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North American boxart featuring Little Mac in the foreground, with Glass Joe, Von Kaiser, King Hippo and Disco Kid in the background. |
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| Developer(s) | Next Level Games[1] | |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo | |
| Composer(s) | Mike Peacock Darren Radtke Chad York |
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| Platform(s) | Wii | |
| Release date(s) | ||
| Genre(s) | Boxing | |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, Two-player, Multiplayer | |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: E10+ OFLC: PG PEGI: 12+ |
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| Media/distribution | Wii Optical Disc | |
Punch-Out!! is a boxing video game for the Wii. It is the latest game in the Punch-Out!! series. It was developed by Canadian developer Next Level Games. Game designer Shigeru Miyamoto served as the game's producer.[5] It was first revealed at Nintendo's conference on October 2, 2008.[6] It was released exclusively at the Nintendo World Store in New York City on May 16, 2009,[7] two days before its official North American release.[2] The Australian release was only available at JB Hi-Fi stores.[8] It is the first new Punch-Out!! title since Super Punch-Out!! was released in 1994.
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Punch-Out!! features a boxer named Little Mac working his way up the professional boxing circuits, facing a series of colorful, fictional boxers. The game requires good reflexes in reaction to the computer-controlled boxers' moves, as the more advanced boxers give very little indication of their coming moves.
Aside from a few new opponents, every other opponent is from a previous Punch-Out!! game. The new opponents are Disco Kid, Giga Mac and Donkey Kong (a secret cameo boss), while the classic boxers are ten of the eleven boxers from the NES classic, as well as Bear Hugger and Aran Ryan from Super Punch-Out!!.
The game uses three different control schemes. The Wii Remote and Nunchuk can be used together, with the player swinging the Wii Remote and Nunchuk to throw punches, while the Nunchuk's analog stick controls movement. The Wii Balance Board can be used optionally along with Wii Remote and Nunchuk to duck or dodge (however, it is not compatible with the multiplayer mode). Finally, the Wii Remote can be used by itself and held sideways in a control scheme similar to the NES version of Punch-Out!!
The gameplay takes elements from previous Punch-Out!! games, featuring the star punches from the NES game, while also featuring stamina recovery from Super Punch-Out!!. It once again uses the round system from the NES game, featuring three rounds per opponent, with commentary by Doc Louis in between rounds. Players progress in one of three ways: by successfully KO'ing their opponent, by earning a TKO after knocking down the opponent three times in one round, or by winning by a decision. Players can store up to three stars by punching their opponent at certain times in order to perform a powerful Star Uppercut, but will lose them if hit. If the player is hit by a knockout punch that would make him lose the game, it is possible to recover and regain a little stamina.
The game features several modes, including Career Mode, which has Little Mac climbing the ranks of the World Video Boxing Association and defeating all of the boxers along the way. Mac starts off in the Minor Circuit, facing weak opponents that mostly serve as a means to help the player to get used to the controls. The Major Circuit has stronger opponents, but their techniques are still quite predictable. The World Circuit boasts the hardest boxers, including the world champion, Mr. Sandman.
A new feature in the game, available after beating the Career Mode once, is Title Defense Mode. This is a much harder mode, and some of the boxers have new tricks and ways to protect their weaknesses, requiring players to figure out how to exploit them once again. For example, in the rematch against King Hippo, he will wear a manhole cover protecting his weak spot, his stomach.[9] If Mac loses to the opponent, he gives up the Champion Belt, however, he may still fight them again. Beating them will enable him to reclaim your belt and move on to the next boxer.
After completing Title Defense Mode, the Last Stand Mode becomes unlocked. In this mode, the player must face a series of randomly selected opponents with a high heart meter and a stamina bar that does not regenerate. Additionally, while the game features unlimited rematch attempts, once Last Stand is reached, Mac will retire after three losses, after which Career Mode becomes unplayable, and players must start a new file in order to play this mode again. This mode also disables the "Restart" and "Quit" options; the only way to quit in the middle of a fight in this mode is to reset the entire game from the HOME menu. Furthermore, there is no way to "win" this mode. Once ten fighters have been defeated, Champions Mode, an option for Exhibition Mode, is unlocked in which all of the fighters can knock Mac down with just one hit.
Also available is Exhibition Mode, where the player can face any boxer they have already defeated including both the regular version of the boxer and the Title Defense variety, and can try to earn three unique achievements per boxer, which if earned unlock the sound test for that character. If a player hasn't defeated a boxer, one can instead practice against a hologram of that boxer with unlimited stamina and hearts until they defeat him in the main mode.
The game features a split-screen head-to-head mode between Little Mac and a recolored clone of Mac. When one of the players has gathered enough power by repeatedly dodging all moves unscathed, he can transform into "Giga Mac" and the game moves into its regular single player view, as Little Mac tries to overcome the bigger and more powerful Giga Mac.[10]
Glass Joe, Von Kaiser, and King Hippo are all shown as opponents in the Minor Circuit, and the boxart shows a new opponent named Disco Kid. In an interview, Charlie Scibetta, Senior Director of Corporate Communications for Nintendo of America, confirmed motion control would be used in this game.[11] Nintendo of America later announced that NES controls using the Wii Remote on its side would also be available.[12] Wii Balance Board support was also confirmed,[13] but is only available in single player mode.[14]
The music for the game, which includes arranged versions of music from the original Punch-Out!!, was composed by Mike Peacock, Darren Radtke and Chad York.
The game received generally positive reviews, averaging an 86/100 and an 87.97% at Metacritic and Game Rankings respectively.[15][16] Nintendo Power's Chris Slate scored the game an 8.5/10 in the magazine's June 2009 issue, praising its similarity to the NES title of the same name. Slate stated "The folks at Next Level Games have created an amazing title that has made the 15 years since Super Punch-Out!! quite worthwhile." However, he said that the new additions didn't affect the game. Game Informer gave Punch-Out!! a 9.0/10.[17] IGN's Craig Harris gave this game a 8.8/10, citing its nostalgic gameplay.[18] Sumantra Lahiri of The Escapist also praised its nostalgic value, but suggested that the stereotypes exhibited by the characters that seemed harmless in the 1980s version had not aged well when early 21st century attitudes towards cultural and racial sensitivity were taken into account.[19]
Doc Louis's Punch-Out!! is a WiiWare title that is available as a reward for 2009 Club Nintendo Platinum members in North America.[20] It was announced alongside a Mario cap as a reward. Members who chose this as their reward received a special code via e-mail to download the title on October 27, 2009. Though a separate game, it uses the same engine as the Wii version. It also controls the same, with the Wii Remote or Wii Remote + Nunchuk used to duck, punch, and dodge.[21] Unlike Punch-Out!! for Wii, there is no multiplayer, no Wii Balance Board Support, and only three game modes: Warm-Up, Training, and Sparring. Doc Louis becomes increasingly tougher to beat after each is completed, but Little Mac only needs to knock him out once to win.
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