So, I got my hands on a working Nintendo NES and Mike Tyson's Punch-Out cartridge. I used to play that game at my cousin's, about 20 years ago. It's addictive.
I think the nice thing about this game (and a lot of the older games) is that they're easy to learn, and they're challenging, but if you look closely enough there's a definite pattern, so you can learn to play the game well and win.
I can't remember exactly how far I used to be able to get in this game, but this time around I had a whole lot of trouble with Soda Popinski. Most of the advanced boxers have one big weakness and it's the key to beating them. Soda Popinski doesn't have one. What I figured out is that he's predictable, and he's fairly slow. So you beat him by anticipating and dodging his punches, throwing a whole bunch of punches yourself whenever you get the opening, and not worrying if it takes three rounds to get a KO or TKO.
Now if I can just get my timing right to beat Bald Bull in the next match...