#mr.sandman

a sandman for you all....

I might rewrite my tumblr intro later....

(if you’re having trouble labeling them:

Manipulative:

Focuses on working a series of situations to prevent losing their love.

Isolating:

Through any means makes it so they're the only one their love will be around.

Submissive:

Have all the love towards one person and will carry out any act asked of them.

Eliminating:

The major one everyone thinks about. Will attack rivals, or even their crush, if pushed too far.)

You're asking the real questions here my dude!

Some of them are going to be platonic because I can't see them anything but that so I hope you don't mind!

Gabby Jay- platonic obviously I honestly think he would be isolating he would definitely use his title as a boxer to scare you into only going to him for protection

Bear hugger- eliminating and manipulative he just gives off the vibe

Piston hurricane- eliminating

Bald bull- eliminating he's a big tough scary guy so you shouldn't really expect any less from him

Bob Charlie- submissive and manipulative

Dragon Chan- manipulative and eliminating

Masked muscle- eliminating and isolating I feel like you would never want to harm you in any way

Mr.sandman- manipulative and isolating he would only get rid of competition when it's necessary

Aran Ryan- isolating and eliminating he's pretty crazy so it shouldn't shock you

Heike kagero- manipulative in isolating like Sandman he would only get rid of people when it's necessary

Mad clown (playtonic) isolating and manipulative he's a tired old man and he knows tricks

Smm- manipulative it's Super Macho Man

Narcis prince- eliminating and isolating he would definitely want you to only pay attention to him to feel his ego

Hoy quarlow (playtonic) isolating like mad clown he's an old man and he knows tricks

(This is just a ramble of things. Next thing you know I’ll be going off about family life— who knows- anyway, take these little thoughts)

Glass Joe: I wanna say a degree in education. I think he would be a lovely academic teacher. Whether it be teaching French or going over literature, he would be AMAZING,,

Von Kaiser: Trade school, probably. But he is technically a teacher in his little cutscene SO he could have also tried an education degree or gets some certifications

Disco Kid: A degree in Music or Dance. Possibly double majored in both, and he loved it

King Hippo: ???? What kind of education is there on Hippo Island? No one really knows, but despite what many think, the King is pretty smart in his own ways.

Honestly, don’t know exactly what he would do but it would definitely take in the best interest of his people. Something to help them,,

Piston Hondo: Probably something like exercise science. I think he stays around Athletics, probably becoming an athletic trainer or something around it. It’s difficult, but it is worth it to him

Bear Hugger: Either a degree in Environmental science or works to become a Vet. Though I see him enjoying learning about the environment more so yeah,,

Great Tiger: Psychology was the first thing that came up. How do you think he gets that gem to work? He has a wonderful grasp on how the mind works, and has used it for many reasons. Behavioral and psychodynamic are the main perspectives he was interested in— just a lot of how it works and what motivates us to do things. He wouldn’t necessarily do therapy or anything, he does explore in the field and researches a lot tho,,,

Don Flamenco: Definitely a dance major— HOW COULD HE NOT BE?? He either goes on to become a pro or may also become a dance teacher—

Aran Ryan: Dear God— how did he get in? Have you seen this man’s scores? One to go into something with athletics, but also strives to be an athlete— so ultimately, ditched college in favor of a professional league

Soda Popinski: Chem major. And I have my reasons—Popinski is smart but it’s hidden under this happy, soda-loving goof. He has a lot of knowledge on the subject and is pretty good in science,,,

Bald Bull: my husband- majoring in my heart, jk— BUT I can see him being around architecture,, his home country has a lot of neat buildings. And I believe he enjoys seeing his plans come together for new projects and what not. And it’s a lot calmer and not as nerve racking to him,, he gets to mind his own business and his sketches/plans

Super Macho Man: he’s another that would have always planned to become a pro athlete. But his parents asked for him to at least go to school until he secured a spot with the pros. So filling in for it, he just chose business as a major— He was gonna do sports and fitness (or something around that) and immediately changed majors because of all the science required for fields like that—

Thought I’d give my opinion on this since I’ve already expressed biases towards/against certain characters. I will be including Donkey Kong and Doc Louis but not Little Mac (because he is the objective best). The list will go from 15: the worst, to 1: the best. Before I start, I’d like to say that all of these characters are good, well-crafted characters, it really just comes down to personal bias who you prefer. And with that, let’s get started:

15. King Hippo

King Hippo is barely a character. Everything he “says” (there are apparently translations) just boils down to being hungry and he has no personality outside of that. I don’t hate him, but I don’t really care about him. His fight is also pretty boring all things considered. The contender fight is pitifully easy once you know what you’re doing and his title defense fight can go on for a long time and get very monotonous. At least his music’s kinda cool.

