One of the most beloved videogames of the 80s! But does the formula still apply today?
+ great remake that catches the spirit of the original
+ good visuals and presentation
+ tons of extras
+ good humor
+ good challenges
The bad:
- only two new boxers
- strange multiplayer mode
- no online mode
- no leaderboards
- some control options are too unprecise
Believe it or not, but it's been 23 years since Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! was released for the NES. And back in the day, the game was an outstanding experience. The principle was simple: put the player into the role of a 17 year old boxing rookie named Little Mac and let him battle against oversized opponents that would normally knock the teenager out with a single hit. With its emphasis on rewarding challenge and addictive gameplay, Punch Out!! should soon become one of the most beloved NES titles of all time and fans wanted more – a desire that would not be fulfilled until the mid 90s when Nintendo released Super Punch Out!! for the SNES. Again, critics and fans alike were impressed by the simplistic but extremely challenging nature of the game and its originality. Another decade went by until Nintendo decided to do a remake of the original NES Punch Out!! The third installment of the series, Punch Out!! Wii, was released in 2009 and one question remains: does the formula still apply today?
The answer on that question consists only of one word: yes!
Those of you who are familiar with the series, won't have any troubles standing their ground against the monstrous boxers since the gameplay hasn't changed and consequently preserved its logical, easy-to-use and addictive components that made the game a huge success in the 80s. As the franchise takes itself with a pinch of salt you can never expect the game to be realistic whatsoever. Traditionally, Little Mac and his opponents stand face-to-face, trying to land punches on each other, dodge and block incoming attacks or perform special moves whenever specific requirements are fulfilled. The controls are as easy as reading a children's book: push left/right on the digipad to dodge, down to duck and up to block. By pressing the 1 and 2 buttons Little Mac counterattacks; the A button unleashes a special star-punch which becomes available after the player hit opponents in very specific moments and therefore earned some stars. However, although the game offers a good number of control options, you are better off using the Wii-Remote held horizontally. Other control schemes (Nunchuk plus Wii-Remote, Balance-Board) may be fun to try out but lack precision and are markedly exhausting.
Opponents are distinctive and remarkably well-animated. All of the 14 characters the game has to offer (13 regular ones plus one additional hidden character) are unique on their own and extraordinarily fun to look at. Furthermore, the voice acting is of generally high quality and genuine. For example von Kaiser, an opponent from native Germany, will call for "Mami" or fool you with "Haha, reingelegt!". Another good example for the outstanding voice performance would be Aran Ryan, an Irish boxer who bad mouths you in his native accent. Regrettably, almost all of the boxers are taken from the game's predecessors. The only new entrants to the freaky bunch of opponents are Disco Kid and the hidden character mentioned above. The game would strongly profit from a few more innovations as especially people who already experienced the NES and SNES versions know the majority of the characters and consequently their various moves beforehand.
Nonetheless, Punch Out!! Wii provides a great challenge. First, each of the 13 standard opponents need to be challenged. The first three circuits are quite easy for veterans but still extremely difficult for newbies and casual gamers. After successfully competing in this sort of warm-up round, each boxer needs to be beaten again – but this time all opponents are in Title Defense Mode, eager to win back their pride and the championships belt, of course. Opponents are more aggressive now and way more difficult to beat down. This may also be the point most newbies might throw in the towel as rememberring your opponents' moves and perfect dodging/counterattacking is key to success. Overall, the viral nature of the series still exists today: you just can't stop playing until you've beaten the very last character in the game and find yourself always wanting to figure out the best strategies for each opponent. Unfortunately, the developers missed out on a great chance to bring back the Trial Mode from Super Punch Out!! for it would have been great to track your best times in online leaderboards. Nonetheless, Punch Out!! Wii still is a highly addictive game. Just give it a try at your next party and I'll bet hardly anybody can resist for at least wanting to try out the game's mechanics.
Beside Career Mode with its various circuits, the game offers a good amount of additional challenges. In Exhibition Mode each opponent awaits Little Mac for re-match but this time certain tasks need to be fulfilled in order to be successful. Generally speaking, Exhibition Mode can be described as an in-game achievement gathering mode. For example Glass Joe, the very first opponent, needs to be defeated without dodging, ducking or blocking any of his attacks. Or Super Macho Man, a classic Punch Out!! character, needs to be knocked down in round 1. The difficulty ranges from "fairly easy" to "Oh-my-God!-How-do-you-do-that?" and encourages you to experiment with different strategies and techniques.
The graphics and sounds are proficient. Opponents glaze in nifty cell-shading optics and cutscenes appear to be as funny and diversified as in the original. Additionally, introduction videos are played whenever you enter a fight but unfortunately only consist of freeze images. The music mainly consists of retro rock guitar riffs and licks which are quite catchy – sometimes even infectious – and although there's not much variation going on it always fits the situation perfectly.
Canadian developer Next Level Games also included a two-player mode. Unfortunately, it's just a giveaway and offers too less to encourage playing for more than a few fights against friends. In this mode, both players play as Little Mac and try to land hits on each other. Ultimately, one player turns into Giga Mac (a monstrous version of the teenager, similar to the boxers Little Mac is supposed to fight against in Career Mode). In this form, powerful attacks can be unleashed while the other player has to dodge and counterattack them. However, it's just a button masher and gets tedious soon after the first fights. A better idea would have been to give players the opportunity to play as one of the characters from Career Mode. The fact that neither an online mode nor leaderboards are available, further blur the multiplayer- and community-experience.
It's almost a miracle that even after such a long period of time the simple hit-dodge-hit formula still applies in modern times where existing hardware offers gamers a lot of different possibilities. Punch Out!! Wii is an outstanding remake of a franchise that was great back then and still is today. With its easy-to-use mechanics and challenging nature, both, casual and hardcore gamers alike, can enjoy the game. Only the few innovations that took place and the complete lack of an online mode and leaderboards hinder Punch Out!! Wii from becoming Editor's Choice.