Punch-Out!! (2009 video game)

{{See also|List of Punch-Out!! characters}}

File:Punch Out (Wii) Screencap.jpg]]

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 reflexes to react to the computer-controlled boxers' moves. All of the boxers from the NES game except for Mike Tyson/Mr. Dream return, along with Bear Hugger and Aran Ryan from Super Punch-Out!! and new opponents Disco Kid, Giga Mac, and Donkey Kong. The game allows three different control schemes. The Wii Remote and Nunchuk can be used together, a Wii Balance Board can be used along with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk to duck or dodge, or the Wii Remote can be used by itself and held sideways in a traditional two-button control scheme.

In each stage, players must rely on quick reactions and identify various tells from their opponent to dodge or block their attacks, before returning with attacks to either the torso or the head with the left and right fists. Stars are awarded for landing a punch at particular moments, such as when an opponent grins or taunts Little Mac, and can be used to throw Star Punches that deal extra damage. The player can store up to three stars, but will lose them if hit by the opponent. Each fighter has a stamina gauge which results in a knockdown when fully depleted, with the player able to recover stamina while the opponent is down. Additionally, the player has a heart counter that decreases upon being hit, blocking an opponent's punch, or having a punch blocked by the opponent. If the counter reaches zero, the player will be unable to attack and will be vulnerable until they can successfully dodge an attack. A fight can end by knockout (KO), if a fighter is unable to rise within 10 seconds after being knocked down; by technical knockout (TKO), if a fighter is knocked down three times in one round; or by decision, if neither fighter achieves a KO or TKO after three rounds. Against certain opponents, the player can score an automatic KO by landing a Star Punch at the right moment, regardless of the opponent's stamina or number of knockdowns in the current round. The player also has a limited number of total knockdowns that can be sustained in a match. Once that number is exceeded, the player will be immediately knocked out with no chance to recover, even if they have not reached the three-knockdown threshold for a TKO.

Two single-player campaign options are available. The Career option begins in Contender mode, in which Little Mac must climb the ranks of the World Video Boxing Association by rising through the Minor, Major, and World Circuits. Once Mac wins the world championship title, the game enters the more challenging Title Defense mode; he must now defend his belt against the other fighters, who use new techniques and defenses (such as King Hippo protecting his stomach with a manhole cover).{{cite web |last=Elston |first=Brett |date=May 5, 2009 |title=Punch-Out!! – exclusive boxer reveals! |url=http://www.gamesradar.com/f/punch-out-exclusive-boxer-reveals/a-20090505102313775034/p-2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616050800/http://www.gamesradar.com/f/punch-out-exclusive-boxer-reveals/a-20090505102313775034/p-2 |archive-date=June 16, 2011 |access-date=December 9, 2011 |publisher=GamesRadar}} Completing Title Defense unlocks Mac's Last Stand, an endurance mode in which Mac faces off against an endless series of randomly chosen opponents, one of whom is Donkey Kong. Once Mac loses three times, he retires from boxing and the Career option for the player's save file will become disabled, requiring the player to create a new file to play this option again. The Exhibition option allows players to fight against any opponents they have already defeated in either Contender or Title Defense, attempting to complete unique achievements, or practice against a holographic image of their current opponent. If the player wins 10 fights in Mac's Last Stand, an additional Champions Mode option is unlocked for Exhibition, in which a single hit will knock Mac down.

New to the series is a split-screen multiplayer mode between Little Mac and a recolored clone. When one of the players has gathered enough power by repeatedly dodging all moves unscathed, that player's character transforms into a giant known as "Giga Mac" for a limited time and the game shifts to the opponent's single-player view until he returns to normal.{{cite web |url=http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/k3862q/punch-out---exclusive-multi-player-trailer |title=Punch-Out!! Video Game, Exclusive Multi-Player Trailer | Video Clip | Game Trailers & Videos |publisher=GameTrailers.com |date=April 10, 2009 |access-date=December 9, 2011 |archive-date=September 23, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923035201/http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/k3862q/punch-out---exclusive-multi-player-trailer |url-status=live }}