14. Super Macho Man

As someone who lives in America, I hate Macho Man with a burning passion. It’s not because I’m “patriotic,” it’s actually kind of the opposite. I’m not offended by his stereotype because it’s mean, I’m annoyed by his stereotype because it’s accurate. I deal with people like this on the daily: in the news. His catchphrases are obnoxious (except sometimes when they’re cut off. That’s kinda funny, admittedly) and he’s egotistical even compared to some of the others. He’s the type of person I actually want to punch in the face so I thank Punch Out for giving me that opportunity but I still hate the character. His match is fine. It’s a bit too easy in both contender and title defense compared to Soda and Bull but hey, at least they tried. His music’s alright.

13. Donkey Kong

Don’t get me wrong, I love Donkey Kong’s inclusion in this game. I think it’s amazing that Nintendo made a match for one of their most famous characters and the fight against him is very unique and challenging to win by KO. That being said, I never really played Donkey Kong so I don’t really have the connection to this character that others do. So yeah, great cameo, not one of my favourite fighters.

12. Bald Bull

Sorry, Bald Bull fans, but I’m not the biggest fan of this raging lunatic. In fact, he kinda creeps me out. People make jokes about Great Tiger being a furry (which he is), but Bald Bull straight up acts like a bull to the point of literally assaulting the poor referee. It’s kind of gross. To that same point, he is also completely shameless about his horrid anger issues which is personally not fun to watch. I get that he was driven mad by the paparazzi (or whatever that cutscene was trying to convey) but it’s still pretty over the top. I’m also not a big fan of his fights. It’s not too terribly difficult in contender mode (except the stupid bull charge) but it’s downright ridiculous in title defense. I firmly believe that his title defense match is the hardest in the entire game, yes even more difficult than TD Soda and TD Sandman. I cannot express with words how much I despise the star punch gimmick. Getting the star punches is frame perfect, making it feel like luck, and getting hit once makes you lose them all. And you need those stars to even knock him down. Seems a bit extreme for the middle fight in the world circuit, doesn’t it?! I was at this fight for hours and was over the moon when I finally managed to beat him. Also, his music kinda sucks. However, I put him over Macho Man because despite everything I just said, I don’t actually hate Bald Bull. I hate his fights but I don’t hate him personally like I do with obnoxious american.

11. Soda Popinski

Oh boy, Drunk Man. I don’t really see many reasons to like him but not any to hate him either, apart from his stupidly difficult fight, that is. I actually find it pretty easy in Contender. There’s a lot of strategies to knock him down really fast and his pattern is pretty basic. As for title defense, did they really need to make it that ridiculously hard? Yeah, there are tricks to make it easier and he has a set pattern but getting into the rhythm of that pattern is incredibly difficult and one slight mistake sets you back to two stun punches. It’s beyond frustrating. And yet the game deems him and Bald Bull to be easier than Macho Man. Why? As a character, Soda is just kinda there for me. It’s fun to make jokes about his steroid soda at least. Also, his music is for some reason one of my favourites tracks in the game. It’s just so epic.

10. Bear Hugger

Alright, now we’re onto the characters I actually like. Bear Hugger is a fun character. He’s one of the more exaggerated stereotypes though I can’t really say for sure whether this one is accurate or not but I’m guessing the maple syrup and hockey stuff at the very least is. I also love the squirrel. It’s implemented into the fight kind of oddly, but it makes his title defense fight pretty enjoyable. It’s a difficult fight but not one I’ve lost recently. The contender fight is fun too, it’s definitely one where I get to spam a ton of star punches. His music is good too. Not much to say on Bear Hugger, he’s fun but I like the other characters more.

