jabs 'til he gets ready, duck, jab, repeat, knockdown. I've won in a minute
with a bit of luck after the second knockdown.
Bald Bull requires a lot of patience to defeat without the trick of
smacking him as he runs up. I take at least two minutes. I also would advise
ducking a lot until the second knockdown; clobbering him with a hook to start
off his second trip off the canvas shortens the odds considerably. With his
episodes of jumping at you, I've gotten it so he goes down after your second
knock down. The key is not to throw any punches that aren't sure to connect,
except when you paste him after a body blow. And always to hit him when he
moves his fists up and down. He usually goes in for a body blow after the
second, which makes things predictable. I usually land a hook before his
second run up.
I've even made him miss one jump because I was battering him so heavily. If
you time your punches for when he lets his guard down, you can get the
flashing KO and knock him out pretty swiftly.
4-4. KID QUICK
Kid Quick doesn't have a big move, but he does seem to be able to zap you
and you're not sure why. He also has a favorite trap he likes to fall into.
If you start hitting him up with a right, he will eventually counter with a
right body blow of his own. Duck left, and before you're back standing, throw
a left. Then another. Throw a right and often he gets in a cycle where you
can keep doing this until he's knocked down. You can shorten things slightly
by throwing a hook at your first chance and making your final combo left-
left-HOOK. I find it's very rare that he breaks out of his reflexive lashing
out.
Again, if you find he's too quick for you in this after the second
knockdown, keep your guard up and be prepared to duck any unprovoked body
blows, but don't duck until then. Remember--don't duck/punch 'til you see the
yellows of their eyes.
But with correct play Kid Quick can be very quick--to hit the canvas for
good. I've tried regular sparring with him and it's not easy, but once I
found his weakness I found him to be almost as easy as Glass Joe. I've
polished him off in just over thirty seconds, too.
4-5. PIZZA PASTA
This guy lets you beat him up early, but he can come back with a vengeance
to nail you if you're not careful. At 2:26 or 1:56, after you've thrown the
next punch, he clenches with you. You need to hold the controls right and
when he misses with his big punch, you can jab him left and right. There's no
way I can find to knock him down early. Even not hitting him for the first
half minute, so you can build up KO power jabbing him as he is stunned,
doesn't help--note that he is completely stunned and you can really batter
him after he clenches and mis-punches, even using KO punches for extra
points. The only way to wake him up seems to be to wait around or throw a
body blow, which really isn't very sensible. After two of these knockdowns,
the potential challenge begins.
But until then you have a nice way to keep him busy. The same formula for
Kid Quick works for Pizza Pasta, although the price for failure is more
obvious. It may take a few right jabs to provoke a body blow, but once you
do,
right-duck-left-left works to keep him occupied before he grabs you. You can
also sit around and wait before the first two clenches as he tends to get up
after a three-count regardless of what you do.
Yet some times he may wind up going off on you after his knockdown. If,
after the second knockdown, you throw a right and can't duck his response,
sit there until you block some jabs from him. Then try again. If he throws a
right body blow before you can do so, you will be able to duck and proceed as
before. Remember you have three tries to get one more knockdown, but on the
third you may want to wait for him to punch as one punch will send you down.
Throwing a hook to greet Pizza Pasta as he gets up the second time is not a
bad choice. It's a powerful shot, and if he hits you back, well, he would
have done so anyway at your first jab. A success here makes things a bit
easier, and to do this you should hit him continually with left and right
jabs when he's stunned, after he grabs you and throws his big punch. If you
want a few more points, hit him with an uppercut/hook while he's stunned, but
then the hook may be totally inoperative.
Another problem I've had in fighting Pizza Pasta is that he starts to block
your left jabs after the right-duck-left-left. I find that I like to go with
body blows and going back to right jabs after that. It's a sort of
overextension like Piston Hurricane's and the same remedy seems to work here.
Remember there's a lot of room for error here--three knockdowns, although on
the last one he can sock you with one punch--so don't get too panicky if he
hits you once. Just whale on him after he jabs and throws a body blow.
Pizza Pasta also likes to throw three quick jabs, and the fourth one
connects. So beware of that move. He may also do the same with three quick
body blows. He'll crouch slightly before that but it won't be a huge duck.
Basically if he starts throwing short punches that connect, switch the way
you block.
