Mike Tyson made the news a few days back when he attended the latest UFC event with the companies president, Dana White. When former heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos was awarded the Knockout of the Night honors, Mike Tyson disagreed. He told Dana While that he believed up and coming fighter T.J. Grant deserved the award, and the $50,000 that comes along with it. White changed the decision and probably rightfully gave the prize to Grant.
While unfortunately not every Iron Mike story through history is as nice as him doing a solid for a deserving young fighter being overlooked, he has seemed to have left a troubled past behind him. That is nice to see, because Mike Tyson was a keystone figure in my childhood gaming experience.
The Orginal Punch Out!! arcade machine. Note the duel monitor setup it employed that served as the inspiration of the Nintendo DS.
In the mid 80's Nintendo had hoped to release a console version of the popular Punch Out!! arcade game. The original Punch Out!! was a simplistic cartoonish version of boxing. It was a neat machine because you did fight behind a green wire frame fighter, allowing a third person perspective with full view of your opponent. The other thing that was unique was the dual monitor display. The bottom monitor was the main play screen while the top monitor displayed fight information. The Nintendo didn't have anywhere near the graphical capabilities of the arcade version, so developers had their work cut out for them.
The main character had to be shrunk down, due to perspective issues from the Nintendo's performance limitations. The wire framed tough guy from the arcade version was replaced with Little Mac. Mac was listed at 4'8" and 107 pounds, and hailed from The Bronx, New York. Little Mac was a simple character capable of head and body punches, ducking, dodging, and a power uppercut whenever he earned a star. The point of the game was to take the underdog Mac through a string of unique boxers, winning various championships along the way.
Mike Tyson on the cover of Sports Illustated in 1986
Nintendo wanted something to put the title over the top, their idea was to have the game culminate against a real fighter. The marketing scheme was developed when the president of Nintendo of America attended a Mike Tyson fight. At the time Tyson was a young fighter to was beating up guys about every other week. Tyson wasn't a household name quite yet but, was signed the three year contract for the use of his likeness. Right about the time of the game's release, Tyson defeated Trevor Berbick for the Heavyweight Championship of the World, quickly becoming boxing's newest and biggest star.
The game couldn't have come out much better. Although it was technically a boxing game, in a weird way it actually transcended normal sports titles. Instead of using AI to dictate the computer, each opponent you faced was a scripted challenge. Since each fighter had individual strengths and weaknesses, the challenge of the game is figuring out to exploit each fighter's timing. Acting and reacting is the key to victory, so if you want to take a chance at Mike Tyson here is the path you will need to take.
Little Mac is trained by none other than The Office's Stanley Hudson
The game starts out with Little Mac and his trainer Doc Brown starting at the bottom of the boxing world. The first championship you fight for is the Minor Circuit. The Minor Circuit is your introduction to the game, and shouldn't be a problem for anyone seriously hoping to make it to the end of the game. So let the fighting begin.
Glass Joe - The game leads off with the same first character from the arcade game, the French fighter with a 1-99 record. Unlike most of the other fighters in this game Joe is not overly concerned with defense. From the very beginning of the fight you can begin picking Joe apart. Glass Joe only has three different attacks, and none of them are incredibly effective. Trying to pinpoint a strategy against Joe is pretty much pointless, if you can't beat him you should try a hobby besides video games.
Von Kaiser - The second challenger is the German fighter Von Kaiser. Kaiser only has two real attacks, a left jab and a right uppercut. He tips off his jab by shaking his head, you can dodge the attack and counter strike, or simply give him a shot to the body while his head is shaking to beat his defense. The uppercut is much of the same, he can be hit with a body blow while he is crouched to throw the uppercut, or simply dodge and counter punch to land a few extra blows. If you earn stars to throw your power uppercut, no matter how much stamina Kaiser has left the blow will knock him to the canvas. You should have no problem making your way to the first champion.
