I spent a good part of yesterday messing around with Wii’s Punch-Out!!

It was not surprisingly pretty fun and even nostalgic, as the gameplay seems to be an updated version of Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! for the NES, whereas the opponents seem to be a blend of Punch-Out!! and Super Punch-Out!! for the SNES.

So there’s Glass Joe and King Hippo from the original in the minor circuit, complete with the original tactic that involves punching Hippo while his pants are down. Then in the next circuit, familiar characters like Bear Hugger make an appearance, this time with some additional details such as the birthplace, which in Bear Hugger’s case is Salmon Arm, BC. Being from the province, I found that amusing. Then there’s Piston Hondo, Bald Bull and an assortment of other characters.

The coolest feature (in theory) is the inclusion of the ability to use the Wii Fit balance board to provide a more intuitive dodging mechanism. I don’t have a board so I can’t test it, however I can say it is a very good idea.

The only issue I had with the game was that the mechanics were based on the original Nintendo. So you can get super-punches but to earn them you have to punch at a very specific moment to catch your opponent off guard. And once you have a super-punch (represented by a star), if you don’t use it before you’re hit, you lose it. I vastly preferred the SNES method where the more punches you land, you eventually build up your own super-punch meter – and if you’re hit, you lose a portion of the meter but can still recover it by landing more punches.

All in all a decent game for the Wii (for once not a cheap game rushed out the door), but I hope they make another that incorporates more of the Super Nintendo Punch-Out!! fighting system.