I can't find a way to beat Pizza Pasta super-quickly, because when he grabs
you, he brings the KO counter down to halfway. Various combinations of hooks,
uppercuts and jabs don't seem to knock him out conclusively enough. Mixing
things up with a few body blows seems to work well. 1:30 is a very good time,
though.
And now having said that I'm pleased to announce I've found a way to sock
Pizza Pasta in just over one minute. It involves knocking him down before his
second clench. This requires a bit of luck so I can't place it in the main
strategy, but basically you need to proceed as usual but when the KO button
flashes hit him with a right hook. Usually this will be just after the second
punch in one of your combinations. Continue throwing punches at him and it's
possible he might not be baited once. In that case throw another left until
he goes back to regular mode. Use a hook to smash him to the canvas after the
clench and missed punch. Of course you need to preempt your punches and take
a few chances in order to get this quick finisk but it's fun and worth it.
Observations: I'm rarely able to knock him down in the first :34. He always
seems to pause a bit once. Usually he'll reflexively punch back but sometimes
he'll just sit there and you'll need to goad him again. Do so quickly. If he
doesn't pause you can get him at 2:28 or so. But the important thing here is-
-you can gain TIME so that you can knock Pizza Pasta out before the 2:00
mark. Then he will clench you and the second time out of the clench is the
third knockdown--i.e. a TKO. In fact if you knock him out before the 1:56
mark that will still actually save a bit of time as the clench, etc. take a
bit of time.
If Pizza Pasta does not pause, I'm able to knock him down in 2:02, only
once out of the clench. Usually I settle for a knockdown at 1:58 and a
knockout 10 seconds later although if I knock him down before 2:00 the second
time I can get things done around 1:52. This all seems a bit random but it is
possible to lay him low quickly. I just don't see a way to get him without
three knockdowns, though. The clench is a stupid move on his part as he'd be
tough without it when he switched to quick punches, but it does preclude a
super quick knockout.
4-6. MR. SANDMAN
Mr. Sandman follows in the same vein as the other opponents, except he's a
lot stronger, more accurate and nimble. There's no way to fake him out and
get a punch in. Also, when he's knocked down, he can get back up with a
vengeance. Basically you have to wait for an opening and then reach in there.
He also manages to find unstoppable combinations you just have to duck before
you can start hitting him. One combination works repeatedly, and I'll
emphasize that.
The key loop is to get in three lefts, a right, duck his haymaker, duck,
and try again. Often he can be goaded into trying another haymaker. Throw a
hook afterwards when you get to KO, but none more, unless he hits you and
bumps you back below KO level. Your final punch you know will connect also
works as a hook against him. Also remember, when you throw the punch, to do
so before you're stationed. Otherwise he wil block it. He's very quick, if
potentially predictable. You usually want to start this process with a right.
It may take a couple of times before he swats at you, but once he does, you
can get to him.
Mr. Sandman also has other moves that leave him vulnerable. One of my
favorites is when he gives two left body blows followed by a right haymaker
you can duck and then start the standard pummeling. If you are quick you can
catch him with a right as he comes in for a left body blow and then a couple
more, but there are safer ways to do things. Hold your ground if his eyes
yellow and he keeps his fists up. Be ready to duck if he crouches and smack
him on the rebound.
Sometimes you may have to let Mr. Sandman smack you once before starting
things off. That just happens. Eventually after an initial right jab, before
he's been knocked down, you'll be able to get close to him and whale away.
Also, I duck indiscriminately after throwing a right. Sometimes he won't go
in for it, but he almost never socks you on the rebound. Also sometimes he'll
hit you with an uppercut and the best thing to do is duck that way as he
often combos another one from the other side.
The avergae time for knocking Mr. Sandman down, with some practice, is
1:30. If he is playing extra stupid(i.e. I throw four punches, he throws the
overextended one back) I can nail him at 2:23. And I rarely go below 1:00
with efficient experienced play.
On beating Mr. Sandman, your boxer turns around and becomes a real boxer,
not just a mesh of green neon wiring, and he joyously jumps up and down with
his WVBA belt that looks like an oversized fancy gold watch.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we've got a new champion!"
