Soda Popinski (Russian: СоДа Попинский) or Soda Pop as called by Doc made his first appearance in the arcade as the 'Champion of the USSR' in the 1984 game Super Punch-Out!!; although back then he was formally known under the less family-friendly name of Vodka Drunkenski (Russian: Водка Дрункенский). As his name suggests, he is always drinking soda (or in the case of "Super Punch-Out!!", alcoholic beverages). In between bouts of incessant laughter, the theme music played for Soda Popinski is a quote from The Volga Boatmen's Song, a Russian folk song.
Apperances
Super Punch-Out!! (1985)
Soda appeared as Vodka Drunkenski in Super Punch-Out!! as the third opponent. He is fought very similar to Super Macho Man, except that his speed and reflexes was higher (at the expense of lower attacking power) and utilized a special punching move called 'Drunken Punch'. he also uses hooks against the player very often but doesn't have any kind of uppercut. He's a lot tougher than the two previous opponents and has really high defense but he rarely blocks the player's punches. He'll use a lot of attacks which are hard to avoid and that makes him one of the hardest opponents in the game.
He winks when he knocks the player out.
His palette swap is Super Macho Man.
Punch-Out!! (1987)
Vodka made his second appearance in Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!,though he was renamed "Soda Popinski" due to the aforementioned controversies. In the 1987 Nintendo Entertainment System game Punch-Out!!, Soda is the #4 ranked competitor in the World Circuit. Interestingly, despite removing the alcoholic reference from his original identity from the arcade game Super Punch-Out!!, some of his quotes suggest that he still drinks alcohol, rather than soda. He is known for his infamous laugh, which was also used in the Game Over sequence in Zelda II: The Adventure Of Link. The laugh is also used by Bald Bull and Mr. Sandman.
He can be beaten with basic 'stick and move' tactics, but with his hard hits and great defense, he can be quite a challenge for newer competitors. Popinski throws massive uppercuts, quick hooks, the trotting triple jab and his sporadic jab, which has no warning before it is unleashed. He is weak to star punches, and will automatically go down when hit by one. However, he is also able to dodge star punches, making landing one a challenge. He is a palette swap of Super Macho Man.
Punch-Out!! (2009)
Soda Popinski returned in Punch-Out!! for the Wii and has been promoted to the #3 contender of the World Circuit. A chance for you to get a Star Punch from him is where he takes out a soda to try and drink it. If you knock it away, it earns a Star Punch, but at the expense of Soda having to use his Soda Fury (Uppercut combo) technique. Soda will also use the Soda Fury when he gets hit by a Star Punch (that doesn't result in a knockdown) or if he has to get up from a knockdown drinking a drop of soda he keeps handy at all times (however, when he gets knocked down five times, the soda is completely dry, causing him to be KO'd). After two knockdowns, he changes his hook to a side-stepping hook (identified by when he moves left). Little Mac will get hurt if he tries to dodge both of Soda's hooks (both the standing and the side-stepping hook) in the wrong direction. In his bio, he is shown to train by carrying large boxes of soda up a snowy mountain, presumably to his private training gym, and to be constantly drinking soda while training. He is voiced by Ihor Mota, who speaks legitimate Russian in the game. He is the only character in the game that have an effective use of the between-rounds taunts. A cutscene shows that Soda regains health by drinking a bit of his bottle. The faster you skip the cutscene, the less health he'll recover. Popinski is presumably immune to hooks because he only allows one hook in a stun combo. If you lose to him, he will shake his fizzy soda, and cossak dance.
Contender
Stars:
- Punch the soda bottle from the hand that's holding it.
- Use a right jab when he uses his left hook. (It's more strict in Title Defense)
- Let him drink and as he centers himself, hit his gut. The timing is hard but can be used as an instant KD trick.
- When he uses the left hook, dodge it, then do a delayed hook for a star.
- Jab him when he laughs during his taunt.
Moves:
- Hook: A fast hook. It can be dodged right or ducked, or intercepted with a jab for a star.
- Uppercut: A fast, powerful uppercut.
- Taunt: Soda Pop stands up straight and laughs at you. Jab him when he laughs for a star, or use a star punch for an instant knockdown.
- Soda Drink: Popinski pulls out a bottle of soda and drinks some of it, refilling his stamina. The bottle can be punched out of his hand before he drinks, which aborts the move and earns you a star, but also engages Popinski's Soda Fury.
