Heart's in the right place. Great animation for the era, and Punch-Out's a great template to work with. In practice, very basic. Enemy gimmicks are very surface level with little complexity, and most characters are made or broken by the strength of their aesthetic rather than their fights; there's little mechanical difference between the second-best fight (Mimi Li) and the worst fight (Sweetness). Additional game mechanics (hired help, super moves, challenges) are very unbalanced. In a lot of respects, its unpolished nature underlines Punch-Out's strengths.

But not bad. Would've loved to see a sequel apply lessons learned.

Reviewed on Feb 11, 2023


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