Punch-Out! Featuring Mr. Dream Review

Summary:

A one-two KO of an NES title.

Pros:

+ Very addicting action gameplay

+ Puzzle-like elements mixed in

+ Detailed NES animation

Cons:

- Very limited environments and soundtrack

- Will beat your face in by the end (a turn-off for some)

Review:

[Originally written for TheHylia back in May of 2007.]

In the late 80’s, the NES was getting flooded with titles, both quality and garbage. Nintendo crafted many of the marquee titles of the time for their console with love and care, and it showed. Punch-Out!! is one of those titles. This is one of the classic NES games with a strong following, and there's a very good reason why: it's a solid title sopping wet with personality and is a rock-hard challenge to any determined gamer. While this version may not have the likeness of Mike Tyson (as the original NES release did) it has everything else--and that's more than enough.

Punch-Out!! is a boxing game starring a puny but spry boxer appropriately named Little Mac. All of the opponents he faces tower over him--imagine a Chihuahua fighting a Pitbull. This was a clever choice because it enables the player to see the opponent’s moves while adding a charming comedic touch to the game's personality--Mac has to jump to punch his opponents in the face, for example.

What will keep you coming back to Punch-Out!! again and again is its addicting, reflex-based gameplay. Sharp as a knife and solid as steel, Punch-Out!! delivers a stunning blow of fun to a challenging experience, and beating the game is heralded as one of gaming's revered achievements (one that I'm still striving to achieve myself after over 15 hours in the ring). The matches start off very easy, and gradually work their way up to be extremely difficult--you will get your tiny behind handed to you at the end. Easing the player along at a steady pace and ramping up difficulty at a comfortable rate is a task many games fail to reach, but Punch-Out!! succeeds. As the player reaches a new series of boxers, they may be overwhelmed at first, but as they play each fighter again and again, they'll master countering his techniques and eventually be able to breeze through him with much less trouble than they did initially. The hardcore challenge the game provides results in a highly satisfying victory when the bell rings and victory is reached. Finally beating that brutal foe who's mashed up your face into applesauce on numerous occasions delivers a strong sense of reward. If you can defeat Mr. Dream himself, you deserve a medal.

The graphics are amazing for an NES title. Sprites are huge and very well-animated for their time. Since the game relies on twitch reflexes by analyzing your opponents moves and anticipating their attacks, great care was paid to foot movement, facial expressions, and back swings on punches. Granted, the locations are limited to slightly different colored boxing rings, but this is a boxing game. Instead of simply slopping the game together, much attention was given to detail to make a game with limited environments spring to life with character. Mario even makes a cameo appearance as the referee--a nice touch that adds that good old Nintendo shine. The sound is fine, but very limited to only a few tunes. Fortunately, what little audio there is catchy and adds the drama of a fight to the proceedings.

As an NES title for 500 Wii Points ($5), Punch-Out!! is well-worth the money if you commit yourself to mastering the game, which is basically required to beat it. Depending on the player's skill, hours and hours can be spent boxing here despite its quick and slick arcade nature simply because it's so challenging and skill-based. If you shy away from tough challenges and action games (or pink jogging suits, I suppose), maybe Punch-Out!! isn't for you. But I recommend it to anyone else.

Bottom Line:

This is one of the best games to grace the NES, and a classic sports game to boot–but you don’t necessarily need to be a boxing fan to appreciate Punch Out!!’s solid gameplay. It will deliver a one-two knockout to your Virtual Console with its charming personality and raw challenge. Stickin’ and movin’ is more fun than you might think, and for $5 and a drive to win, you’ll get a very good value out of this quirky, well-crafted title.

“Dancin’ like a fly, bite like a mosquito!”