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The strategy section - Bald Bull 2

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Standard strategy:

At his 2nd appearance Bald Bull is even tougher. The only way to send him down to the mat is to use a star (uppercut punch)!! This is very unique in the whole game. So learn how to get the stars and you will do fine...

Easiest way to get a star is to wait for Bald Bull 2 to "rub his ears". This is a Bald Bull specific routine. He provides this routine after his initial series of punches at the beginning of Round 1 and each time when he gets up after he was send down. Additionally he rubs his ears in between the rounds sometimes.

The faster and better way to get the stars is to face hit him after his punches. But be aware: There are two types of Bald Bull 2 punches: normal ones and speedy power punches. Use this method only to counter the normal ones!! Another fact to bear in mind is that you have to wait to the maximum before you counter attack. If you punch to early you will not get a star, if you punch to late Bald Bull will block and counter jab or he will  hit you immediately.
This routine is known as the "wait-to-the-max routine"

After 2:00 Bald Bull will begin his Bull Charge. If you do not know how to counter this one read Bald Bull 1 strategy.
The best Punch-Out!! players knock Bald Bull 2 down at least twice before he begins his Bull Charge of Round 1.
 

So what to do to crush over the Turkish Giant ??
- counter the initial jabs (4) by face hitting him once
- get the "rub the ears" star
- dodge the next punch, stun him (=1 counter face punch) and deliver the star. Note: Always stun him before you deliver the star!
- get your other stars by the wait-to-the-max routine and deliver until he kisses the mat
- watch out for the speedy power punches
- get star when he comes back from the mat
- you should at least deliver two stars per knockdown to get a passable TKO time

Expert strategy:
TKO strategy for Bald Bull 2 - to get him down for 1:38 to 1:35 R1

Phase 1:
a) To knock him down at 0:35 you have to take the action in order to land a face punch right at the beginning when BB2 comes to fight to get the needed first star. This punch is one of the hardest to land in the whole game!! Most time BB2 will block the punch. Only sometimes with some luck and/or timing Mac will come through BB2 defense and will get the first star this way. Then immediately dodge his following straight one and counter with a well timed right body blow to get star no.2 (read at b) how to do it). (Dodge again and give him a standard face jab if he does another straight one after you got star no.2). As soon as BB2 does his ear-rubbing, unload a star then dodge and counter with another tight body punch to get your third star (Mac has now 2 stars again). (Dodge again and give him a standard face jab if he does another straight one after you got total star no.3). As soon as BB2 changes to his uppercuts you have to dodge, stun and deliver the star. Repeat this pattern to unload your last star and to send him down at 0:35. Note: You have to give him two instead of only one punch to stun him once if he has not shown one of the alternatives in brackets !! Otherwise BB2 will not go down as he has little (this one standard face jab) energy left.

b) If you think 0:37 is fast enough for the first knock down then you should apply this strategy as it is easier to achieve, even 100% accurate timing is essential.
So wait for BB2 to do the action. Dodge his first straight one left and counter with a right body blow for the first star (dodge at the moment when BB2 starts squirreling his fists and punch "when his fist was big"). Timing for this move is really hard but do not give up if BB2 blocks your attempts but hit RESET and try again until you get a feeling for the right timing. Anyway when you got star no.1 then continue this pattern once more to get star no.2. So dodge his second straight one and again counter with a right body blow for the second star ("first star counter is more late while second star counter is more early" - that's how I get the feeling for the timing).  Next step depends on how accurate and fast you have been before: Either BB2 does another straight one, then dodge and counter with a standard face punch or BB2 will go straight to his ear-rubbing pattern. In any case wait for his ear-rubbing and deliver a star by pressing START. Then dodge the next straight one and counter with another right body blow for another star ("not tooo early but not too late, just fine" , Mac has got now 2 stars again). Sometimes BB2 delivers another straight one. Counter and give him a standard face jab if that happens. As soon as BB2 changes to his uppercuts, dodge, stun and unload a star. Repeat this at his second uppercut (dodge-stun-deliver) to send him down at 0:37.

