My Favorite Game Ever.

After the Holidays Bobbi and I were putting all our Christmas stuff away. We decided that since were were already going to be crawling around in storage it would be a good time to go through our stuff.
Every couple of years we go though our belongings and decide
if we really need it or not.
I'm so glad I didn't marry a pack-rat! The way I'm wired is if we haven't used it 2 years we are probably never going to use it. I'm so grateful to have a wife with a similar mindset.
We separate our stuff into three piles. Keep. Toss. Donate.
It amazes me every time we do this how much stuff a person can accumulate in such a short amount of time! I don't consider myself a big consumer but I still can't believe how much stuff there is to part with every couple of years.
One of the items that has survived the many purgings is my Nintendo Entertainment System.
Oh yeah. That's right. Wii... Schmii. I'm talking square wired remotes with A and B buttons. Old School.

I used to have an Atari 2600 but after a number of years I just couldn't resuscitate it.
I've kept my NES since 1991 for one game and one game only.
It's been my favorite game and my adversary for sixteen years.
Mike Tyson's Punch-out!!

Glass Joe | Von Kaiser | Piston Honda | Don Flamenco | King Hippo | Great Tiger | Bald Bull | Soda Popinski | Mr. Sandman | Super Macho Man | Any of those names sound familiar?
I hadn't pulled the NES out of storage for eight years. I plugged it in, put in Punch-Out, hit the power button and first try, ding-ding-ding!, ding-ding-ding! The bell rang, the crowd cheer'd, and the music started . I was instantly in a nostalgic rush of adolescence. I was amazed. The sucker fired right up first try. No blowing on the cartridge. No blowing in the machine. No taking the game in and out a ton of times. First try baby!
There he was. The man himself looking at me.

In the Sixteen years of playing this game I fell into a vicious cycle every time.
I could blow through all the contenders getting TKOs or KOs in the first round for all of them.
Save for Super Macho Man. For some reason I could never get the timing down for dodging his super spin punch. I always knew what I had to do. I just couldn't execute.
He'd wind up and I'd dodge out of the way too early and step right back into the swing of his fist.
I fell right back into that cycle. I was so annoyed that I still couldn't beat him.
I took a break from the game and composed myself. I told myself "alright. slow down. ignore the sound effect and wait for the blink." AHH CRAP! I did it again! I dodged too early!
I gave myself a break from the game for a couple of days and then tried to pick it up again.
First try I finally beat Super Macho Man! Okay so now that I have the timing down I could beat him every time. Sometimes in the first round. Then it was on to the man himself. I'm not going to lie, I got nervous over a video game. I saw myself getting the crap pummelled out of me and getting my little digital ear bit off. After a few days of having the crap kicked out of me I finally got the timing all worked out and beat the game. It took me sixteen years. It just goes to show that with patience, hard work, and fast thumb-eye coordination you can be the heavy weight champion of the world. Now if I can only find my second favorite game. Rampage.
Below are some great Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! videos. Enjoy!