Finally. Nintendo doing something the “core” audience can care for. It’s been 15 years since a new Punch Out game came out, and 22 years since the NES classic was released, and 25 years since the original Arcade game came out(and 24 years since the sequel to that one came out). Let’s just say we were well overdue for a Punch Out sequel.
And ever since I saw the trailer for this, I knew it was gonna be awesome.
So read on and see if it’s really as awesome as I thought it would be.
[...]
Gameplay
Remember Punch Out on the NES? Well, if you do, it plays the same. Almost exactly.
Controls
The controls are simple. Pressing Left and Right dodges in that direction. The 1 button punches with the left hand, the 2 button punches with the right hand. Pressing them while holding Up does a punch to the face, and pressing them alone does a punch to the body. Pressing and holding Up guards against jabs, and pressing down dodges downwards to pass beneath wide hooks. Pressing A does a Star Uppercut (if you have stars). The controls are the same as on the NES, and they STILL work great.
There’s also motion controls. Punching with the nunchuk is a left punch, with the wiimote is a right puch, and punching while holding A is a star uppercut. The rest of the controls are on the control still, the same as the normal controls. The motion controls… work. But that’s about it. They’re not as sensitive as they should be and they’re not really that easy to use.
[...]
The game itself
Well, what is there to say really? It’s just like the NES game. And for that, it’s awesome. There’s 13 boxers to go through, each with a distinct pattern and moveset. Going through each of them brings you closer to being the world champion.
Each of the 13 boxers come from previous Punch Out games, other than Disco Kid. Each of them is increasingly difficult, each with a special gimmick or certain ways of getting KOd. Multiple enemies have certain animations where you can KO them in one hit. Some also have immunities to certain kids of hits. There’s really a lot of variety.
[...]
Overall
What more is there to say? Punch Out is a magnificent game. A great addition to any “core” gamer’s library. The gameplay is incredible and old-school. The graphics are badass, the animations are great and the sound is really good. This is pretty much the perfect game for an NES fanboy, and hardcore gamers in general. ALSO, this game is VERY replayable. The NES and SNES games are still being replayed a lot to this day, and this one should be no different.
If there was something I would say I’m disappointed in, I’d say it would be the low number of boxers. Another circuit would’ve been awesome. But at 14 boxers in total (including the super-secret Nintendo character everyone knows about by now), it’s a bit disappointing. But each boxer is so well done I don’t really mind.
Overall it’s a great game and a must-have for any Wii owner. But some people might want to wait for a price drop, as it’s a whopping 60$ in Canada (AKA the starting price for most PS3/Xbox 360 games), so 50$ in the US. A bit much.
Source: The Save Points! - read the full review there!
Buy Punch-Out! cheaper in Canada online at Wii Online.ca! - the best prices for your Wii Games!
IGN Punch-Out!! Review Movie
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