4-7. THE NEXT GENERATION
I've had terrible trouble with all this. Your new opponents are all "top
ranked" and fight like it. First of all, there's no yellows in their eyes, so
you have to rely on body language. Second of all, the mistakes they make are
either long winded or very minimal. So you need to be exact or you'll run out
of time. At the same time you can't go throwing punches to provoke them as
they often have unstoppable counters. It's important to learn when in a
combination you can punch back. Also, if you're getting your butt kicked,
then you may get knocked out after two trips to the canvas. The game can turn
very quickly against you in this respect, since you get almost NO health when
you come back up and your opponent gets a ton of it.
As the round goes on, leading lefts are harshly punished against Glass Joe,
Bald Bull and Mr. Sandman. So avoid them. In a combo, hit them with a left
and then batter them with rights.
Point totals are still the same, but gloves and shoes are blue. You're
yellow mesh but still with red gloves and green hair. If you lose and make a
rematch here or in the next fight sequence, your enemy is introduced as the
champion of the world. You are the challenger. And at the end of the fight,
you jump up and down with your regained belt.
The order of fights is as follows:
Glass Joe
Piston Hurricane
Bald Bull
Pizza Pasta
Mr. Sandman
Basically, Kid Quick, who had no special moves anyway, is gone. The next
time through shakes things up a bit more and then repeats eternally:
Piston Hurricane
Bald Bull
Glass Joe
Mr. Sandman
4-7-1. GLASS JOE
Glass Joe here comes out very tough compared to his original reincarnation.
He still looks like a drip but he can now punish you if you do something
wrong. His moves aren't really more refined, but he can defend better after
making them. You need to watch his signature move: left, left, right body
blow. Duck pre-emptively and smack him with a left and then don't let up on
the rights. I've gotten nine punch combinations. You can sometimes switch up
to a body blow, but if you can batter him with a few shots after he misses
you that's pretty good, and although there will be some awkward waiting
around, eventually he'll take a shot at you. He may also bob his fists up and
down, and that's a good time to jab him to. Use KO punches mercilessly once
you have the ability. He may duck once, in which case you go back to jabbing.
Once you knock him down though you can really start whaling away with an
uppercut as he gets back up. The announcer will say "Come on! Come on!" and
when he jumps at you(he doesn't actually DO anything after his run-up,) bash
him with all the uppercuts you can throw. The hard part can be knocking him
down once. After 1:20 or so he will come back with a vicious punch if you
lead with a left, so don't. In fact, don't lead at all. He walks into a trap
where you can batter him easily enough.
If you want to try to knock him down on the second count, then go with
straight jabs to counter everything he does. You can throw one body blow
after "come on! Come on!" to quicken things up a bit. Then one more dodge,
left/rights should do for him. End with a hook if you wish. I've won in 2:18.
4-7-2. PISTON HURRICANE
The first thing to do with Piston Hurricane the second time around is to
whack him twice with a right as he ducks to slug you. These are pretty much
free shots. Then you can move up/down to try to get a few shots in. He pretty
much just reacts.
Piston Hurricane jumps at you at 2:30 and right after the first "C'mon"(err
on the early side here as he may take a step back and require you to slug him
again) you can slug him to knock him down to the canvas. If you don't time it
right you have a long way to go and may be better off just getting knocked
down to save the time, because Piston Hurricane can really take time off the
clock. Also if he just hit you, you generally have to duck before you can
start throwing punches again, and that includes even if you have a knockdown
in between.
On the bright side, he can be knocked out at the second turn as long as you
only let yourself get hit once. The exchange generally is: you jab, he comes
back with an overextended punch, you throw a left jab and a right jab, he
overextends. If you're lucky he will give a wild uppercut which allows two
punches. You can always poke him with a right jab if you'd like, too.
Throwing a hook whenever you can is a good policy as well. You can wait
around and see if he ducks for a left body blow as well while you wait--you
get two free punches for that too.
Another strategy is to let him hit you once you've gotten to KO and been
able to use the hook. Then feint a bit, fill up the KO, and hit him with
another hook. That will get his health down a bit quicker and avoid running
out of time.
4-7-3. BALD BULL
Bald Bull gets a lot tougher after the first knockdown but there does seem
to be a way to grind him down without too much trouble. He also only has one
run-up--at 2:30. It's more difficult, too. Watch his shoes. He'll take one
jump forward but the second won't always continue. As soon as you see him
jump forward instead of back, throw a left jab. This will send him spinning
down.