Piston Honda - Here comes the Champ. He's the toughest fight you have seen so far, but that's still not saying much. Honda goes through a slightly varying pattern of Left Jabs, Right Hooks, and Right Uppercuts. He tips off all of his punches, most notably his eyebrows twitch before throwing some blows. If you can time it right you can punch him while he is winding up and earn stars during his his Jab or Hook. The safest strategy is to dodge and counter punch his strikes. Honda's only curveball is his Banzai Attack. When he prepares to use it he will back off and hop around for a few seconds and charge forward. A well timed punch to the mouth will send him stumbling to the canvas. If you aren't brave enough to go that route you must be prepared to block and counter 5 straight punches and a quick uppercut. His Banzai attack is the most brutal technique so far in the game if not defensed property. Also you must win by KO or score the three knockdowns in the round to score the TKO because this fight is impossible to win by decision.
This is the famous pink jogging suit scene that transitions you to the next division
After you dispatch of Honda it is time to face off against the next tier of challengers. But first there is the legendary training scene, where Doc Brown is riding a bike in New York City while Little Mac trails behind in a pink training outfit. Perhaps the pink training outfit was only to pick warmup fights, because the Major Circuit fighters are trickier and more dangerous than the ones you have faced so far. It is probably my favorite circuit because of the iconic characters that were in it.
Don Flamenco - You knew right away you were in the big time at the beginning when Flamenco would do the dance of the same name. However his showmanship display lasts about as long as his match with Mac as long as you follow the simple formula to beating him. Instantly in the match Flamenco begins taunting Mac. He will continue to do this until you throw a strike. No matter what he will block your strike and quickly counter with a powerful uppercut. You must be ready for it because he doesn't tip his uppercut off very well. If you do manage to dodge his attack, alternate left and right blows to the head. You can knock him down after the very first uppercut. He will get up and immediately throw another quick uppercut. If you are ready for it and can dodge it you can repeat the process and knock him down a second time. He won't get up and the fight is yours. His only other technique is a wimpy little hook he throws if you run out of hearts. Be careful though, that right uppercut is quick and lethal.
King Hippo - One of the true iconic characters of the game, King Hippo was one of the few characters that really can only be beaten with one strategy. King Hippo only has several different varieties of jabs. King Hippo's strikes are amongst the most powerful you will see in the entire game, so not getting hit is extremely important in this fight. Occasionally during his punches he will open his mouth just before throwing the strike. At that moment Mac should punch Hippo in the mouth. Once hit in the mouth, Hippo's trunks will fall down allowing you to unload a barrage of punches to his stomach. To knock Hippo down you will have to accomplish that several times. The good news is that King Hippo cannot get back to his feet once knocked down, so after the 10 count Mac will be awarded the victory.
Great Tiger - Right from his intro Great Tiger shows that he is bringing something a little different to the table. His ability to use his abilities to warp around the ring will show itself soon enough. Tiger's main offense is his quick jabs. They are tipped off when the ruby in his turban begins to flash. The safe bet is to dodge and counter, but if you can sneak a punch in when the ruby flashes it will connect. Tiger can also through both left and right uppercuts, which also should be dodged and countered. He is a pretty straight forward match, until he does his Tiger Punch. The Tiger Punch is a series of five punches thrown while he warps around the ring. If you block all five blows Great Tiger will get dizzy and can be easily knocked down with one head shot. He isn't terribly hard to defeat, but it takes a lot. Tiger cannot be knocked out, you must either TKO him or score 10,000 points to get the decision in your favor.
Bald Bull - Perhaps the pinnacle icon of the series, the Major Circuit Champion is by far the toughest opponent yet. He has a powerful jab and hook, but tips them off with quick hand movement. Like most of the previous fighters he can be hit with a perfectly timed head shot when he is tipping those punches off. Unlike those fighter he has a very powerful uppercut that he throws much quicker than the other blows. You must be ready for it, if landed it causes a tremendous amount of damage. If that isn't enough Bald Bull will use his trademark Bull Charge on you. Bull will retreat to the far side of the ring and charge forward with a strike that if hits is an instant knockout. The Charge can be dodged, but he will just keep doing it. It must be countered with a perfectly timed body blow just before he reaches Mac. If countered properly Bull will hit the canvas like a ton of bricks. Hitting that counter is key, because Bald Bull is the only other character besides Great Tiger that cannot be knocked out. The trouble is that it is also impossible to win by decision in this fight, so the only way to win is to TKO the champ.
