Punch-Out!! (2009)
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| Punch-Out!! | ||||||||||||||||||
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 "Alright baby! The champ's back, baby! The champ is back"
— Doc Louis | ||||||||||||||||||
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Punch-Out!! is a 2009 boxing video game developed by Next Level Games and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It is the fifth installment in the Punch-Out!! series and is a reboot of the series.
Why Little Mac Is Back
- For the first time, Punch-Out!! came to more modern consoles that have nothing to do with re-releases (like Virtual Console for example). This game is a full-on new game for the series as well as a reboot. Despite being a reboot, this keeps the spirit of what made Punch-Out!! a boxing game of its own.
- The graphics are a step up to the series with the idea of cel-shaded graphics being implemented into the game as well as the feel of a boxing match that you see in real life (like on TV of course).
- As usual, Little Mac has to work his way up by facing a variety of colorful yet fictional boxers. Almost all of the boxers from the NES game return in glory while two characters from Super Punch-Out!! Bear Hugger and Aran Ryan return. You get to face new opponents including Disco Kid, Giga Mac, and even Donkey Kong himself as a secret fighter (yeah really).
- Good controls to work with. If you like to play Boxing on Wii Sports, you are gonna like this.
- Just as what you expect from the opponents from Punch-Out!!, players need to rely on quick reactions and see various signs from their opponent to dodge or block attacks way before you get to attack.
- The Wii Balance Board can be utilized as an optional mechanic. The only thing you can do with the Balance Board is by ducking and dodging. Depending on how you feel, you might be able to use it or not.
- Stars are awarded for landing a punch at a particular moment like when an opponent taunts Mac. If you have one or more stars, Little Mac has the power to do a Star Punch which can deal extra damage. As you already guessed, Mac can store up to three stars.
- The fight can end by either a KO if a fighter is unable to rise within 10 seconds, doing a TKO, or by decision if neither fighter achieves a KO or TKO after three rounds. To some opponents, you can get an automatic KO by landing a Star Punch at the right moment regardless of the opponent's health.
- Some single-player modes are available. The first one would be your typical career mode where it starts in Contender mode. Mac would need to climb the ranks of the World Video Boxing Association by rising through 3 world circuits.
- Once you win, you get to play a more challenging mode called Title Defense mode whereas Mac now must defend his belt against other fighters who use new techniques and defenses including, but not limited to:
- Glass Joe (by far the easiest opponent) has headgear to block damage to Mac's jabs
- Von Kaiser who now knows how to fake out and has an OHKO spin attack
- Disco Kid now uses exercise (called boxercise) instead of disco dancing
- King Hippo now uses a duct tape-covered manhole cover on his belly as protection.
- Bear Hugger now has a squirrel hidden in a toque on his head that works as a warning if he delays or fakes an attack, as he now does so
- Great Tiger can now make more clones with attacks being color-coded.
- Soda Popinski now uses a specially formulated soft drink-like elixir to make him stronger made by scientists
- Bald Bull now can only be KO'd with a Star Punch, as normal punches can only stagger him and show a cutscene of him laughing and regaining some health
- Aran Ryan now uses one of his old boxing gloves stuffed with something and tied to a rope which he swings like a flail during the match.
- Once you win, you get to play a more challenging mode called Title Defense mode whereas Mac now must defend his belt against other fighters who use new techniques and defenses including, but not limited to:
- Then there's Mac's Last Stand (unlocked after completing Title Defense). This is an endurance mode in which Mac faces off against an endless series of randomly chosen opponents until he loses thrice, which causes him to retire. Donkey Kong can be fought in this mode.
- The other single-player option would be Exhibition. This is a mode for fighting against any opponents they faced already in either Contender or Title Defense. You can get new achievements or practice against a holographic image of your current opponent. Win 10 fights in Mac's Last Stand, a Champions Mode is unlocked for Exhibition. In Champions Mode, Mac can be knocked down in a single hit so watch out.
