HoldFire 流 Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 Genre: sports Boxing Action Rhythm VR Sci-fi Developer: Officeu Co., Ltd. Publisher: Officeu Co., Ltd. Release Date: 18/9/2020 Why Early Access? “Punchout: Music is a project that evolving by cooperating with players. We'll improve the game's quality through balancing game. So we want to cooperate with many players.” Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access? “About a year.” How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version? “Full version of Punchout: Music contains campaign mode that progresses when the objective is cleared.” What is the current state of the Early Access version? “We've already made a basic gameplay that hit the incoming notes rhythmically so you can enjoy this game adequately. Now this game contains 7 levels with 3-4 difficulties and in-game tutorial to learn the game rule. Also it has some in-game options to adjust the game style.” Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access? “Yes. We'll increase the price as we add some new contents or elements.” How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process? “Includes adjusting the song difficulty, we'll develop this game by cooperating with players. From this, we'll provide the refreshing and healthy VR experience.” Punchout: Music Get into the rhythm, take fighting pose! Punchout: Music is a rhythmic boxercise game. Enjoy tons of handcrafted levels and punchout the music, in the futuristic stadium. Punch the incoming notes with your energy-gloves - you must match the color of glove and note, and its flying direction. With this game, you become a champion of the rhythmical boxing! Features Rhythmic boxercise: Get into the rhythm and punch the music beat. Handcrafted levels: Unlike other rhythm games with generated levels, every levels in Punchout: Music are handcrafted to enhance the experience. Easy to play: The game rule is very simple, but mastering the game is very fun. Boxing: Boxing is great exercise, so this game is good to diet. Super Punchout is a different kind of experience than just about every other game out there. Simply put there aren't any other games quite like the Punchout series, giving the 2 games a lot of originality. If you've never played a Punchout game, you owe it to yourself to try them out. They're fun, addictive and have a pattern-based gameplay you wont find anywhere else. Super Punchout had a lot to live up to when it was released in '94, being that Punchout, also released as Mike Tysons Punchout, was one of the best games on the NES and a true classic. It managed to pull it off, and is a fun game, but is unlike the original in many ways, often in the worst ways. The game is much more arcade-ish than the original, and instead of the game being set up into 2 minute rounds, Super Punchout has only one 3-minute round per fight. However, the game has a back-up battery and can save your record times for your fights, giving it a boost of replayability. On to the breakdown.. Graphics: 9/10 Super Punchout sports cartoony, well animated graphics. These are some of the best on the SNES without considering CG rendered games. Back when I first played the game, the graphics really surprised me, and were some of the best to date. Your fighter (I actually don't know his name in this one, but I think it's ''Little Joe'', so I'll refer to him as Little Joe throughout this review) Little Joe is seen from a behind the back view, from the waist up, with a transparent look to him so you can see your opponent at all times. The opponents are what are so amazing about Super Punchout, they come in all sorts of sizes, and all look diverse. Some of them are really cartoon-ish, with lots of bells and whistles, while others seem like serious fighters, without any real gimmick. Like I said, the animation is done very well, with many different movements, jerks and attack patterns for each boxer. As you move up in the game, the opponents get harder and harder with more complex attacks, and so the later on enemies generally have more animations. Overall the graphics are done very well, in a new and different sort of way. I remember looking at the screen once thinking it looked exactly like a cartoon. Gameplay: 9/10 The gameplay is what set apart the original Punchout from ever other game in existance, and Super Punchout, being the sequel, plays much like it's predecessor, only with more attack options and bigger more vibrant graphics. First the negative: As I said before, the game is shortened to one 3-minute round, a downgrade from the original. Also, super punches come from a power meter along the bottom, that when filled up gives you the power to do super punches and rapid punches. The meter fills up a little each time you land a punch and shortens a little each time you take one. While this is a good system, I would have preferred something a little closer to the star system in Mike Tysons Punchout. Other than that, the game plays like an absolute dream. At times it can seem better than the original. The catchy thing about it is the pattern-based gameplay, as I like to call it. The enemies each have thier own pattern, you can tell when they are about to do a certain move because they will