After this championship the pink gear is donned in the evening hours of New York. This means that you will also enter the big time. The World Circuit has some familiar faces mixed in with some new challenges. These are the truly difficult fights in the game, and really what gives the game the replay value.
Piston Honda - If you are breathing a sigh of relief when you see your old friend Honda, don't. Honda has refined his fighting style since the last time Mac faced him. He now throws trickier combos, that have smaller counter windows. His jab has become a triple jab, and the rest of his arsenal is now thrown with much trickier timing. Honda is certainly beatable this time around, but he's not easy.
Soda Popinski - He was originally named Vodka Drunkinski in the arcade version. However, Nintendo liked their games to stay family friendly on the consoles so he quit drinking large doses of alchohol and changed his name and sticks to what appears to be either Mountain Dew or 7up. While he can be dispatched by simple dodging and counter punching, Popinski doesn't make that terribly easy. He throws heavy uppercuts and hooks, with an occasional jab thrown in. The most difficult part of this fight will be identifying which punch he is about to throw and dodging with the appropriate timing. He has a special triple jab technique he will use on occasion that can cause problems if not avoided. A well executed fight should leave Soda Popinski with another loss on his record, you should be getting skilled enough by now to not let him be a road block.
Bald Bull - Oh no not again, who let this guy in the World Circuit. This rematch is a bit unique, where Bull really hasn't improved too greatly as a fighter. He still throws the same strikes as before, but this time there is a twist. You can beat down Bald Bull all day, but you cannot knock him down with normal counter punches. His energy bar will hover at the botton, only a power uppercut will actually send him to he mat. Getting the uppercuts are a bit easier this time around, but it still raises the overall difficulty of the match quite a bit. You will also need to counter the Bull Charge this time around as well. That can score you a quick knockdown as well. Mac will never be rewarded a decision so getting a KO or TKO is imperative.
Don Flamenco - Much like Piston Honda the 2nd time around with Don Flamenco shows an improvement in his game. Flamenco now features an arsenal of tricky jabs and hooks. He throws them slowly and deliberately so patience is the key this time around. Dodging and counter punching is yet again a sound strategy. This is probably an easier fight than the three previous fights, so if you can make it to Flamenco you probably have the skills to defeat him. I hope you enjoyed this fight because the cupcakes are over.
Mr. Sandman - The final three fights of this game are easily the toughest. You will need all the skills you have picked up so far to make your way to the end. Mr. Sandman throws his blows similarly to Bald Bull, only quicker. Sandman also has tremendous defense to his head, meaning that you will need to learn how to counter attack him. In many instances you must counter with a punch to the face, then repeated blows to the body while he is stunned. He can absorb a huge amount of damage and it takes quite a few punches to knock Sandman down. In fact many people will stop attacking him at the end of the first round, so that he can be knocked down quickly in the 2nd round to make a TKO possible. Sandman's unique move is the Dreamland Express which are three rapid fire uppercuts that need to be dodged. Dodging the Dreamland Express will lead to the best opportunity for damage against Sandman, so learning the timing is crucial to beating him.
Super Macho Man - Not to be confused with the late Randy "Macho Man" Savage, the World Circuit champion is the final step before fighting Mike Tyson. Macho Man is simply an amped up version of Soda Popinski, which makes him fairly manageable opponent for most of the fight. Macho Man's biggest assets are his unique spin punches. Occasionally he will delay for a moment then rip off a nasty spin punch. You must time your dodge perfectly or you will take some serious damage. His Super Spin Punches are even worse, he will pause the same and spin an undetermined amount of time. Avoiding this attack is crucial to taking down the Macho Man for good and making your way to "The Dream Fight"
Mike Tyson - One of the most legendary final challenges in the NES library is Little Mac's fight with Mike Tyson. Iron Mike doesn't really do anything special as he make his way out of the corner to fight, he saves every bit of aggression for the opening bell. The first 1:30 of the first round is among one of the hardest challenges you will ever face. Tyson throws huge uppercuts with very little warning that will knock Mac down with one punch. To get the timing of the uppercut and recover enough to counter is extremely difficult. If you aren't on your game this fight can easily end after just three punches. After the 1:30 Tyson comes back to earth and becomes a slightly more normal fighter. However his arsenal is quick, strong and tough to counter. If you can beat him, Tyson will congratulate you (Which is much better than having you ear bitten off, or having your children threatened to be eaten).