Phase 2:
As soon as BB2 comes back to fight, give him a punch (left/right/body/face) to get a star, then dodge the uppercut, stun and unload the star. Dodge his next uppercut and counter with a wait-to-the- max face jab to get another star (You should know how to get stars off BB2 by delayed counter punches!). Then dodge, stun and deliver. Repeat this pattern (dodge, delayed counter for star, dodge, stun and deliver) to send BB2 down for the second time at 1:11-1:15. You even can try to get him down at 1:10 if you deliver the last star without stunning him first (This is possible after dodging his second speedy monster uppercut if he does not continue the speedy ones. Otherwise Mac runs straight into one of his monster uppercuts, ohuhwhw...). Make sure that BB2 does not change in between to his ear-rubbings. If this should happen, then hit RESET or do the well-timed dodge and body blow for star routine....)

Phase 3:
Give him a fast punch as soon as BB2 is ready to fight again for the star, then dodge, stun and deliver the star. Then again you have to dodge and counter with a delayed face jab for your last star. As soon as you got it, dodge the next uppercut, stun him once more and deliver your star for TKO at 1:38 or better.
If BB2 changes to his ear-rubbings in Phase 3 then you have the same problem/opportunity as in Phase 2.

Good luck anyway and remember this is one of the hardest to achieve strategies of the whole game!

Prologue:
Of all the characters in MTPO Bald Bull 2 is defintely one of the hardest to get a fast time on. Next to Don Flamenco2 and Super Macho Man he is the hardest in terms of giving you the right pattern to get the fast time. Red Tom came up with the best strategy back in October 2002 which gives a time range from 1:35-1:38. Several MTPO players have executed this strategy to perfection including Red Tom himself on PAL (1:35.25), Martin Charlebois (1:35.25 on emulator) and Above Average Eric (1.33.99 on NTSC). However there is an even faster strategy. I will call it:

Phase1:
Phase 1 is exactly the same as Red Tom's strategy (see above) but I will reiterate a few things so know no one gets confused. As soon as Mario starts the fight Mac must give Bald Bull a fast face jab to produce a star. However, most of the time Bull will block but on rare cases Bull will fail to block and the punch will land. If you were unable to get this star you will have to reset and fight through Piston and Soda again to get to Bull. So if Mac lands the first face jab Bull will attempt to throw a squirrling jab. Mac must now quick dodge (press left and then right again to return Mac to a ready punching position) and as soon as you see Bull's fist big in front of Mac time a left or right body blow which should produce another star. Bull will then try another jab dodge it and answer with a single face jab. Then quickly hit START and unload a star right into Bald Bull's ear rubbing pattern. After this Bull tries another straight jab. Quick dodge and time a late body blow to produce another star.  Mac should now have 2 stars. Now hope Bull does not go into one of his ear rubbing patterns. If Bull doesn't go into his ear rubbing pattern he will try a right hook. Mac should dodge it. Stun Bull once with a left or right face jab and unload the star. Bull will then try another right hook which Mac must dodge, then stun with 2 left face jabs, and finally unload the star uppercut to send Bull down for the first time at 0:35-0:36. Mac will have 0 stars remaining. Note: Phase 1 is extremely difficullt to execute as Bull's pattern vary quite a bit and he rarely gives the first star. Hang in there and be persistent.

Phase 2:
Bull will usually get up at Mario's count of 9. As soon as he comes back to the fight give him a left or right body blow which will produce star#1. Now dodge his next right hook and wait just a tad and time perfect punch to obtain star #2. Dodge his next right hook and wait just a tad and once again time late hit to produce star #3. Once again hope that Bull does not go into one his ear rubbing patterns. If he doesn't he will follow with another hook. Dodge this hook, stun him with a left face jab, and unload the star. Then immediately execute a super-fast quick dodge to avoid his following uppercut and unload star #2 without stunning him. Right after this execute another ultra-fast quick dodge to avoid his second uppercut and unload star #3 without stunning him to send bald bull down between 1:07 and 1:10. Mac will have 0 stars remaining. Note: The star on the uppercut 1 must be delivered extremely fast or else he will catch you with the second uppercut.

