Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! - copyright 1987 Nintendo of America

Date Written - May 9, 2002
Written By - Brian P.Sulpher
e-mail - briansulpher@hotmail.com
 
 

Well, before I begin, I am just writing this little dedication to Daniel T.  
Without his inspiration to join his KO Tyson Journal, I never would have 
discovered this strategy.  Though you claim to be a rookie Daniel, you really
are a master in my book.

Also, I dedicate this walkthrough to both my brother Michael and my 
girlfriend Jennifer Dixon, becuase without their patience with my yelling,
screaming, and cursing (as well as all the time I hogged the TV) that Mike
Tyson put me through in this game until I unlocked a surefire method of 
KO'ing him.  I love you both very much (just in different ways).

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-----Table of Contents-------------------------------------------------------
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1) Introduction

2) Basic Controls

3) General Tactics
  a) The Most Important Thing
  b) Quick-Dodge Technique
  c) Proper Use of Punches
  d) Different Punches Utilized by Mike Tyson
  e) How to Read Tyson's Actions
  f) Patterns Utilized by Tyson

4) In-Depth Strategy
  a) Round 1
     i) first knockdown
    ii) second knockdown
   iii) remaining time
  b) Round 2
     i) first knockdown
    ii) second knockdown
   iii) remaining time
  c) Round 3
     i) first knockdown
    ii) second knockdown
   iii) after second knockdown

5) Closing Statements

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-----Introduction------------------------------------------------------------
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1)

Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! was released in 1987 for the Nintendo Entertainment
System.  It quickly became very popular for its outrageous characters, great 
difficulty challenge, and the underdog story of the main character, Little 
Mac.  This walkthrough is going to concentrate on the final opponent in the
game, Mike Tyson.

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-----Basic Controls-----------------------------------------------------------
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2)

Although there probably will be no one who does not know the controls of this 
game, I will review them anyway.

Directional Pad => This controls where and how Little Mac moves.  Pressing 
left or right will cause Little Mac to dodge in the direction pressed.
Holding down will cause Little Mac to put his hands on his head and try to 
block the incoming punch.  Pressing down twice in rapid succession will cause 
Little Mac to duck.  Pressing up allows Little Mac to have punches be thrown 
at the head of opponents.

A Button => Pressing this button will cause Little Mac to throw a right-handed
body blow, or (when up is pressed along with the "A" button) a right jab.

B Button = >Pressing this button will cause Little Mac to throw a left-handed
body blow, or (when up is pressed along with the "B" button) a left jab.

Start button => Used to start the fight and rounds.  It is also used in the 
game when Little Mac has a Star (which allows him to throw an uppercut).

Select Button => When this is pressed in between rounds, it will regain some 
of Little Mac's energy.  If this is used when Little Mac has yet to be hit at 
all, he will lose energy!  The selct button is not needed for this 
walkthrough.

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-----General Tactics----------------------------------------------------------
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3)

a) The most important thing to remember for this strategy to work is to not to
take ANY damage at all.  This includes blocking any punches because Little Mac
still takes partial damage.  Little Mac must not be damaged in any way for 
this strategy to be assured of working (he could still be KO'ed, but it is no
longer a guarantee).

b) The quick-dodge technique is a must for anyone to be any good at MTPO!!  
This is when a player presses left or right to dodge out of the way of a 
punch, but but by pressing the opposite direction of the direction dodged will
cause Little Mac to come back to a ready punching position. When this 
technique is used properly, it allows the player to land more punches in a 
shorter amount of time.  this can be very important in Round 1 (this will be 
explained later).

c) Another important technique is the proper use of counter punches. The
general rule is if a right-handed punch is thrown at you, answer with a
left-handed punch.  The same hold true for a left-handed punch thrown at you,
answer with a right-handed punch.  This will sometimes cause extra damage if
countered properly, and consequently on the same type of punches if countered
improperly, it will cause less damage.

d) Mike Tyson has four different punches available to him.
   
   i) His uppercuts pack quite a punch, and is his second most used punch.
  
  ii) His hooks are the most common punch thrown, and it removes a small
      amount of energy.
 
 iii) Tyson throws visciously quick jabs that remove a fair amount of 
      energy (just slightly more then the hooks).  this punch is quite 
      rare, but he does throw them in groups of two.
  
  iv) A slightly altered hook that is thrown in groups of four.  If not
      blocked, Little Mac will recieve substancial damage.