9. Disco Kid

Kinda sad that the Wii version only introduced one new character to the roster but at least it was a fun character. Disco Kid’s matches are not a challenge. Contender mode, title defense, he’s one of the easiest fights in the game. He makes up for that by being incredibly over the top flamboyant and cocky, this time in a fun way. I like that he dances throughout his whole fight, I think it’s cool when every little aspect of someone’s match ties into who the character is. Disco Kid is a flamboyant dancer and that is perfectly shown through his mannerisms in the fights. I especially love how in Title Defense, he’s not really bitter or determined to beat Mac he’s just like, “Oh a dance club? This is cool, might as well work this stuff into my boxing routine.” It’s pretty excellent. I’m not a huge fan of disco, but his theme music is pretty good.

8. Aran Ryan

If there’s one thing I’ve seen since joining this site, it’s a lot of Aran Ryan. People on here really love this guy and even many of the YouTubers I’ve seen play this game say he is one of if not their favourite character in the game. Personally, I think he’s a little overrated. However, I do still like him and see why other people like him. He’s sort of a “love to hate” kind of character with him being a complete psycho that’s probably a sadist and a masochist considering how he seems to enjoy being punched and beating the hell out of everyone. It’s fun in a twisted way. His fights are also both pretty fun. Everyone really likes the cheating aspect and yeah, it’s pretty ridiculous that he can literally bring in a weapon and get away with it. However, it also makes his fight stand out from the others. He’s so horrible that he’s just fun to beat up. It’s also the only world circuit fight in title defense that I don’t hate with every fibre of my being. So yeah, fun character, with excellent music might I add.

7. Glass Joe

Here’s another favourite here on Tumblr. To be honest, the fact that people on here liked Aran Ryan didn’t surprise me at all. In fact, it seemed perfectly in character. However, it did surprise me to see how many people liked Glass Joe. I thought he was kind of underrated before but now I see that he’s getting the love he deserves. I love how even though Glass Joe is in every way a french stereotype, he also directly defies the stereotype of the french being quick to surrender. He lost one hundred times and still didn’t give up, becoming determined to defeat Little Mac after earning the headgear. It’s unironically really admirable. Glass Joe’s fights are never a challenge. Contender, title defense, champion’s mode, motion controls, he’s always kind of a joke. However, he is meant to be a tutorial fight for new players and this game gets much more challenging as it goes on, so it’s understandable. They did do a good job at making him more challenging in title defense, but it was still pretty easy at least in my opinion.

6. Von Kaiser

Von Kaiser’s a little underrated in this fandom. Maybe I’m speaking from bias, since I have so many headcanons about him but I really do think he’s a good character. He is just as much of a coward as Glass Joe and isn’t a much better fighter (his contender and title defense fights are both incredibly simple) yet Von Kaiser has a significantly better record than the rest of the minor circuit and even Bear Hugger, with 23 wins and 13 losses. He must’ve gotten those wins from somewhere and I doubt they were all from Glass Joe. That combined with the fact that Kaiser is the oldest boxer in the game (42) makes me think he was once a great boxer but has now passed his prime and refuses to give up, sort of like Glass Joe, but a little more tragic. Regardless, it’s fun to speculate. And I feel kinda bad for Von Kaiser, I mean the dude gets beat up by kids and basically goes mad after being beaten by a seventeen year old boxing newbie. Also, his music is pretty intense despite the fact that he’s treated like a joke by the game. Like Glass Joe, they did do a good job of making Kaiser more difficult in title defense by giving him a one hit KO and plenty of fake outs, though I don’t particularly struggle with either of those.

5. Sandman

Sandman is scary as hell. None of the other boxers really intimidate me, even the one with ridiculously difficult fights, but Sandman is a different story. Everyone else in the game has some kind of silly quirk even when they are serious but this guy is deadly serious about boxing. I mean, they introduce him by showing him beat the shit out of everyone you just faced before, some of which the player may have struggled with. It’s a great introduction for a final boss. His fight in contender is certainly the hardest in that mode and while I didn’t struggle with his title defense fight as much as TD Soda and TD Bull, it was still incredibly hard to beat. And unlike TD Soda and TD Bull, he actually has final boss vibes, so he does deserve his rank (unlike some other characters). Similar to Aran Ryan, his fight also requires the player to be more on offense, at least in my experience.

#4 Doc Louis

Doc Louis is severely underrated in this fandom and just in general. I love how encouraging he is to Little Mac even when he loses repeatedly, I love his silly tips that more often than not are cheesy dad jokes or puns. He’s just a good wholesome dad that loves his chocolate. I love him. Sadly, I have not played Doc Louis’s Punch Out so I don’t really have a perspective on how the fight is apart from videos online but it does look pretty fun, and it’s freaking Doc Louis. How can you not love him?