give it away with a jerk or a movement of some sort. Once you memorize an opponents every move he becomes much easier to beat from that point on, but don't think it's gonna be easy. The game has a pretty good learning curve as well, making the first opponent, Gabby Jay, more of a warm-up than an opponent, and the final opponent, Nick Bruiser, a pretty tough ****** that will take a few days of practice to beat (he still aint got nothin' on Tyson though). Your fighter, Little Joe I think his name is, has a pretty limited range of moves compared to his opponents. There's the normal punch, super punch, rapid punch, and that's about it besides ducking and dodging. Y throws a left punch while B throws a right punch, and A is used when the power meter is filled up, press it once for a super punch and 2 times quickly for a series of rapid blows. That's about it, very simplistic gameplay, mani[CENSORED]ted in more ways than you can think of. You can also block by pressing up on the controller, and blocking too much will render your fighter uncontrollable for a varied period of time. When you get an opponents life meter to zero, he goes down, you must either knock him out 3 times or knock him down for ten seconds, failure to do so will make your opponent the winner of the match, unlike in the original where there were judges and you could win if you had more points than your opponent. When you go down, you can press buttons rapidly to get back up, and when your opponent goes down, you can press buttons as fast as possible to get more life in your meter. If it sounds confusing to you, it's not, it's actually one of the more simplistic games to play, so try it out. Sound: 9/10 The music in Super Punchout is done well, with a few tracks that are done very nicely, and may stick in your head for a while. In championship mode, each fighter is introduced with a screen showing dialogue from them talking to Little Joe before the match, and also feature a signature song for each of the fighters. These are usually little ditty's that last for about 20 seconds and repeat, but it's a nice feature, and some of these tracks are really good, like Nick Bruisers hard-hitting music for example. All of the music during the fights stays the same throughout the game, and is just your basic fighting music to provide the atmosphere of the boxing ring, it's nothing that will grab you. The best track in the game, if you ask me, is the ending. The ending music gets stuck in my head sometimes even though it's been a few months since I played the game. As you could probably tell, good sound effects in a game like Super Punchout are an absolute necessity, and Super Punchout delivers, with one of the best jobs on sound effects we may ever see. Each punch you can feel connecting with you opponent, as the sound rings through your ears. Each enemy has thier own signature grunts when they are being beaten badly by Little Joe, each and every movement you can feel, with help from the sound effects. So while the in-game music is nothing catchy, it provides good atmosphere, and some of the tracks in the game are really impressive, not to mention the sound effects. Storyline: 8/10 In some games, a storyline can be a really important factor -- Super Punchout, however, is not one of these games. For what it's worth though, Nintendo did come up with a basic story for the game, it's basically Punchout redone, one boxer's determination to become the world heavyweight champion. Little info is given on Little Joe, but an opening sequence showing him lace up his boots, get on his gloves and head out to the ring really give you a good idea of what it's like for him. Each of the enemies is unique in thier own way, and some of them have interesting and funny background stories, given in the Super Punchout instruction booklet which I haven't seen in a few years, but I can still remember some of them. Gabby Jay, the first opponent, is a retired man from france with a 1-99 record, he graduated from the Glass Joe school of boxing by KO'ing Glass Joe, his one win (you may remember Glass Joe from Punchout). Rick and Nick Bruiser have a sibling rivalry going on, and you can tell by thier dialogue in the game. Nick is the world heavyweight champion while his brother Rick has only lost to him. Super Punchout honors its heritage by including many of the characters from the original Punchout, such as Bald Bull, Mr. Sandman and Super Macho Man. While during gameplay, you're not really thinking about the story, it's there in some way or form. Replay Value: 10/10 Nintendo is laying it on thick in the replay deparment for Super Punchout. The main draw is the time attack feature, which lets you play anyone you've beaten in championship mode, racing your own fastest times. There are some times already programmed into the game when you buy it, which can easily be beaten after some practice. It's exhilerating to come back and beat your fastest time, it gives you a huge feeling of accomplishment. Super Punchout has a very detailed records section where you can view all of your records, as well, adding a bit of perfection to the time attack mode. Besides the time attack mode, the game is just plain fun to play, the best feature for replay value. The