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The Problem with Punch-Out

Posted by Bob Mackey

Hardcore Nintendo fans have been grumbling this generation, and most would say rightfully so; the Wii updates to beloved franchises like Super Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, and Super Smash Bros. have been rehashes--and sometimes downgrades--of games seen last generation. Even The Legend of Zelda: Twlight Princess wasn't much more than a prettier Ocarina of Time. But Nintendo knows what bones to throw to the hardcore, and they throw them well. Take the upcoming Punch-Out, for example; old-school Nintendo fanboys have been heralding it as the Wii equivalent of The Second Coming, despite the fact that it's merely a pretty remake of a game they played 20 years ago. For Nintendo, this is a win-win situation--after all, they can keep the most vocal minority of their fanbase happy while appealing to the casuals who will no doubt buy this game en masse. But to the impartial observer, the freak-out over this long-awaited sequel calls into question just how much we're willing to forgive when something repeatedly jabs at our nostalgia Hooksexup.

Before the hate starts a-flowin' let me say that I'm super-psyched for Punch-Out, but I still have a healthy dose of skepticism. While the game looks (and reportedly plays) like it was developed internally, if the reports of it being no more complex than the original Punch-Out are true, I'm going to be a tad disappointed. With Super Punch Out, the better but less-iconic sequel, Nintendo realized that the puzzle-fighting of the original game could only be stretched so far, so they added only a degree of fisticuff complexity along with boxers which had a much larger variety of moves. All in all, a perfect game, and a logical conclusion to the Punch Out series. But this new game looks to provide a more accessible and familiar experience at the cost of everything that made the sequel so great.

For now, I'm hoping that the gameplay impressions I've been getting from podcasts and the like will be improved upon with some in-depth previews sometime this month. Until then, I'm going to be a big, stinky curmudgeon about Punch Out, mostly because I hate fun. Please forgive me.

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Comments

parish said:

No need to feel alone. I have zero interest in this remake -- the original was OK, but not really interesting enough to reprise quite so faithfully two decades later.

April 1, 2009 3:35 PM

Amber Ahlborn said:

I'm in the opposite position.  I have no interest in most sports games, or real life boxing.  I never played the original Punch Out games and have no desire to check them out so there's no nostalgia factor at work here. I am, however, looking forward to this game simply because I like the boxing game on Wii Sports and this looks like an incredibly robust take on that.  In fact, I think this is a game that has the potential to hit the sweet spot where core, retro, and casual gamer interests overlap.  

April 1, 2009 4:42 PM

Steve McCutchen said:

Indeed, the game seems like it will rock due to the fact that it's extremely similar to the original Punch-Out!!, but also be slightly disappointing because it's extremely similar to the original Punch-Out!!

As well, count me as one of the people who vastly preferred the sequel (even if Hoy Quarlow is a cheating jerk).

Here's my take on Super Punch-Out!!:

stevemccutchen.wordpress.com/.../punch-out-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-world-video-boxing-association

April 1, 2009 7:13 PM

LBD "Nytetrayn" said:

I think it's kind of a one-step forward, two-steps back thing: It's a remake of the original game, but modernized; if it does well, perhaps we'll see a sequel that works in more of the complexities brought forth in Super Punch-Out!!, which might be more easily managed once we're used to playing in the new style.

...unless, of course, one uses the NES style.  Then it'll probably be a lot more bland.

April 1, 2009 11:51 PM

Nadia Oxford said:

I have no objection to it being a remake of an old title, though I'm a little iffy about paying full price. It would be wizard as a WiiWare title. I'm kind of a Punch-Out whore, though (like Amber, I love it for its emphasis on fun over any real depth), so I'll be coughing up the $ either way. :(

April 2, 2009 12:16 AM

About Bob Mackey

For a brief period of time I was Bull from TV's Night Court, but some of you may know me from the humor column I wrote for Youngstown State University's The Jambar, Kent State University's The Stater, and Youngstown's alternative newspaper, The Walruss. I'm perhaps most well-known for my bi-weekly pieces on Something Awful. I've also blogged for Valley24.com and have written articles for EGM, 1UP, GameSpite and Cracked. For all of my writing over the years, I have made a total of twenty American dollars. It's also said that I draw cartoons, which people have described with words such as "legible." I kidnapped the Lindbergh Baby and am looking to do so again in the future.

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John Constantine, our superhero, was raised by birds and then attended Penn State University. He is currently working on a novel about a fictional city that exists only in his mind. John has an astonishingly extensive knowledge of Scientology. Ultimately he would like to learn how to effectively use his brain. He continues to keep Wu-Tang's secret to himself.

Derrick Sanskrit is a self-professed geek in a variety of fields including typography, graphic design, comic books, music and cartoons. As a professional hipster graphic designer, his recent clients have included Hooksexup, Pitchfork and MoCCA, among others.

Amber Ahlborn - artist, writer, gamer and DigiPen survivor, she maintains a day job as a graphic artist. By night Amber moonlights as a professional Metroid Fanatic and keeps a metal suit in the closet just in case. Has lived in the state of Washington and insists that it really doesn't rain as much as everyone says it does.

Nadia Oxford is a housekeeping robot who was refurbished into a warrior when the world's need for justice was great. Now that the galaxy is at peace (give or take a conflict here or there), she works as a freelance writer for various sites and magazines. Based in Toronto, Nadia prizes the certificate from the Ministry of Health declaring her tick and rabies-free.

Bob Mackey is a grad student, writer, and cyborg, who uses the powerful girl-repelling nanomachines mad science grafted onto his body to allocate time towards interests of the nerd persuasion. He believes that complaining about things on the Internet is akin to the fine art of wine tasting, but with more spitting into buckets.

Joe Keiser has a programming degree from Johns Hopkins University, a tiny apartment in Brooklyn, and a fake toy guitar built in the hollowed-out shell of a real guitar. He writes about games and technology for a variety of outlets. One day he will stop doing this. The day after that, police will find his body under a collapsed pile of (formerly neatly alphabetized) collector's edition tchotchkes.

Cole Stryker is an American freelance writer living in York, England, where he resides with his archeologist wife. He writes for a travel company by day and argues about pop culture on the internet by night. Find him writing regularly here and here.

Peter Smith is like the lead character of Irwin Shaw's The 80-Yard Run, except less athletic. He considers himself very lucky to have this job. But it's a little premature to take "jack-off of all trades" off his resume. Besides writing, travelling, and painting houses, Pete plays guitar in a rock trio called The Aye-Ayes. He calls them a 'power pop' band, but they generally sound more like Motorhead on a drinking binge.


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