Punch-Out!! returning to the Wii
Nintendo's bringing Punch-Out to the Wii next year, but as a huge Mike Tyson's Punch-Out fan, I've got some reservations.
It's certainly nice to see King Hippo, Glass Joe and Little Mac back, but I can't help but feel that the cel-shaded graphics are inferior to the glorious cartoon caricatures of Super-Punch Out!
And then there's simply that shocked feeling of branding sacrilege that makes me sashay around the room, indignantly "Well! I never!"-ing. No matter how many women he has monstrously violated or ears he has chewed off, the franchise should always be proud of its association with Mike Tyson, a boxer so masterful in the original NES game that he telescopes his punches with sly forecasting winks and communicates entirely in chiptune farting noises.
But the main fear is that Nintendo is going to demand everyone play this using the execrable Wii Sports boxing method, in which the Wiimote and Nunchuck are held in the hands, each punch physically thrown. It sounds great in theory, but Wii Sports' implementation of this controlling method could only be successfully employed by Ritalin-goofed, seizure-prone children dizzy on instant lemonade powder without causing one's heart to explode.
Still, it's great to see Punch-Out again. And bravo to making Glass Joe bleed croissants. I wasn't aware he was supposed to be French, but it makes sense!
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Just a note "Punch out" was around before Mike Tyson
I 100lbs overweight (working on it) and not a hardcore gamer at all. I found the wii sports boxing completely playable and beatable all the way to the pro level. it does make you sore the first few times and is a decent workout for the extreemly out of shape.
gabby jay!
!YAY!
Glass Joe was french? Huh. If I remember right, all of the other ethnic stereotypes really played up the accents, even though it was text.
Do you remember the original arcade version of Punch Out! that preceded Mike Tyson's Punchout! on NES? Soda Popinski's original name was Vodka Drunkski and a giant hillbilly was the final match.
Actually on Sport's Boxing you can get better sideways punches with a yoyo throw.
And I always gloat when others are out of breath and call me a cheater.
Von Kaiser!
I'm all for control scheme options but I think you're off on your complaints about the wii sports scheme. I've tried a lot of boxing games for the wii and it is still the best IMO. Yes, it has a bit of a learning curve but you can work it out using the punching bag sim pretty easily and then best your way through opponents pretty handily. Players who try just flailing around or speed punching as you describe invariably fail. Dodging and controlled counterpunching are the way to go to get a boxing score into the thousands.
I'm hoping this release delivers what I have been searching for in terms of wii boxing - taking the wii sports boxing and developing it into a full fledged game
I didn't know that Punch Out was around before the Mike Tyson tie-in, but according to wikipedia they didn't end the association with his name due to his legal troubles, but because their licensing agreement running out.
Also worth mentioning is this Punch Out!! trailer, because it is teh awesome.
Just to echo earlier comments, Wii Sports Boxing is one of the most sorely misunderstood games of recent times, and also one of the most rewarding once you get the form right. As per #7, dodging and controlled counterpunching is the way of the Champion.
The difficulty curve is uneven, and there's an absolutely ridiculous spike when you meet Matt (the guy with the silver gloves), but winning that fight at my fiftysomethingth attempt was hugely satisfying... and the game continues to provide a challenge post-Matt.
A lot of Wii Games are awful. Some Wii games are really good, but you suck at them. It can be very hard to tell the difference.
(I am in my mid-thirties, although I do have the reflexes of Ali. If not the stamina).
Mr Dream was the final boss in the original Punch Out. I believe that version was the one downloadable through the wii store.