Doc Louis's Punch-Out!! is a standalone spin-off title and prequel, which was released on WiiWare as a Platinum reward for Club Nintendo members in North America on October 27, 2009.{{Cite web|last=Marcel van Duyn|date=July 14, 2009|title=Take on Doc Louis in a Club Nintendo Exclusive Punch-Out!! Game|url=http://wiiware.nintendolife.com/news/2009/07/take_on_doc_louis_in_a_club_nintendo_exclusive_punch_out_game|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110217190559/http://wiiware.nintendolife.com/news/2009/07/take_on_doc_louis_in_a_club_nintendo_exclusive_punch_out_game|archive-date=February 17, 2011|website=Nintendo life}} The game sees Little Mac sparring with his coach, Doc Louis, through three matches of increasing difficulty; the player wins each match by knocking Doc down once in three rounds. The game features three difficulty levels: Warm-up, Training, and Sparring. The game features the same graphics, voice acting, and game engine as the Wii version of Punch-Out!!,{{cite web |author=Harris |first=Craig |date=July 14, 2009 |title=Doc Louis Hits the Ring |url=http://wii.ign.com/articles/100/1003433p1.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090717055711/http://wii.ign.com/articles/100/1003433p1.html |archive-date=July 17, 2009 |access-date=December 9, 2011 |website=IGN |publisher=}} although it is not compatible with the Wii Balance Board.

Doc Louis' Punch-Out!! was once again made available to Club Nintendo members on February 2, 2015, this time as a purchasable coin prize as part of the service's closing promotion. This was the first time in over five years that the game was made available through any means.

File:Kensuke Tanabe GDC 2011.jpg, seen here at the Game Developers Conference in 2011, was the producer for Punch-Out!! on Wii.]]

The game was revealed in 2008 at the Nintendo Media Summit, where a fifteen-second trailer was shown.{{cite web|last=DeVries|first=Jack|date=October 2, 2008|title=Punch-Out!! Coming to Wii|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/10/02/punch-out-coming-to-wii|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090527054440/http://wii.ign.com/articles/915/915614p1.html|archive-date=May 27, 2009|access-date=June 17, 2012|publisher=IGN}} It was later announced that it was being developed by Next Level Games, which had partnered with Nintendo on games such as Super Mario Strikers (2005). Nintendo wished to make a new iteration similar to the original Punch-Out!! for the NES, so they asked the studio to design the gameplay to be exactly like it and the characters to look like the original games.{{cite web|url=http://kotaku.com/5320198/punch+out-devs-talk-graphics-difficulty-nixed-princess-peach-idea|title=Punch-Out Devs Talk Graphics, Difficulty, Nixed Princess Peach Idea|access-date=June 17, 2012|last=Totilo|first=Stephen|date=July 27, 2009|publisher=Kotaku|archive-date=September 9, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090909014012/http://kotaku.com/5320198/punch+out-devs-talk-graphics-difficulty-nixed-princess-peach-idea|url-status=live}} This led to the studio designing the game with classic NES-style controls by using the Wii Remote turned sideways. Pre-production started when the Wii was released. At the time, Nintendo was discussing the idea with the studio. Soon after that, the studio created a prototype of the game.{{cite web|date=August 26, 2009|title=Punch-Out: Post Mortem Interview with Next Level Games|url=http://www.armchairempire.com/Interviews/punch-out-interview-round-3.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140531143515/http://www.armchairempire.com/Interviews/punch-out-interview-round-3.htm|archive-date=May 31, 2014|access-date=June 17, 2012|publisher=The Arm Chair Empire}}

In an interview, the game's producer, Kensuke Tanabe, described the development as a collaborative effort between the staff of Next Level Games and Nintendo of Japan. As an example of this, Tanabe said that the roster of opponents that are in the game were chosen by people of both studios, Next Level wanting to include more NES characters. When asked about the challenges of bringing an old franchise to the current generation, the game's gameplay lead, Bryce Holliday, said that the most difficult thing to figure out was how to design the gameplay and where to locate the camera. The game has a cel-shaded cartoon graphical style, which was a decision of Next Level. Both of the developers wanted to design the graphics in a way that would be immediately identifiable to any person who catches a glimpse of the game. They also wanted to invoke the style of the previous iterations while at the same time creating some new visuals. Holliday called the style "the logical choice".

