If there was one game that frustrated players for years, Punch-Out would be at the top of the list. The boxing game, that was actually a puzzle game, punished players if they could not figure out when to duck and when to hit. The sequel, Super Punch-Out was more of the same as players threw down their controllers and vowed never to play the game again. When a new version was announced for the Wii, players groaned in anticipation. More of the same punishment? The answer was no and Punch-Out became one of the funnest games for the Wii.
The goal of the game is the still the same. The player is Little Mac and he is working his way up the boxing circuit. Aided by Doc Louis, Mac will have to fight some of the toughest and strangest boxers in the world. From the technical skill of Piston Hondo to the cheating ways of Aran Ryan, Mac will face boxers with different styles each time he steps in the ring. Once he grabs the belt, Mac will have to defend it against everyone he has beat, and they have learned some new tricks this time around.
The game is simply fun to play. Using the motion controls or the controller, you dodge and counter punch when the time is right. The star punch can now be saved and a devastating move cane be unleashed if you have three stars. If you played the original games, you know what to do from the first fight. The characters have a bit more personality to them, their cut scenes show what they were doing before the fight. The only new character is Disco Kid, which shows that the originals were enough. If you beat them twice, a secret, NES tree swinging primate foe might show up for a few rounds.
The Title Defense Mode was fantastic and feels like a second game. The only real problem is that the difficulty gets ramped up from the beginning. Think Glass Joe was a pushover? Try to hold on to your belt when you suddenly can not hit him in the head. The game looks and sounds gorgeous. Hearing the characters speak, in their native tongue with no subtitles, gives them extra depth.
Punch-Out can be played and replayed forever. I sometimes would just start at the beginning and go through it if I had some time to kill. It teaches the player how to play, but does not punish them. I still wonder if we will ever get a sequel to one of the best games Nintendo has ever created.
