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Soda Popinski, originally known as Vodka Drunkenski, is a 35-year old Russian boxer who made his first appearance in the arcade as the "Champion of the USSR" in the 1984 game Super Punch-Out!!. As his name suggests, he drinks soda on a regular basis 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.

Appearances

Super Punch-Out!! (1984)

F03 - vodka drunkenski

Soda Popinski appeared as Vodka Drunkenski in Super Punch-Out!! as the third opponent. He is fought very similarly to Super Macho Man, except his speed and reflexes are higher (at the expense of lower attacking power) and he utilizes complex punching patterns. He also uses hooks against the player very often, but rarely uses uppercuts. He has really high defense, but he rarely blocks the player's punches.

He winks when he knocks the player out.

His palette swap is Super Macho Man.

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!/Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream (1987 & 1990)

Soda Popinski

Vodka Drunkenski made his second appearance in Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, though he was renamed "Soda Popinski" due to the controversies surrounding his name's reference. 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 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, Mr. Sandman, and Super Macho Man.

He can be beaten with basic 'stick and move' tactics, but he has hard hits and great defense. Popinski throws massive uppercuts, quick hooks, the trotting triple jab and his sporadic jab, which has no warning that it's coming before it is unleashed. He is weak to uppercuts, and will automatically go down with one when his uppercut is countered. However, his capability of dodging uppercuts is higher than most other fighters. He is a palette swap of Super Macho Man.

Attacks:

  • Left Hook: A left hook that takes away 1/5 of Little Mac's health bar. Can be intercepted with a right face jab for a star (sometimes).
  • Uppercut: An uppercut that takes away between 1/4 and 1/3 of Little Mac's health bar. If down is pressed, Soda takes longer to do it, allowing it to be countered with a body blow to make him weak to uppercuts.
  • Sporadic Jab: A quick jab.
  • Triple trotting Jab: After three trotting steps, Soda Popinski throws three jabs.
  • Instant Knockdown: Land an uppercut after countering his uppercut.


Punch-Out!! (2009)

Contender

Soda Popinski returned in Punch-Out!! for the Wii and has been promoted to the #3 contender of the World Circuit, right before Bald Bull. 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 Ukrainian voice actor Ihor Mota, who speaks legitimate Russian in the game. He is the only character in the game to 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 the player skips the cutscene, the less health he'll recover.

A chance for the player to get a Star Punch from him is where he takes out a soda to try and drink it. If they knock it away, it earns a Star Punch, but at the expense of Soda having to use an uppercut combo. Soda will also use it 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. Regardless, Soda will be defeated after getting knocked down a total of five times. In his other KO animation he will struggle to grasp his bottle as it rolls out of the ring, which is triggered if defeated with jabs while stunned, a star-punch that results in his fifth knock-down or by TKO.

After one knockdown, he starts to use 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. 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, causing it to spray everywhere, and celebrate with a Russian Cossack dance.

Stars:

  • Punch the soda bottle from Popinski's 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 him. The timing is hard but if you use a hook, you can use an instant KD.
  • When he uses the left hook, dodge it, then do a delayed hook for a star.
  • Hit 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. Done with either his left or right hand. Can be dodge by dodging left or right, no matter if it is a left or right uppercut. His left is slightly faster than his right.
  • Taunt: Soda Popinski 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: Soda Popinski pulls out a bottle of soda and drinks some of it, regaining a fair amount of 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 Rage Uppercuts (you can hit him when he crouches down with your Star Punch, but he will still do the uppercuts). You can Star Punch him when he has finished drinking and is walking back, and that results in a star which can be used when he is walking towards you.
  • Rage Uppercuts: Soda Popinski's signature move. He 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. The number of uppercuts he does depends on the number of punches you have thrown (an odd number results in 4, even results in 3). If this is started with a star punch, you can punch him when he walks towards you (except a right jab)
  • Side-Stepping Hook: Soda Popinski uses this after 1 knockdown. It's mostly the same, except it 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.