#3 Piston Hondo

This guy is also kind of underrated, maybe because he’s a bit vanilla? I don’t know, but apart from Sandman, he is undoubtedly the most serious about boxing. It’s actually a bit scary. I mean, this dude can catch a sword in his bare hands and outrun the bullet train, he could easily become champion after Little Mac retires. In fact, for me at least, his title defense fight is the most challenging fight in the major circuit for me. Yes, harder than Bear Hugger and Great Tiger. Those fake outs and speedy Hondo Rushes kept getting me. So yeah, very dedicated to boxing. He’s also just very respectable in general, keeping a calm demeanor throughout the fight and even bowing to show respect. He also doesn’t laugh at you when you get knocked down like literally everyone else does. (Apart from Don, but he still taunts you by asking if you want more.) Yeah, he gloats, but he’s a good sport. It’s nice to see someone who plays fair amongst a crowd of cheaters.

#2 Don Flamenco

Yet another character I’m surprised doesn’t get more attention in this fandom. I dunno, maybe my opinions are just weird. That being said, Don Flamenco was always going to be one of my favourites as he is the only foreign speaker in this entire game I can understand without subtitles. Though even if you don’t know spanish, Don’s character is still very clear and very amazing. Like, I’m sorry, but his contender intro is the best sequence in the entire game. You know immediately what he’s all about and it’s just so beautifully over the top to see this try hard dance his way into the ring with a rose. Actually, “beautifully over the top” is a great description for Don Flamenco in general. He hits every note of the “Spanish man” stereotype in the first few seconds you see him: being a bullfighter, getting all the girls, dancing the flamenco, and just being handsome in general. I don’t know if that last one is an actual stereotype but it’s undeniably true. And none of that is a bad thing. He is a positive figure, if a little cocky, and all of these things that the game could make fun of him for (the NES version certainly does), are actually shown in a positive light. I’m not too fond of bullfighting being shown in that light but it is very popular in Spain so… eh. Also, I do like that Don Flamenco fights like a bullfighter in the ring, baiting you into “charging” or attacking before countering. It’s a nice detail. However, it does make the fight a little too easy. In contender mode, even without doing the infinite, I barely have any trouble with him. He’s easy to get stars off of, his attacks are not that hard to dodge or counter, and if you do the infinite combo, you can destroy him in seconds. In title defense, he is more difficult for sure, but he’s the easiest fight title defense fight in the major circuit. That being said, holy cow is he amazing in title defense as well. He was already over the top in contender but in title defense, after one loss might I add, he acts like it’s the end of the world and becomes completely emo. This could’ve been completely obnoxious or stupid but in my opinion, it makes him very entertaining. He’s just so fun to watch in general, I love his epic music, and I love this angsty telenovela character. Amo al personaje Don Flamenco. El es tan entretenido y guapo. Necesita más amor. Because I mentioned that I know spanish earlier and the first first thing people always ask me is to speak some so there you go. Onto number one.

1. Great Tiger

If you’ve seen my other stuff here on Tumblr, you probably knew this was coming. My very first post on Tumblr, as well as the second, was about Great Tiger and I have tons of pictures of him in my likes. I guess I just have a thing for charming arrogant divas. Seriously, while he’s not as over the top as someone like Disco Kid or Don Flamenco, Great Tiger is a total diva and kind of a show off. He’s always using his clones to glorify himself or taunt you, which would normally be annoying but for some reason, it’s not in his case. And it’s not because I don’t know what he’s saying, the inflection in his voice makes it clear enough that he’s trash talking (and I’ve looked up translations). It’s because Great Tiger has a sort of cold determination, like he is ready to destroy you first, glorify himself after, probably the reason he doesn’t have a taunt, unlike nearly everyone else in the game. He is completely focused on the match and very cool-headed as well. He’s very respectable, even when he’s literally telling you to go drink your mother’s milk. On a side note, I looked up those translations as a kid and I still can’t get over the fact that that is something he actually says. Like, what on earth Nintendo? Still, it’s kinda funny to me. Anyways, I love Great Tiger’s fights. His contender form is fun and I love that intermission scene where he switches places with Doc, showing what a likeable douche he is but his title defense form is my favourite in the game. I really love the magical element, what can I say? The flashing jewel is like a game of Simon put to boxing, I love that he teleports all over the place, the Magic Rush is gorgeous bullshit, and the fight keeps me on my toes but not to the point of being impossibly hard. It’s also fun to experiment with certain elements of the fight, because it can be incredibly varied depending on what you do. just really fun. Whether I do the special knockout or play through the whole fight, I have a fun time fighting Great Tiger. It also helps that his music is spectacular, my favourite in the game. I dunno, those bongos just feel so good on the ears. Great Tiger is also just really interesting in general, and I feel like there’s a lot of unanswered questions about him. How does he have magic? (I know the NES version has an explanation for this but the Wii version does not and is substantially different.) What is the extent of his abilities? Is the jewel the source of his power? It seemed to be directly linked to his corporeal clones in title defense. Is he even of this world? I don’t know, but damn it’s fun to speculate on. I’d love a story just about his backstory, how he got his magic, how he became a boxer, I care about that stuff. So yeah, Great Tiger is the most interesting character in this game, and that’s why he’s my favourite. (I also low-key crush on him, but that’s subjective :)

