Were I a superhero vigilante, this beast would be my sidekick.

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The video reminds me of Roger from the Tekken series.

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Last night, I downloaded “Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream!!” via the Virtual Console on my cherished and most beloved Wii. When I was a kid, it was called “Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!”, but I guess with the end of Tyson’s contract with Nintendo and having lost the championship to Buster Douglas, they made some cosmetic changes to the boss at the end (basically making him a white guy) and changed his name to Mr. Dream.

I’d completely forgotten how totally awesome this game was. I’d also repressed how balls-out politically incorrect it managed to be. I guess it was truly a different era, because a game this chock full of blatant racial and ethnic stereotypes would never fly in this day and age. That said, it rules.

The list of fighters runs a gamut of stereotypes. The obese Pacific Islander; the Japanese guy with the rickshaw soundtrack and extremely exaggerated slanted eyes. The drunk Russian (Soda Popinski’s original name was Vodka Drunkenski till Nintendo changed it, since it was a kids game) and more.

In spite and perhaps because of the insensitivity, the game rocks. I’d forgotten how many hours I killed, punching and dodging my way up the ladder, only to get laid out by Tyson in the first round. I don’t recall exactly, but I think I did manage to win the game at some point. So far, I can get to the second fight with Bald Bull. My old school game skills have suffered severely over the years. Still, I have time and a certain amount of thumb-tapping moxie left in me.