This page documents information about Mike Tysons Punchout. Many of the tricks demonstrated here are near impossible in real time and documented for the purposes of creating Tool-assisted Speedruns.
Much of the content on these pages is dated and does not include information for the current publication, here is a video that does an amazing job breaking down a lot of TAS details (though from a perspective of the RNG odds): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e9cRgLnSps
No Clock Stop Glitch
Clock Stop Glitch
Tyson Only

Clock Stopping Glitch

Also known as "cs", this glitch can be performed on any fighter in which Mac can throw rapid punches. Rapid punching temporarily stops the clock. Using this to his advantage, Mac can start rapidly punching and then do a delayed punch for a star (or, in some cases, the opponent can even block it). This will cause the clock to stay stopped! The clock will remain stopped until certain actions are taken. The exact logic of how/when the clock will continue is described in the "Rules of Engagement" section.
The clock stopping glitch can be used on a number of fighters to achieve significantly lower clock times. For a TAS, this comes at the expense of real time. We have a canceled submission that uses the cs glitch.
There are 3 variations of the clock stopping glitch

Standard CS glitch


(Link to video)
This glitch works on any opponent in which Mac can do rapid punches (Glass Joe, Don Flamenco, Soda Popinski, Super Macho Man). If you begin rapidly punching one of these opponents and then do a delayed punch it will stop the clock. This is because rapid punches temporarily stop the clock. A late punch somehow bypasses the reinitialization of the clock. Once the clock is stopped it will not be restarted until certain events occur. The 'Rules of Engagement' for keeping the clock stopped are listed below.

Easy Face, Gut, Face


(Link to video)
This one only works for Glass Joe and both fights against Don Flamenco, and only in Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! This glitch was fixed in the Punch-Out!! rerelease (with Mr. Dream, except in the PAL version against Glass Joe).
Counter an uppercut or hook that one of these oppenents throws, with a rapid punch, then do a body blow which they will block, and then do a face jab (which Don will block but Glass Joe will take). After the face punch, the clock will then be stopped. This variation of the glitch is used to achieve record CS times on Don 1 and 2 (11.97 and 43.48), and a 47.48 TKO on Glass Joe.

Piston Honda II CS


(Link to video)
Piston Honda II has a cs glitch as well. When he backs up and charges at you, the clock stops until after he finishes his charge towards Mac. You can time a punch to the face (he will block it, but it will stop the clock). This is not a useful glitch for any fast strategies though, since punching even 1 frame sooner will result in a KO punch, ending the fight.

Rules of Engagement

The Rules of Engagement are phrases coined to describe the clock logic once it is stopped using a clock stopping glitch. For fast strategies, the goal is obviously to keep the clock stopped as much as possible. This section describes what actions will cause the clock to restart.
Events that will cause a clock restart:
Basically, the clock stop is useful until an opponent is knocked down. In order to knock them down, you must keep doing unstunned punches (gutters and countering opponent punches). Stars can not be used, unless the star knocks the opponent down.

Maneuvers

This section describes various maneuvers and basic tricks that are used in many of the fast strategies.

Ducking

Ducking is 1 frame faster than dodging and thus should be used in a TAS as much as possible. In real time it is risky since it is only faster if done perfectly.

Gutters

"Gutters" is a phrase coined to describe taking advantage of an opponent's slow guard. Taking advantage of an opponent's guard, however, doesn't always mean using body blows.
Taking advantage of an opponent's guard with gutters (or any variation) is the foundation for most fast strategies against many opponents (Soda Popinski, Glass Joe and Piston Honda to name a few).
The basic gutter is performed by holding the Up button which will cause the opponent to raise his guard. Once the guard is raised, quickly let go of the button then do a body blow. Against opponents with a slow reaction time, this punch will land. Against the minor circuit opponents, up to 3 gutters can be landed before they react and begin to block.

Dizzy Destroyer

This is a technique possible on Piston 2 and Super Macho Man only. It expands on the gutter concept with a gut/face combo. Hold up to get the opponent to raise his guard. Quickly let go of up and do a body blow with the left glove. Then quickly tap up+b. With good timing this face punch will land as well.
The dizzy destroyer is significantly faster than doing repeated body blows or face punches alone. It was used against Piston II in most console and TAS strategies up until November, 2013.

Doube-gutters and jabs)

These were discovered by McHazard in 2013. Basically, instead up tapping Up+B together after the gutter, hit B first and then Up a little bit afterward.

Misdirection

This is a trick only consistently possible in a TAS. In this game it takes 2 frames of holding a button combo to do just about anything. B must be pressed for 2 frames to do a left punch for instance. The 2nd frame is when the game checks the Up button in order to do a jab or a body blow. This can be exploited in order to better manipulate the opponent's guard. By holding Up, then Up + B, then B, then repeating the combo, it is possible to perform a gutter sooner than normally possible. In a TAS this type of technique is useful to save many frames on Soda Popinski.
With this trick, gutters are actually possible against Soda Popinski. With human timing, these would be impossible.

(Link to video)

Opponent 1 Count

This isn't a secret trick but when an opponent gets up on the count of 1 any star uppercut will send them back to the canvas, even though they get up with 100% full health. For fast strategies, it is important to do things that will cause an opponent to get up on 1. For instance, knocking down Piston 1 in the first minute without taking damage will cause him to get up on 1. Knocking down Piston 2 twice in the first minute without taking damage will result in a 1 count. Knowing what factors can cause a 1 count is critical to fast strategy development.

Energy refills

When an opponent gets back up, his energy fills back up to a certain amount that depends on a variety of circumstances. Often after the 2nd knockdown (phase 3 in MTPO terminology) the energy refill is random. However, if you don't press select on Don 2, Phase 2 is random. In phase 3, he'll always get up with 56 HP. This random value should be manipulated to be its lowest possible value. This idea is incorporated into many TAS and console strats. In some cases the energy refill is based on not taking damage. In the case of Don 2, taking damage can mean a lower (or higher) energy refill in phase 3. The lowest for Phase 3 is 40, and the highest is 80.

Non-time saving Glitches & Oddities

This section documents glitches and unusual events in the game that aren't directly useful for achieving record times.

Midget Sandman


(Link to video)
After 50 seconds into round 1, punching at Sandman's gut will cause to throw a jab. If you do another immediate left body blow again, both Mac and Sandman will hit each other at the same time. If that punch causes Mac to go to the canvas, Sandman will shrink down into a glitched "Midget" while Mac is on the canvas.
This glitch works due to the manipulation of address $0080. This address is responsible for determining the height of an opponent. Normally this value is 10 for Sandman. When he is punched in the gut, it shrinks to 8. In the case of a simultaneous hit that knocks Mac down, the value is reduced to 8 because Sandman takes damage, at that point Mac goes down and writing to that address is halted. Thus it never returns to 8, causing Sandman to shrink when he is restored to his standing pose. Address $0080 is written to whenever a fight resumes, so the glitch is corrected when Mac gets up and the fight continues.

Opponents

Glass Joe


Von Kaiser


Piston Honda (1)


Don Flamenco (1)


King Hippo


Great Tiger


Bald Bull (1)


Piston Honda (2)


Soda Popinski


Bald Bull (2)


Don Flamenco (2)


Mr. Sandman


Super Macho Man


Mike Tyson


Ram Map

Ram Map
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GameResources/NES/MikeTysonsPunchout last edited by adelikat on 11/3/2022 7:29 PM
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