A decent game at best that's brought down by a depressing single player mode, but is just saved by great multiplayer.
The game has basically two modes of play. These include the single player Story mode, and the multiplayer Sparring mode. The story is entirely based off of the Japanese anime, Hajime no Ippo, but is known in North America as Fighting Spirit. Victorious Boxers: Revolution revolves around the journey of Ippo Makunouchi, a high school student who’s been excessively bullied until Mamoru Takamura, a boxing champion, rescues him from some thugs, and inspires him to become a boxer himself. Long story short, Ippo makes new friends and enemies, trains harder, and suffers through victories and defeats, all in his quest to become the featherweight champion. The concept itself is fairly decent and simplistic. But unfortunately, the anime-styled cutscenes which tell the story are absolutely, painfully monotonous. This is an absolute shame because the anime itself is pretty good. There are compelling, developed characters, the story is well paced, and you can really care about what you’re watching. Here, however, the gist of nearly every cutscene is Ippo saying “I need to win! I need to be the best!” or someone else saying “You can’t beat that guy! You need the heart of a fighter!” Not only that, but none of the humour and charm is retained from the series. Fans of the franchise might find some enjoyment in this, but for everyone else, these cutscenes seem like nothing more than a terribly over-dramatic soap opera. Trust me, you’ll be glad that you can just press the A-button to skip them.
Thankfully, the gameplay is most definitely the saving grace here. There are six modes of control here. The first two are Swing Mode 1 and 2. These are both really based off of Wii Sports’ boxing mode. Swing Mode 1 requires you to utilize the controls almost exactly like Wii Sports, punching with the Wii remote and nunchuk, and tilting them to move around. Wii Sports boxing fans may find this mode to be a bit more natural, but even then, it becomes far too finicky, and some motions end up getting confused with others far too often. Swing Mode 2 allows you to move with the control stick, dodge around by holding the Z-button, punch with the controllers, and block with the B and Z-triggers. For people who want to actually punch with the controllers, this is definitely the most fun and solid control method. There are also two Point Modes which are absolutely rediculous. You throw punches by swing the Wii-remote in specific slashes as if you were swinging the sword. There’s also the ability to use the Classic Controller and Gamecube Controller, but quite honestly, what’s the point? But for people who feel like being a little lazy, these methods work fine. But while using the Wii-remote and nunchuk is my preferred method, there are minor gripes. It’s still a little wonky, throwing hooks when I mean to uppercut etc. But this isn’t too bad though, if you’re a solid fighter… hooray for self-esteem!
The title does include a Tutorial mode so that you can learn how to master whatever control-scheme you’ve selected, as well as the special moves that you will continue to unlock throughout the game.
The fighting itself isn’t too bad. Considering this is an anime-styled game, one can’t expect it to really mimic real boxing. But it does manage to create a solid fighting experience. In the single player mode, the enemy AI doesn’t prove to be too challenging. At all actually. Even on the higher difficulty, as long as you know how to fight smart, you’ll be fine for a good chunk of the time. On rare occasion, your opponent may use a unique special move, but it is quite rare. Otherwise, almost all the enemies you’ll face will fall as long