Super Mario Bros is one of the definitive titles for retro gamers. Since the game was included with the Nintendo Entertainment System it was a game that nearly every single person who has ever played the system has played. Over 40 million copies were sold, which makes it the second to Wii Sports for the best selling video game of all time.
Super Mario Bros is fondly remembered for being one of the first truly good platforming titles. It's clean controls, and addictive game play was unlike anything that came before it. However one of the lasting memories of the game is its music.
Video game composer Koji Kondo
The music for Super Mario Brothers was composed by Japanese composer Koji Kondo. While Kondo had done music for arcade games like Punch Out!!, the Super Mario Bros soundtrack was his first big hit. While Kondo is responsible for the music for most of the Super Mario and Legend of Zelda games, the original Mario theme is still his most popular. Even Nobuo Uematsu, the composer of much of the Final Fantasy series praised the music so much, he was quoted saying that the Super Mario Bros theme should be the Japanese national anthem.
For you trivia buffs the theme does have an official name, "Ground Theme." And the theme still lives on today. The Super Mario Bros theme has been tackled by scores of unique musicians. Many examples are found right here on the internet, and one quick trip through YouTube will find some gems.
The first video is an impromptu performance by Jean Baudin on his 11 string bass guitar. It is an impressive performance, on a very unique instrument.
The second video is by Japanese beatboxer HIKAKIN. It is yet another extremely unique take on the theme song. And if anyone can inform me how exactly he does this please let me know.
The final video in this roundup is a strange one. While the song is dedicated to Marty B's love for Captain Crunch, it uses the theme from the second Super Mario Bros theme interchanged with many of the famous sound effects from the game.
Recently I was browsing the Playstation Shop just seeing what was out there. I was stunned at the fact that games literally had cheat codes for sale. For me this is insane, cheat codes were such an amazing part of the early days of gaming its hard for me to believe that it been bastardized to the current form of getting the consumer to pay a few extra bucks. I don't mind paying for added content and things like that, but cheat codes?
As Boromir so eloquently put at the beginning of this article the "Konami Code" (or the "Contra Code" as I commonly hear it referred to as) is a wonderful example of that video game lore. The Konami Code is the input UP, UP, DOWN, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT, B, A, START and to say it is popular would be an understatement. Here is a Wikipedia link to the games that utilized the code. You will see that most major Konami titles utilize the code, and many other pay tribute to it. But some games were entirely different experiences without the cheat code.
Thank you to dorkly.com for posting these reminders just in case you ever happen to forget the code.
Contra for the NES is one of those games. Contra is a unique game for that it was a side scrolling platforming shooting game for some levels, and a 3-D vertical shooter in others. Overall the controls are very good, responsive and simple. Konami always did a nice job with character models, so visually the game was also quite good.
They don't look like pansies on the title screen, what the hell happened?
The trouble with Contra is that your character is actually quite a pansy. Instead of a life meter that you would expect to find in a game like this, your guy will literally die if anything hits him. If he gets hit by a bullet he dies, if he touches a bad guy he dies, if he touches the bottom of the screen in the vertical platforming levels he dies. And you begin the 10 level game with three lives to spare.
I can understand the falling rocks killing you, but what the hell on the bottom of the screen kills you?
Anyone who has ever played Contra will tell you that three lives can be spent in about 30 seconds in certain areas of this game if you have lost your gun powerups. That is where the Konami code becomes your best friend. Instead of three lives you begin with 30 lives, and regain those lives at your continue. Even with 30 lives Contra gives gamers quite a challenge. It is always fun to me to see how far I can make it without using a continue. My last attempt was thwarted by the level four boss. 30 lives is a much better way to go through Contra. The difficulty level is still extremely high
This is the last known photo of my poor Contra soldier before meeting his maker.
