A massive nostalgia trip for Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! players! A fun and challenging game with tons of replay value.
You play the game as Little Mac, a short and young fighter who is taking on the World Video Boxing Association tournament to become the champion of all three circuits- the Minor Circuit, then Major Circuit, and finally the World Circuit. Every circuit has 4 boxers (except the World circuit, which has 5), all of them stronger and much taller than Mac. But with the help of his coach Doc Louis, Little Mac attempts to become the champion of the WVBA!
The controls are relatively simple- that is, if you play with the Wiimote sideways, which is the classic way of playing the game. 1 and 2 are hooks to hit the stomach, "A" is star punch, and by using the control pad, you can duck, dodge left and right, and hold up to block, or press 1 and 2 so you can jab your victim's face. A star punch is basically a special punch that's deadly as all sin, and can even be powered up to a two star punch and even a three star punch. To get stars isn't always that easy- you have to punch your competitor at the right time, usually right before they punch, while they taunt, and so on.
You can also play with the Wiimote+Nunchuck, but I don't recommend it. The controls can be unresponsive and you'll get tired very quickly. You can even use the Wii Balance Board if you want to, but I've never tried this and don't plan to. Just make your life simple and easier and hold the Wiimote sideways, ok? Good.
Like I said before, this game isn't that easy; as a matter of fact, it's one of the hardest games on the Wii that I've played. You can't just throw random punches all over the place and hope to win- the main way to take down your opponent is memorization. Learn each and every pattern your foe has, and every time they throw a punch, duck and combo them. It's really more of a memorization game than a fighting game.
Another thing that makes this game very hard is the callenges you can do in the Exhibition mode. Every charater has 3 challenges, and most of them are ridiculously hard! I still haven't completed several of them. If you complete all three challenges for a character, you unlock their music and audio in the Gallery section on the main menu. Pretty cool, huh? Trying to do all of these challenges really boosts the replay value of the game as well.
A third difficult element of this game is the Title Defense matches- once you defeat your final opponent, you become champion. Of course, you'll need to defend your title, so EVERY SINGLE BOXER you fought before wants your belt now. Heck, even Glass Joe is a tough one to beat in this mode! Every character has some new trick up their sleeve, whether it's a manhole cover defending King Hippo's stomach or a secret, cheap weapon in Aran Ryan's arsenal.
Believe it or not, there's a FOURTH element in this game that raises in difficulty- Mac's Last Stand. This option is unlocked once you defend your title from every single boxer. In this mode, you fight an endless randomization of boxers until you lose three times, in which you give up your belt and Career mode is locked forever on your current profile. Sure you can just do exhibition fights until you get bored of the game, but there's a secret fighter you can unlock, and a fifth- that's right, a FIFTH- element in this game that makes it even TOUGHER...
It is called Champion's Mode. If you defeat 10 boxers in Mac's Last Stand, you'll unlock this for Exhibition mode. If you decide to play this, you'll be in for a real rough battle- characters don't flash red when attacking, and every. Single. Punch. Knocks you down. Unless you really memorize patterns good, you'll never be able to beat evey boxer in this mode. I'm not sure if something is unlocked after that, I've yet to do it. I doubt it, though. If not, you at least get to tell all your friends you're the Punch-Out master or something like that. Assuming you still have friends after you conquer this (I'm just kidding).
Whew... enough talking about challenge, though. Let's talk about the other awesome things this game has to offer, shall we?
Well, for one thing the music in this game is really outstanding. You get a whole bunch of remixes of the original Punch-Out theme. Each character has his own theme, depending on where he's from- Glass Joe's theme sounds French, Disco Kid's sounds like it's straight from the 60's, Don Flamenco's sounds Spanish, and so on. It's really cool to hear all the different versions of one song!
The cel-shaded graphics are also really neat and creative. They fit in well with the cartoonish characters, fighting styles and sound effects. At the same time, the animation of every character- from Little Mac's head following each fighter's movements, to the opponent's facial expressions when they miss, to the cheering of the crowd- is top-notch and some of the best I've seen in any game.
Other than the already explained Exhibition and Career modes, there's also a two-player mode, where you and another person play as a Little Mac versus a Little Mac. I've never tried this, but all I know is you occasionally turn into this hulking Giga Mac where you just cream the other player. I heard it's not fun, not sure though because I never tried it.
Like I mentioned before, there's also a Gallery option where you can view the cutscenes shown before every fight and view the audio that you unlock from completing the previously said challenges. I really like this option, since not only do you unlock the music that plays when you fight the competitor, but you also get any vocals the character has. Most characters speak their native language so you may not be able to understand them, but if you get a translation you'll find that most (if not, all) of the characters have some very funny and witty lines. Well, except for King Hippo, since there's no translation for random growls and roars. Sorry. Maybe you can make up your own translation for him.
One other thing I forgot to mention about Career and Exhibition mode is if you're stuck on a fighter you can't seem to beat in your career, go into Exhibition mode and fight a hologram of that fighter. You can't take damage or lose hearts, and it's mainly to practice learning patterns and dodging or countering specific attacks, and maybe even plan a strategy.
I only have one issue with this game: there's only one new fighter. If you've played the original game, you'll pretty much breeze through the first part of the game with no problem, especially since the new fighter, Disco Kid, is the third boxer you fight and therefore is very easy. Even though there's a secret fighter, he's completely optional as it's possible to lose three times before you fight him.
Anyway, let's wrap things up here: Punch-Out is definitely a game that you NEED to get if you own a Wii. With tons of replay value and being one of the hardest games on the system, you definitely won't be let down by it. Keep it clean now, come out boxing!