'Punch-Out!!' another winner from Nintendo

• By JOSHUA WASCOM
• Special to 2theadvocate.com
• Published: May 22, 2009

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A while back, I lodged a semi-complaint against Nintendo about the fact that one of their core business strategies is making the same game over and over again. While playing – and loving – the new “Punch-Out!!” a few more important points came to me.

First, while Nintendo does often seem to be in the remake business, so is everyone else. There is, in fact, a lot greater distance between “Super Mario Bros.” and “Super Mario Galaxy” than between “Wolfenstein 3D” and “Halo 3.” Nintendo is simply more honest about it. Second, the games Nintendo remakes tend to be unique classics, recreated with a perfect eye for what made the original so much fun.

Fifteen years after the last release in the series, the new “Punch-Out!!” carries the same complex backstory – you are an up-and-coming rookie boxer, and you must beat every boxer standing between you and the championship title. The basic gameplay is also the same: through observation, intuition and careful planning, you must uncover and utilize the flaws in each of your opponents’ styles.

It’s actually shocking how well the core gameplay has held up, with the same cycle of fun nearly giving way to a sense of impending frustration, then swinging around to fun again as you figure out exactly when King Hippo is most vulnerable to a stomach punch, or when you manage to dodge three of Don Flamenco’s rapid punches, then lay him out with a hook, all with just the barest sliver of your life bar left. Particularly when you first face each fighter, you are forced to strike a balance between skillful dodging, well-timed punching and on-the-fly puzzle-solving, a balance that isn’t seen in many other games.

The new elements are all good, and can give the title some longevity. There’s an Exhibition mode that lets you fight boxers you’ve fought before, and it includes optional challenges to increase the variety of the fights. Another new feature, Title Defense, is available after your first overall victory and lets you fight harder versions of all your old foes. There’s also a new multiplayer mode, and while it’s a bit too simple to really merit a lot of replaying, it does an interesting job of mirroring the experience of the main game.

“Punch-Out!!” for the Wii may be a clear and fairly straightforward remake, but it does such a good job of updating such a classic game that it’s really quite hard to criticize. Those who never played the original “Punch-Out!!” or its sequel will find a lot to love in the subtle depth of the title, and the combination of the new tweaks and the power of nostalgia should be enough to bring any old fans back.