His main weakness is that he bobs his fists up and down. Hit him with a
right jab, wait a half second, and jab again for two hits. Bald Bull will
probably come in with a body blow after that and if you can duck and go
left/right that will work too. If it's before his first knockdown you can get
two more jabs in and in fact it's possible to get a hook before his rush up.
After that he becomes a tougher customer. Two or four jabs are often
followed by a vicious uppercut at what seems to be a random delay. He'll
still come with the bobbing fists, though, and when that happens you can get
four shots in. Being hit isn't so bad as you can frequently get back up to KO
strength and get a hook in. In fact sometimes if he just dances around you
may want to throw a right just so he socks you and gets back to his normal
routine. You do have to watch the clock a bit.
I can win in 1:30 with good play. If you know his body blows are coming and
can time the run down he's not that tough to defeat.
4-7-4. PIZZA PASTA
I've knocked Pizza Pasta out with two knockdowns(1:47) but it seemed to
take perfect play--and a lucky anticipation of that flurry of punches.
Basically it's luck to get that. You can get him into his little rut where he
just punches wildly and you avoid him but you're more likely to have to
perform a block, and you don't have that many chances. The first part of the
fight is still terribly easy. Provoke him into a punch with a right and then
go left-right. Throw a hook when you get KO capability(L-R-hook) and then go
with left/hook until he clinches. After that paste him 'til he's down.
Before the second knockdown you should be able to go right-duck-left-right-
etc. and knock him down a second time. If he does wise up before then, just
check the next paragraph for what to do next. You've seen the basic idea
before but I'll try to fill in a few details.
Basically it's worth a chance to try to slug Pizza Pasta with a
left/right/right/ Sometimes he'll duck after the second right and give a
vicious uppercut but a lot of the time he will give away that he is about to
hit you with a flurry of low punches by...getting hit with the second right.
This can give you a big jump and as the flurry is more likely it's the
strategy you should choose. Just remember to guard down right away and step
out of the way at the end.
Also if he seems to crouch a little--but not to either side--get ready for
the flurry of punches. Guard down. You can even afford to get hit by the
first one if you realize--a short quick punch that hits you is a body blow.
However the best way to nail Pizza Pasta quickly is, once he punches
across, to see if his fist is too far right of his body. If it is, try for a
body blow. You probably won't succeed but he'll try again and this time it
should connect. Once your body blow connects keep alternating hands until it
doesn't. Pizza Pasta appears a bit vulnerable here and besides if you rely on
ducking and the mistake he loved to make in the first go round you'll
probably run out of time. Often he prefaces this cross-punch with two left
jabs leaving him totally open, but you do have to be able to judge when he
does a regular right cross you can take advantage of immediately(punch near
your head, left jab) and one that might take some time(punch right of his
head, use body blows.) The number of body blows you get is random but this is
an important maneuver as otherwise you and he can get stuck in this a bit.
One of the big problems with Pizza Pasta is that he'll get down to next to
nothing and beat the stuffing out of you. You can't afford overconfidence or
allowing 'just one hit.' Because you only get four or so. Remember he gives
dual right jabs or none at all and then ducks.
So hopefully it's arrividerci to Pizza Pasta(who I think looks like Paolo
di Canio, late of West Ham, and who had a knockdown of his own for Sheffield
Wednesday on a referee) and onto Mr. Sandman.
4-7-5. MR. SANDMAN
Mr. Sandman can still be taken down as he was the first time--if you're
lucky. If you're not he'll start throwing impossible punches to counter your
sallies. Here's how to take him out.
--the big one is if he starts to dance around and throw jabs every now and
then. He'll just sit there and wait all day if you let him, so you need to
find a chink in his armor. You need to throw a right before he throws the
second of his punches. With your guard up, listen for the noise that says you
blocked the first punch. Wait a half-second and throw a right jab. Then
quickly throw two more. They can be hooks if you had the KO box to start, or
you can throw a hook on at the end if you went KO during this combination. It
may seem like it might take too much time, but a right-right-right-hook after
the second knockdown should do for him. You also have to be quick with the
punches, throwing the next before the previous connected, or you may not get
them all in. He's quick to block.