e) How does Little Mac go about dodging these deadly punches? He just does 
as he has with all of the other boxers in the game, which is find the 
movements of the opponent so he can dodge at the correct time.

    i) Tyson will flash which indicates this hard punch is coming.
  
   ii) Tyson will wink, and if he winks his right eye, he will throw a 
       right.  If Tyson winks his left eye, he will throw a left.
 
  iii) Unfortunately, these punches have no warning movement, so the only 
       defence is the knowledge of when he will throw these punches, and 
       luck to dodge them.  I will cover when Tyson can throw these annying 
       punches.
  
   iv) These punches are telegraphed by Tyson when he will suddenly start 
       blinking rapidly.  He can be punched when he is blinking, and if it is
       timed right, he will fall down or yeild a star.

f) Although Tyson does not have a set punching order, he does follow some 
   set patterns.

    i) When Mike Tyson throws his uppercuts for the first 90 seconds of Round
       1, he has a few patterns.  One is he always starts with a left, right,
       left every fight.  When he throws two lefts in a row, he will then 
       throw a right, followed immediately by another right, and then a left.
   
   ii) His first hook after the opening ninety seconds will be a right, 
       followed by a left.  He will then usually throw two more lefts, 
       followed by three rights.  he will continue on a three left, three 
       right pattern, but he can throw a left, right, left, right combo until
       he goes back to three left, three right combo. You must be aware of a
       possible switch in tactics.
  
  iii) Tyson always starts Round 2 with 10 jabs (in quick sets of 2).
   
   iv) When Tyson pauses in Round 2 after throwing some hooks, he will throw 
       a left uppercut, followed by a right uppercut.  This pattern can be
       pre-empted by the next pattern.
    
    v) At 1:30 and 2:30 of Round 2, Tyson will blink, and if he is not 
       knocked down (as described above), he will throw 4 punches.  In Round 
       3 at 1:30 he blinks and again he will start with the altered hook
       combo.  This time however, he will throw more than four if Little Mac
       does not block them successfully.

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-----In-Depth Strategy--------------------------------------------------------
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4)

a) Round 1 => This round is the easiest round in terms of difficulty, and the 
   easiest round in terms of Tyson's predictability.
    
    i) Tyson will open with his deadly Dynamite punches, which are the super 
       charged version of his uppercut.  If he throws a right, hit him with
       two lefts, and he throws left, you throw two rights.Using the patterns
       outlined in 3)f), he will throw anywhere from 14 to 16 uppercuts.  If
       he throws 14 Dynamites, you will need to hit him six times on his
       hooks.  The normal time his first knockdown willbe 1:43 to 1:46.  This
       is late, but he can still be knocked down again (it requires little
       time to be wasted after he throws a punch).  If he throws 15 Dynamites,
       he will still need three punches on his hooks to go down.  This will
       occur from 1:38 to 1:41.  If he throws 16 Dynamites, he will go down
       somewhere between 1:25:51 to 1:33.  He will get up and and throw hooks.
       This leaves a little more room for error.  If tyson throws 17
       Dynamites, this means he falls around 1:21 to 1:25:50.  He will get up 
       and throw one more Dynamite punch, and then go into his hook sets.

   ii) The second knockdown in Round 1 is dependent on the player being able 
       to read Tyson's movements, being able to quick dodge, and to not get 
       hit.  If Tyson threw 14 Dynamite punches, his second knockdown time 
       will be in the range of 2:56 to 2:59.  Also, if the punches are not all
       dodged, and quickly countered, the second knockdown will not occur.  If
       he threw 15 Dynamite punches, his second knockdown time will be from 
       2:49 to 2:54.  This means a player could dodge a couple of punches, not
       get hits, but still get the second knockdown. This allows some
       breathing room, but with a bit of practice, there should be little need
       for it.  The 16 Dynamite punches means a second knockdown time of 2:44
       to 2:47.  A lot of extra time to work with, so do not panic if Tyson
       blocks a couple of your punches.  If he threw 17 Dynamite punches, his
       second knockdown should occur around 2:36 to 2:40.  Lots of free time
       to work with, so you should have little trouble getting him down twice.

  iii) With whatever times remains in the round after the second knockdown, 
       just dodge and punch till the bell rings.  Congratulations, you are one 
       third of the way there!

b)  Round 2 => This round is the hardest round in terms of difficulty, but the 
    second easiest in terms of Tyson's predictability.