- Soda Fury: Soda uses this move whenever he's hit by a star punch that doesn't knock him down, after he comes back up from a knockdown, or has his soda bottle punched out of his hand. He throws three to four uppercuts quickly, and becomes vulnerable on the last one.
- Side-Stepping Hook: Soda replaces his normal hook with this move after his second knockdown. It's mostly the same, except if must be dodged left instead of right. It can also be ducked.
Instant Knockdowns:
- Do a hook, delayed jab, then a star punch. Once that's done, it requires another star to repeat it.
- Use a star punch on his taunt. Strangely, it gives you a star after knocking him down. As before, requires another star to repeat the trick.
Title Defense Mode
Soda Popinski returns in Title Defense Mode to defeat Mac and get the World Circuit belt. His appearance changes very little as the only difference is that his gloves and pants have turned purple. He has a completely new attack scheme and some new punches. He's also much stronger and faster than in the previous fight. He still will drink soda to restore his stamina, both in the fight with his move, and during intermissions. He once again gains more stamina the longer the player watches the intermission. According to his Title Defense video, scientists created a specially-formulated soft drink to make him stronger. The soda he drinks also increases his speed and power, but makes him more vulnerable with every consecutive miss. The more times you dodge his attacks, the more jabs you can land on him, starting at two and going up to eighteen. If you lose to the TD version of him, he will juggle three bottles, throw two bottles up in the air, drinks from one, and gets hit on the head with the other two.
Stars:
- Punch the soda bottle from the hand that's holding it.
- Use a right jab when he uses his left hook. The timing gets stricter as he gets faster.
- Let him drink and as he centers himself, hit his gut. The timing is hard, but it can be used as an instant KD trick.
- When he uses the left hook, dodge it, then do a delayed hook for a star.
- Jab him when he laughs during his taunt.
Moves:
- Hook: Similar to his contender hook, but it's faster and stronger. It can be dodged right or ducked, or intercepted with a jab for a star.
- Uppercut: A faster, more powerful uppercut.
- Taunt: Soda Pop stands up straight and laughs at you. Jab him when he laughs for a star, or use a star punch for an instant knockdown.
- Soda Drink: Much the same as his Contender drink, though the window of opportunity to punch his bottle is shorter, and continues getting shorter with each knockdown..
- Soda Fury: Soda uses this move whenever he's hit by a star punch that doesn't knock him down, after he comes back up from a knockdown, or has his soda bottle punched out of his hand. This time, he can throw between three and six uppercuts, depending on his number of knockdowns, what happened to start the Fury, how many stars were used in a Star Punch, and a bit of random chance. It's also harder to tell which punch is the last one.
- Side-Stepping Hook: Soda replaces his normal hook with this move after his second knockdown. He can now use either hand to punch. The attack can be dodged to the opposite side it's thrown on, or ducked.
Instant Knockdown: With a stun capacity of at least 5 Jabs, have the last hit of the stun be a Star Punch. Requires an additional star if the trick is to be used, again.
More Punching Trick: Every time you stun Soda Popinski and finish a stun, the number of punches you can deal increases +1. There's a trick you can do to Soda Popinski to damage Soda more. Figure out the number of punches you can deal to Soda and do this calculation:
Number of jabs that can be dealt - 1 + Hook + Delayed Jab
From that way, you can finish Soda faster and better. Remember that the number of punches decreases to 2 when you get hit. You can also do this in Contender by using at least ONE hook in a stun HOWEVER this resets when he gets up
Exhibition challenges
Contender:
- Stop Soda Popinski from drinking EVERY time he holds out his bottle!
- Go a full round without losing a Heart!
- TKO Soda Popinski with at least 1:11 remaining in Round 1.
Title Defense:
- Land 15 punches in a stun!
- Crush this Soda Pop... win the fight in Round 1!
- Let Soda Popinski drink as much as he wants and still win the fight!
Quotes
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!/Punch-Out!! featuring Mr. Dream (NES):
- "After you lose, we'll drink to your health! Ha, ha, ha!"
- "I can't drive, so I'm gonna walk all over you!"
- "I drink to prepare for a fight. Tonight I am very prepared!"
- "I'm gonna make you feel punch drunk!"
- "Would you like some punch to drink? Ha, ha, ha!"
Punch-Out!! (Wii):
- "Я Сода Попинский! Я задавлю тебя! (Ya Soda Popinskiĭ! Ya zadavlyu tebya!)" meaning "I'm Soda Popinski! I will crush you!"
- (Taking out bottle) "За моё здоровье! (Za moë zdorov'e!)" meaning "For my health!"
