Punch-Out!!!

Game: Punch-Out!!
Format: Wii
Publisher: Nintendo

There’s a good chance you won’t be familiar with the Punch-Out games, as they don’t rank as one of Nindendo’s best-know series. They are, however, among the most highly regarded, and after years away from the public, Punch-Out is back to prove just what a champion it is.

The franchise started life in the arcades, and is perhaps best known in the UK for its release on the first proper Nintendo console, known to kids of the eighties as the NES. Back then it was adorned by the grinning face of Mike Tyson, and since it has been rather quiet.

However, after a huge hiatus in gaming limbo, Nintendo has seen fit to grace the Wii with a Punch-Out game, and it really is one of the best recent releases for the console aimed at traditional gamers. You know if you are one of those hardened players if you grimace at the thought of all the family party compilations that are so popular on the Wii, and if that’s the case, you’ll no doubt adore the latest visit to the golden ring from the big N.

Punch-Out!! is of course a boxing title, but more than that it is a game in the classic arcade template. It eschews making an attempt at a serious sporting simulation, opting instead for the kind of pantomime excess made so popular by the Rocky films. In fact, if you’re a fan of Sylvester Stallone’s cinematic fisticuffs you’ll simply love Punch-Out!!’s rather ridiculous cast.

Cast as diminutive underdog Little Mac, who has always starred in the Punch-Out games, you must tackle increasingly gigantic foes who all boast wonderfully silly design based as much in fantasy and cliché as in the trappings of the real world.

While King Hippo hails from a pacific atoll, and intimidates players with an enormous belly, Great Tiger posses special powers that allow him to defy physics and appear in two places at once. There’s even a handsome and fashionable young dancer by the name of Disco Kid, who taunts you with a range of smarmy rhythmic moves, making him immensely satisfying to defeat.

Yet while the design of each character is certainly part of the charm of the game, what makes Punch-Out!!’s ensemble of combatants really special is the variety of challenge they deliver. Each has a unique range of attacks, in contrast to Little Mac, who is armed with a simple array of basic punches. While that might sound like a rather unfair playing field, the thrill of the game is in weaving your way through an opponents barrage, learning their nuances and overcoming brute force with intelligent, witty fighting.

As you defeat a rival, you move swiftly onto the next, and, without exception, immediately things feel very tough indeed. It’s merely a fleeting sensation though, as Punch-Out!!’s line-up of boxers all have weak spots, and as you learn them, and the rhythms that outsmart them, the game becomes a wonderful test of cunning and guile.

Punch-Out!! is not enormous in scope and vast in size, but it has a purity and simplicity that is rare in modern titles. Best of all, if you remember the original, it is also peppered with knowing nods to the series’ roots.

This is sublime gameplay at its best, and if you’re tired of macho sci-fi shooters or family compilations, you'll do yourself a service in checking out Punch-Out!!.