Temari hummed as she cut up some beef for dinner as Kankuro tapped his foot to the beat of the song she hummed. Gaara frowned from the table as he shifted in his seat, knowing what was coming and disliking it.

“Mr. Sandman bring me a dream.” Temari mutters quietly under her breath as Kankuro tweaked the little puppet he was working on and smiled.

“Make him the cutest that I’ve ever seen.” He continued as Gaara glared at his siblings.

“Give him two lips like roses and clover.” Temari sung adding the meat to the pot with a scrape of her knife as she did so.

“Them tell him that his lonesome nights are over!” Kankuro sung loudly making his puppet dance on the table as Gaara sighed hard.

“Mr. Sandman, I’m so alone!” Temari slammed a lid over the pot and turned from the stove.

(‘Can’t we ever have a quiet dinner,’ Gaara laments aloud but unnoticed by his siblings.)

“Don’t have nobody to call my own!” Kankuro hugged his little puppet closer to his chest grinning as he did so.

“Please turn on your magic beam!” Temari stepped closer to Kankuro who stood and grabbed his sister’s hand outstretched hand.

“Mr. Sandman bring me a dream!” they shout in unison laughing as they swayed from side to side as Gaara begrudgingly tried to work.

They moved around the table waving their arms, humming and clapping to the beat as Gaara groaned aloud.

“Mr. Sandman bring me a dream! Make him the cutest that I’ve ever seen!” they sang in unison as Gaara looked at his grinning, (probably insane) siblings.

(‘What can I do to make you stop? I will leave.’ He tried to threaten and bargain but Temari pointed at him as Kankuro sang.)

“Give him the word that I’m not a rover. Then tell him that his lonesome nights are over!” he sings loudly, placing a hand on his chest proudly.

(’You leave and you won’t get dinner.’ She smirked.)

Temari and Kankuro once again joined hands and swayed singing the chorus loudly and off key now as Gaara piled up his work knowing he wasn’t going to get anymore done tonight until after dinner.

Temari danced her way over to the stove as Kankuro leaned on the table smiling at Gaara.

(‘You know you could just sing with us…Or not.’ He stepped back from the look of Gaara’s glare.)

“Mr. Sandman!” They shout together pointing at Gaara who sighed hard.

“Yes?” he answered giving in as they freeze before laughing hard.

“Bring us a dream!” they shout in unison before going on either side of him. He frowned at them as they smirk at each other.

“Give him a pair of eyes with a come-hither gleam.” Temari sang as she tugged at the corners of Gaara’s eyes. He tensed and frowned at his vision going wonky before trying to swat her hands away.

“Give him a lonely heart like Pagliacci!” Kankuro hummed patting Gaara’s chest in an almost mocking manner.

“AND LOTS OF WAVY HAIR LIKE LIBERACE!” They screamed ruffling Gaara’s hair, mussing up his already messy locks even more. Gaara stood abruptly red-faced and in a huff as they fall back laughing hard.

“Mr. Sandman bring us please-.” Temari tried before wheezing and holding her sides from laughing as Kankuro rose to his knees.

“Mr Sandman, bring us a dream!” He finished arms and chest out wide with his head thrown back as Temari snorted. Gaara sighed hard, dragging a hand over his face.

“It would be a dream if we could NOT do this for one night!”