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Recreating Punch-Out!! is not an enviable task. The Nintendo Entertainment System's version was perfectly executed, and the series has laid dormant for good reason after a mediocre Super Nintendo sequel.
With the Wii's motion control, it was high time for a follow-up. The new Punch-Out!! does almost everything right, but capturing the original games' magic is simply impossible.
Players again take the role of Little Mac, a boxer from the Bronx with a lot of heart, but as Punch-Out!! fans know, the game only resembles boxing visually, and even that's a stretch. Mac's opponents dwarf him in size, so instead of going punch-for-punch, his strategy entails dodging, then countering with a flurry of blows to the face or gut.
The fun is in discerning how the opposing characters will attack. This starts off simply enough, with the French punching bag Glass Joe showing an obvious tell in his windup. Before long, players have to listen for audio cues or watch the opponent carefully to decide how and when to dodge. Successfully avoiding an attack leaves the opponent momentarily stunned, allowing the player to unleash a chain of counterattacks. Winning a match requires a ten-count or three knockdowns in one round.
The Wii's motion controls make this slightly more exciting than before, swapping the old game's two-button approach for swings of the player's left and right arms. The Nunchuk's thumbstick handles dodging and differentiation between high and low punches. Because the motion controls are more conducive to flicking the hands than fully swinging the arms, a bit of carpal tunnel is bound to flare up during marathon sessions. Thankfully, the Wii remote can be wielded horizontally like an NES controller, motion-free.
In many ways, Punch-Out!! for the Wii is just like its predecessors. Recurring villains such as Bald Bull and King Hippo return, along with lesser-known gems like Aran Ryan, an Irishman with a quick tongue, memorable scowl and questionable tactics. There are 13 opponents in all (not including a secret character at the end) and only one of them is new to the series.
For that reason, it may seem like Nintendo is phoning in a rehash, but the characters are recreated with such love that the developers get a pass. Don Flamenco still mutters about his beloved Carmen, but in a voice that wasn't technologically possible in the Nintendo era. Bear Hugger, a portly Canadian, is given new life as a syrup-swigging lumberjack with an oddly lethargic demeanor. However, despite these facelifts, it's too bad Nintendo didn't put more effort into originality considering the fabulous flamboyance of newcomer Disco Kid. (By the way, most of Punch-Out!!'s characters are based on stereotypes. It's all in good fun for older players, but parents might want to explain to their children that not all Indians have magic powers and Germans don't all polish their boots with military precision.)
Fighting these characters is a pleasure because of how they come to life in the ring. Seeing Mr. Sandman look over his shoulder after a missed punch and grunt “uh oh” makes the counterattack all the more rewarding. Between rounds the comedy continues as the enemy taunts Mac from the opposite corner. It is great to see Soda Popinski yelling and slugging carbonated beverages while Mac's trainer, the lovable Doc, tries to impart some mid-match wisdom.
Problems come from the inherent nature of the game. Dodging the enemies' attacks requires learning their tells, and this results in constant trial and error. This is especially true during Punch-Out!!'s second quest, in which all of the boxers return with new abilities.
The game conveniently lets players restart a match at any point, because even a few botched dodges can ruin the whole fight. But this sets up a situation in which the player replays a match over and over just to gradually memorize the enemy's attack sequences. Every fight ends up playing out like this by the game's final stages, and it gets tedious. Could this problem have been averted by randomizing enemy attacks and making them a little easier to handle? Maybe, but who knows what affect that might have on the fun.
This is why Punch-Out!! for the Wii faces an irresolvable problem. The game relies on a try-and-die style of play that went out of style years ago. The old childhood struggle of trying to beat every character, only to lose a couple of times and start over from the beginning, is gone. Characters such as Super Macho Man, once mythic for their high standing in the World Circuit, are no longer so intimidating; all it takes is a couple dozen save and load cycles to figure out their tricks.
That's not to say Punch-Out!! isn't enjoyable — it's a blast, especially at first, and the characters are wonderful — but it could never be perfect.
Fun Factor: The series' winning formula of dodging attacks, then countering, is untouched.
Game Length: Punch-Out!!'s main Contender mode takes three or four hours. A second Title Defense mode is much harder, and could take six hours or longer.
Difficulty: Like the original game, Punch-Out!!'s first opponents are a breeze, but the learning curve quickly spikes.
On the Negative Side: Trial and error gets tedious.
Bang for Your Buck: Beyond the two main career modes, there's a two-player Versus mode, a Challenge mode to unlock the game's excellent soundtrack and a Final mode to cap off the player's career. In other words, there's lots to do.
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