Another neat aspect of the game is the simultaneous two player option. Instead of swapping turns, you can have two soldiers running through the level at the same time. This makes many areas of the game a bit easier, particularly the boss battles. Of course some of the vertical scrolling areas get tricky to maneuver. But since 30 lives code works the same for the two player mode as well you can get away with a some mistakes here and there.
You can shoot either standing or from a prone position. You can also shoot at angles which is nice as well.
This is the 3-D vertical shooter mode. All of the controls are the same but it provides its own unique challenges.
Overall Contra really is a great game, and one of the iconic games that define the NES and its success. If you have never played the game, it is certainly worth checking out. And if you don't take my work on it, I dug up an amazing Contra song by Brentalfloss, and a Japanese commercial from YouTube to see if that can persuade you to play it.
Although the title of Retro Gaming Geek comes along with the expectations of being buried in a non stop avalanche of platforming games and shooters. The fact is that I do enjoy those games, and many other nerdy type games like strategy games, and I have not even begun to profess my love for RPG's. However I am a paradox of a gamer, in that I am also a considerable fan of RPG's but I am also a big sports fan. And while I love going on an epic adventures with my gaming, there is very little denying that some of the NES sports titles were quite innovative and a fun diversion when my adventures got derailed. The ability to customize characters and statistics has become a universal idea that crosses many different types of game genres.
Many hardcore gamers wont give their time to many sports titles, and for good reason. Much like the early arcade style games, sports games really only offer repetitive game play. While titles like Madden and the MLB the Show series offer state of the art graphics and a focus on accurately representing their subject matter, they don't truly really offer a great variety of play options. Quick play mode, season mode, franchise mode, General Manager mode, tournament mode, no matter how they dress it up at the end of the day it really is just game after game. If you don't care for sports there really is no appeal. But if you enjoy sports you know there is nothing repetitive about a good season mode somewhere.
There was no worries about steroids in the late 80's so the cover art could still feature a roided out batter.
With spring training just around the corner, it makes me think of one of my personal favorite early sports games: Baseball Stars. Released in 1989 by SNK Baseball Stars is one of many titles for the NES that tackled the national pastime. While the pitcher/batter interaction isn't the best looking of the batch it makes up for it in fun factor. Baseball games up to that point really weren't very good. Many of those early Atari baseball games didn't really follow the game really well, and others made fielding nearly impossible. Baseball Stars was different, you could field and run the bases with limited mistakes caused by messing up on the controller (Which sadly became a common issue with many baseball titles going forward). The pitcher/batter interface wasn't as nice looking as some of the other baseball titles, but didn't have steep learning curve of many of those other titles.
There were other pitcher/batter interfaces that looked much better than this, but this one worked pretty well.
In my opinion many baseball games have even to this day have been very poorly done, my favorite games are the more recent MLB the Show games, which really makes most other titles look bad. So just making a fun and playable baseball game was quite a triumph, but what fans of Baseball Stars really remember is the customization. The NES was the first system that really had any chance at this, due to the fact that you could save the progress in your games. Since Baseball Stars lacked any kind of MLB licensing they gave you a few teams, and you had to create teams to fill the rest of the roster. The players from these created teams were able to be named, traded, upgraded, or straight up released and replaced.
If Jim sucks and you can get a better player, you can send him off into the sunset, quite literally.
At that time that kind of customization was insane. It wasn't even that common for players to have unique attributes, let alone a whole General Manager mode. First you create your own custom league with 2-6 teams and setup the number of times each team plays each other. As long as you are controlling your own custom team you will earn money after each victory that can be used towards hiring new players or upgrading the players you have. Add the fact that there were statistics and a league leader section for the season mode, Baseball Stars was really one of the first great sports game experiences. There was a direct sequel out for the NES, and then Little Leauge Baseball: Championship Series and Legends of the Diamond which featured a roster of legendary baseball players which featured very similar gameplay. After the NES Baseball Stars moved to the Neo-Geo with two more Baseball Stars games with big improvements to the graphics.
