Game: "Punch-Out!!"
System: Wii
Genre: Sports
Published by: Nintendo
Reviewer: -RoG-
Posted: 5/26/2009
Review: Admittedly, I should wait until I actually beat the game before I review it, but there are two things making me decide to review it now: 1) I'm not sure when or if I'll ever be able to beat the new Punch-Out!! and 2) I was definitely better at the original NES version than I am with this new one. Then again, I had way more time to invest in perfecting my gaming skills when I was a kid than I do now. It's really all just about memorizing patterns and striking at opportune moments, so realistically, I could be just as good at this game as I was with the original if I invested the same amount of time and effort into it. But for now, my review of the game based on how far I've made it will just have to do. And honestly, I've enjoyed the game too much already not to review it, because I think you should all check it out immediately.
First off, I have to applaud Nintendo for allowing people to play the game however they choose. Yes, I know the Wii is great with its unique "waggle" wiimote controller, but those of us who grew up on the NES had a special bond with the original Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, so it's really nice that they've given us classic gaming fans the option to play it in the original brick controller style.
Also, I'm honestly surprised that they kept the same tone to the game that the original had. I figured in these modern, far more politically correct times, Nintendo would shy away from using all of the racial stereotypes that made the original Punch-Out!! game so hilarious. That's not the case at all. Fact is, those stereotypes are here and even more in your face than ever before from what I've seen so far. They also love pushing the whole "Doc loves chocolate" thing beyond any reasonable limits. And when you knock out a character like Piston Honda and see pieces of sushi go flying off of him, you can't help but wonder how they got the censors to approve it. Amazing.
But let's face it, the one thing that truly made the original Punch-Out such a memorable game was all of the fantastic characters in it. Every character was so great that it didn't even matter if you were a sports game fan or not... Mike Tyson's Punch-Out was a universal game. If you couldn't enjoy it, there was something wrong with you. Thankfully, Nintendo has kept those amazing characters intact and we get to see them in a whole new light. I should mention that there are some great artistic renderings of each character before the fights too.
The fights themselves can definitely be challenging depending on who you fight. With King Hippo, for example, it was just like picking up where I left off the first time (though in a later rematch he has a manhole cover duct-taped to his belly to protect it from being punched). With Great Tiger, however, he's way harder to defeat on the Wii than on the original NES game. This is a good thing though. I'd honestly be disappointed if all they did was churn out the same game but with some suped up graphics. You can tell they put a lot o' love into this project.
There are plenty of other subtle nods to the original Punch-Out game - such as the updated theme song, Doc giving you a little power boost between rounds if you hit a certain button, being given advice to "Join the Nintendo Fun Club!", or the animated loading screen with a pixelated 8-bit Little Mac running in his pink jogging suit. It's nice to see Nintendo never lost sight about what made the original Punch-Out so great.
But it's not just a graphic redesign of the game, there's definitely plenty more to it. For one thing, you can fight a friend in head-to-head matches which is definitely a blast. You can also become a freakishly huge, Hulk-like boxer and do some serious damage to your pals whenever that happens. There's more strategy involved in the fights now too. Not only can you dodge from left to right, but you can also duck, and all of these things come into play depending on who you are fighting.
From what I've seen so far, this is everything fans of the original Punch-Out could have hoped for in a new version of the game. I look forward to seeing Super Macho Man shaking his mighty man boobs at me once again and Soda Popinski laughing in my face after he knocks me out one more time. They may win those fights, but I'll be the one smiling the entire time. Who knows, I might even get out of my seat and do the Don Flamenco dance. Don't even second guess it... if you own a Nintendo Wii, get this game now.
Overall rating:
(Scored on a 0.5 - 5 pickles rating: 0.5 being the worst and 5 being the best)
Punch Out is boring. |
Rog, you really need to beat Great Tiger.
Then make some chocolate spaghetti. |
The only downside I can see to the game is replay value. I beat the game on the 2nd day (with something insane like 57 defeats thanks to Great Tiger and Super Macho Man) and other than going through the rematches and a few head to head battles, I'm not sure it's worth $49.95. That being said, it's the perfect nostalgia title. Retro done right!