The inclusion of Donkey Kong was a suggestion from an employee of Nintendo of America, and Tanabe also wished to include Princess Peach, but the idea was abandoned because of the possible negative reception of violence towards women. The reason that there were not many notable Nintendo characters in the game is because the studio wanted to solidify the game's own respective universe. The Title Defense mode was designed to make the game more of a standalone game and not just a nostalgia title, and also to make the game longer. The developers liked this since it added more personality to the characters. The studio adjusted the difficulty level in order to make the game easier to pick up and play. The game's 2-player mechanic was a difficult task to create, according to Tanabe, because the series had no template to base it on.

There were various additions to the game that were cut from the final product. One of these was online multiplayer, which Next Level Games had previously experimented with for Mario Strikers Charged (2007). while another feature was the ability to move around the ring in a 3D environment. This idea was scrapped so that the game would have the same feel as the older games in the series. Other features include character customization, other RPG elements, and minigames.{{cite web|last=East|first=Tom|date=August 20, 2009|title=Making Of Punch-Out!! Next Level tell us about the development of a boxing classic|url=http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/11134/features/making-of-punch-out/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921155622/http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/11134/features/making-of-punch-out/|archive-date=September 21, 2013|access-date=June 17, 2012|publisher=The Official Nintendo Magazine}}

The game also featured an Easter egg from the Sailor Moon manga series, where the character Piston Hondo was reading an altered version of the manga in his Title Defense match. An anonymously sourced story claimed it was not approved of beforehand and resulted in Nintendo having to quietly pay licensing fees for the rights to feature the Easter egg.{{Cite web |last=Doolan |first=Liam |date=2019-09-21 |title=Rumour: The Sailor Moon Manga In Punch-Out!! That Allegedly Cost Nintendo Millions |url=https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2019/09/rumour_the_sailor_moon_manga_in_punch-out_that_allegedly_cost_nintendo_millions |access-date=2024-07-06 |website=Nintendo Life |language=en-GB |archive-date=June 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240627160730/https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2019/09/rumour_the_sailor_moon_manga_in_punch-out_that_allegedly_cost_nintendo_millions |url-status=live }}

{{Video game reviews

| GR = 87%

| MC = 86/100

| 1UP = A+{{cite web|url=http://www.1up.com/games/wii/punch-out/review/index.html|author=Scott Sharkey|publisher=1UP|date=May 15, 2009|title=Punch Out!! Review|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060814/http://www.1up.com/reviews/punch-out-review|archive-date=September 21, 2013}}

| Fam = 26/40

| GI = 9/10

| IGN = 8.8/10

| NP = 8.5/10

| GB = 5/5{{cite web|url=https://www.giantbomb.com/reviews/punch-out-review/1900-155/|title=Punch Out!!|publisher=Giant Bomb|access-date=May 20, 2009|archive-date=March 24, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130324232735/http://www.giantbomb.com/reviews/punch-out-review/1900-155/|url-status=live}}

| NLife = 9/10{{cite web|url=http://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/wii/punch-out|title=Punch Out!! for Wii|date=May 25, 2009|publisher=Nintendo Life|access-date=May 26, 2009|archive-date=January 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150124195458/http://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/wii/punch-out|url-status=live}}

| NWR = 10/10{{cite web|url=http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/18483/punch-out-wii|title=Punch Out!!|publisher=Nintendo World Report|access-date=May 22, 2009|archive-date=January 25, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150125001107/http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/18483/punch-out-wii|url-status=live}}

| ONM = 91%{{cite web|url=http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/article.php?id=8705|title=Punch-Out!! Official Nintendo Magazine Review|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101212094536/http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/article.php?id=8705|archive-date=December 12, 2010}}

| GSpot = 8.5/10{{cite web|url=https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/punch-out-review/1900-6210054/|title=Punch-Out!! Gamespot Review|access-date=March 3, 2021|archive-date=June 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618185135/https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/punch-out-review/1900-6210054/|url-status=live}}