game also keeps track of your wins, showing your win/loss record at the end of the game in championship mode. You must beat the first 3 divisions without losing to access the special circuit and be able to beat the game. Also, there is the goal of getting the best ending, if you make it through without a loss. All in all very good in the replay department. Overall: 92/100 Super Punchout is a game I would recommend to anybody, forget the fact that it's a sports game, because it plays nothing like any other sports game you'll ever play, or any other game period, for that matter. It's fun, it's addictive, it's replayable, it's funny and cartoonish, it has a lot of positive attributes. However, it doesn't quite beat the original Punchout. It doesn't have that extra something that it's predecessor, but what can you expect? Super Punchout was better than I expected it to be, and the time attack mode has had me playing the game often. It's a wonderful game that can be found for $10 at almost any videgame store, get it. In 1987, the world was Mike Tyson's oyster. He was boxing's world heavyweight champion, he was on the verge of marrying Robin Givens from TV's Head of the Class, and he had his own video game in Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Who would have guessed that just a few years later, he'd lose his title to Buster Douglas, get bitterly divorced, find himself in mounting legal trouble, have his business relationship with Nintendo come to an abrupt end, and, in the ultimate indignity, find himself replaced in Punch-Out!! by some goofy George Reeves-looking palette swap of his former self? Yes, in 1990, Punch-Out!! was forever altered--Mike Tyson was out and Mr. Dream was in. And you know what? It didn't make much of a difference. The game was still Punch-Out!! through and through, and Mr. Dream still fought like Mike Tyson. Now the Mr. Dream version of Punch-Out!! is available for the Wii Virtual Console for 500 points ($5), and unless you're dead set on playing only Mike Tyson-brand Punch-Out!!, this is easily one of the best ways to spend $5 on the VC. I have a dream, and it ain't this guy. I have a dream, and it ain't this guy. For the uninitiated, Punch-Out!! is a boxing game chock-full of kooky characters, ranging from the lowly Glass Joe (an aging Frenchman with a 1-99 record and a dislike for getting hit in the face) to the iconic Bald Bull (a hulking, chrome-domed Turk known for his infamous "bull charge" maneuver). You, the pint-sized Little Mac, work your way through a variety of boxing circuits, collecting championships and eventually earning yourself a title shot against the fabled (and extremely tough) Mr. Dream. Each fighter has unique punches and special moves, as well as unique weaknesses that can be exploited. Who can forget the wide-open mouth of King Hippo or the timing of the punch needed to stop Bald Bull's bull charge dead in its tracks? Though several of the boxers animate similar to others and even use a few of the same punches, the timing is never quite the same on each, so it behooves you to learn each boxer's individual timing and tricks to be successful. Of course, beyond getting down the twitch-action timing of different boxers and beating them up with high or low punches (with the occasional special uppercut thrown in), there isn't much to the game. It's a very simplistic boxing game that leans more on its crazy characters than on anything resembling real boxing. But in a sense, that works to the game's favor now. The personalities of the boxers are just as memorable as they were 20 years ago, the cartoony graphics are still pleasant to look at in spite of their extreme age, the tunes are as catchy as ever, and the game is still fun, despite the simplicity of the action. You can beat the game in an hour if you're wicked good at it, but you'll be happy to spend that hour time and time again. Just make sure you're playing on something other than an HDTV, or at least be prepared to readjust the timing you remember from your childhood. There's nothing wrong with the emulation of Punch-Out!! on the VC (even the old password system still works), but if you're playing the game on an HDTV, you may find just a hint of lag between the controller and the onscreen action that doesn't exist if you play on an SDTV. It's not too noticeable early on, but as you start to progress to the faster and tougher boxers in the game, it becomes apparent that something is slightly off. You can adjust to it, but it's an irritation all the same. Also, the game is best played with a Classic Controller, simply because the Wii Remote's plus and minus buttons aren't comfortable substitutes for the start and select buttons, and trying to reach for that plus button to execute an uppercut is a bit vexing. Whether it's Mike Tyson or Mr. Dream, the story remains the same. Punch-Out!! is one of the greatest games of the NES generation, and while it certainly shows a bit of its age with this Virtual Console release, none of what made the game fun or unique has been lost with time. If you remember the game from your younger days, you probably ran off to go download this the moment King Hippo got name-dropped. If you never had the chance to experience Punch-Out!! back