--right body blow, right body blow, left uppercut. 3 left ducks, 3 punches as
above. If he nails you at first he may not go through with the big punch,
which is too bad.
--left uppercut, right uppercut, or reverse. Even if the first one hits you
can duck the next and come back with 3 punches but 2 ducks/3 punches is
optimal. If you see it coming, which is rare, you can get 3 punches, duck the
second uppercut, and get 3 more punches in to get to KO status immediately.
Sometimes Mr. Sandman adds a big uppercut to this, and that actually is not
so bad. Because then you get another shot at him. If he seems to be winding
way up above the belt, be ready to duck.
I've found that if I get knocked down Mr Sandman may throw another punch
right away when I get back up and there's no way to anticipate it. So I focus
on getting him on the first knockdown. I can usually win with a minute left
with correct play. I've used provocateur tactics before to get by him, and
while they can work with save states(eventually he'll randomly walk into
where you slug him L-R-R-R(blocked)-etc.) it's not a guaranteed way to win.
4-8. THE FINAL RECURRING NIGHTMARE
4-8-1. PISTON HURRICANE
Piston Hurricane's very tricky to avoid here when he does his big run up,
which you have to deflect for a realistic chance at winning. Again, watch the
shoes, but he may rock back and forth several times before moving in. If you
don't get the timing right it's not so bad because you don't have to KO him
right away, and in fact I've come to grief trying to. This bit seems to be
random the body blows because he moves so quickly, but with the right timing
you can still knock him down anyway. The trick is to go with left jabs
instead of a body blow--and a well timed jab can knock him down in one blow
too. Here you just have to delay fractionally between left jabs once you two
are clinched and you'll actually start hitting him with good effect. You can
even knock him down. It's easier than learning to duck and if you do get hit,
just wait and duck right after you are able to block a punch. Then whack him
with lefts until he gives up.
At the start you can pause, two quick rights, and punch right to provoke a
wild uppercut where you can try left/right/right and of course duck when he
blocks. You may even be able to get a hook in if you're lucky. Then comes the
rush.
Sadly this is the only time you can get a lot of punches in a row in. The
rest of the time you will probably be concerned with trying to get him to put
his guard down. To do this I generally just throw a right and sometimes he'll
come with a straight-up uppercut. That allows a left/right and sometimes both
punches connect for me. Eventually there's enough power for a hook but you
can't really switch to body blows to catch him off guard unless he gets the
one punch to the right of his own face--and sometimes he mixes it up with a
straight up uppercut next anyway.
Sometimes when he ducks and is about to throw a right body blow you can
duck and hit him with a left/right/right/right but you do have to spar a lot
with rights and this may give him a chance to nail you with something
unhittable. Whatever you do though don't dawdle. There is progress to be made
even if it is only a punch at a time and once you have the KO lit(and used)
you can afford to take risks, as taking a punch brings you back to where you
can throw another gratuitous uppercut. When jabbing don't throw another punch
after you got blocked--this game sems to look for perfection this round.
My best time is 0:48 left. And I think I've won with a few seconds left
without knocking him out on the rush. So that is necessary. My timing for the
rush punches goes hold-and-up-and-PUNCH repeatedly and if I get out of time I
just duck and go back to the pugilism later. This is by far the toughest of
all the fights.
4-8-2. BALD BULL
Bald Bull is probably the second-easiest of the last lot, the easiest being
Glass Joe(of course.) He follows the same pattern he had before and as long
as you don't get too greedy you should be able to ring him up early. Again he
has a charge at 2:30 and again you need to wait and watch his shoes to see
when they go forward after the first jump instead of rocking back. It may
take a few times. When he bobs his fists, throw a right, wait a split second,
and throw another right. His next move should be a body blow and you will
want to evade that and then throw two more punches. Don't try another one
unless he looks stupefied. This pattern can continue although if he goes in
for jabs beware the huge right uppercut he may throw. Avoid that and whack
him twice. Use the hook after he misses with a body blow or uppercut if you
have KO ability. I can win with 1:30 or so left. It is not too hard to avoid
getting hit. Bald Bull's attacks are a bit slow but he doesn't go in for that
silly dancing around.
Basically he may surprise you with a crouch/uppercut if you're lazy but
there shouldn't be any reason to deviate from waiting around and doing jab-
pause-jab and ducking his body blow with two punches after. Repeat, etc.,
win.