Glitch: After the first knockdown, dodge the rage uppercuts, and use a star punch. Punch him when he is walking, and he will attempt to drink. After drinking, he will do his uppercuts.

Stun Limits:

  • His Hook: 4
  • Any of his Uppercuts: 6
  • Any of his Uppercuts (but counter faster): 7
  • His Side-Stepping Hook: 3
  • His Rage Uppercuts (Four Punches): 8
  • His Rage Uppercuts (Four Punches) (but counter faster): 12
  • His Rage Uppercuts (Three Punches): 6
  • His Rage Uppercuts (Three Punches) (but counter faster): 9

Title Defense Mode

Soda Popinski returns in Title Defense Mode to defeat Mac and get the World Circuit belt. His appearance changes very little, with the only difference being his now purple gloves, pants, and boots.

According to his Title Defense video, scientists created a specially-formulated, soft drink-like elixir to make him stronger. As a result, the soda he drinks increases his speed and power with every drink he's consumed, but makes him more vulnerable with every consecutive miss. The more times the player dodges his attacks, the more jabs they can land on him, starting at two and going up to eighteen. Every time he gets up from a knock down and after his Rage Uppercuts, he'll also appear slightly more red due to the soda, indicating the toll it's taking on his body the more he drinks and making the red flashes less apparent.

He also 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. If the player loses to the TD version of him, he will juggle three bottles, throw two bottles up in the air, drink from one, and get hit on the head with the other two. The player's best bet to defeating him is to practice dodging his moves and timing their punches right to get a star, since the windows of opportunity are few and far between when facing him.

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 the moment he starts to center himself, hit him.
  • When he uses the left hook, dodge it, then do a delayed hook.

Moves:

  • Hook: Much the same as 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.
  • 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. It is also random which hand he uses to drink the soda.
  • Rage Uppercuts: 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, and the number of punches Little Mac has thrown.
  • Side-Stepping Hook: Unlike Contender Mode, Soda will use this move at any time. 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 times you can punch him increases by one. This allows you to deal massive damage off of one stun, but the counter resets when you get hit. The number of bonus punches you can do is equal to the following:

Stun Finished + Delayed Hook + Delayed Jab

Due to this, it is possible to deal significantly more damage than the base stun allows. You can also do this in Contender by using at least one hook in a stun, but this resets when he gets up.

Glitch: Knock his soda out of his hand, and if he hits you while you are charging a star punch, he will hit again with his right hand. If he knocks you down like this, he will immediately punch you when you get up.

Stun Limits:

  • Both his hooks and uppercuts: 2 + amount of stuns you have finished.
  • Rage Uppercuts (via knockdown or soda punched): Same as his hooks and uppercuts, but it has a minimum limit of 5 punches (so you can always get the instant knockdown).
  • Rage Uppercuts (via Star Punch): 9

Exhibition Challenges

Contender:

  1. Stop Soda Popinski from drinking EVERY time he holds out his bottle!
  2. Go a full round without losing a Heart!
  3. TKO Soda Popinski with at least 1:11 remaining in Round 1.

Title Defense:

  1. Land 15 punches in a stun!
  2. Crush this Soda Pop... win the fight in Round 1!
  3. Let Soda Popinski drink as much as he wants and still win the fight!

Super Smash Bros for Wii U (2014)

SodaPopinskiTrophy

SSB4 - Soda Popinski

In this game, Soda Popinski appears as an unlockable trophy if the player clears Crazy Orders after 12 turns. He has two different descriptions depending on the console's region.

NA: This Russian boxer just can't get enough fizzy soda. He takes cases with him everywhere, even into the ring! He'll down a bottle before a match and even try for sips during your fight! He's not just thirsty- that soda helps him recover from your blows! It's best to interrupt him, but he probably won't appreciate that.

PAL: A Russian boxer who loves the delicious taste of soda. He brings whole cases of it to the ringside to drink before each match. And, er...during matches as well. In fact, even after he's been knocked out, he still gropes around for his soda bottle! Try not to let him drink too much, though - that soda helps him recover from your blows!

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!"
  • (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."
  • (If after a knockdown, he goes for his bottle and it turns out to be empty) "Что? Нет... (Chto? Nyet...)" meaning "What? 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..."
  • (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?!"
  • (About to be hit by a star punch) "Ох, помогите! (Okh, pomogite!)" meaning "Oh, help!"
  • (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 could Soda Pop be wearing those trunks! They must be red hot, baby! Red hot!"
  • "That's it, Mac baby! Chill this soda with your uppercut, then 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 baby to 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!"
  • "Check it out, son. Soda Pop's trying to catch his second wind! No rest for the wicked, baby!"

Rule Infractions

As per the unified rules of boxing established by the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combat Sports:

  • Soda Popinski is seen with anger problems in Contender mode and Title Defense. He would have to take care of this before he is allowed to fight again.
  • Popinski breaks 9 rules in regards to him drinking soda:
    • Soda Popinski brings 36 bottles of soda into the ring, which would each count as foreign objects.
    • Popinski drinks soda during corner breaks. Boxers are only allowed to drink water in the corner.
    • He also consumes it during a round, effectively bringing a foreign object into the ring.
    • During a round, Popinski uses his soda bottles to enhance his strength and getting up. This counts as the use of a foreign object which is a separate infraction.
    • In Title Defense, as he drinks the enhanced soda to enhance his strength, it is also seen to make him even more mad the more he drinks the soda. The fight would have to be stopped as if he drank enough soda, he might become so furious he might try to kill the opponent.
    • In Title Defense, Popinski dopes with a liquid that was created in a lab to enhance his strength even more. This counts as him using steroids, which in real life would get Popinski in serious trouble and likely even banned from sporting events for life.
    • His pre-round animation in Title Defense shows him throwing his soda bottles at the crowd after he finishes drinking them. This counts as interfering with the crowd, which is not allowed.
    • Popinski spills soda onto his chest when drinking, which could cause his opponent's gloves to stick when punching him.
    • He can't get up when he runs out of soda. This counts as throwing the match, which is not allowed. It can be assumed that his strength does come from these sodas, but it still counts either way.
  • Instead of boxing trunks, he wears wrestling trunks, with a lack of demarcation between the waist and the legs.
  • Instead of boxing shoes or boxing boots, he wears wrestling boots.
  • Normally, mustaches are permissible in boxing so long as they are cut neat and short, but Popinski's mustache is too long to be allowed under these terms.
  • Popinski's laughing at Little Mac is considered disrespectful and unsportsmanlike, though it's up to the referee to decide.

Soda Popinski has 12.5 infractions.