in the day, there's no time like the present. It's hard to believe, but it's been 15 years since a Punch-Out!! game was released. Perhaps this is due to the fact that even though the games were made by Nintendo, naturally situated in Japan, they never really found an audience over there. When the Wii came out this was even more of a shame; a new instalment in the series would fit so well on the system, but it didn't seem like Nintendo would make one. Thankfully, Next Level Games (who you might know as the developers of the two Mario Strikers games) asked Nintendo about the Punch-Out!! series and expressed interest in making a new one. Surprisingly, Nintendo agreed and the end result is this Wii-exclusive update. The main gameplay in Punch-Out!! is still the same as always - it's not really a boxing game, but more of a puzzle game. You work your way through various opponents as you try to figure out each one's pattern, reacting correctly to each of their moves to dodge them and successfully mount your own counter-attack. The rules are exactly the same as those of the NES game - there's a maximum of three rounds in every fight. If either you or your opponent is knocked down thrice in one round you or he will lose instantly by a TKO (Technical Knockout). If you're knocked down multiple times in multiple rounds you (0r your opponent) might not be able to get up again, which will get you a normal KO. If you're good at timing, a few opponents actually have weak spots which, when hit at exactly the right time, will KO them in a single punch. Punch-Out!! Review - Screenshot 2 of 5 Next Level Games chose to bring back unique elements from both previous console games; as was the case in the NES game, you can earn stars by hitting opponents at exactly the right times (while they're taunting or right before they're about to throw a punch, being two examples). You can then use these stars to unleash powerful uppercuts which take away a ton of health. Unlike the NES game, however, it's actually recommended you save these up before unleashing them - if you use 3 stars (the maximum available) at the same time you'll bring down an opponent's health from full to near empty. An element from the SNES game which has returned is the ability to recover some health while your opponent is knocked down. Simply keep throwing punches while the referee is counting down and you'll slowly but surely recover some health, which can come in good use. Every opponent from the NES game returns (with the obvious exception of Mike Tyson/Mr. Dream) making for 10 fighters. To up the count a little Next Level Games also took two characters from the SNES game (Bear Hugger and Aran Ryan) and even added an entirely new character, Disco Kid, bringing the total amount of fighters to 13. All of these (except Disco Kid, obviously) behave pretty much exactly like they always did; it's pretty entertaining to recognize an opponent's moves from one of the old games. Punch-Out!! Review - Screenshot 3 of 5 Unlike the previous games, however, this time it's not over once you're champion of the world; as in real boxing, your new job will be to defend your title. You'll have to face all 13 fighters again in the same order as before, but be warned - they've been training so they're much, much stronger than before, with more health, more power and entirely new moves. Even Glass Joe - the single easiest opponent in any videogame ever - will actually put up a decent fight and probably KO you at least once while defending your title! Once you've beaten all 13 fighters again there's yet another mode which also includes a top-secret 14th opponent - but you'll have to find out who that is yourself. If you'd like to rebattle fighters you've already fought (Both the regular and Title Defence versions) there's also an Exhibition Mode - Each of the fighters has their own set of 3 "challenges" (such as not dodging, KO-ing an opponent in a certain number of hits or finding a weak spot) which you can try to achieve here as well. Once you've cleared all three challenges for a specific fighter you'll unlock his sound test - you'll be able to listen to all music and sounds related to that fighter, including Doc Louis's between-round advice and all of the opponent's quotes. The opponents themselves have got to be the greatest thing about the game. On the NES and SNES they weren't really interesting but because the series has now gone 3D they've all been given fantastic personalities; each opponent has their own intro "movie", consisting of a bunch of pictures detailing their personality and they'll speak in their native language (such as French, Russian, or... Hippo?) during the fight and between rounds, taunting you or praising themselves. They've all also got some great animations - they look so good that it might not be a stretch to call Punch-Out!! one of the best-looking games on the Wii. Danger Zone Recommended Requirements CPU: Intel i7 3.5GHz / AMD FX 9590 CPU SPEED: Info RAM: 8 GB OS: Windows 10 64 bit VIDEO CARD: GeForce GTX 970, Radeon R9 290 PIXEL SHADER: 5.1 VERTEX SHADER: 5.1 FREE DISK SPACE: 15 GB DEDICATED VIDEO RAM: 4096 MB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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