Phase 3:
If you executed phase 1 and 2 correctly then you are almost there. Bull will get up at Mario's count of 9 after the second knockdown. As soon as Bull comes back into the fight give him a fast left face jab which will produce star#1. Then throw another left face jab which bull will block and he will try to counter with a fast straight jab. Quick dodge it and time a late hit body blow for star #2. After Mac obtains star #2 Bull will attempt a hook. Dodge, stun with a left face jab, and unload the star into his face. Bull attempt another hook imediately after.Dodge, stun with another left face jab and unload the star uppercut into Bull's face to send him down for TKO between 1:31 and 1:34.

You did it. You TKOed Bull under 1:35. You can definitely consider yourself one of the best MTPO players in the world. My best time on emulator is 1:31.25 and my best time and current world record on NES is 1:31.82. Do you think you can beat that? I would like to dedicate this strategy to Above Average as he is the real Bullinator. My strat is good for 1:31.00 so there is room to break my record, Eric. One is for 1:32.82 with the entire fight included and the other is for phase 2 and and phase 3 only where bull goes down at 1:31.48. Have a good one guys and tell me what you think.
Have a good one Tom.

Prologue:
Bald Bull 2 is the first oppponent in the entire game that Mac cannot beat in under 1 minute. I was motivated to look for this strategy based upon a desire to go under 1:30 on him. RedTom wrote the original strategy to beat Bald Bull 2 fast with a time range from about 1:35-1:40. Matt Turk wrote another strategy entitled "The Turkish Massacre" with a time range from 1:31-1:35. This strategy (Seeing Red), although much more random is faster than both of those.

Phase 1:
As soon as Bull comes into the fight give him a fast face jab which may or may not get through Bull's defense. If the punch gets through (a must for this fast strat!) then it will yield a 100% star. So as soon as Mac has star # 1 quick dodge Bull's following rolling straight jab and wait just a tad and give him a delayed body blow as he is retracting his fist for star # 2 (100%). Immediately dodge Bull's following rolling jab and answer with one face jab. As soon as Mac lands back on his feet immediately press START to deliver star # 1 which Bull will take as he stands there and rubs his ears. As soon as Mac's uppercut has landed throw a punch at Bull's face which he will block. He will reataliate with a straight jab which Mac must quick dodge and retaliate with a body blow just as Bull is retracting his fist for star # 3. Dodge Bull's following hook attempt and answer with a face jab followed by star # 2 in his stunned face. Dodge his following hookd and answer with 2 face jabs and star uppercut # 3 to send him down from 0:34-0:36. Mac will have 0 stars left. Note: There is a less difficult but slower phase 1 opening that can be done. (see .nsm file for different phase 1 opening).

Phase 2:
As soon as Bull comes back into the fight give him a body blow for star # 1 (100%). Now immediately deilver a face jab and hope that it gets through Bull's defense for star # 2 (100%). I call this a Bull-Dozer because the face jab catches Bull "dozing" with his guard down in the fight. Once Mac has gotten star #2 quick dodge Bull's following hook attempt and land star # 1 unstunned. Note: You have to be extremely fast on the quick dodge or else Bull will dodge Mac's uppercut attempt. Bull will attempt another hook which Mac must quick dodge again and land star # 2 unstunned. Bull will pause momentarily and you have to hope that he continues with another hook (if he goes into his ear rubbing pattern the strategy will not work). So dodge Bull's hook attempt and time a delayed face jab (not too early and not too late)  to obatin star # 3. Immeditely dodge Bull's following uppercut attempt and give him one face jab followed by the star uppercut to knock him down a second time. The clock should read 1:03-1:05. Mac has 0 stars in reserve (see phase 2 nsm file if you are confused).

Phase 3:
As soon as Bull comes back into the fight give him a body blow for star #1 followed by a quick face jab (Bull-Dozer) for star #2. Note: The probability of Mac's punch getting through without Bull Bull blocking is about 5% for the Bull-Dozer in phase 2 and 3. Dodge Bull's following hook attempt and give him a face jab followed by a star uppercut # 1. Dodge his second hook and give him another face jab followed by star uppercut # 3 to knock him down for TKO between 1:22 and 1:29 depending upon his degree of cooperation.

Well you did it. You TKO'd one of hardest opponents in the game in under 1:30. I have not tested this strategy out on the actual NES but I did make a full fight .nsm of a 1:29 victory over him. The current world record and my best time on NTSC is 1:31.25 so clearly the record can be broken. Will you be the one to do it? This strategy is very hard and random but Bull does not need to cooperate completely in all 3 phases to go under 1:30. In the .nsm file he only cooperates in phase 2 and I still get 1:29.82. Therefore with little practice and luck a sub 1:30 time on him on NTSC is defintiely possible.