Undoubtedly these traits have become the standard of any sports title now to keep the replay value of the game as high as possible. So I always credited Baseball Stars for raising the bar early for other sports titles. So if you are looking for a fun and addicting take on the national pastime try to hunt down Baseball Stars.
This April I will probably venture a little deeper into the very deep pool of early baseball title but for now I will leave you with some Baseball Stars gameplay from YouTube.
If I told you there was a video game based on an urban legend perpetuated by the mass murder of cute little arctic rodents by the Disney company in the 1950's would you think I was crazy. However it is true. The game is called Lemmings, and before getting into the game I should explain the backstory.
This is a real live non-suicidal lemming.
A lemming is a small rodent that lives in Arctic regions of the world. A popular misconception arose about lemmings, that during migration they would commit mass suicide by jumping off the edge of a cliff into the sea. In 1958 Disney released "White Wilderness" a nature documentary in which they showed lemmings plunging off of cliff sides to their eventual death. Sadly this was only an attempt to romanticize these legends and led to many people believing that the lemming stories were true. The footage of the lemming suicide was staged and the poor little creatures were either pushed or launched into achieve the footage that was in the documentary. Then the poor little bastards tried to swim away from the Disney masochists, not realizing that they weren't just in the lake. I have included that footage below and you can see for yourself.
However the idea of little creatures walking blindly into impending doom did tum out to inspire a pretty good video game. The original 1991 version was released for the Amiga due to the fact it had a mouse which really is the logical way to play the game. However the game was so much fun, there has been a version released for damn near every game system I've ever owned. There is a version for the following systems: Amiga, Atari ST, PC, Mac, NES, SNES, Turbo Grafx CD, Sega Master System, Atari Lynx, Sega Genesis, Commodore 64, Sega Game Gear, Game Boy, PSP, PS1, PS2, 3DO, CD-i, and a bunch more for some obscure old systems.
Several of our brave lemming friends must explode to allow the herd to make it to safety in this level.
Lemmings worked on a simple platformer basis. The lemmings would pop out of a trap door into some type of peril. Left to their own devices the lemmings will just walk until they hit something and turn around and walk the other way, even if that path will lead to their doom. There was a goal at the end of the level and your job was to teach several lemmings a particular skill to help pave the way for the others to reach the goal safely.
The entire name of the game is strategy and using the jobs that are given correctly. Climbers obviously climb things. Floaters deploy an umbrella to avoid death from falling from a distance. Bombers blow up and destroy everything within a certain radius. Blockers stay put and keep other lemmings from passing. Builders build 12 stairs. And Bashers, Miners, and Diggers all just dig in different directions.
The original version came with its own side effect warning label.
The developers were very keen on keeping the learning curve manageable. The first few levels are designed to familiarize yourself with the games controls and jobs. As the game goes on the challenges get more and more severe. Each level has its own specific goals, many of the levels will only require the saving of a percentage of the lovable little scamps. Unfortunately these levels require you to use either blockers or bombers in your strategy to martyr themselves for the greater good. And if you see that you need to save 100% of the lemmings you know that you have failed immediately after one dies.
The nuke button made Lemmings the best game to screw up ever.
And what did the developers do in those tricky situations where we were completely stuck with no hope of success? Well they gave us the nuke button of course (Thank god Disney hasn't featured lemmings in any more recent nature films). Instead of allowing the level to just end with some downer jingle and sad times that you screwed up, you got to blow all of your little friends to smithereens, just like this guy who sings his rather joyous lemmings song the whole time (They start exploding at about 1:20 if you want to spare yourself from hearing the song the whole time)...
Thankfully the real soundtrack for Lemmings doesn't quite pack the same punch. It's hard to believe that Lemmings has now been around for over two decades. And obviously it still has demand, I believe it is currently on sale for digital download on the PSN and will be coming up on its 25th anniversary within the next few years so I expect to see the title make a return in the future. In my opinion it is still one of the all time greats as far as strategy games goes. So unless the Sega Dreamcast is your last working game system, find a copy of Lemmings and have some fun.
Also thankfully YouTubers like to upload themselves playing games without singing along. Here is some Lemmings gameplay to enjoy. The second one is particularly amazing check them out.