    i) Tyson always opens this round with ten jabs in sets of two.
       Immediately dodge to start the round, and when you come back in, dodge
       again.  Now is the tricky part, you must stand there for about a 
       second, then dodge out, come back in, and then dodge again.  repeat
       this three more times, and he will be done with those evil jabs for
       this round (phew).  Now you have a primary goal, and a secondary goal
       to achieve. The primary must be acheived before 1:30 of the round, but
       the secondary does not have to be done until 2:30 of the round, so it
       can wait for after the first knockdown of this round.  The primary goal
       is to get Tyson's energy down so one more punch will knock him down.
       The secondary goal is to get a star by landing a punch extremely late
       after he has punched at you.  If you have accomplished the primary
       goal, you have to wait to do the secondary goal.  Now, when he is at
       this stage do NOT knock him down until 1:30 comes and he starts his
       blinking.  Then you punch him, which will knock him down (and will not
       allow him to throw his four jab combo, which is undodgable).  He will
       fall and then promptly get up at 1.  this means that a star uppercut
       will knock him down no matter his energy level.

   ii) Now the secondary goal from earlier becomes your primary goal.  you 
       must avoid his punches, and land a punch so late that the game gives 
       you a star.  Then you dodge his punches, and you can return punches if
       you wish (it does not matter).  Continue to do this until he blinks at
       2:30, at which point you must press START as quickly as you can because
       it take some time to throw the punch (he blinks only for a short 
       period).  Now, what happens if you have arrived at the blinking without
       a star?  You have one option available (if you still would like to have
       the assured KO), and that is to land a punch on him at the proper time
       during his blinking.  If timed correctly, he will land on the mat.  If
       this does not work, then this strategy will no longer work.

  iii) When the fight resumes, he will have very little energy remaining.  you
       must be careful not to knock him down again, or he will be TKO'ed.
       Dodge whatever he might throw at you, and take some more of his energy
       if you like.  the bell will ring, and that means just one more round to
       go!  If you have made it this far, you have almost done it.

c)  Round 3 => This is the second hardest round in terms of difficulty, but 
    the hardest round in terms of predictability.

    i) This round opens with one of the two predictable actions of Tyson: he
       will throw a punch.  He might throw an uppercut, he might throw a hook,
       but either way be ready to dodge in and out quickly.  If you drained
       his energy before the end of the last round, he will fall quickly
       (inside of 10 seconds).  He will get up somewhere from a 2 to a 6
       count.

   ii) When he gets up, he will do predictable action number two: he will 
       throw a punch.  The same rules apply as above, since he can throw 
       either type of punch.  if he throws a couple of hooks to start, your 
       KO may be in jeopardy because as the round goes on, he will become 
       totally unpredictable.  He is not too hard to figure out if you watch
       for his movements indicating the type of punch to be thrown, but he 
       does have an ace up his sleeve: the quick jabs in sets of two.  He will
       pause for a bit (this is the only indicator of the punches), but it 
       takes luck to dodge out twice on these fast punches.  If you somehow 
       dodge these punches, he will immediately follow them with a hook, or 
       an uppercut (usually an uppercut).  If you have knocked him down, and
       you have not been hit, and/or blocked a punch at any time then no 
       matter what he does he will be down for the 10 count!  
       CONGRATULATIONS, you have KO'ed Mike Tyson.

  iii) Well either he is knocked out on the mat, or he has got up.  Either
       way, your attempt to KO him is over.  So try again, or go do something
       else.

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-----Closing Statements-------------------------------------------------------
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5)

Well, I hope everyone got some good use from this walkthrough, and if you do
suceed using this walkthrough, could you please go post on the Mike Tyson 
Punch Out!! Board to let me know.  Also, on the board it is a pretty rare
accomplishment, and that in itself will make it wothwhile to post.

If you have anything you would like to add to this walkthrough, just drop me
an e-mail or instant messsage me on MSN (briansulpher@hotmail.com).

Once I discovered this strategy, I KO'ed Tyson 20 times in the span of four
hours.  It has never failed me yet, only I have failed the strategy by getting
hit.

Do not give up if you do get hit; you never know when Tyson might remain down.
It is just much less likely than the no-hit method however.

Practice, practice. practice is the greatest advice I can give you.  You must
first master all the tricks Tyson has to offer, then try to do this.

If you feel like it, go join the KO Tyson Journal on the MTPO!! Board at 
gamefaqs.com.  It is an excellent challenge, and once I knocked Tyson out once,