Gallery

Trivia

  • Soda Popinski is the tallest character with a confirmed height, being 6'6".
  • Despite him drinking soda, many of Soda Popinski's traits and quotes suggest he either drinks alcohol or the soda he drinks is alcoholic.
    • His skin has a pink tint to it across all of his appearances, which is likely caused by alcohol flush reaction. His skin turning red the more he drinks or if he's getting more angry in Punch-Out!! (Wii)'s Title Defense mode aligns more with alcohol flush reaction being more likely to happen the more someone drinks.
    • In the NES version of Punch-Out!!, he tells Little Mac that he will make him "feel punch drunk" and says he can't drive, implying that he is too intoxicated to do so.
    • In Punch-Out!! (Wii), his speech has a drunken slur to it. He also says "За моё здоровье!" (roughly translating to "For my health!"), a common Russian drinking toast, during his taunt.
      • His NES Punch-Out!! quote "After you lose, we'll drink to your health!" could also allude to this phrase.
    • Popinski shows some signs of intoxication in his Title Defense victory screen.
      • Popinski's face grows somewhat flushed looking after consuming a bottle.
      • Several bubbles appear over him after drinking (a common cartoonish representation of being drunk).
  • The soda bottles in Punch-Out!! for the Wii are always empty despite Soda Popinski frequently drinking out of them.
  • He and Super Macho Man both have similar body types, boxing outfits, and fighting styles. This could be a result of the two always being palette swaps of each other in the 2D games where they both appeared.
    • He and Macho Man also both have five syllables in their names.
  • He is the only opponent known to have two ways of acquiring a star using a Star Punch: using one as he is finished with his soda and using one on his taunt (which also knocks him down). His left hook is simply too fast to uppercut it for a star, and if the player does it early, whether it be Contender or Title Defense, he gets scared or dodges it.
  • Soda Popinski is one of two fighters who can heal in between rounds, the other being Little Mac by pressing the - button between rounds. However, Little Mac can only do this once a fight.
  • Soda Popinski, Bald Bull, King Hippo, and Bear Hugger are the only bald boxers in Punch-Out!! (Wii).
  • 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 knockdown, he gets redder and faster. He also gets a little slower after each round.
  • Soda Popinski is the only boxer in the series known to be doping, having used special soda to enhance his strength in Title Defense.
  • Soda Popinski and Mr. Sandman are the only two World Circuit boxers not to attack the referee.
    • Despite his angry and aggressive behavior, Soda Popinski is the only World Circuit boxer to not touch the referee by any means.
  • Soda Popinski and Bear Hugger are the only left-handed boxers in Punch-Out!! (Wii).
    • Soda Popinski is also one of only three boxers to utilize the southpaw stance in the entire Punch-Out!! series. The other two are Bear Hugger and a character from Super Punch Out!!, Rick Bruiser.
  • Soda Popinski's Title Defense appearance is similar to how he appeared in Super Punch-Out!! (Arcade).
  • In Punch-Out!! (Wii), if one listens closely, during Soda Popinski's KO scene, they can hear that the bottles he drinks out of are made of plastic.
  • In Punch-Out!! for the NES, Soda Popinski has regular skin in his profile picture, but it has a pink tint during the fight. This was likely an error due to color limitations.
  • In Frank Bruno's Boxing, Soda Popinski appears and was renamed to Andra Puncharedov.
  • Soda Popinski & Bear Hugger are the only boxers in Punch-Out!! (Wii) to not have an instant-knockout opportunity in Contender or Title Defense Mode.
  • In the files of Punch-Out!! (Wii), there is a character which is internally called "JoeTemplate". This character is Soda Popinski, but his boots, eyebrows and mustache are white. If he is loaded into the game, he will idle and throw no punches, but he has an idle animation. Punching him will reset his idle animation, and depleting his health will not make him fall down, but continue to idle.
Punch-Out!! characters
Punch-Out!! (1984) Challenger · Glass Joe · Piston Hurricane · Bald Bull · Kid Quick · Pizza Pasta · Mr. Sandman
Super Punch-Out!! (1985) Challenger · Bear Hugger · Dragon Chan · Vodka Drunkenski · Great Tiger · Super Macho Man
Arm Wrestling Challenger · Texas Mac · Kabuki · Mask X · Alice & Ape III · Frank Jr.
Punch-Out!! (1987) Little Mac · Doc Louis · Glass Joe · Von Kaiser · Piston Honda · Don Flamenco · King Hippo · Great Tiger · Bald Bull · Soda Popinski · Mr. Sandman · Super Macho Man · Mike Tyson/Mr. Dream
Super Punch-Out!! (1994) Little Mac · Gabby Jay · Bear Hugger · Piston Hurricane · Bald Bull · Bob Charlie · Dragon Chan · Masked Muscle · Mr. Sandman · Aran Ryan · Heike Kagero · Mad Clown · Super Macho Man · Narcis Prince · Hoy Quarlow · Rick Bruiser · Nick Bruiser
Punch-Out!! (2009) Little Mac · Doc Louis · Glass Joe · Von Kaiser · Disco Kid · King Hippo · Piston Hondo · Bear Hugger · Great Tiger · Don Flamenco · Aran Ryan · Soda Popinski · Bald Bull · Super Macho Man · Mr. Sandman · Donkey Kong
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