How ‘Mike Tyson’s PUNCH OUT’ Saved Me
Over Mother’s Day weekend I was reminded of how a video game from my childhood helped me see a light during a really dark time in my life.
My 4-year-old son, Beckham, really loves to watch me play Nintendo games. I don’t know if it’s the bright colors, or the funny sound effects, but it’s something he really enjoys.
So we gave his mom something she deserved incredibly as one of her Mother’s Day gifts — some much needed time by herself!
Our son, like many little boys, is very “mommy clingy.” So while momma enjoyed catching up on the things she likes, Becks was with me in the MAN CAVE and he was picking which games he wanted to watch daddy play.
To my surprise, Beckham chose some retro games and one he asked for was “Mike Tyson’s Punch Out.”
I dusted off the cartridge, popped it into my NES, and the opening bell brought back some memories I haven’t thought about in a very long time.
The year was 2008. I was 24 (I’m 36 now) and I had just gotten dumped by the first girl I ever loved.
It was a terrible breakup. Not because it was nasty (it wasn’t) but because I thought I was with the person I was going to spend the rest of my life with. The whole thing felt like a sucker punch. It hurt. A lot.
The breakup also led to the only time I’ve ever had to deal with depression. I was never clinically diagnosed but deep down I know what it was.
I just remember how horrendous depression made me feel. The D-word made me lose interest in most of the things that brought me joy. I remember having to fake being happy on the radio (because nobody wants to listen to a sad boi) then I’d come home and lock myself in my room and just lay there. For hours.
To make matters worse, after moving out of the apartment I shared with my ex, I found myself having to move back in with my parents… not the coolest thing for a dude in his mid 20s to do in the city of Las Vegas. It also definitely was not the best thing for a normally independent person’s mental health.
Having gone through depression, I now know it’s a feeling I wouldn’t even wish upon my worst enemy. I mean, I was never suicidal, but as I’d lay in my darkened room I remember thinking how much better things would probably be if I just never existed. The fantasy of never being born became something I thought about quite often. It was bad. I wasn’t okay.
But something incredible happened when I moved back home — while going through some boxes, I found my old NES. The same Nintendo Entertainment System that my son now loves watching me play. It still works! I also found a ton of game cartridges and one of those games was “Mike Tyson’s PUNCH OUT.”
24-year-old me thought to himself that he had never beaten that game before. So I did what any sane adult who still lived at home would do; I went to the store, I bought a ton of beer, then I locked myself in my old childhood room and I gave myself a goal: I was going to finally beat Punch Out, from start to finish, WITHOUT using any codes.
It also HAD to be an undefeated run. If I lost a fight, the reset button was being pushed. Let’s just say I got really familiar with that damn reset button!
It was hard! There were many times where I thought about putting down the controller and quitting, but that never happened. I’d take a break, drink a beer, and get right back at it! I’d get to a fighter that I hadn’t faced since I was a child and I’d have to relearn their pattern again as an adult.
It took the better part of a whole weekend to accomplish what I challenged myself to do, but after many failed attempts (and many empty Modelo bottles) in the end, I finally did it… and as the credits rolled I realized something pretty cool; it was the first time I wasn’t thinking about my ex.
So, in a weird way, “Mike Tyson’s PUNCH OUT!!” helped me get through a pretty rough patch in my life.
And now, at 36-years-old, I’m so thankful for that heartache. It led me to meeting the love of my life, who 4 years ago gave birth to the other love of my life, who now likes to watch me beat up Mike Tyson (Virtually, of course) while his mom enjoys some well-deserved peace and quiet.
To anyone who might be currently going through what I did in 2008, just know that it does get better, and I hope you find your “Mike Tyson’s Punch Out” to get you there soon.
Cheers!
-Ransom