- (If you knock the bottle out of his hand) "Моя бутылка! (Moya butylka!)" meaning "My bottle!"
- (If after a knockdown, he goes for his bottle and it turns out to be empty) "нет... (Nyet...)" meaning "No..."
- (Before new round in Title Defense) *drinks some of his soda* "Ещё пару бутылочек... (Yeshchë paru butylochek...)" *takes two more and drinks them both at one time* meaning "Just a couple of bottles..."
- (Between the rounds in Contender) "Похоже, тебе надо выпить, Литтл Мак. (Pokhozhe, tebe nado vypit', Little Mac.)" meaning "Looks like you need a drink, Little Mac."
- (About to be hit by a star punch) "Ох, помогите! (Okh, pomogite!)" meaning "Oh, help!"
- (End of round in Title Defense) "Ха-ха! Я могу победить тебя даже с одной рукой, привязанной за моей спиной! (Kha-kha! Ya mogu pobedit' tebya dazhe s odnoĭ rukoĭ, privyazannoĭ za moyeĭ spinoĭ!)" meaning "Haha! I can defeat you even with an arm tied behind my back!"
- "Мой любимый напиток это победа! (Moĭ lyubimyĭ napitok eto pobeda!)" meaning "My favorite drink is victory!"
- (Missing a hit) "Как это? (Kak eto?)" meaning "How is it?!"
- (Hitting Little Mac) "Медленно! (Medlenno!)" meaning "Too slow!"
- (Evading the Star Punch in Title Defense) "Не в этот раз! (Ne v etot raz!)" meaning "Not this time!"
Doc Louis Tips
- "Mac, I'm freezing in here! How can Soda Pop be wearing those trunks? Those trunks must be red hot, baby. Red hot!"
- "That's it, Mac baby! Chill this soda with your uppercut, and watch him fizz!"
- "Let's go, Mac baby. Seems like Soda Pop is nursing his bottle. You can't give the baby the bottle. Let's put him away!"
- "We're gonna recycle this Soda Pop, Mac baby. Crack his six pack, then collect your refund!"
- "Soda Pop gets energy out of that bottle, Mac. No refills here, baby. Stop him, and knock him out!"
- "Boy, this guy must be really thirsty! If he keeps drinking like this, he's gonna need a bathroom break!"
- "You can't be rushing for the win. The more Soda Pop misses, the better it is for you."
- "Boxing is all about momentum, baby. Keep landing your jab, and you'll crush this Soda Pop!"
- "Let's make this Soda Pop go flat, Mac Baby! Shake him up with your jab, then uncork him with your Star Punch!"
- "Let's go, Mac baby. This guy looks really thirsty! Let's quench his thirst with a Star Punch!"
- "Hmm, Soda Pop's trying to catch his second wind. No rest for the wicked, baby!"
Trivia
- Soda Popinski is the tallest character with a confirmed height.
- He and Super Macho Man both have similar body types and boxing outfits.
- Soda Pop is known to laugh at his opponents more commonly and is less likely to speak.
- It was at one point believed that Soda Popinski would be removed from the Wii version of Punch-Out due to an interview with "Next Level" saying that they would end up removing one of the characters due to said character's "inability to dissuade controversial material" (referring to how Soda Popinski, despite the name change, still had connotations of being the "drunk Russian" stereotype).
- Soda Popinski's theme has become a fan favorite in Punch-Out!! (Wii). Others boxers that are known for their themes are Disco Kid, Bear Hugger, Don Flamenco, Aran Ryan and Von Kaiser.
- He is the only opponent known to have two ways of getting you a star using an uppercut: Using an uppercut as he is finished with his soda and using an uppercut on his taunt (which also knocks him down). His left hook is simply too fast to uppercut it for a star, and if you did it early, whether it be Contender or Title Defense, he gets scared or dodges it.
- Soda Popinski is the only one to heal mid-rounds, before Round 2 and 3.
- One of his lines said in Title Defense, the one he says when he is about to drink a bottle of his soda, appears to be done not by the original actor - looking at the accent and a somewhat different voice.
- He, along with Bald Bull, King Hippo and Bear Hugger are the only bald boxers in the Punch Out!! 2009 game.
- In the PAL version, his Title Defense version can never be knocked out, which means the player has to TKO him.
- In Title defense mode, after each KO, he gets redder and faster.
- Soda Popinski and Mr. Sandman are the only two World Circuit boxers not to attack the referee.
- Soda Pop, along with Bear Hugger, is the only southpaw [left-handed fighter] in Punch-Out!! (Wii).