}}

Punch-Out!! received critical acclaim, averaging an 86/100 and an 87.29% at Metacritic and GameRankings, respectively.{{cite web |title=Punch-Out!! for Wii Reviews |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/punch-out-2009/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090521135719/http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/wii/punchout |archive-date=May 21, 2009 |access-date=June 26, 2009 |publisher=Metacritic}}{{cite web |title=Punch-Out!! for Wii |url=http://www.gamerankings.com/wii/954363-punch-out/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110317090750/http://www.gamerankings.com/wii/954363-punch-out/index.html |archive-date=March 17, 2011 |access-date=June 26, 2009 |publisher=GameRankings}} 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.{{cite magazine |date=June 2009|magazine=Nintendo Power |title=Punch Out!! for Wii |publisher=Future US}} 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 did not affect the game. Game Informer gave Punch-Out!! a 9/10.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.gameinformer.com/games/punch-out/b/wii/archive/2009/09/23/review.aspx|title=A Fantastic Throwback that's More than Just a Nostalgia Act|last=Vore|first=Bryan|date=September 22, 2009|magazine=Game Informer|publisher=GameStop|access-date=September 23, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140531105825/http://www.gameinformer.com/games/punch-out/b/wii/archive/2009/09/23/review.aspx|archive-date=May 31, 2014}} IGN's Craig Harris gave this game an 8.8/10, citing its nostalgic gameplay.{{cite web |author=Harris |first=Craig |date=May 15, 2019 |title=Punch-out!! Review |url=http://wii.ign.com/articles/983/983268p1.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101213105859/http://wii.ign.com/articles/983/983268p1.html |archive-date=December 13, 2010 |access-date=December 9, 2011 |website=IGN |publisher=}} 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 had not aged well when early 21st century attitudes towards cultural and racial sensitivity were taken into account.{{cite web |last=Huling |first=Ray |url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_184/5649-Punch-Out-s-Black-Eye |title=The Escapist : Punch-Out!!'s Black Eye |publisher=Escapistmagazine.com |date=January 13, 2009 |access-date=December 9, 2011 |archive-date=November 26, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091126001440/http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_184/5649-Punch-Out-s-Black-Eye |url-status=dead }}

During the 13th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Punch-Out!! for "Fighting Game of the Year".{{cite web |url=https://www.interactive.org/awards/award_category_details.asp?idAward=2010&idGameAwardType=62 |title=2010 Awards Category Details Fighting Game of the Year |publisher=Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences |website=interactive.org |access-date=20 November 2023 |archive-date=November 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231119221141/https://www.interactive.org/awards/award_category_details.asp?idAward=2010&idGameAwardType=62 |url-status=live }}

The game sold 1.27 million copies worldwide, being one of just 60 Wii titles to reach one million sales, and as such was re-released under the Nintendo Selects banner.{{cite web |title=Punch-Out! Nintendo Selects release date |url=https://www.gamereleasedates.net/game/2421/punchout-nintendo-selects-release-date |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120170841/https://www.gamereleasedates.net/game/2421/punchout-nintendo-selects-release-date |archive-date=January 20, 2022 |access-date=January 20, 2022 |website=Video Game Release Dates}}

{{Clear}}

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Wikiquote-inline|Punch-Out!!#Punch-Out!! (Wii)|Punch-Out!!}}
• {{official website|http://punchout.nintendo.com/}}

{{Punch-Out series}}

{{Next Level Games}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Punch-Out!!}}

Category:2009 video games

Category:Boxing video games

Category:Punch-Out!!

Category:Video games developed in Canada

Category:Video game reboots

Category:Video games with cel-shaded animation

Category:Wii games

Category:Wii games re-released on the Nintendo eShop

Category:Wii Balance Board games

Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games

Category:Video games produced by Kensuke Tanabe

Category:Next Level Games games

ja:パンチアウト!!#Wii版