4-8-3. GLASS JOE
Again Glass Joe isn't too bad but he has a few more moves which may
surprise you a bit. You can wait for the old two left jabs and right body
blow and paste him just after you duck but before your feet are set--left,
rights. He always seems to start with that. But now you might only get five
punches in before he gets his guard up--no penalty for getting blocked
though. His new moves are:
--crouch, right body blow. You can duck right and hit him with a left before
you're in position and two rights, whereupon he tries for an encore. You can
knock him out this way.
--fists down, up, down, left body blow. Again you can duck right and paste
him a couple of times, but more than that can be trouble for you. He may
retaliate.
--one punch, right body blow. This is a bit tricky to judge and in general I
don't bother with it but I try to notice which way he leans after the first
punch. This is his last option, though.
--also if he hits you with one 'straight' body blow after a crouch, another
one is coming. This is easy to duck and then you can paste him with a
left/rights. So if you want to win quickly you may want to try this sacrifice
as you get another KO punch on the table.
I can get Glass Joe at 1:43 if luck is on my side. I'm not sure why he was
moved to the third fight in this circuit. He has few beguiling moves and a
terrible vulnerability to right jabs after he misses. And he STILL telegraphs
his moves!
4-8-4. MR. SANDMAN
While for other opponents it's risky to throw punches to provoke them, with
Mr. Sandman it's downright bad. He has some really heinous counters. But you
always have a way to counter his punches if you're careful and vigilant.
I've found that Mr. Sandman likes to come out with a duck--right uppercut.
You can duck and hit him with a left and two rights. Then there are his other
moves. He seems to go in for grand combos here which works to your advantage
once you know them. Remember to tack on a KO punch at the end--the 4th if you
just went KO and the 3rd if you started that way. It actually isn't hard to
get to KO status here. You just need to avoid two flurries and respond in
kind. The main thing to overcome is impatience once you understand the move--
and you need to note the timing on the jab sequence is different.
--duck, right uppercut, either fast or slow. Left/two rights.
--left body blow, left body blow, right uppercut with windup. Duck left </pre><pre id="faqspan-2">
twice, then duck, then three punches.
--two quick uppercuts and a long one. Duck twice quickly and then a third
time. Then three punches.
--if Mr. Sandman comes at you by dancing around and throwing jabs, throw a
right right after his second left jab in a row. Throw three, in fact. He
won't stop them. If the KO is flashing after this you can throw a hook--
whether it was before or not. You can also go right/hook/hook. I don't see a
way to get him after that, and this can really drain time--so you need to
make sure you get things right here. If you do it is an easy way to nail him
as he tends to get in the doldrums and not snap out of this nonsense. And if
you manage to get hit the game has a chance of going back to regular play.
Incidentally with the above 'big' move Mr. Sandman will throw a jab at you
if you do manage to connect. His move is three jabs, which seems harmless,
but remember, you got in after the second. If you try for an uppercut while
he's paralyzed you may get shocked.
I find I often win with Mr. Sandman going under one minute but actually
there's really very little danger here. The delays are pretty much set in
stone, and if you get off to a good start you should have no problem beating
him up enough.
4-9. OR AT LEAST I HOPE SO
Maybe there are differences in the fourth circuit but initial inspection
seems to indicate not. I am just too exhausted after save-stating to get past
Mr. Sandman # 3 to do any more, though.
End of FAQ proper
================================
5. VERSIONS
1.5.0: submitted to GameFAQs 8/22/2004. A taker is me! Second and third go
rounds have strategies that worked for me but I may be missing certain enemy
counters.
1.0.0: submitted to GameFAQs 8/4/2004. First go through complete. Any takers
on the second, which has been started?
6. CREDITS
The usual GameFAQs gang. They know who they are, and you should, too, because
they get some SERIOUS writing done. Good people too--bloomer, falsehead,
Masters, RetroFreak, Snow Dragon/Brui5ed Ego, ZoopSoul, and others I forgot.
klov.com for having screenshots and basic tips which helped me work my way
through.
War Doc for giving me something to make a futile attempt to catch up to--# of
arcade guides.
Brian Sulpher and Guitarfreak86 on GameFAQs for showing how to do a REAL
Punch-Out!! FAQ. I only had six guys to beat, you know. They had many more.
