It was 1988, and I'm 6 years old playing Mike Tysons PunchOut at the neighbors house. King Hippo seemed to be impossible, and little did I know that this simple game of pattern recognition was slowly but surely luring me into its grasp.

1992, Santa Monica pier arcade, I stumble across the earliest version of PunchOut. Although I had no idea at the time the arcade PunchOut was actually created before the NES version, I remembered the great fun I had with the home console PunchOut. I'm amazed by the larger characters, the joystick controls, and the giant sized arcade cabinet housing two screens.  I am hooked again.

1996, friends house, Super freakin' PunchOut. My skills as a gamer have grown, I am familiar with the series, I am rocking the house.  Fantastic music, some familiar characters, and some damn pretty sprites make me spend hours pummeling my opponents.

The year doesn't matter anymore, it's 200? something... and Mike Tyson is making me his BITCH. Confession time, I have never beaten Mike. Years later I returned to my roots and played the original PunchOut. King Hippo is the easiest fight in history, Sandman goes down no problem, and Mike Tyson repeatedly rapes me. Does that stop me from playing? No, I just want more. Even after the invention of 3d graphics, there is something so simple about the game PunchOut, that just makes it timeless. No matter what coat of paint they use for Little Mac, it's still the same old game, and that's what makes it great.

This all brings us to 2009. We're just a week away from the revival of a classic franchise. The music has been stuck in my head for a month, and I'm PUMPED to enter the ring again.  Who will be the final match this time? Will I succeed where I've failed before? Can I take Little Mac all the way? Time will tell, but even if I get destroyed again, I'll love every minute of it. This is what makes good games great.  Here's to PunchOut.

Doooooooo Do DoDo Do Doooooooo...