Resolution #28: I'm Going To Beat Mike Tyson!!!
/
Date: 1-28-14
Due Date: 1-28-15
Resolution: There's always been a part of me that wished I had it in me to be a gamer. I was lucky enough to get an NES back in Jr. High School when they first came out. I played the hell out of that system.
I bought the SNES years after it came out but only ended up buying and playing a couple of games. My friends and I played a lot of Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. These friends were so better than me that I lost interest.
I still liked to watch people play, I was just nothing more than a button masher so and I gave up playing before I ever got comfortable with the new controller configuration. I have a hard enough time instinctively figuring out left and right due to my dyslexia.
By the time video game systems started to get more advanced I was busy with school, work, and my newfound love of partying, so I'm happy living in a world of two buttons and a direction pad.
My two favorite games of all time are Moon Patrol and Mike Tyson's Punch-Out. I'm good to revisit both of these games at least once a year. These moments of nostalgia rarely last more than a couple of days, but it's fun when it happens.
When was in High School I would play Mike Tyson's Punch-Out until the buttons fell out of the controller yet I have only managed to beat Mike Tyson one time, and I think that was by decision if that even possible?
I know for sure that I got there by using the save-code 007 373 5963.
I’ve beaten every opponent in Mike Tyson's Punch-Out but I've always wanted to make it through an entire campaign undefeated. Hopefully this year I'll finally make that happen.
That said this resolution is about beating Mike Tyson, so below I will breakdown what I am requiring of myself to consider this resolution a success.
Success breakdown:
Success!!! Starting from Glass Joe, beat the game with an undefeated record without using any save codes.
Success* Starting with Glass Joe, beat the entire game with losses but still without using any of the save codes.
Success** Starting with Glass Joe, beat the entire game however I have to including the use of save-codes.
Success*** Use the save code to go straight to Mike Tyson and win the match.
Result #28: I Still Blame My Inability To Find A Proper Controller For This Failure…
Update #1: These Stupid Controllers...
Date: 2-8-2014
Unfortunately… I don't have an old school NES with Mike Tyson's Punch-Out. I only have an emulator that allows me to play on my old school Xbox. So that means I have to fight with the Xbox controllers, both literally and figuratively.
This is the controller I'm used to playing with.
This is the futuristic piece of crap I'm using now, because of this controller I'm struggling way more than I should be.
Sure blame the controller you say.
Yes… I will. I'm sure this controller is fine for actual Xbox games but the D-pad is too loose. When I push up Little Mac far too often bobs to the right. This is fine for the lower level competitors, I can usually correct the mistake without much damage, but once you get to Soda Popinski and above you can't get away with those mistakes.
So yesterday I walked to the Thrift Store to get a different controller.
I bought this hunk of crap for five bucks. The D-pad felt like it had better play and I liked that it wasn't as compact.
I got home excited to prove my point that it's a controller issue only to find this damn thing has a mind of its own. I plugged it in and without touching a button the thing scrolled down and randomly made selections for me.
I fought with the controller and managed to start up Punch-Out, and again this thing took control. The game started at Great Tiger for some reason and Little Mac was moving around and swinging at nothing. I thought it was the demo video from the start of the game, but nope, the controller just wanted to play without me.
So the hunt for the perfect Xbox controller continues, but that's not going to stop me from making my attempts to get through this game undefeated.
Update #2: The Popinski Frustration Continues…
Date: 2-12-2014
Arg...
I can now get all the way up to the first Bald Bull without even getting hit. Even at Bald Bull I either defeat him without even getting touched or if my timing is off on one punch then it throws me off for the entire match.
The second Piston Honda is usually a good fight for me but I think he's only beat me once since I started this.
I haven't even come close to beating Soda Popinski yet, and it's getting old. Maybe tomorrow I will use the code and just train against him until I figure out what I am doing wrong. I've never had this many problems with him in the past.
Update #3: The Conclusion…
Date: 1-28-2015
You don't even know how disappointed I am that I failed this resolution. I was willing to play this game daily until I got good but as I pointed out in Update #1 there was a bit of lag time between the controller and the Punch-Out mod that I was using.
This led to a loss of enthusiasm toward the game.
Later on… in the year… I found a way to play Mike Tyson's Punch-Out on my computer with a controller that actually responded correctly. By then I was so focused on other resolutions that beating Mike Tyson ended up on the back burner.
I had plans to revisit Punch-Out closer to today's due date but then depression led me to make the surprise decision to move home. After that my energy toward everything in life got set to low.
I have another week or so until I will be out of here and somewhat settled into my new place. I'm hoping this will revive the energy and enthusiasm that I try to portray on this blog.
Either way, I know for sure that I'll be revisiting Mike Tyson's Punch-Out once I'm.
I'll let you know if I ever end up beating the champ.
