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Review: ‘Punch-Out!!’ for Nintendo Wii
Old-school console gamers — say, those who had a vested interest in the epic Sonic versus Mario playground battles of the early ‘90s — haven’t had a whole lot to cheer about, even with the runaway success of the Nintendo Wii system.
While the Wii has ushered in a living-room renaissance of family video gameplay, it has also taken gaming in new, sometimes unwelcome directions for this kind of gamer: Games that aren’t really games per se, such as “Wii Fit” and “Wii Play,” are incredibly popular on the system. It’s enough to make any hard-core gamer grumble.
Nintendo must have sensed this because its latest A-list title is “Punch-Out!!,” a nostalgic remake that will be loved most by those who remember the original arcade game and its numerous Nintendo home-console incarnations. It’ll a safe bet to be the Wii’s biggest game of the summer and should appeal to fans of the original games and new players alike. “Punch-Out!!” is a cartoonish boxing game with cel-shaded 3-D graphics and the motion controls that have made the Wii a hit. But it also retains much of the original series’ charm, from its green-gloved hero Little Mac to its roster of pugilists, including Glass Joe, King Hippo and Piston Honda. (Missing, for reasons too convoluted to list here, is a famous titular boxer who briefly appeared in the franchise when it was called “Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!”)
How well does nostalgia play in the iPhone era? Pretty well, actually. The game is gorgeous and has wisely resisted the temptation of trying to be more photo-realistic. Big and cartoony works well here, and the game is full of goofy humor and winking nods to the past. Your coach, Doc Louis, is still addicted to candy bars. Punching King Hippo with a jab and then pounding his large belly as his trousers drop is still the best way to beat him. And Little Mac is still a tiny boxer compared to the giant, menacing opponents he faces.
But not every innovation improves the actual gameplay. While you can now dodge punches by standing on the “Wii Fit” balance board and punching the air with your Wiimote and nunchuck, it’s difficult to master the precise timing. (It’s also physically exhausting if you plan to play for more than 30 or 40 minutes.) Luckily, you can disable these controls, turn the Wiimote on its side and play it the old way, with two buttons and a directional pad.
Curiously, the game lacks online gameplay or any multiplayer options beyond a rudimentary two-player versus mode that pits Little Mac against a color-palette-swapped version of himself. In this mode, Little Mac can transform into the giant “Giga Mac,” but it’s disappointing that players can’t choose from the roster of finely imagined boxers that populate the game. That roster, unfortunately, includes only a few new characters, making career mode feel short and a little unsatisfying. If there’s a sequel to “Punch-Out!!” in our future, it would benefit from about twice as many fighters, online play and more game modes that don’t require beating the entire game to unlock.
What will new gamers think of “Punch-Out!!”? Even removing the nostalgia, the game stands as a fast-paced diversion that may not provide the depth that a new “Super Mario” or “Zelda” would give you but still packs a lot of fun.
Gamers who’ve waited about 15 years for a new “Punch-Out!!” game, though, will be most rewarded. It carefully balances a trip down memory lane with enough eye candy, humor and new ways to control the game to justify its price.
‘Punch-Out!!’
$50, for Nintendo Wii
Rated Everyone 10+ for cartoon violence
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment Categories: Videogames
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By JT
May 28, 2009 10:53 AM | Link to this
I love that song! Memories.
By RonB
May 28, 2009 9:48 AM | Link to this
Keep playing. The other modes (Title defense and Mac's Last Stand) are supposed to make the replay value of the game really high. These are supposed to includes fights against characters like Donkey Kong and the like.
The developers have also put in challenges for the fighters that you have already beaten. You train against holograms when you first unlock fighters in exhibition mode. But once you beat them, they are real fights, with challenges to accomplish.