Dedication:
I would like to thank RedTom for coming up with an original fast strategy on Bull 2. Also to "Above Average" Eric who made fast times on Bull 2 a reality. Finally to NESTICLE emulator which allowed me to discover that Mac can sneak in extra punches in for stars. Remember be patient with this strrategy and sooner or later you will have a sub-1:30 time on Bull 2 (Eric you can get your record back!). Mak sure you watch both the 1:29 full fight .nsm and the phase 2 "perfect" .nsm in order to understand what to do if Bull does or does not cooperate fully. The easiest way to practice to type in the code for Piston 2 and then beat him and Soda to get 2 fights against Bald Bull 2. So goodluck and always remember to have fun playing this great game.

Prologue- Bald Bull 2 is one of the toughest opponents in MTPO due to his stifling defense and star uppercut dodging ability."Seeing Red" invented by Matt Turk is the fastest strategy to date with a low of about 1:21. Bald Bull 2 is one of only three characters who cannot be beaten in under 1:00. The following is my best attempt to push him close to 1:00.

Phase 1- As soon as Mario starts the fight give Bull a quick left face jab which he must not block to produce star # 1. Note: Bull tends to block this punch quite frequently but it must land to get this strategy to work. Quickly deliver 2 more quick face jabs which Bull must not block either for star # 2 and star # 3. Now dodge Bull's fourth rolling jab attempt and answer with one face jab. As soon as Mac lands back on his feet immediately press START and deliver a star into his ear rubbing pattern. Now thorw another face jab and this time hope that Bull blocks. He will try to retaliate with a jab which Mac must dodge and answer with a delayed RIGHT body blow to regain star # 3. Now there will be about a 2 second pause by Bull before he starts his hooks. Dodge Bull's first hook and answer with one face jab followed by a star uppercut in his stunned face. Immediately get ready to quick dodge his second and land star uppercut # 2 unstunned to get the first knockdown from 0:32-0:34. Note: You have to be extemely quick with this unstunned uppercut or else Bull will dodge. Mac should have one star in reserve for phase 2.

Phase 2- As soon as Mario restarts the fight Mac must execute a quick Bull Dozer combination (see my "Seeing Red" strategy for how to do so"). Note: Bull tends to block the second punch of the Bull Dozer combination but it must land for this strategy to work. Mac should have 3 stars now. Dodge Bull's subsequent hook attempt and answer with one face jab followed by star uppercut # 1 in his stunned face. Dodge his second hook and answer with one face jab followed by star uppercut # 2 in his stunned face. Now wait about one second. Press START immediately and hope that Mac's third uppercut hits Bull right as he starts to go into his ear rubbing routine. Note: Bull does not always go into his ear rubbing routine at this point and if he does not then he will just dodge and the strategy will not work (see phase 2 nsm file). If the uppercut hits Bull he should go down. The clock should read anywhere from 0:54-0:56 depending upon how you timed everything. Mac should have 0 stars in reserve for phase 3.

Phase 3- Once Bull comes back into the fight you need to execute another Bull Dozer (left body blow followed by a quick face jab to produce 2 stars). Dodge Bull's subsequent hook and answer with one face jab followed by star # 1 in his stunned face. Immediately dodge his second hook and answer with a face jab followed by star uppercut # 2 in his stunned face to get the third and final knockdown. The clock should read 1:13-1:15 for the final knockdown (see phase 3 nsm file).

I obtained a time of 1:13.82 (kds at 0:34, 0:54, and 1:13) with savestates using this strategy. The odds of an NTSC or PAL player pulling this off as written is slim to none. However, if you can get certain elements of this to work in one game you should be able to beat my current record of 1:28.97 on NTSC that I obtained using the "Seeing Red" strategy. I made a phase 2 nsm and a phase 3 nsm so that people can see how it is done but a phase 1 nsm file is almost impossible to make. I think this is about as close to 1:00 that Bull will get. I can only suggest that practice makes perfect and if you can link together a few elements of this strategy you should be able to improve your time. Take care guys and good luck on improving the time.