I'm "working from home" today, so naturally I just ran down for a game. Sadly, SMM is shown as from only 'USA' on my machine.
My new fastest KO time: Dragon Chan (Super Punch-Out)
- Thread starter MaximRecoil
- Start date
80scoinops
Well-known member
For the 2nd Bear Hugger, play a little more conservatively than the first time out. Patience is the key - if you don't time his punches correctly, he'll nail you with that little right jab every time. Watch for his guard to drop, dodge fast enough and you can get in a quick L-R or sometimes R-R. He's much faster now and also throws those huge left uppercuts in rapid fire. The good news - they're still telegraphed. When he throws them, dodge and get in a quick right. Don't bother trying to get a L-R combo in there during the rapid fire uppercuts.
It sounds obvious, but if you can avoid getting hit, you'll still knock him out quickly. Even one misstep will send your KO meter back down and eat up a lot of time.
Thanks a lot for the tips 80s. I just beat CBH#2. Only knoched him down twice.
I've improved my HS to 174K and my SMM quite a bit to 1:42.
Next up, figuring out what's up with Dragon Chan's 2nd kick...very different.
I've improved my HS to 174K and my SMM quite a bit to 1:42.
Next up, figuring out what's up with Dragon Chan's 2nd kick...very different.
80scoinops
Well-known member
No problem, sounds like you're doing great!
Second and successive Dragon Chan - he's figured out how to wait you out; you want to avoid jumping the gun and getting a boot to the head. The key here is to listen for the distinctive sound he makes just before launching into the kick. And watch out if you happen to miss the window when he lands - sometimes he'll immediately launch into a kick from the other side. As long as you capitalize on his missed kicks, the rest is pretty much the same as the first time, just faster.
MaximRecoil
Well-known member
Yes, SMM 2 can do that (more than just 16 times too), starting with the 2nd SMM and higher, though it is more likely with SMM 3 and higher. I consider his ability to do that cheating, because he could simply run out the clock with there being nothing you can do about it. Even if you decide to take the hit just to stop him, there is nothing to prevent him from doing it again, and if you take the hit the second time, you're down for good anyway. I've had him run out the time doing that before, spinning around 30 times or more in some cases, though fortunately that is uncommon.
He can do this because he has no true pattern (as opposed to the fighters on the home console versions, who are all permanently locked into a set pattern), and that's what makes SMM 3 and higher so difficult; no set pattern and very quick. Well he and all of the other fighters do have what I call sub-patterns, but they can arrange those several sub-patterns in seemingly random ways, and this is especially true of the 3rd and higher SMM.
When I played my Twin Galaxies record game in 2006, SMM 10 (Fight No. 41) beat me in 0' 29" 40. He hit me 3 times, and even though I'd also hit him 3 times, it wasn't enough to get up after the first knockdown. There's nothing special about SMM 10, it is just that there is very little room for error with SMM 3+, and with his speed and his tendency to "mix things up", he's always "dangerous". I can relax with the other fighters, no matter what version of them I'm fighting; I can't do that with SMM 3+.
By the way, I watched your video and I figured I'd point out that tapping your buttons doesn't help you get up faster like it does in Mike Tyson's Punch-Out, nor does it have any effect at all. The amount of times you get up is always predetermined based on what stage of the game you're at and how many times you've hit your opponent.
In general you can get up twice during the first cycle and once during subsequent cycles (can be less after a certain stage in the game, down to not getting up even once, if you don't get in enough hits first). During a rematch you can get up twice regardless of which cycle you're on (or only once if you don't get in enough hits). Rematches aren't allowed for Twin Galaxies score submissions though; I never use them now, though I always did when I was a kid, provided I had another quarter to spend.
Last edited:
Made some progress since my last post. I'm currently getting stuck on DC2. I've beat him a couple of times at like 2:59, but I almost always hit the 3 minutes before I've been able to do enough damage. I've made GT2 once.
I can't fathom some of Maxim's KO times...
I can't fathom some of Maxim's KO times...
MaximRecoil
Well-known member
DC3 is a lot harder than DC2, by the way.
Dragon Chan is always about timing based on visual cues that are different than the visual cues you use for the other fighters. With the other fighters, for the most part, you wait for them to punch, you dodge or duck it, and then you can get in a set number of punches while they are stunned. Dragon Chan doesn't really work that way, except for in the case of his kick to the head. So you have to go by other cues to let you know when you should punch, KO punch, dodge, or block.
Dragon Chan has always come naturally to me, even when I was a kid. SMM3 and higher has always been the most difficult for me.
That description really helps, thank you. I think my issue is both the timing of when to hit him (before he punches instead of after a punch/dodge as you mention), as well as when to work in the hooks/uppercuts, which I have a real problem landing...hence my being unable to do enough damage to finish him in time.
Its strange, if I am able to beat him, I actually have an easier time with Drunkensky afterward.
*** also as an aside...you've mentione this before (maxim), that you play SPO so much more than PO. Even now that I have the ability to swap between them instantly, I find myself playing SPO so much more. The timing just makes for a better game.
Its strange, if I am able to beat him, I actually have an easier time with Drunkensky afterward.
*** also as an aside...you've mentione this before (maxim), that you play SPO so much more than PO. Even now that I have the ability to swap between them instantly, I find myself playing SPO so much more. The timing just makes for a better game.
MaximRecoil
Well-known member
My technique with him involves sometimes hitting him before he punches, and sometimes hitting him after a dodge, or after a block-then-dodge. KO punches are important with him too, especially DC2, because you can land more on him in a fight than you can any other incarnation of him, including DC1.
Vodka Drunkenski is the most conventional fighter in the game; he wouldn't be out of place in the original Punch-Out. He doesn't even significantly change his fighting style until you get to VD4; VD2 and especially VD3 are a little more resilient than VD1, and require a little tighter timing when dodging their punches in order to get the full stun time afterward.
Yeah, and it is strange that PO was the best selling / highest earning arcade game of '84, yet SPO was rare. I can't see how anyone could like PO better than SPO. I think the two things that most contributed to its lack of success in the arcades were:
1. Released too soon after PO, which was still a big earner, thus little incentive for operators to shell out ~$1,000 for a conversion kit.
2. The first couple of fighters are far more difficult than the first couple of fighters in PO.
I was already halfway decent at PO when I first played SPO (I could beat the champion, Mr. Sandman), and I got beat by Canadian Bear Hugger. Once I figured out the timing for the new "duck" move he was easy enough, but still, for total beginners he was quite a handful (in contrast to PO where I beat the first two guys with random button mashing the first time I played when I was 9 years old).
On the SPO machine I played as a kid, I only had one rival: Lawton Mann. I don't remember anyone else even sticking with it long enough to beat the first Vodka Drunkenski, and most never even beat the first Dragon Chan.
Last edited:
