The Jon Venture

Punch-Out!! Review

By Jon Venture

It has been fifteen years since Little Mac has laced up his gloves for a few rounds in the squared circle, and over twenty years since he and I trained to take out Iron Mike on my NES. With the help of trainer Doc Louis, the three of us headed back to the ring with Punch-Out!! , released May 18, 2009 on Nintendo Wii. Published by Nintendo, developed by Next Level Games (Mario Strikers Charged), and produced by Shigeru Miyamoto (insert fanboy squeak here) both new and returning armchair pugilists can fight for the World Video Boxing Association championship and revel in the innocent nostalgia of beating a virtual man senseless and making orphans of his children. That is assuming the virtual mothers of said children die of grief. Not so innocent now that I think of it.

Punch-Out!! holds true to its roots by providing a challenging pattern-based game experience that feels old school but delivers a whole new series of frustrations. Players can control Little Mac using the Wii Remote and Nunchuck to throw punches, the optional Wii Balance Board to duck and dodge incoming strikes, or the Wii Remote by itself. The latter of the three options felt the closest to the original experience and in my experience was the most responsive way to play. Pity there was no support for the ergonomically designed Wii Classic Controller, though. The controls themselves were crisp, clean, and responsive on the Wii Remote, drawing the attention away from the gimmick of boxing on the Wii and reverting the attention to the pattern-based gameplay and over-the-top characters. Players who have never faced King Hippo or Piston Hondo before usually laugh… right before they get knocked the @#$% out. Learn their patters and respond in time, and you won’t end up on the canvas.

After winning the title, assuming you could take out Great Tiger and Bear Hugger, Punch-Out!! stretches its play time with Title Defense mode. In this series of bouts, returning opponents are faster and vary their styles, forcing players to tweak their game ever so slightly to come out on top. In the case of King Hippo, he even wears a manhole cover for protection from body shots. Odd and cartoony, but it adds to the charm of it all. Punch-Out!! also features a 1-on-1 mode, two player mode, Training mode, and Exhibition mode with individual goals to achieve. Plenty of modes to have fun with, but chances are you’ll be throwing your Wii Remote during your first few rounds on your way to winning the WVBA Title.

Punch-Out!! is ultimately a fun and exciting boxing game for you to enjoy on your Wii. After all, there are two exclamation points after the title. Yes, two!! Almost as exciting as this sentence!!! Or this one!!!! Not just a solid rental, I recommend you add Punch-Out!! to your Wii library and pick up a copy now. The nostalgia is great for veterans, and the quality gameplay holds up for everyone to enjoy. After a few rounds with Punch-Out!! , I don’t think you’ll be going back to boxing on Wii Sports anytime soon.