I've lost my skill. Piston Honda the second time takes me down. I'll try again soon...

PogueSquadron said:

@TriforceBun

The Gamepad should have about a 1-2 frame delay, or about 16-32 milliseconds. If you're noticing that it's worse than your TV, then your TV probably is really good with input lag (what are you playing on)?

In the past, I've played the Punch-Out games (NES, SNES, and Wii) on an SDTV, so there was zero lag. With other games on the Wii U, the small delay didn't bother me, but with a game like Punch-Out that requires split-second reactions, it actually makes a pretty big difference. It stinks that a lag-free GamePad may not be possible...

I wondered if the Gamepad lag would have an impact on this game. I just assumed that, since Nintendo specifically chose this game as part of the promotion, it wouldn't be an issue.

Maybe I just have amazing reflexes then. I've been doing better than usual, if anything. SO FAR.

This might be a dumb question, but if lag is known and consistent couldn't that be accounted for in the programming? Hmm, although I guess not if you can play either the TV or the GamePad at the same time.

Fffff. I don't know if it's the lag or what but for the life of me I cannot avoid the Dreamland Express (Mr. Sandman's three consecutive uppercuts). I know that the tell is when he flashes, but I just don't have enough time to react. It's frustrating because I have the rest of his routine figured out and I know I could beat him if I could get past that move consistently (I've managed to dodge one or two of the punches but never all three), but without save states it's a long road just to get a few chances at him.

Most HDTVs do tend to lag. The large ones that offer a cinematic experience in the home, really weren't designed for gaming in any capacity. They were certainly designed so that they could be MARKETED as if they had a "gaming mode", but any 720p-or-up game requiring reflexes or musical timing would have to be designed to compensate for the TV's lag.

Before 720p/1080p games became the norm, gaming was never a problem for TV companies. It's things like this that make me wonder if it's really necessary for that many pixels to be rendered in a modern game, if the game programmer now has to keep a sticky-note reading "REMEMBER: Some people have TVs that lag on game-input, so don't make any reflex-based elements of your game too tight.

Thankfully, some companies actually designed some HDTVs that have a less-than-1-frame lag. They're small, but they're also cheap (between 100 and 200 dollars).

Let's hope another resolution-up doesn't happen before we can enjoy a comfortable generation or three, of lag free 1080p games.

@Mr_Mustache

Yea I know when it's coming because when you punch him he doesn't counter. So I do like you and get ready but I just can't react quickly enough.

@Dark Weres

I feel that input lag is the most ignored issue of gaming today. It really bothers me and it seems very few others are affected by it (or even aware that it's there). Maybe games just aren't as precise as they used to be...?

@Jargon

It's gotta be the lag...it's just gotta be!

Well I just managed to take Sandman down twice in a row. I guess enough experience allowed me to anticipate his attack before he even started. Felt very good.

Macho Man doesn't seem as hard, but he still beat me. No idea how to deal with his special punch as of yet and when I lost I got bumped back down to Don Flamenco. Ugh.

Here's hoping tomorrow I can take him down and get a well deserved password.

I've beaten Soda Popinski many times before, but he is always troublesome for me. He was still giving me trouble this time through. I was having trouble dodging those hooks on a pretty regular basis. So I thought to myself that if dodging isn't working I'll try blocking. I've never really blocked all that much in this game other than with Great Tiger.

But to my surprise blocking seems to be the key to beat Soda Popinski. He jabs and hooks as you would expect when your guard is up. However if you have your guard up when he goes to uppercut he freezes for a second or so. It basically makes his uppercuts a guaranteed dodge. It's not flashy, but it works.

Grrr... I can beat Sandman most of the time now and it's so obvious that Super Macho Man is easier than him, but I still haven't gotten his super spin punch down. I can dodge the first couple but I always get hit on the third. If I could just get that down I could definitely beat him, but it's hard to learn a rhythm when there's 10-20 minutes in between chances.

This game really could stand to use one more password after Bald Bull II. I know I could use a save state but I just can't do it. It would sully my victory.

Woah, apparently there's a password to get to Super Macho Man. The game definitely didn't give me that one, so I wonder how you get it? Was it just in Nintendo Power or something? Anyway, if it's built into the game then I don't consider it cheating. I'm going to go for it.

Took down Super Macho Man on my second try using the password. Not having the pressure of having to beat 5 guys just to get to him really allowed me to play looser and I had his super spin punch figured out in no time. I really wonder if it's possible to obtain that password in the game, if I somehow missed it or something.

Anyway, on to Mr. Dream.

@Mr_Mustache

No, but I have my brother's copy. I'm going to beat Super Punch Out! first, which I got through Club Nintendo, and then I'll move on to the Wii version.

So I guess I can say I've made some progress on Mr. Dream since do survive his initial onslaught of one hit knockdowns slightly more often than I did initially, but it still feels like mostly luck. I don't know if it's the lag or what input there's no way I can really react in time if I wait for him to flash so I had to go about it in a different way.

I've got it down to this strategy. Certain punches you can predict every time (the first two for example) but other punches he'll either A.) punch pretty much right away after the last one or B.) pause briefly before punching again. It basically turns the game into baseball. You HAVE to anticipate the off-speed pitch because if you react too quickly and dodge prematurely you are done for (like swinging for a fastball on a change up). The problem is that if you're sitting on the delayed punch and he throws the quick punch instead, you have to react really quick to dodge it. This messes with my head so that I end up dodging too quick on the delayed punches. It takes real willpower to lay off, which again, makes it hard to dodge the fast ones when they end up coming.

Still, I have managed to make it out of the one hit knockdown part completely unscathed once and often only having been knocked down once, so I am finally getting some time to learn the other parts of the fight, which are MUCH easier. I've even managed to knock him down a couple times in the second round. So I think it's just a matter of time, but if I could get past that first part more consistently I would have done it by now.

I suck at this game. I can get past Piston Honda the second time, but get crushed at Soda Popinski. The slight delay makes it hard for me to dodge punches consistently.

@canonj

Have you tried blocking his uppercuts?