Nintendo has revived another famous franchise. Is it a knockout? Find out in my review.

It has been 15 years since Little Mac last laced up his gloves and got in the ring. Now, Nintendo revives their classic franchise and Little Mac fights again in Punch Out for the Wii. The basic idea of the game remains the same. You play as Little Mac, an up-and-coming fighter who must fight his way through an increasingly difficult series of eccentric opponents on your way to the World Championship. To beat your opponents, you have to uncover their pattern and weak point.

There are thirteen fighters in Punch Out, several of whom are recurring favorites, including King Hippo, Bald Bull and, perennial favorite, Glass Joe. Most of the patterns you have mastered, know and love, are still intact. For example, King Hippo still has to be hit in the mouth to get him to drop his pants, Bald Bull can still be KO’d during his “Bull Charge” and Glass Joe is still the biggest pushover going. The fighters are much more animated than in the past and each fighter now has a short introductory scene to help flesh out their character.

The fighting controls are quite intuitive, as you might expect. The Wiimote represents the right hand, the Nunchuk the left. Motioning with either controller performs a jab. Motioning while holding up on the Nunchuk’s control stick performs a hook. Star punches are earned when you punch an opponent under specific circumstances, usually during their taunt or just before they throw a punch. Stars enable you to throw “Star Punches”, which are more powerful punches that do much more damage and, in the right circumstances, can lead to a KO. Star Punches are activated by holding the A Button and motioning with the Wiimote.In addition to these controls, Nintendo has built in an alternate control scheme where you use just the Wiimote, turned sideways to resemble an NES controller. The Wiimote controls are much more responsive here than they were for Wii Sports Boxing.

Matches are all played the same way, both you and your opponent have a health bar. The object is to drain you opponents life bar by landing punches. Every time you drain your opponent’s life bar, you score a KO. At this point your opponent will be given till the count of 10 to get up. If he does not get up, you will win the fight by KO. If he gets up, he will regain a portion of his health and the fight will continue. If you KO your opponent three times in the same round, you will win the match by TKO. Each match lasts three rounds, if no one is KO’d or TKO’d at the end of Round Three, the referee, meaning the computer, will decide who wins.

In addition to Little Mac, and some of the fighters, another familiar face making a return is Mac’s trainer, Doc Louis. Doc was absent from Super Punch Out, so it has been over 20 years since he was last in your corner. This time however, he has a voice. Every thing else about him however, is still the same. He will give you advice between rounds, encourage you to try again when you get KO’d and can even give you an extra boost between rounds. Once a match, you can regain extra health by pressing the “?” button on the Wiimote. This will cause Doc to eat a candy bar.

Now, I must offer my biggest caution with this game. DO NOT TAKE THIS GAME LIGHTLY! The game will start you off with opponents who are easy to defeat and whose attacks patterns are easy to guess. However, once you make it to the major circuit, things get a little harder, and you really have to be on your toes once you reach the World Circuit. The last five opponents who make up the World Circuit are HARD!

The graphics have recieved an overhaul, with the fighters all recieved new 3-d models that look spectacular. They loom above Mac, who is silhouetted at the bottom of the screen. In between circuits, you are again treated to a training montage, as in the original Punch Out. These are now fully animated scenes.

Replay value is provided by several different additional modes. Title Defense Mode challenges you to go through the entire roster again, defending your newly won title. The fighters have learned some new tricks this time and are harder. Also, new to the series this time is Head-to-Head Mode, which allows you to play against your friends one-on-one. I think it’s great to finally see multi-player make it into this series. There is also an Exhibiton Mode, where you can box against any of the opponents you’ve faced and a Practice Mode, which pits you against holographic duplicates. Exhibition Mode contains a series of challenges for each fighter for you to clear. Also new to the series is the “Mac’s Last Stand” Mode. This mode challenges you to fight with reduced health..There is also a hidden fighter, but I’m not going to spoil that for you. By the way, just to get it out of the way, No, Mike Tyson is NOT in this game.

The game is fun and challenging and totally reminds you why you liked the previous Punch Out titles. I wish the difficulty had been a bit more balanced, but it is a rewarding experience if you can stick with it to the end. Make no mistake, Nintendo has scored a huge hit with this revival.  Maybe Kid Icarus will be next.

Punch Out jabs out a 4 out of 5.