- New to the series is a split-screen multiplayer mode. This is a fight against Little Mac and a recolored clone. This mode has an exclusive mechanic that requires players to gather enough power by dodging all moves unscathed thus being able to transform into Giga Mac for a limited time.
- Good voice acting. Many of the characters have voices that are related to their native country Glass Joe has a French voice actor, Von Kaiser has a German voice actor, Soda Popinski has a Russian voice actor, Piston Honda has a Japanese voice actor, Great Tiger has an Indian voice actor, etc. Yes, even Takashi Nagasako gets to voice Donkey Kong in this game.
- The opponents in the game have gotten some personality here. For instance, Glass Joe speaks French as a nod to him being French. Many of the opponents have a cutscene that shows pics of them before the fight starts.
- Great soundtrack. Some are energetic while others reflect each opponent. You can listen to them yourself.
- While most of the cutscenes are images, you get some that are animated and they look pretty good. From the opponents going into the ring introducing themselves to the crowd to Mac and Doc Louis training.
- Has some funny moments like when you get to face certain opponents who have such personalities or even the cutscenes for the opponents. And who could not forget Doc Louis getting angry at Mac for knocking out his chocolate bar in Doc Louis's Punch-Out?
- What about some of Doc Louis's quotes like "You mean to tell me I traded in all of my tickets to the chocolate bar convention for THIS!?" or "Can you believe it? Your friend's worse than Glass Joe!"
- For Club Nintendo members, you can get the spin-off title called Doc Louis's Punch-Out!! which takes place before the main game. Mac spares with his coach Doc Louis through three matches of increasing difficulty. You need to knock Doc down in three rounds to win.
- A surprisingly sympathetic ending. Once Mac lost in Mac's Last Stand, he retired only to see a cutscene where Doc is seen in a museum congratulating Mac for his hard work and effort throughout his career.
Bad Qualities
- If you retire, Career Mode will no longer be playable. The only way to play it again is to make a new profile.
- The Wii Balance Board isn't compatible with Doc Louis's Punch-Out!!.
- Due to the closure of Club Nintendo, it's impossible to play Doc Louis's Punch-Out!! without the use of emulation.
- There has been criticism of the stereotypes of the characters. It was harmless in the 1980s version yet it has not aged well since the early 21st century.
- All the opponents are returning characters, with almost no newcomers (excluding Donkey Kong).
- Although Disco Kid is the only original opponent of the Wii version, he seems to be inspired (if not directly by him) by Kid Quick from the arcade version of the original Punch-Out!! (both have the same statistics and weight and they are both from Brooklyn, New York. Plus, Disco Kid's data is labeled as "kidquick").
Reception
The game has received critical acclaim. GameRankings gave the game an 87% with Metacritic giving the game an 86/100. Nintendo Life gave the game 9 stars while Nintendo Power gave the game an 8.5/10. NintendoWorldReport gave the game a 10/10.
Trivia
- If Mac loses to anyone in Career mode, the opponent's win record is increased (like if Mac loses to Glass Joe at least once, his record will go from 1-99 to 2-99) (though the opponent's record remains as the original in the exhibition). This does not apply to Mac's Last Stand or Exhibition, however.
- Princess Peach from the Super Mario franchise was going to be an opponent in the game. She was scrapped due to the possible negative reception that could stem from violence against women in the game during development.
- The reason that there were not many notable Nintendo characters in the game is that the studio wanted to solidify the game's respective universe.
- The game's 2 player mechanic was a difficult task to create, according to Tanabe, because the series had no template to base it on.
- Online multiplayer, a 3D environment, character customization, other RPG elements, and mini-games were going to be in this game yet were cut.
- Doc Louis's quote "Dance like a fly and bite like a mosquito." is a clear reference to Muhammad Ali's quote "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."
- There is a useful easter egg where pressing the - button during intermission will make Doc eat a bar of chocolate, which somehow makes Mac regain health. This can only be done once per match.
- While the referee counts after you knocked your opponent down, you can press the 1 and 2 buttons repeatedly to restore your health.
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